Did you hear about the woman who climbed the stone pedestal of the Statue of Liberty to protest U.S. immigration policy? It was last July 4, and her actions prompted evacuation of the monument on one of its busiest days. The same woman, Therese Patricia Okoumou, staged a similar protest just a few weeks ago in Austin when she climbed to the roof of Southwest Key Programs, an agency that operates schools and shelters for unaccompanied immigrant children. The building is only four stories tall, but the protestor’s actions shut it down for a while and got people talking about family separation policy again.
Signs of Progress
For Wilshire Baptist Church
“Wildflowers in Progress, Do Not Mow.”
The sign didn’t say, “Do Not Walk,” so I parked the car and got out to see for myself, but I couldn’t see any wildflowers at all. Apparently, they were getting themselves ready down in the dirt and below the short winter grass. They were “in progress,” as the sign suggested, and I was being told to trust the sign and just be patient and wait.
Pick a Card
For Wilshire Baptist Church
I had a birthday a few weeks back, one of those big ones that people often make a big deal about, but I chose not to. I’m not in denial about getting older; I really just didn’t want the attention.
For the record, LeAnn’s birthday is the same week as mine, although a few years apart, and we always celebrate together. That’s how we ended up sharing our lives; we had a quiet birthday dinner together. One of our small celebrations this year was dinner with my parents at a steakhouse. It was all well and good and we almost got out of there without any hoopla, but a man came to our table and we were trapped.