Author: kloncke

Sight Unseen

klonckeLeave a comment

Wow.  This piece filled my heart up.  And the Hafez he quotes is one of my favorite poems.

From Konch Magazine, where my boy Jose was recently published (¡!).

The End of Racism

By Siamak Vossoughi

———

The end of racism that I have seen has been a piece of paper and a group of white men in suits announcing that the end of racism is hereby decreed. The end of racism that I haven’t seen has been those same white men looking at each other with tears in their eyes.

The end of racism that I have seen has been let me tell you about the end of racism. The end of racism that I haven’t seen has been let me listen to the years and years of it.

Continue reading →

Rules of Houseguesting

kloncke1 Comment

Dedicated to Chelsea and Patches.

Rule #1: Don’t hide your delight when your host offers you a morning brew using his homemade bike-art teapot warmer, fashioned out of gear chains, a hub thingy, and rubber tubes, with room for a little tealight candle in the center. Yes, it is as beautiful and amazing as it appears.

Rule #2: When no one expects it, do some spontaneous dishes.  A houseguest pulled this on me one time and it’s become a favorite ritual of mine ever since.   It (1) allows you to contribute to the home, (2) occupies your hands without interrupting a conversation, (3) lets you get cozy with the kitchen, and (4) guides the overall vibe toward generosity and warmth.  This is a particularly useful rule for households of people under the age of 25, in which case there will always be dishes in the sink, and your hosts will be extra floored that you are willing to touch their dirty shit.

Rule #3: Abet adventure.  When your hosts suggest setting out to find some branches for decorating their walls, make no attempt to disguise your goofy enthusiasm.  Express your excitement for all manner of romps, forays, jaunts, and missions.

Rule #4: Pick thoughtful, fun-loving, generous, and all-around brilliant hosts.  And you’re golden.

Beauty In The ‘Burbs

klonckeLeave a comment

My friend Jeremiah recently reminded me of something important.  It’s very easy, he said, to be cynical about the places we come from.  It often takes real effort to view our home environments with appreciation.

This week I’m back in the suburbs of Sacramento, California, where I was raised.  For a variety of environmental, social, and economic reasons, I’m not a fan of suburbs in general.  But as Jem pointed out, no matter how ignominious our origins, they almost always include something of value.  So this morning, while making breakfast and walking the dog, I took my camera along.  Insta- fresh perspective.

Empathetic Nervous System

kloncke2 Comments

First thing this morning, I learned about the murder of Oscar Grant.  The following is from an email I got over a listserv — I hope it might be helpful to some of y’all.  Please know that I am not here to nag you into action, only to pass along resources in case any of them resonate.

5 Things You Can Do Right Now

About the Oscar Grant Shooting

Share w/ your peeps

by Makani Themba-Nixon

1. Digg the story so that the national media can pick up on it (Thanks, Jabari For this link): http://digg. com/world_news/Oakland_Police_Officer_Shoots_Unarmed_Man_Handcuffed_Man

or
http://digg.com/world_news/Oakland_Police_Officer_Shoots_Unarmed_Man_Handcuffed_Man?OTC-em-st1

2. Contact BART Director Carole Ward Allen and demand that 1) the officers involved be taken off duty without pay and charged and fully prosecuted; 2) there be an independent investigation of the shooting that includes a review of training and hiring practices; and 3) BART establish an independent residents’ review board for the police Call her at 510-464-6095 or email the BART Directors at BoardofDirectors@bart.gov

3. Call the BART police to complain about the officers’ conduct and demand immediate action:

Internal Affairs: Sergeant David Chlebowski 510.464.7029,dchlebo@bart.gov

Chief of Police: Gary Gee 510.464.7022, ggee@bart.gov

Call them toll free at 877.679.7000 and press the last four digits of the phone number you wish to reach.

4. Talk it up on your blogs, networks and talk radio shows (call Michael Baisden 877-6BADBOY or Rev. Al, etc. to get this on the national radar)

5. Stay tuned for other actions, protests, etc., especially if you are in the Bay.

peace,
makani

For those who haven;’t seen the horrific video take a look and note that this our tax dollars at work

Watch the video —
http://cbs5.com/local/oakland.BART.shooting.2.900634.html

After watching a dozen versions of video footage, I cracked open, and my mother held me as I cried.

It’s impossible to separate my sadness for Oscar Grant from my pain over the Gaza massacres.  I can’t even separate it from my love for my father, or my own personal fears and occasional despair. It’s like one giant, continuous upwelling.

That’s part of what makes empathy magical, I guess.

Don’t Make It Happen; Let It Happen

klonckeLeave a comment

The following is a true story.

After an hour-long stint at my father’s gym today, I showered, dressed, and made my way down the hallway, past the echoing pock of squash courts, toward the exit.  On my right I noticed a room I had never entered before.  The indoor basketball court.  I peered through the glass window to see if it was empty.  It was.  I went in.

Growing up I played lots of organized sports, and basketball was one of them.  I was, to put it kindly, not a strong player.  I recall making a glorious jumpshot, once, from near the right boundary line.  Other than that, my memories are mercifully hazy.  Still, despite my lousiness, I know my way around a court, and this afternoon I decided to check out my free throw skills.

Continue reading →

Free Skate

kloncke3 Comments

Every winter, Harvard Law School sets up a tiny, free ice rink on an old volleyball court behind the law library.  Two bed-sized bins beside the rink hold dozens of pairs of figure and racing skates, ripe for the borrowing.  Unencumbered by anything resembling pride or shame, Lea, Jonah and I jerked, wobbled, and skidded like true champions until thoroughly and happily exhausted.

Ice skating is by no means in my blood, but that’s one of the reasons I love the (rare) opportunity to do it.  It makes me feel like a child learning to walk.  I’m so delighted by the sheer novelty of the movement, the foreignness and faint danger, and the potential — always enticing, seldom realized — for graceful speed, that I never worry about the fact that I look foolish.  I just smile and laugh a lot.  Of course, good-natured company helps, too.

Friends, Meet Henry Mills.

kloncke5 Comments

henry frogazoomOh boy.  Oh boy, oh boy.  You know those reflex tests where the doctor taps your knee and you can’t help but kick?  Or if you’re asleep and someone pinches your nose shut, you can’t help but open your mouth?  Thinking about Henry Mills is kinda like that for me: no matter what, a smile just comes.

As Beyoncé Knowles once said (yes, seriously), “You are who you’re around.  If I don’t want to be like you, then I don’t want to be around you.”  The positive side of that aphorism: surround yourself with people who not only impress you, but also inspire you.

Henry and I met in the summer of 2006, volunteering in New Orleans with the Common Ground Collective.  I still can’t believe my luck in running into him.  Henry is the kind of person you want to be around.  Especially in the following situations:

> walking in a quiet park or garden

> cartwheeling in the rain

> getting juggling lessons in your Uncle John’s basement

> reading children’s stories aloud in a giant used bookstore

> brewing ginger tea

> mourning a loss

> driving in a fantastic lightning storm

> gettin’ down at a great show

> making your own great show

Another great situation to share with Henry (and I hope he won’t mind my saying this) is a kissing situation.  Continue reading →

Happy New Year!

kloncke3 Comments

Sending so much love to each and every one of you.  May the new year find you with a peaceful, joyful heart.

My list of resolutions is still in the works, mainly because I have very little idea what my 2009 life will look like in Spain.  But I recently finished a book by Sakyam Mipham that helped remind me of the essence of good intention and resolve.  With wisdom and simplicity, he writes,

How do we live from the stainless pure ground of basic goodness?  How do we generate a compassionate heart in every encounter?  How do we plant the flower of bodhichitta on the rock of a dark age?  The quickest, most practical way to do this is to keep loosening our grip on ourselves [. . .] It all comes back to one of my favorite sayings: “If you want to be miserable, think about yourself.  If you want to be happy, think of others.”  This is how we bring enlightened mind down to earth.

Hoo.  Think I’ll leave it at that!

Have a wonderful night, be safe, and DANCE a step for me, won’t you???