​"But every man is more than just himself; he also represents the unique, the very special and always significant and remarkable point at which the world's phenomena intersect, only once in this way and never again. That is why every man's story is important, eternal, sacred." -- Hermann Hesse, Demian, p.1 I give thanks to my mother and father. And to my mother's mother and father. And to my father's mother and father. I give thanks to their respective mothers and fathers

​"I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing. . . . It is a medicine necessary for the sound health of government. . . . God forbid that we should ever be twenty years without such a rebellion. . . . The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure." -- Thomas Jefferson​, as quoted in A People's History of the United States, p. 95 ​ Reading that last sentence there, I can't help but s

​"This is thy hour O Soul, thy free flight into the wordless, Away from books, away from art, the day erased, the lesson done, Thee fully forth emerging, silent, gazing, pondering the themes thou lovest best, Night, sleep, death and the stars." -- Walt Whitman​, A Clear Midnight. If you live in a city like Philadelphia, then you probably don't see many stars in the sky due to the light pollution. If you go to a rural or less populated area, let's say the mountains of west-ce

​"The will must be stronger than the skill." -- Muhammad Ali ​ Not unusually, I have chosen this week's quote with intention. First, let's acknowledge and recognize that we're at the start of Black History Month 2017. Muhammad Ali is one of the greatest Americans of African descent of the 20th century. Culturally, and one could say politically as well, he was ahead of his time, in that he gave a strong, confident, sometimes defiant voice and example to Americans of African