There are no sacred texts in my life. As I have written here before, I am an atheist. I do not believe in God.

We are blessed with a trifecta of upcoming, intertwined holidays: Halloween (Oct. 31); All Saints’ Day (Nov. 1); and Dia de Muertos, the Day of the Dead (Nov. 1-2). All three holidays win our affection since all three are about loss.

Politics extends far beyond “local.” Social, economic and, more recently, environmental examples abound. Most comprehensive is the Earth we share. Only in recent decades have we been aware of that blue marble — Earth photographed from space — our commons, tragically being plundered.

'It seems to have picked up some steam within the last couple of years, particularly since the George Floyd murder,' said a spirituals expert about churches offering royalties.

I imagine democracy as a one-way freeway headed for the future. The vehicles on that freeway carry inspired concepts such as, freedom of many kinds, inclusion of all persons, equality and justice for all persons, citizenship, civility and mutual respect, consent of the governed, voting rights for all citizens, minority rights and personal and social responsibility.

Homeless pianist finds a places to play piano and drink coffee.