I don’t know what possessed me to watch the documentary “The Business of Being Born.” Several women give birth at home in this movie, and you see every detail of how it happens. I wondered– very theoretically since I currently am in no danger of giving birth– whether labor is more like getting a root […]
Read More Virgin BirthShe had a “spirit that crippled her,” a condition I think we’re all familiar with. Usually it shows up Monday morning. Sometimes on the weekend, too, though. She dragged herself down there, and she didn’t ask for help. She showed up. Jesus didn’t sit her down for six weeks of cognitive behavioral therapy, or serve her dinner and clean her house, or write her a check to pay her mortgage. He was just kind to her.
Read More She’s Come UndoneIt doesn’t matter how you treat a dead body. The dead wasp I vacuumed off my floor yesterday is just as dead as my great-grandfather– as far as science can tell us, anyway. Death means a lack of mattering. I appreciate how Buddhists try to get us comfortable with that, impossible as it may be. […]
Read More BordersJacob Riis is famous for having photographed the tenements in New York City. Real estate rules about rooms having windows, and indoor plumbing, and fire escapes, did not descend upon us from angels. The relative liveability of modern cities was won by Mr. Riis and other activists. Today is his feast day in the Anglican calendar. […]
Read More The Look
Going On 