Cadence

Posted on 16 January 2012 by Erik Hare | 14 Comments

It may seem a bit trivial on Dr. Martin Luther King Day to focus on one aspect of the craft that made him a great leader. Wasn’t he much more than a great orator, a man who inspired not just with word but with deeds? Didn’t he march bravely in front of the dogs and the firehoses and men with guns, inspiring by walking as much as talking?

For everything Dr. King accomplished in his life there was much left to do when he was brought down. It’s up to us to carry on and inspire our friends and neighbors to stand up, march proudly, and make a difference.

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The Pills

Posted on 4 January 2012 by Erik Hare | 16 Comments

A small wrinkle in the way he held his head was the only open betrayal of his condition. The many colored papers he was studying were laid out in piles as he moved from one to the other, scouring each for some kind of clue. His serious but friendly face, rounded in a kind of smile, rarely looked up. It wasn’t until we had been at the bar for some time that we started chatting, innocently at first.

He gave his name as John, and slowly started talking about his mission. He had just been to a pain management clinic at the hospital, and there in front of him were all the secrets that help him shove his life, if not his back, into order once again. The car accident had done its damage, but pill after pill the magic that was supposed to help him cope had its own price. Liz and I listened intently because a slipped disk in her back had given her the same bottles that rattled in her purse and through her nerves.

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Influence

Posted on 26 December 2011 by Erik Hare | 23 Comments

It’s a story that truly deserves the term “meteoric” – a brief ball of heat streaking across the sky for just one moment, then crashing to the earth with a terrific thud. The rise and fall of Michael Brodkorb is the biggest story in Minnesota politics this month, yet it begs caution on so many levels. It is full of unsubstantiated rumors and personal tragedy that do not deserve much public scrutiny. We cannot be sure exactly how it ends, given that some pieces are still playing out.

But there is one thing that we know about this story that is worth telling now – influence is fleeting when done for the sake of influence itself. That cautionary tale has a deep meaning well beyond “politics”.

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When it Stops

Posted on 23 December 2011 by Erik Hare | 10 Comments

A quiet grey day in Saint Paul rustles slowly as the kids and animals laze deep into the morning. There’s no reason to get up early – no obligations, nowhere to be, no sun calling. The holiday has started on its own time, creeping into our lives without much fuss and fanfare because that’s how it comes. The holiday starts when everything else stops.

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Dark into Light

Posted on 21 December 2011 by Erik Hare | 8 Comments

It is dark outside when the alarm goes off, not at all a time to wake up. The usual 8 hours and 41 minutes of daylight we can expect on a Winter Solstice is never enough to keep us going, even on a relatively warm and sometimes even bright year like this. The brown Winter of 2011 is just as dark as any other.

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