I’m so pleased this week, to feature another in this series of musings on growing up in Pittsburgh and growing up with the Kerry campaign:

The Little House, Part 3: The Prayers From the Porch Swing
Rediscovering My Faith as a Call to Service

by Jessica Szabo

The first time I put on a Kerry campaign shirt, I reached into my jewelry box on a whim and grabbed a tiny gold necklace I’d been given years before, a pendant with Mary, the mother of Jesus, engraved in the center. The necklace was a high school graduation gift from my father. I wore it for a time when he gave it to me, but it had been hanging on a hook in my jewelry box since college, a time when I made several attempts to completely re-invent myself into something I never even wanted to be in an effort to fit in with one of the little cliques at the small school I attended.

At thirty-two I know I would have made more genuine friends if I had just been myself, but at nineteen and twenty I was lonely and a bit naïve. I never did anything truly dangerous, just plenty of silly things I would have been better off not doing. I’d spend all (more…)

Is anybody there?
Does anybody care?
Does anybody see what I see?

They want to me to quit; they say
John, give up the fight
Still to England I say
Good night, forever, good night!
For I have crossed the Rubicon
Let the bridge be burned behind me
Come what may, come what may

Commitment!

Listening to William Daniels’ stirring performance of John Adams’ song from the Sherman Edwards musical 1776 in this clip, you can hear the fireworks and clanging bells of freedom in the music. He’s singing to an empty chamber, but soon and forever, his vision of independence from tyranny will be heard by millions.

Those of us who have scanned the airwaves for any and every appearance by John Kerry over the last few years (even during the election, you had to keep a weather eye on the (more…)

This week, we received two wonderful stories from two excellent young writers, good enough to warrant their own entries. 

First, in honor of Independence Day (and you have to admit Iowans are known for being independent-minded!), newgeneration offers us this memory:

“Thank You, Iowa”

I wanted to make sure the first vote I cast in the Iowa caucus was a smart one, so when I started college in the fall of 2003, I went to see every presidential candidate I could. As the candidates continued to clarify their positions, I switched allegiances more times than I can count. By about four days before the caucuses, I finally had it narrowed down to two; the final deciding factor in Kerry’s favor was that his standing in the polls had suddenly taken a significant upswing, while the numbers for my other favorite candidate, Dick Gephardt, were slowly but steadily dropping. So, on caucus day, (more…)

We are fortunate to have a special Fourth of July salute to Teresa Heinz Kerry, another evocative Pittsburgh memory from Jessica Szabo:

The Little House Part 2: Little Touches of Pittsburgh

The little house 26 miles outside of Pittsburgh sits waiting for its copper pipes, re-claimed fixtures, and tankless water heater in what I can only imagine is a beautiful green Pennsylvania summer. I haven’t been home in a few years because of the cost of travel, and have had to rely on little touches of the Pittsburgh area to get me through: a few pounds of Nicholas coffee, some photos sent by relatives, the Post-Gazette online in the morning, (more…)