Lives in the Balance...

Lives in the Balance....A powerful, moving album by Jackson Browne. This album (released in 1986) along with 10,000 Maniacs' In My Tribe and Los Lobos' In the Light of the Moon has had a profound influence on my life's journey. Social justice before it was called social justice.

***Last night I attended a fund-raising dinner gala for Elmhurst Memorial Hospital and had the pleasure of listening to Mr. Andrew McKenna, development committee co-chairman for the Chicago 2016 Olympic Initiative. While I am a sportsman at heart, I could not help but ponder about the Olympics and how far it has moved from its original purpose. Now it is positioned as an "economic development" activity. I also think about the many people, some of them 'homeless' who might be "relocated" to make way for the Olympics.

Today, I had the opportunity to meet and listen to Cedric Jennings, whose final years in high school and the first two years in College form the basis of the biographical book 'A Hope in the Unseen' by Ron Suskind. He talked to the students of the First Year Seminar classes- the book being a required reading for students. I was quite surprised to see how much we had in common, despite growing up in different countries and cultures. The emphasis on hard work and growing from challenges resonated with me- I hope some students got it.

At the end of the day, a student came by to talk to me about a project, and during the course of conversation mentioned that his Fall internship/job might be cut because of the economic mess. The job loss situation is hitting many homes, and it is getting uglier. Which is why everyone should be flabbergasted and mad at the Big Three auto CEOs who flew private jets to DC to ask Congress for taxpayer money.