2024-03-04 09:29
I’ve been thinking about this for some time now. How easily President Biden’s occasional stuttering – his repetition of a sound within the word, his choice of a word that d… Read More
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And So It Goes Blog
janetgivens.com
As our world becomes smaller–through social media, immigration, relocation, or travel–we will find ourselves bumping up against culture clash, cultural difference more and more. Understanding the role that culture plays in our lives, often unconsciously, will become even more important. These “three Cs†guide each post: Curiosity, Compassion, and Courage
Through my writing, I want you, my reader, to increase your curiosity in the cross-cultural “other,†and through that curiosity come to understand better your own culture, and your place in it. But curiosity must be partnered with compassion, or it’s just being nosy. And to do that, courage is often required. Are you ready?
2024-02-26 07:01
If you’re just coming on this story, here are the links to the earlier posts: Part 1: The Saga Begins Part 2: So Close and Yet So Far Part 3: Moving the Money Part 4: Human Trafficking… Read More
2024-02-19 07:48
If you are coming to the story late, you can find the earlier posts here: Part 1: Part 2:Part 3:Part 4: Later that evening (February 1), I get a phone call from the “manager of manager… Read More
2024-02-12 07:55
If you’ve missed earlier segments, here are the links. Part 1: The Saga BeginsPart 2: So Close and Yet So FarPart 3: Moving the Money Tuesday, January 26 we learn Ari’s old bank… Read More
2024-02-06 06:28
If you missed Part I of the story, or Part II of the story, here are the links. Sunday, January 17, Ari’s “person” will move him across the border to Nigeria for $1300. He… Read More
2024-01-30 14:00
We’re continuing with our story of the young Cameroonian asylum seeker we are calling Ari. If you missed last week’s beginning, Part I can be found here. Wednesday, January 6, 20… Read More
2024-01-23 06:00
Part I: How to Determine the Value of a Man’s Life “What is a man’s life worth?” Nancy’s question made the three of us pause. Nancy, a local Vermonter as am I… Read More
2024-01-16 06:31
A few years back, I did a post on “The Four Stages of Friendship” and promised I’d add another post about when Friendships end. Not through death or moving far away. The ot… Read More
2023-07-26 07:12
I’ve given a name to the initial phase in hosting any stranger in your home, for surely most come in as strangers. It’s simply: “What is this stranger doing in my kitchen?… Read More
2023-03-31 20:53
Tim Urban, who writes the popular blog, Wait But Why, has a new book out. I bought What’s Our Problem: A self-help book for societies immediately. With a title like that, of course I d… Read More
2023-02-15 17:30
News of the pending arrival of my first two grandchildren — yes, both my sons called the same weekend with their news — came with mixed emotions. Ecstasy was followed quickly wit… Read More
2023-01-09 09:00
I’ve FINALLY found how to peel a hardboiled egg so that it will turn out smooth. There are countless theories out there, and I’ve tried most of them. But now I know the secret. I… Read More
2022-12-31 09:00
As I prepare for a new year (i.e., change over the check register; is there anything else we must do?) I thought I’d take a few breaths and look back over the year to see what I’… Read More
2022-12-24 17:30
My hope plan for the coming year is to return to weekly blogging. For now, to add to the celebratory nature of the season, and bid a fond an eagerly anticipated farewell to 2022, I give you… Read More
2022-11-30 11:42
Those of you who’ve been reading me for years know that we put Sasha down last September. Yes, that was my last blog post. It’s time for another one and, once again, its theme is… Read More
2022-08-31 15:00
It’s back. A mass too far in to try surgery again, the vet tells us. Besides, we decided last year, after her last surgery, there would be no more. September will be the month we put S… Read More
2022-03-14 08:16
Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change we seek. Barack Obama (1961- ) The aim of this… Read More
2022-02-24 00:42
I’ve been focused these past few months on getting LEAPFROG updated and back live again. The eBook is about to go to the formatter and the Print book will soon follow. BUT, I’ve… Read More
2021-11-17 06:02
I went on a Facebook hiatus last week. Five days. Here’s what I discovered. First thing I noticed was that I missed what they call Facebook Memories. Each morning they’d send me… Read More
2021-11-10 06:00
My plan is to be off Facebook for five days. I started late Tuesday night and will end late Sunday night. Here is my temporary Profile Picture. In fact, I understand it’s already live… Read More
2021-10-27 05:00
LEAPFROG, my book that first came out in 2019, is in the final stages for its THIRD EDITION release. It’s been a labor of love, just as my memoir was. From the start, I’ve wanted… Read More
2021-09-15 06:00
I’m getting adept at Plans B of late. Landscaping plans sit on the shelf because we just don’t feel like spending that much money this year. Maybe next. (I’ve been saying t… Read More
2021-08-11 06:28
First published September 25, 2019 as On GoldenRod, With Apologies, I wanted to bring it back for a rerun. Hope you enjoy it. For the past twelve years, from mid August to mid-September, I h… Read More
2021-07-21 06:37
I’m often asked how we wound up in Vermont. It’s a good story, one I enjoy telling if given enough time. At the same time, it occurs to me that if one owns one’s own websit… Read More
2021-06-30 05:06
Race, Racism, White Privilege, Guilt Freedom, Justice, Peace, Equal opportunity Negroes, African-Americans, Blacks, BIPOC community So many words, so little time. How do we talk about these… Read More
2021-06-09 19:00
Those of you who follow me on Facebook know I spent yesterday with Sasha at a Veterinary Surgery practice in Hanover, New Hampshire. Last week, when I took her to a new local vet for her mon… Read More
2021-05-12 06:20
Sasha here. Alpha Mom is exhausted and told me to have at it. I guess that means I can say whatever I want. Let’s see. I told you about our new puppy, Jackson, here last year. But Alph… Read More
2021-04-28 06:44
[This post was first published April 27, 2016 as Is There A Clothesline In Your Backyard. I like it and thought I’d send it around a second time. I hope you enjoy it.] Such an idyllic… Read More
2021-03-31 06:50
[Excerpted from my post March 18, 2020, Coping In the Era of CoVid-19. I was curious to revisit how I wrote about CoVid in the very beginning, a year ago. Much has changed. Or has it?] How a… Read More
2021-02-10 05:27
A few months ago, I came across this quote from Thomas Merton: On Violence There is a pervasive form of contemporary violence to which the idealist most easily succumbs: activism and overwor… Read More
2021-02-03 05:02
Woody and I have a young man living with us whose native language is not English. Suffice it to say (I love the alliteration of that phrase), we get frequent opportunities to talk about Engl… Read More
2021-01-27 18:14
I came across notes the other day in a folder titled “Blog Ideas.” There were two lists of words. The first group contained this list of seventeen items (Sorry for the numbering… Read More
2021-01-20 05:09
With the annual holiday honoring the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. hovering, I am called to create my own dream of a time in the future, a time that holds out hope, a time that promises to… Read More
2021-01-13 05:18
Yup, I’ve given a great deal of thought to all those titles in the past few days. They didn’t always begin with the “How to;” I added that just now to give them a lit… Read More
2021-01-06 05:13
As promised in my last post for 2020, I’m looking forward to 2021 and to looking inward — how will I fare in honing my latest growing edge? What is my growing edge for this year?… Read More
2020-12-30 05:19
We’ve seen the meme, grateful for the smile it brought. Not only did CoVid-19 take over our lives this year, it took over my blog for three months beginning in March, returning once in… Read More
2020-12-24 09:03
Many of my friends here in Vermont see winter as a time to pull out the skis, the sleds, the toboggans and hit the hills. Not me. Over the past few decades, I’ve come to see winter as… Read More
2020-12-16 05:19
I got tested for CoVid last Friday. Not because I was exposed (do we ever really know?). No; I had symptoms. It seemed prudent. I’d been feeling achy for a few days; I noticed it most… Read More
2020-12-09 05:22
Too lofty a title? I just want to talk about how Thanksgiving went for us this year. And, curious how it went for you. One aspect I imagine we all share: this Thanksgiving, 2020, was differe… Read More
2020-12-02 05:25
It’s been a while since Alpha Mom let me at her weekly blog. She guards it like it’s her special pet or something. Finally though, we’ve got a topic that I might just know… Read More
2020-11-25 05:16
You know the Statue of Liberty. You know its story. You know how it stands at the mouth of the Hudson River, a beacon to immigrants for over a century. I’ve climbed her stairs a few ti… Read More
2020-11-18 06:07
Thanksgiving will be here next week and, frankly, I’m pissed. Do you know how you’ll be celebrating this year? I don’t. Not exactly. I mean, I knew we’d not be social… Read More
2020-11-11 06:30
There are some interesting myths surrounding Veterans Day. Let’s have a look. #1 Veterans Day celebrates the official end of World War I November 11, formerly Armistice Day, was not th… Read More
2020-11-06 04:01
It’s been quite the week, month, year. Do we get four more years of chaos and drama or might we return to life as we liked it, once upon a time when we lived blithely unaware of the in… Read More
2020-10-28 00:09
Yes, it’s that time again. And, since WordPress once again won’t let me add photos (nor tags nor schedule) I’m rerunning this post from three years ago. It pretty muc… Read More
2020-10-21 04:22
Subtitle: While introducing you to the new man in our life. Remember this poster? Under the BLACK LIVES MATTER headline, it reads, TREAT RACISM LIKE COVID-19 and she gives us four steps to d… Read More
2020-10-14 04:34
Join me for a Zoom talk this Saturday, October 17, 2020 Yes, LEAPFROG is going live on Zoom this Saturday at 11 a.m. I hope you’ll join us. Here’s the story. Shortly after… Read More
2020-10-07 04:01
Dear Readers: This is a post about time. The speed with which it flies past us The way in which it finds irrelevant the many choices confronting us Sounds lofty, huh? It’s actually a p… Read More
2020-09-30 04:20
Vermont is in a significant drought. According to our Agency of Natural Resources website, 73% of the state is affected, with the north central area (where I am) in a “severe” dr… Read More
2020-09-23 01:29
I have a batch of draft posts on my WordPress site — thoughts I’ve jotted down over the years, ideas that percolated for a time, then went flat. And every now and then (like toda… Read More
2020-09-16 02:13
Last week’s post on the history of our Pledge of Allegiance (What Do You Know About our Pledge of Allegiance?) brought me new information. It also got me chewing on something I’d… Read More
2020-09-09 04:26
For the Americans among us, when’s the last time you thought about your Pledge of Allegiance? Do you remember reciting it in grammar school? High School? Could you recite it from… Read More
2020-09-02 04:29
I’m musing again still. The Wall Street Journal had a headline a few weeks ago: How to Give Unsolicited Advice Without Being Annoying. I was intrigued. Who wouldn’t be? &n&hell…Read More
2020-08-26 04:10
Musing on age aging? I can’t seem to get into it. I find I have nothing to say about turning 72 this week, though I have tried. May Sarton wrote a whole book on the topic. Well… Read More
2020-08-19 04:05
So many musings this week. The Democratic National Convention is on. It’ll be a more sober convention this time around, fitting in this sobering time. I’ve not actually watched i… Read More
2020-08-12 04:09
I’m musing again and today I’ve lit upon temperature and the thermometers we use to measure it. Celsius or Fahrenheit? The 0 to 100 scale or the 32 to 212 scale? These days, one… Read More
2020-08-05 04:13
Today, with the American dream falling apart at our feet, CoViD knocking on our doors louder and louder, systemic racism exposed finally for all throughout this country (in the north as well… Read More
2020-07-29 04:23
COURAGE: the final installment in the Curiosity, Compassion, and Courage 2020 Tour. Curiosity pushes us to open the box, explore the myth, or initiate a conversation with someone we don&rsqu&hell…Read More
2020-07-22 04:07
We continue today with my mini series on the three words that have woven themselves into much of my work of late: Curiosity, Compassion, and Courage. Today it’s COMPASSION’… Read More
2020-07-15 04:07
And So It Goes has evolved over the years. A year or so ago, I began to focus on the triad Curiosity, Compassion, and Courage as a mantra for the posts I share. I’ve been gratified to… Read More
2020-07-08 04:05
We began this series on confronting racism in mid-June. In Part I, I asked “When did you first become aware of your race?” This was not a question I’d have thought to… Read More
2020-07-01 04:44
DRAFT DRAFT What will you do differently? What will you change? This is the “put on your mask” part of the process. What can you DO to combat, confront, contra… Read More
2020-06-29 12:01
One of the many benefits of having written a blog for the past seven years is that it gives me access to the living rooms of hundreds of people I’d otherwise not have had. And today I… Read More
2020-06-24 04:41
“In light of recent events, a lot of people are now feeling a very visceral response in how they show up in this world, and how they see it from our lens,” says… Read More
2020-06-17 04:33
What a great poster this protester carried. Treat Racism like CoViD 19, it declared: Assume you have it. Listen to experts about it. Don’t spread it. Be willing to change your li… Read More
2020-06-10 04:07
Saturday, lightning struck our street. We were luckier than some on our street; we only lost our modem. The folks down about a half mile had fire spewing out of their electrical… Read More
2020-06-03 04:19
This is George Floyd’s face. Most of us know of him from the viral video of his death under the knee of Derek Chauvin, a white Minneapolis policeman. Or from the news media cover… Read More
2020-05-27 04:15
I’m musing a lot lately. Pondering, imagining, wondering. Are you musing more these days, too? I find it’s a calm, curious place to be. No compelling urge to explore; I jus… Read More
2020-05-20 04:02
So I’ve got a conflict to toss around. Sort of. Not the “difficult conversation” type conflict I’ve been so focused on of late. — or rather had been before my a… Read More
2020-05-13 04:03
Another acronym has found me. They do that alot, from my use of CD (first for Cultural Differences, then for Civil Discourse) to my three Cs: curiosity, compassion, and courage. … Read More
2020-05-06 04:24
Surely you recognize this photo by now. It is the hill near Taylor Hall where National Guardsmen, many not much older than the students down below, opened fire, killing four and wounding nin… Read More
2020-04-29 04:05
There is an upside of all this. There is always an upside. Call it lemonade (from lemons). Call it accepting the unacceptable. Call it gratitude. It doesn’t matter what you call it; th… Read More
2020-04-22 04:07
Music has healing power. It has the ability to take people out of themselves for a little while. Elton John And Nelson Mandela once said that music “has the power to elevate and l… Read More
2020-04-15 04:10
The times they are a changin’ sang Bob Dylan way back when. And, somehow, that feels like a fitting song for these days when so much is changing. For starters, I’ve gone from spr… Read More
2020-04-08 04:07
Have you been wearing your face mask when you go out? I ask because when I was out and about (wearing mine) I felt a mixture of emotions. PRIDE that I was doing my part, small as it was; FEA… Read More
2020-04-01 04:37
My friend, Vermonter Annika McCann, posted this photo of herself to her Facebook page recently under the heading, “This is my new day job.” Here’s her story I… Read More
2020-03-25 04:07
We CAN do this. And we are. My hibernation began on March 13. It was a Friday. We’re on Day 13 today, with only one run to the post office so far. Tomorrow, we’ll s… Read More
2020-03-25 04:07
We CAN do this. And we are. My hibernation began on March 13. It was a Friday. We’re on Day 13 today, with only one run to the post office so far. Tomorrow, we’ll s… Read More
2020-03-18 04:09
How are you doing? This is the most serious pandemic since the Spanish influenza and information, we know, is critical in keeping anxiety down. People, in general, feel anxious in the unknow… Read More
2020-03-11 04:03
That age old dichotomy: Fact vs. Opinion, Magic vs. Reality, Faith vs. Evidence, Religion vs. Science We’ve had these dichotomies forever it seems. Everyone knew where they stoo… Read More
2020-03-04 05:32
Last week’s post on What Makes A Good Blog Topic originally included THREE possibilities. At the last minute (well, I still had 23 minutes to go before it launched at midnight) I pulle… Read More
2020-02-26 05:06
Karen Huber of KMHuber’s Blog (“Zen with a bite”) wrote this recently: A blog is a way to explore an idea, if for no other reason than to find out what it isn’… Read More
2020-02-19 05:55
One of the benefits of self-publishing is that I can go back into my published book at any time and make it better. And, given my propensity to tweak, I have been doing that with LEAP… Read More
2020-02-12 05:14
As promised at the end of last week’s Weltschmerz post, this week we’re going to talk about how I’ve been coping. In short: some days are better than others. But, what cons… Read More
2020-02-05 05:05
Do you remember Thirty Days to A More Powerful Vocabulary? This tiny book was part of our curriculum in sixth grade (thank you New Jersey public schools). From a mere fif… Read More
2020-01-29 05:04
Though I won’t write about a land I am officially forbidden to visit on my own (see my recent post), I will write a bit about the pull to travel, to explore, to move that we humans man… Read More
2020-01-22 05:21
This year the word I chose came to me slowly, bouncing around the periphery of my life. When I first thought to choose it, I was concerned people would misunderstand. Then I realized… Read More
2020-01-15 05:07
At the point where the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Caribbean Sea meet, lies an island of 12 million people just fifty miles from our Florida coast. Yet it’s a tra… Read More
2020-01-08 05:15
Gentle reminder: I’m out of the country, due to return in one more week. I’m posting a few of my old favorites. This one is from 2015. First published on December 2, 2015… Read More
2020-01-01 05:15
I’m still out of the country, and still returning January 15. This repost is from January 1, 2014. It was fun to reread it. I still have no pea hens, not even a plan for them. Most of… Read More
2020-01-01 05:02
Happy New Year, one and all, literally! It’s the one holiday celebrated by all, the world around. I’m out of the country and reposting a few of my favorite posts while I’m… Read More
2019-12-25 05:20
I’ll be out of the country for the next three weeks, visiting family and friends to the north of us, among other things, which I shall write about upon my return, mid January. In the m… Read More
2019-12-18 05:07
As foreshadowed in last week’s post, I came away from my drive to Ohio (and back) with a new observation about public toilets. And yes, you shall be reading about it now. Are yo… Read More
2019-12-11 05:05
Whenever I travel, I come home with new observations, new ideas, new insights. This past Thanksgiving trip driving to and from Ohio was no different. But first, here’s a photo m… Read More
2019-12-04 05:02
Over the years I’ve mentioned my husband, Woody, from time to time. Last year I did a 25th anniversary post, which told the story of our meeting and early time together. Happy An… Read More
2019-11-27 05:14
It really is a strange ritual we pull off each year. We mean well, with this Thanksgiving of ours, but intention only carries so far. The Thanksgiving myth, you know, is a fiction. A nice fi… Read More
2019-11-20 05:48
It’s been a long gestation, longer than you’d expect for such a small book. But it’s finally here — sort of — and you, my readers, were a big part o… Read More
2019-11-13 05:27
This is not a DST story. It is a turn back time story though. Sort of. A story came to my attention last week that I just couldn’t ignore. Along the lines of the breastfed… Read More
2019-11-06 05:25
Or should that be Faux News Redoe? It’s late; I’m trying to be cute. My apologies. Today I’m revisiting the post I did two weeks ago. Here it is again if you missed i… Read More
2019-10-30 04:08
It’s Halloween, the time to celebrate death. ghosts, goblins, vampires, and zombies. It’s the time you get to be someone or something else. For me, it’s the holiday when co… Read More
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