Two years after 9/11, I was asked to present at a Government Finance Officers Association meeting in New York City. Although I attended a slew of educational sessions, I also took one afternoon off to go explore the Big Apple. Coming from a small rural area near Yosemite National Park where our wonders are made by nature, I wanted to see for myself the significant […]
Journey from the North
My story of immigrating to the U.S. begins in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada when, at 13 years of age, I chose to join The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In 1977, my parents, my brother and I joined this church, and I became determined to attend Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah because it was a church school. Because of my strong commitment to God and to […]
Her Right Foot: A Book Review
Author Dave Eggers writes as if he is sitting on my couch talking to me about something important. He needs to tell me about the Statue of Liberty. And I am listening. I love how he explains her origin before even diving into her purpose. He talks about how the Statue of Liberty was conceived, built, assembled, disassembled, shipped, and reassembled in New York Harbor. Then he describes her in great detail, […]
Would Lady Liberty support DACA?
Give me your tired, your poor,” she calls. And they come. Sometimes in not so legal and conventional ways. Actually, driving or flying across the border to visit family and then never going back is a rather conventional way to have come for an illegal resident of the United States. So, now their children are here and they want to stay. These children “yearn to breathe free” […]
Addressing the REAL feeling of Fear
I grew up in a multi-cultural neighborhood and went to elementary school with children whose ancestry hailed from several continents. This experience, along with my parents open mindedness about our friends and neighbors gave me a gift. This gift was that of enchantment with, as well as interest in, those who may have looked or lived differently from me. Honestly, looking back, we were just children at a school and […]
Abundance
Fall time is traditionally harvest time. The time when our forefathers gathered in their abundance to prepare for the winter months. This tradition lives on. Some of us do gather in our harvest and prepare for the winter months. Others find pumpkins and gourds in the local market and are reminded that this is the traditional time for gathering and thanksgiving. After celebrating Thanksgiving and […]
A Vote for the Lady
Election season is upon us. Despite the idea that it is an “off year,” meaning we are not electing the president, senators or congressional leaders, be sure to take advantage of the opportunity to cast a ballot in your local election. Don’t be fooled by the lackluster advertising or the seemingly “it doesn’t really matter” attitudes of some folks. Recognize that real change can happen from […]
Roy Samuelsen
“As the great passenger liner, the MS Oslofjord majestically sailed past the Statue of Liberty and into the New York Harbor on August 1, 1950, I, as a seventeen-year-old lad, stood on the deck with my parents and younger sister gaping at the awesome sight of the famous statue and the great skyline. It was like a dream true, because this was something I had […]
Choosing America
Leo(Levi) Kersch and Tzvia Diamond were both born in Kiev, Russia. Together they emigrated to Canada in 1892 and then on to the United States of America, specifically Minnesota in 1895. There is no documentation of where the Kersch family traveled from in England, or what port they may have entered in Canada, but their first born son, Harry, was born in Mordin, Mannatoba in 1893 and […]
Lifting your Lamp during times of Crisis
Watching others suffer is difficult. Whether it is fellow Americans in Houston, Louisiana and now Florida facing water and devastation from hurricanes or hearing about others suffering in India from mudslides or Mexico from earthquakes, our hearts are touched and we yearn to give solace. What can we do in times of crisis to lift our lamp and provide refuge? Money and supplies are the first thought […]
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