For myself

You stand majestically at the center of the universe

For many  

You stand on the edge of eternity

Without judgment

You toss… Read full post »

I grew up in Danville, a staunchly Republican town in Central Illinois. Our historical claim to fame was “Uncle Joe Cannon,” arguably one of the most powerful Speakers of the House of Representatives ever! But I had the privilege of growing up in a Democratic “Union” household… Read full post »

In my Sophomore year at Danville High School I had fallen in love. Like many other 16 year olds, I had fallen head over heals into my first real relationship. I was able to develop the kind of trust that comes with loving someone who loved me back. But unlike my… Read full post »

It is no accident that San Francisco offers the best example of diversity in America! It is reflected on the streets of San Francisco by local artists.

After a long illness that lasted nearly one year, I decided to heal myself by using my new digital camera to document the murals… Read full post »

In the early spring of 1963 I had just turned fourteen. I was a student at East Park Junior High School in Danville, Illinois. In many indigenous cultures fourteen is an age of metamorphosis that would require a ritual ceremony to heighten my transformation from adolescence to manhood. But like every… Read full post »

I had played the part of the best little boy in the world for so long, no one even suspected I was capable of deception. I was 16 years old when I was first smuggled into a bar on the campus of the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. I learned to… Read full post »

Preface: Most of you recognize my passion in the form of essays against tobacco and the tobacco industry. My forty years of struggle against them is most certainly an important part of what drives my passion. In fighting tobacco, I have been exposed to the darkest side of greed and corporate… Read full post »