Kevin strikes again.
A group of us gathered today to talk to him – to learn from him about his work with indigenous peoples in the UN community. Before he began, someone mentioned something about his lecture.
He calmly replied:
It won’t be a lecture; it will be more of a meander.
See you along the Trail.
In the course of a meeting yesterday, my friend Kevin and I had a brief exchange about a possible site for a meeting that reflected on the passage of time and its effects on all of us.
Kevin: I’ve always wondered what that building looked like on the inside.
Mark (me): Past glory is the word I would use.
Kevin: Well isn’t that true for all of us.
Mark (me): Indeed.
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Friends
Life can change in the twinkling of an eye – or at least very quickly some times.
On Monday, an attorney representing Edward Hart Turner had persuaded a U.S. District Court to block, temporarily, Turner’s execution. The argument did not dispute Turner’s guilt. Rather it focused on a Department of Corrections policy that apparently prevented Turner from getting tests about his mental health at the time of killings.
It appeared that the Mississippi would step back and determine if Turner was mentally ill before it decided if it would take his life.
Today things changed. Quickly. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the stay. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to stay the execution. The Governor of Mississippi refused a reprieve.
And Turner received a lethal injection this evening – 8 February 2012 – as scheduled.
Nothing can defend the brutal murders of Eddie Brooks and Everett Curry.
However, nothing can justify execution by the state of someone whose mental health, and ability to understand what they are doing, is in question.
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Capital Punishment, Death Penalty
Here’s the deal on the Service Corps at Ghost Ranch:
you pay half-price for room and meals;
you kick in $75;
you work 20 hours or more a week;
and you get a T-shirt.
Plus you get a week at the ranch!
Tricia and I took part last year.
We weeded.
Cut wood.
Rebuilt signs.
Made a supply run to Santa Fe.
Painted.
Met some great folks.
I took some pictures, too.
This was the first time we had done this.
It probably will not be the last.
On the one hand,
participation in the Service Corps involved paying
to do work that I go out of my way
to avoid doing at any of the places I call home.
On the other hand,
participation in the Service Corps provided an opportunity
to meet and work with amazing people and
to make a difference at a place that means a great deal to m
The other hand wins.
16 July 2011
Filed under Family, Friends, Ghost Ranch People, Photo
Image via Wikipedia
It was three years of drudgery; it was thirty-six months of joy.
It started in a small city; it involved a metropolitan area.
Yes. I have read my share of novels by Charles Dickens. And I enjoyed them.
I was … an English major!
I have fond memories of reading Dickens and even fonder memories of the classes taught by Dr. Sells and Dr. Bleasby in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania.
In London with the college choir, several of us broke away from the guided tour to visit the Dickens Museum.
A smile comes over my face and a mist covers my eyes.
Happy 200th, Mr. Dickens.
I wonder what you would write today?
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Books
Reuters reports that, on Monday, a federal judge on Monday temporarily halted the scheduled execution of Edwin Hart Turner in Mississippi. The ruling will allow attorneys to argue whether the state has improperly kept Turner from getting a psychiatric evaluation. The state was to execute Turner tomorrow – February 8.
The argument is not that Turner is innocent. He was convicted of killing Eddie Brooks and Everett Curry in two separate incidents in Carroll County,
The argument hinges on Turner’s mental health and whether the Mississippi Department of Corrections had improperly prevented a psychiatric evaluation of Turner. The argument goes on to say that information related to his mental health had not been presented during the trial.
His attorney argues that Turner has a “long and extensive” history of mental illness. He shot himself with a rifle when he was 18. He survived but suffered disfiguring wounds to his face.
Courts have established that inmates who are insane – so out of touch with reality that they do not know right from wrong and cannot understand their punishment or the purpose of it – cannot be executed (Ford v. Wainwright ). The Supreme Court has also held that a mentally retarded individual cannot be executed (Atkins v. Virginia).
The court order postpones the execution until at least February 20.
If you live in Mississippi, you can contact the governor and ask him to halt Edwin Hart Turner’s execution.
The Hon. Phil Bryant
Governor of Mississippi
(601)359-3150
If, like me, you live elsewhere, you can sign a petition to Mississippi officials.
Calling for a halt to this execution in no way condones Turner’s acts. It does not diminish the deaths of Eddie Brooks and Everett Curry. It does not minimize the grief of those who love them.
It does say that the state – any state – should not kill – particularly someone who is mentally ill.
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Capital Punishment, Death Penalty
True, no people appear.
But people were there.
The paint on the railing was worn.
Then Dennis and I came along
and transformed it into beauty.
Dennis painted.
I held the cardboard
to protect the stones.
Kind of a mindless job,
but it fit my skill set.
And someone had to do it.
15 July 2011
Filed under Ghost Ranch People, Photo
A calm, ordered, organized man,
nonetheless, at times
I can befuddle
even Dennis,
one of the Ghost Ranch Service Corps leaders
in the summer of 2011
16 July 2011
Filed under Ghost Ranch People, Photo
St. James Presbyterian Church extended to me the privilege of preaching today. The congregation began their observance of Black History Month.
As I worked on the sermon, I thought of a prayer that I had remembered and included in the worship service for the Presbytery of New York City’s worship service celebrating the life, ministry, and witness of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The Rev. Dr. Otis Turner, one of my mentors, wrote the prayer. It reads in part:
We thank you for apostles, martyrs, leaders, and saints
And for humble folk whose names were never in the news.
But are recorded in your book of life.
God has blessed me. I have known many humble folk who have tirelessly pursued justice for all God’s children, loved courageously, and witnessed boldly. I know many who do so today. I give thanks to God.
See you along the trail.
After preaching at St. James Presbyterian Church, a true blessing, I walked a short way up 141st Street to visit my first National Park of the year. Historians believe that the Hamilton Grange National Memorial is the only home owned by Founding Father Alexander Hamilton.
The home has an interesting tale. It stands on its third site – having been moved twice as the city grew around it. Hamilton owned the land.
The site involves a brief tour. Only a few rooms on the first floor are open to the public. There is an informative display and two movies. One tells the amazing story of moving the Grange. The second move involved the use of hydraulics and lifting – yes lifting – the building over the church beside it. The second tells the amazing story of Alexander Hamilton. It hooked me. I need to learn more.
From the Grange, I walked home through St. Nicholas Park and the City College of New York on a beautiful, cool January day.
See you along the Trail.
Filed under National Park, Photo
