Minnesota. Joy and Sorrow In One Cup.

Radical Hospitality

The minister said joy and sorrow come in one cup. Somehow, at age 67,  this was a new concept to me.  It is confusing when strong emotions swim together. Sometimes the mixture is too powerful for us to handle. Like when a loved one dies. Especially a young one....

Punta Arenas, Chile: Hope Lies in the Long View

Aging on the Run, Latin America, Nationalism, Public History, Racism, Social Movements

From the Río Bravo to the Straits of Magellan, the Great Cemi, riding high astride a condor, has scattered the seeds of the new América across the romantic nations of the continent and the suffering islands of the sea! José Martí, Nuestra América  The Straits of...

Transportation = Eating in Nuestra America

Aging on the Run, Latin America, Sustainable Economies

      Water and food. When I think of the hierarchy of human needs, these two come to mind. Traveling in Latin America since November has got me thinking about how transportation makes those two essentials possible. If you want to destroy a community,...

Seeing Peru through Prisms, in the Winter of ’26

Aging on the Run, Latin America, long term travel, Minneapolis Interview Project, Nationalism, PTSD and Historical Trauma, Public History, Social Movements, Sustainable Economies, war and peace

It is our duty not to ignore our national reality, but we also have a duty not to ignore the global reality. José Mariátegui   In Lima, the temperature in January is a delightful mid-70s—yet I felt woozy by midday, and drenched in sweat. It rarely rains, yet...

16 things to do in and around Medellin, Colombia

Aging on the Run, Latin America, Nationalism, PTSD and Historical Trauma, Public History, Radical Hospitality, Sustainable Economies, war and peace

  We spent seven weeks in the state of Antioquia, Colombia, primarily in Medellin, with shorter visits to Pereira and Retiro. “That is long enough to become a paisano,”  one man said, kindly.  Of course it is not, but it is long enough to repeat...