I need to make some apologies after my article in the Alley last month. The article praised Ventura Village, but when I wrote the article I forgot that the Alley serves many neighborhoods, not just Ventura Village. The Alley staff recognized the problem, but because I submitted my article so close to the deadline, they […]
This article may sound like I’m currying favor, or being really self-serving, but I want to praise what I see in the Alley and in Ventura Village. When I started writing articles for the Alley five years or so ago, I didn’t really expect anyone to read them. I thought this was a small neighborhood
In Praise of Ventura Village Read More »
It was about forty yards to the gallows. I watched the bare brown back of the prisoner marching in front of me. He walked clumsily with his bound arms, but quite steadily, with that bobbing gait of the Indian who never straightens his knees. At each step his muscles slid neatly into place, the lock
Like many people in this part of Minneapolis, I am continually reminded of the challenges facing our neighborhoods. High crime rates, limited resources, livability crimes, drug use…. you know the list as well as I do. Aside from my personal observations, I hear about the challenges the members at Peace House Community deal with every
Welcome to 2024! On behalf of Peace House Community and its members, volunteers, and staff, we wish you a peaceful year. We also want to thank you for getting us through 2023. Well, we didn’t just get through it; in some ways we thrived. Way back in the second half of 2022, PHC’s Board of
Mr. Ivanovich goes by several names. Sometimes he’s Mikey. Sometimes he’s Shorty. Sometimes he’s White Shorty, to separate him from the two Black Shortys who come to Peace House Community. (It doesn’t help, because we have two White Shortys who come to PHC.) But whatever you call him, he’s always ready to talk. Mikey’s been
Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly at first. It’s worth doing poorly many times until you get good at it.-Paul Tracy (or maybe it was Zig Ziglar; I can’t remember which one said it.) Go on failing. Go on. Only next time, try to fail better. -Samuel Beckett As someone who grew up receiving
Among my other duties, I help coordinate the adult education series at the church that I attend. This fall and winter we have had various congregation members speak about the intersection of their vocation and their faith. In other words, how does their faith affect their work, and how does their work help them see
We Need Each Other Read More »
Dave and Ray Davies, the brothers who led the British band The Kinks since the 1960s, have a famously volatile relationship. Even though they managed to stay in a band together for over 40 years, they often despised each other and had explosive arguments. They addressed their relationship in the song “Hatred (A Duet)”, which
Conflict: The Doorway to Greatness Read More »
