I have been disturbed recently by some reactions from the gay community to three specific public announcements regarding coming out and gay rights. One concerns a famous actress, the other two straight politicians.

I do not know if the statements and articles I read reflect the majority of the gay...

Much has been written about Jodie Foster's so-called "coming-out speech" at the Golden Globes, and I must admit that I was wondering, "Will she or won't she?" I was all ready for the big announcement, and then she cruelly turned it into a joke when she said she...

I could feel the anger seething out of George Parry's commentary in the Philadelphia Inquirer on December 20th. He accused "progressive politicians and their reliable amen chorus in the mainstream media" of having a contemptible brand of cynicism for cold-bloodedly exploiting the slaughter of innocent children to promote...

Watching the debate on Wednesday I felt I was in a bizarro world. Governor Romney was looking presidential, spouting statistics and talking compassionately about people he met who are unemployed, and President Obama was looking vulnerable, defensive, and out of touch with the American electorate.

I felt I was in...

As an innocent bystander who watched from home and tried to follow the most important prime-time speeches and then channel surfed for different pundit reactions of both conventions, here is my assessment of the two presidential conventions of 2012.

The DNC won by a knockout. Outside of a platform kerfuffle...

I must admit that I am quite bummed that there are no women on the ticket of either political party this presidential election. 2008 was an exciting campaign because the Democrats had Hillary Clinton facing Barack Obama in the primaries and the Republicans offered the first...

In this presidential campaign season, each candidate has been accused by the other's team of being a liar, out of touch with the middle class, secretive, clueless with how to fix the economy, an elitist, a panderer to their own base, ending Medicare as we know it, and killing jobs.

Is it just me or is anyone else wondering why GOP Presidential nominee Mitt Romney chose to announce the unveiling of his VP pick of Representative Paul Ryan on a Saturday morning at 9 a.m. on the second to last day of the Olympics? The Friday...

What can I say about an event that moved me tears, that got me in touch with something deep inside that I didn't even know was there? That's what happened this past Saturday afternoon when I experienced the Broadway show End of the Rainbow at the Belasco Theater in New...

In Sarah McLachlan's "Angel," she sings about a "glorious sadness that brings me to my knees." I never really knew what that meant until a few weeks ago.

Throughout the past eight years I have lost my mother, sister, brother-in-law, two aunts, great uncle, great aunt, two uncles, two cousins,...

Just when we women brass players thought we were making good progress in the classical music world, this happens. And only a week or so after my good friend, Abbie Conant had sent out a post on Facebook congratulating Ms. Mayumi Shimizu for winning the Solo-trombone position with...

My dad recently died of lung cancer at home. He was 91 and I was his primary caretaker. I don't think I could have handled his end of life process without hospice care. Even though other family members (my sister and cousin and brother with his wife and...

I have been encountering a few Facebook posts recently that I find very disturbing. One says "Whitney Who? When Celebs Get More Credit Than Real Heroes" and shows a picture of our troops. Another shows a split screen with Houston on one side with the caption: "Whitney Houston, pop star...

They both had powerful and angelic voices that defined their generations. One was a mezzo-soprano, the other an alto. Both began singing at very young ages. One came from a gospel background, the other from Vaudeville. In their singing styles, they both had an uncanny sense of rhythm, timing, phrasing,...

As he lay near death my dad told me "the Christians are after me." I said "tell them to go to hell." He smiled. Indeed, over the last two weeks of his life, friends and family members prayed over him and sang hymns which he gladly accepted. But when he...

I was in town pet sitting for a friend when I went online to find out what is happening with the Occupy movement in Philadelphia. I saw that there was an Assembly Meeting at the Friends Center Thursday evening so I decided to check it out.

I...

She is an empath. That is, she is someone who can not only feel others' pain but make the pain go away. I believe this quality is what makes Judy Garland so beloved even until this day.

I have known firsthand this gift of empathy having experienced...

We are the 99%. We are the middle class and the lower class and sympathetic members of the upper class. We are women, men, gays and straights of all ages, all religions and all races. We live in cities, suburbs, small towns, and rural areas. We are a huge slice...

We were marching for social justice and the end of the Vietnam War. It was called the Peace movement and while it may be responsible for forcing a President (LBJ) to not seek a second term and the eventual end of...

Having attended Occupy Philadelphia for a second visit Tuesday, October 18, this time with my friend, Carolyn, I was honored to hear two gifted orators who eloquently spoke of this worldwide movement in ways that gave me new insight into it.

As I mentioned in my previous...