One of the first things I did moving to California was to make a pilgrimage to Santa Monica Beach. I wanted to see the place where the fictional Dr. Marcus Welby would talk to his patients about not giving up, fighting for the next chance or saying yes to that one in a thousand treatment that could save their lives. Dr. Welby would not rest until he found the reason for the condition, no matter that his solution was far out of his general practitioner area of expertise. He was all knowing, all caring and had the good sense to select Dr. Steven Kiley as a bit of eye candy.

Is it possible to find a cultural truth? Will a day come when we accept the good and bad things about our cultural influences? Can we accept our various ancestors without hurt and rancor? Judging from the past year or so probably not. Perhaps learning about our past is much like the Telephone game many of us experienced in a school classroom.

A long time ago I volunteered at a conference for Deaf/Blind participants held at Gallaudet University. It was a lot of fun. There were daily challenges to keep up with the participants who wanted to go everywhere and do everything. I was joyfully run ragged. I have one specific memory, a lesson that sticks with me to this day on expanding thinking beyond myself.

Pastor Grizzard of Amazing Grace Baptist Church in Canton, North Carolina plans to burn versions of the bible, music and other objects that are not in alignment with his church’s belief system. One of the definitions of hubris is pride of presumption. Here are the exact words copied from a cached version of the website:

For this week I want to focus on people that made me smile, gave me hope or fed my brain cells. These folks reminded me that fun, creativity and exploration are worthy things to concentrate on when you get tired of reality television or adults behaving badly.