It’s harder to live in the ghetto than it is to live not in the ghetto.  Saying that outloud to myself, it seems absurdly obvious ( and a little grammatically awkward). I spend a lot of time thinking about why we chose to move into the inner city, what we were like back then, and...Read More

“When you pay rent somewhere, you pay to feel safe, not to worry about if your house is going to catch on fire.”  That’s a quote from the article linkedRead More

A 16 year old died a few weeks ago because he crashed a car he stole. His life was valuable. All lives are valuable, but I wonder if he didn’t see the value in his life.   We all have made some dumb decisions, but his dumb decisions shouldn’t equate to him loosing his life....Read More

Our kids are still doing virtual school so most of our lunch time is trying to get some of their energy out. The other day we went sledding at a good hill over by Riverside High School and were on our way home when there was a car with a chair hanging out the back...Read More

We had a fire on Wednesday night. While sitting outside, about an hour after sunset, we heard about 50 gunshots just a few blocks away.  We sat there and hoped for them to stop, but they kept coming.  When they finally stopped, we listened and waited for police sirens, but didn’t hear any. The strange...Read More

I didn’t get it right. I said racist things. I struggle talking about race and continually get it wrong. So, should I stop talking about race? I struggle. I sometimes say racist things but I really want to get it right. Alex and I did a podcast the other day and I felt like I...Read More

In 2015 we were getting frustrated with the people that lived behind us.  There was trash everywhere around their house and they weren’t being respectful of the neighbors and neighborhood.  We talked with the home owner a few times and it became clear that she didn’t have the capacity to handle the home or be...Read More

I looked out my window to see a group of protestors on the bridge across from our house today.   I felt a little sad when I realized that the protesters weren’t out there for Black Lives Matter (they were protesting abortion).  I don’t want to discuss their protest, that isn’t the point here.  I...Read More

Living in the inner city is hard sometimes. I see and feel the weight of oppression that many have to deal with here.  I want things to be easy for my neighbors but I know they’re not.  Yesterday, I heard 6 firetrucks responding to homes around me and I smelled smoke from my house.  I...Read More

In the car this morning Dex asked me if it was legal for someone to sleep in their cars.  I told him I was not totally sure but I thought it was illegal.  I then I went on to tell him a few months ago we had someone in front of our house that slept...Read More