How Often Does This Happen?

How often do you get to run into your college sweetheart and come to a new level of respect and admiration for them?

I feel that way about Jocelyn and the work she does. When I Google her the words "Peace Activist" appear along side her name. Her stories of world travel are filled with testimonials of her interactions with people in need.

She comes from a deeply religious background and lives a life that reflects the parts of the Gospel a schlepy disgruntled atheist/supposed to be Jewish jerk like myself can appreciate.

One of my fears is if she reads this she might write or say something equally sappy about how my political activism from days gone by influenced her in some way in what she does today. I'd like to discount that before that happens. I don't think there's any half-stepping in the work she has been doing; it's all her.

Keep it up, peace on earth can be had for all.


Here's a sample of what she's up to.

As Seen In The Voice

When I was a teenager growing in New York I dreamed that somehow the pictures I was taking with a Canon AE-1 would one day get me a job working along side Sylvia Plachy at the Village Voice. Fast forward a whole bunch of years and I have finally earned a byline.

For a about a year now I have been chronically the rapid change in my neighborhood but never thought to pursue the publication of these images. Then I saw one of my neighbors who was displaced by what's been happening in my community being interviewed by a reporter and I butted in.

It took some doing over the telephone but the folks at the Voice's Photo Department ran with my low-resolution image.

Truthfully though I wish they went with this image instead. I think it says more about what's happening in my neighborhood.

As Seen In The Voice

When I was a teenager growing in New York I dreamed that somehow the pictures I was taking with a Canon AE-1 would one day get me a job working along side Sylvia Plachy at the Village Voice. Fast forward a whole bunch of years and I have finally earned a byline.

For a about a year now I have been chronically the rapid change in my neighborhood but never thought to pursue the publication of these images. Then I saw one of my neighbors who was displaced by what's been happening in my community being interviewed by a reporter and I butted in.

It took some doing over the telephone but the folks at the Voice's Photo Department ran with my low-resolution image.

Truthfully though I wish they went with this image instead. I think it says more about what's happening in my neighborhood.

"Jamaica Tours"

Here's the deal for nearly all Americans who trvel to Jamaica:

Most folks will only get one or two weeks vacation a year and may choose to spend one of those weeks in Jamaica.

They will fly into Montego Bay, wait on line for custons where they don't need to show a passport - - if you're Jamaican you will need to go to another line and have your suit cases carefully inspected and show proper trvel documents too.

Nearly every American who travels to Jamaica who enters the country at the airport will wait in a special reception area that the large resort they're staying at provides at the airport.

The truck pictured above gathers the luggage so that it arrives before the coach bus does to the resort from the airport - - pretty cool eh?

Once at the resorts, the Americans are likely to spend their entire time at the resort, rarely traveling outside.

Amantha and I haven't yet travelled in this fashion and we're happy for it too. However this confuses some Jamaicans as many thought we came into Ocho Rios via one of the large cruise ships that dock daily and leave nightly each day at Ocho Rios, Negril or Montego Bay. Those folks might see one or two attractions, shop at duty-free stores before departing.

Point is most Americans have limited contact with Jamaica and Jamaicans while vacationing there. They might not go to the same stores, eat at the same places, swim in the same waters, lie about on the same beaches, etc. This might be their loss.

I want to recommend Jamaica as a travel destination to those willing to honestly travel. Amantha and I had a wonderful and relaxing stay in Jamaica.

Standing Water

I got this while out with my high school students on our weekly photostroll. One of my students declares, "You see people, this what you need to be taking pictures of!". He was tiring of the girls in the group who want to take picutres of every cute guy they see.

Hearing this, one of the workers hauling these water fountion jugs yells back, "Why'ya want to take pictures of that?!"

Classic Noo Yawk.

Snap Shots Of A Friend

Audio File

Ogundameji Is Dead

A most dear friend died last night after years of pain and suffering. He will be missed.


We knew Joe Rivera as Jose Arguelles and jokingly called him Pepito. As a very large man of great girth and strength he was equally warm and generous as well as mysterious.

He loved Fugazi, played percussion, drew, recorded and edited sound and video and practiced the martial arts. He styled himself as a revolutionary and had great compassion for people. He was a strong advocate for Puerto Rican independence and studied socialism in depth.

As a student at the City University of New York our paths met and we struggled together in the fight to preserve what was left of the historic mission of that institution and became great friends.

This man of gargantuan strength was my sparring partner for a couple of years. He studied and gained rank in Capoeira and held a dan in Aikido. Realizing our combined studies in Japanese martial arts left our punching technique lacking, we studied Wing Chung together and preceded to knock each other senseless for several months.

This constant struggle to grapple and gain an advantage over an opponent says much about Joe and his life. He struggled at school, struggled on the streets, struggled with personal relationships, struggled with politics and his own health.

Against the odds and the prognosis of death in six months, he beat back cancer with organic remedies and exercise and tried to remain healthy. His control over his weight however became a larger issue. After a hip and back injury his mobility became limited. We soon saw less of him at political meetings, social events and at work. He soon lost control of his weight and his back problems intensified to the point where he herniated several discs which caused more health issues.

Riddled with pain and his movements nearly all but restricted, he rarely left home. An infection set in on his leg that would not heal. On Friday this infection took away the last breath that fueled his ki and stopped the heart we knew as a a tremendous and cherished soul.