Subtle Indignities: Why We Should Still “See” Race – Part 1

It’s been about 3 months since I wrote for our blog. That’s a long time. Truth is, things have been very busy – but they always have been and yet, in the past, I’ve always somehow found space in my life to do this, which I so love. Perhaps it is that I’ve started a new…

Where ‘insurance’ is 10 planks of wood

[An abridged version of this column appeared in the Concord Monitor on Feb. 26, 2012] When houses burn in the world from which I (Dan) come – Concord, New Hampshire to be precise – it’s a tragedy attended by fire engines, ambulances, and police. Loss of life is mercifully rare, and rarely does the fire consume…

What’s beautiful?

I’m not in the habit of shopping for dolls or conjuring up theories about the nature of beauty. But walking through Shoprite the other day, a discount retailer down the road from our home (think little Wal-Mart but cheaper and more crowded), I couldn’t help but notice something peculiar in one of the aisles. All…

Life in a taxi

 Picking up on the last entry about Dan’s and my welcome back to South African taxi life, here’s a bit more on this peculiar (to westerners) mode of transport that’s a necessary fact of life for so many South Africans, as seen through my sociologist lens… If you’ve never been to a third world country,…

All of South Africa in one taxi

Mid-morning on Saturday, the day after we arrived back in Cape Town, we needed to get from our temporary accommodation to where Puggy (our old, little Toyota) was stored by a dear friend. So, we did the natural thing and took a taxi – not a cab-type taxi, a minibus taxi. We stood by the…

To set the stage

The idea of starting a blog has been percolating for a couple of months, prompted from time to time by the nagging sense that black and white still make a curious couple, and by the need to reflect on why. That sense and need apply whether it’s Concord, New Hampshire (90% white), where we lately…