Turkeys Suspended On The Climbing Structure
I ran into a friend’s mother the other day. I’ve known this woman and her daughter for more than thirty years. A side benefit of living within fifty miles of where I grew up. “We are going to The Grill Room for Thanksgiving,” she responded after I queried about her plans for the upcoming holiday. “My daughter used to do it but ever since her father died she hasn’t been able to. You know how close they were…” Continue reading…
I don’t know if anyone caught the news last week. On September 11 a textile factory fire in Karachi, Pakistan killed 289 workers. The factory made jeans destined for Europe. In reading about this tragedy and why it happened I was reminded of a quote in an investigative report on Apple and its Asian manufacturer Foxconn in the New York Times in January 2012. The series focused on the too-often fatal working conditions for employees who polished aluminum iPad cases. The quote by MIT professor, Nicholas Ashford, was, “If it were terribly difficult to deal with aluminum dust, I would understand. But do you know how easy dust is to control? It’s called ventilation. We solved this problem over a century ago.” Jeans? iPads? A profoundly sad common denominator…these tragedies were avoidable. Continue reading…
“I have a piece of paper that I’ve kept for more than twenty years. On it are two questions. ‘What do you want?‘ and ‘What are you willing to do to get it?’” said Sylvia Ferrell-Jones, President and CEO of the YWCA of Boston. Ms. Ferrell-Jones is a community leader who is advancing Greater Boston’s understanding of social justice and change. She and I happened to be guests at a dinner party of a mutual friend. Her comments emerged during a discussion among attendees about her organization’s goals: to serve Boston’s neighborhoods where health, education and safety inequities are most significant. It is against these formidable challenges that she measures progress. Continue reading…