I squint hard to see something special in rude and crude people I too easily want to dismiss as not worth the trouble. Because they are trouble. Yet, like Matt, I have found they have value, too.

As a rule, mysteries are my novels of choice. But lately, a friend has been giving me other books that have no semblance of mystery in the sense of a genre; rather, mysteries of life. Two have had a profound influence on my thinking during the past month.

Elizabeth II of England, Britain’s longest-serving monarch and official head of the Church of England, died Thursday (Sept. 8) at Balmoral Castle in Scotland at age 96.

I grew up in a Punjabi household while living in one of the whitest towns in California. I was raised knowing and believing in Sikhism. I spent Sundays going to the gurdwara, a place of worship for Sikhs, and learning about the history from my uncles and dad.

Holocaust survivor and Spokane resident Carla Peperzak will join several Gonzaga University historians and representatives of Seattle’s Holocaust Center for Humanity to present “Remembering Our Past to Inform Our Future” tonight from 7-8:30 p.m. in the Hemmingson Ballroom.

Starting Sept. 8, “Finding Our Place in the Inland Northwest” — a new six-session documentary and discussion series — kicks off at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church. Organized through a partnership between the Human Rights Education Institute, Museum of North Idaho and the church, the series is intended to create opportunities for thoughtful small group public discussions about realities, challenges and opportunities that are part of life in the Inland Northwest.