26 APR 2024 · On vacation, we travel for rest, relaxation & adventure. Other times, we brace ourselves and head out into a great unknown to bear witness, to expose ourselves to the horrors of history, to learn about people and actions that have impacted countless others, for generations, so we don’t let it happen again. Visiting the Theresienstadt and Auschwitz concentration camps years ago was like that for me. Seeing where the horrors took place and hearing from people who lived it made history come alive in a very different way. Yes, it was painful, but unlike so many Jews, including my great uncles, I got to walk out and reboard the bus. In many ways, my recent civil rights trip to Georgia and Alabama was like that. When you’re face to face with people who were there, on the very ground where atrocities were committed, you can’t pretend it didn’t happen. And knowing can lead to action. As a child, outside of Boston in the early 1960’s, I heard about the civil rights movement. Of course, everyone is created equal, I thought, no matter their skin color. Why then could Hattie, our cleaning woman’s daughter, come and play at my house but I wasn’t allowed to visit her? If her neighborhood was dangerous, as my father warned, why did she live there? The more I’ve learned about our country’s history, from slavery, through Jim Crow, the great migration, the fight for voting rights, police brutality to young black men, and mass incarceration, the more curious I’ve been to hear personal stories, especially from those who were on the front lines. As with Holocaust survivors, time is running out to hear first person testimonies from Bloody Sunday on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, and from the park in Birmingham where vicious dogs and high-power water hoses were set on Black children. Reading books, listening to podcasts, and watching films about the arc of African American history is powerful and, I believe, essential. To understand race relations in the U.S. requires an understanding of what’s taken place for hundreds of years and what is taking place today. But sitting with people – face to face – and hearing how their lives have been defined by the civil rights movement provides a deeper level of impact. “I don’t know what it’s gonna take to make the world right. I do know that you should not be sitting, waiting for it to happen, for somebody else to do it.” That’s the voice of Joanne Bland, a wise, passionate, straight talking, 70-year-old Black woman from Selma who vividly recalls staring into the window of the local drugstore where only the white kids could order sodas and sit at the counter. We met her in a large, dark space filled with artifacts and memorabilia from her life of activism. As a child, she told us, the women of her church were organizing to be able to vote in the upcoming elections. Then Reverend Martin Luther King Jr came to town and organized a Sunday protest march across the Edmond Pettus bridge. Joanne was 11 and she went with her then 15 year old sister, Lynda. When they came up over the high point on the bridge, they saw sheriff’s deputies, mounted on horseback, blocking their path. Within minutes, they were being chased and beaten. Lynda sustained serious head injuries but a few days later, stitched up and ready for more, Joanne’s sister went on to be the youngest person to march all the way from Selma to Montgomery. Joanne Bland is among many featured in an excellent NPR podcast series entitled “White Lies” from which this audio was taken. “When you talk about reconciliation, you have to talk about a way to distribute the power and nobody wants to give up any power. Any time there’s a minute shift in power, from the people who are holding the power, a battle ensues. I can give you a perfect example: the signing of the Voting Rights Act in 1965. Tell me one year it has not been under attack. C’mon, I’m listening. So, if voting’s not important, why would you try to keep it away from me and why would you try to stop people from voting after they get the right to vote if it wasn’t important?” Joanne Bland co-founded the National Voting Rights Museum in Selma. Her sister Lynda Blackmon Lowery’s book “Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom – My Story of the 1965 Selma Voting Rights March” is appropriate for young readers and is available on Amazon. In Birmingham, Alabama, we had the privilege of spending an hour with the Bishop Calvin Wallace Woods Senior, perhaps the feistiest, most passionate 90 year old I’ll ever meet. He told us about the March on Washington in ’63, what it was like the day the 16th Street Baptist church was bombed and those four young girls were killed. Hearing his voice crack as he shared the pain he and others endured at the hands of Bull Connor, then commissioner of public safety in Birmingham, was so powerful. “During the movement, the Lord brought different songs to us. Sometimes, we didn’t know what people were going to sing but he always taught us to join in with those songs of heaven that he gave us. And let’s begin with one we used to sing, “I ain’t gonna let nobody turn me around, turn me around. I’m gonna keep on a walkin’, I’m gonna keep on a talkin’, marching up to freedom land.” Our group of 26 was both white and Jewish and it was evident that each of us felt the pain and applauded the courage of these civil rights heroes. We returned to our homes, changed and resolved to do more, as the battle for voting rights continues. White Lies on NPR http://npr.org/whitelies) See the https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yxAMUh4i6c of Bishop Calvin Wallace Woods Snr. speaks to our Etgar 36 group at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yxAMUh4i6c To purchase "Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom: My Story of the 1965 Selma Voting Rights March" on https://www.amazon.com/Turning-15-Road-Freedom-Voting-ebook/dp/B00KWG9J3Q/ref=sr_1_1?crid=L8MY8HX4IZ5V&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.6_xxEGWushkq6o17Ten5jyg9aPx4ziePIZ08MZ57Ajf1auRQ4oO5XHxHnlVrB9VU0XIxSC5pWQga-xRWxeBzoRaGAWGS2v6Mjabtk1VnEsgIBgJjA4r3yNKPUZnvlTJ0_8TWgm7IAuoeF-U0ILxeRuvePxpNVeBGxCkQzUn_lwuWV2mJOHdW3WLmiCgeQUNbdQ-P0yxel-b3AygRvCcsJAHGwSiwjU0y0MrHMd6U_8Q.N3FXXt_IdmUa21l_6ZfTMA-wu6qn8s4x804Q_ESqRdI&dib_tag=se&keywords=turning+15+on+the+road+to+freedom&qid=1714076701&sprefix=Turning+15%2Caps%2C202&sr=8-1 go to https://www.amazon.com/Turning-15-Road-Freedom-Voting-ebook/dp/B00KWG9J3Q/ref=sr_1_1?crid=L8MY8HX4IZ5V&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.6_xxEGWushkq6o17Ten5jyg9aPx4ziePIZ08MZ57Ajf1auRQ4oO5XHxHnlVrB9VU0XIxSC5pWQga-xRWxeBzoRaGAWGS2v6Mjabtk1VnEsgIBgJjA4r3yNKPUZnvlTJ0_8TWgm7IAuoeF-U0ILxeRuvePxpNVeBGxCkQzUn_lwuWV2mJOHdW3WLmiCgeQUNbdQ-P0yxel-b3AygRvCcsJAHGwSiwjU0y0MrHMd6U_8Q.N3FXXt_IdmUa21l_6ZfTMA-wu6qn8s4x804Q_ESqRdI&dib_tag=se&keywords=turning+15+on+the+road+to+freedom&qid=1714076701&sprefix=Turning+15%2Caps%2C202&sr=8-1 Joanne’s book, “By Accident: A Memoir of Letting Go” is now available from your favorite online book seller. Stay tuned to hear if Joanne will be speaking at a bookstore near you. If you’re interested in having her come to your local bookstore, contact her directly at joannergreene@gmail.com or get updates on her website at joanne-greene.com and make sure to sign up for her newsletter!

5 APR 2024 · Joanne’s book, “By Accident: A Memoir of Letting Go” is now available from your favorite online book seller. Stay tuned to hear if Joanne will be speaking at a bookstore near you. If you’re interested in having her come to your local bookstore, contact her directly at joannergreene@gmail.com or get updates on her website at joanne-greene.com and make sure to sign up for her newsletter! SCRIPT: In June of 1990, in a Wellesley College commencement speech, former first lady Barbara Bush said, “At the end of your life, you will never regret not having passed one more test, winning one more verdict, or not closing one more deal. You will regret time not spent with a husband, a child, a friend, or a parent.” I’ve held on to that piece of wisdom, knowing deep in my soul that what matters most to me is my relationships, how I give, receive, and grow as a person, not what I accomplish externally. Recently, for my seventieth birthday, my children created a list of 70 tips for life that they’ve learned from me. What a gift. It’s my values, my truth, my quirks, and my legacy all in one document. I’ve apparently shown them that being in nature, hiking and reading, dancing and celebrating, maintaining strong friendships, and showing up for people when they’re hurting or facing a challenge are key to a meaningful life. Keeping promises, maintaining open, welcoming arms to new family members, working on yourself at every stage of life, believing in magic and exploring spirituality in whatever way works for you are all things I strive to do, and it fills my heart that they noticed. Apparently, I taught them to try to be humble, to live life fully, to be generous, and know when to laugh at your own expense, to be a hugger, to never miss a chance at a sales rack, and to love every dog. (The canine imperative was repeated in various forms. I guess I really made the point.) After continually overbooking yourself, they wrote, just learn to lay low. Go to the spa and get massages, invest in your own rejuvenation. Material things don’t bring happiness, spend your money on health and education, travel – there is so much to discover in the world, and always remember where you came from, honoring generations past by sharing their stories and traditions with the next generations. Never doubt the worth of a good therapist, never turn down the opportunity for adventure, be spontaneous, smile, and give, give, give. The best gift is a lasting memory, consume the news even though it’s painful, cherish and foster your community, they show up for you when you need them. Learn to cook healthy food to feed yourself and your family and to bring people together. Never miss a Stevie Wonder concert, check in on people regularly, try not to put a picture of a naked guy riding a bike as your social media cover photo, but if you accidentally do, as admittedly I did, know that you will never live it down. To be a grandparent is to give, encourage your kids to actually take a break by being a genuine caregiver to your grandkids, be your grandchildren’s safe space and also their most fun playmate. Do fashion shows of your latest purchases and dramatically explain the discount, pick a partner who makes you laugh and holds you when you cry, light the Shabbat candles, take a hot tub under a starry night sky, journal regularly, and understand the other side, regardless of the context. Letting go, I believe and now they do too, is a lifelong process and age is only a number. Disabilities are nothing to be afraid of. Treat everyone with respect and love. That one just tells me that they were watching. And Be Extra. Life is too precious to play small. If this is what I’ve shown them….if this is how I’m remembered…I’ve accomplished enough.

22 MAR 2024 · Joanne’s book, “By Accident: A Memoir of Letting Go” is now available from your favorite online book seller. Stay tuned to hear if Joanne will be speaking at a bookstore near you. If you’re interested in having her come to your local bookstore, contact her directly at joannergreene@gmail.com or get updates on her website at joanne-greene.com and make sure to sign up for her newsletter! In This Story... I pack my suitcase. You’d think the more one travels, the simpler it would be to pack. But packing defies logic. The litany of “what ifs” that inevitably course through my mind when staring at an empty suitcase seems to grow. Do I start with the shoes and work my up or pick a color palette? Who will I see on the trip and what will they be wearing? Will I encounter self-appointed fashion police, i.e. women who eye your outfit and promptly place you in a category. She shops at Marshall’s. That might be said about me.  I might want to look edgy but appropriate – funky, yet classy. Clothing should flatter one’s figure and must take age into consideration. No puffy sleeves, crop tops, or short skirts for me. Not anymore.   Packing should be easier as dress codes have been replaced by the ubiquitous yoga pants and oversized sweater ….jeans with a solid colored top and a light jacket. But which jeans? And which yoga pants? And can jeans and yoga pants really take you anywhere in the country, much less the world, as long as you have the right shoes? I’m exhausted already.   Let’s start with the givens, where I limit myself to a carry-on and maybean oversized purse-type thing for the flight. That is unless the trip is at least two weeks or involves multiple climates. Wear the clunkiest shoes – certainly boots if they’re coming on the trip –to conserve precious luggage space. Condense the toiletries when staying in hotels that likely offer free shampoo, conditioner, body lotion & a hair dryer. Fussy about your products? Then just bring enough for the trip. And remember your pills. That one is critical. Stuff happens so prepare for the unexpected and bring extras in case you’re snowed in, the flight gets cancelled, or, God forbid, you break a bone and end up in a hospital. Essentials, these days, include charging devices, above all, an iPad, a Kindle, iphone and Apple watch. I mean, what if there’s a moment without entertainment or stimulation? I admit it, I’m hooked on the gear. ‘Course the most valuable function of my Apple watch is finding the iPhone that I misplace multiple times per day.   At this very moment, I’m writing about packing instead of packing. We're leaving on another trip the day after tomorrow and once again I will obsess about outfits and weather and, above all shoes. Comfort must be the determining factor but we're going to LA where style matters. I'm 70 but I'm still very much alive. It shouldn't matter what I wear, right? But it does and I still have to deceide. Scratch that. I GET to decide. 

1 MAR 2024 · There must be an angel on my shoulder. How else can I account for the fact that - a) My hair didn’t go up in flames the morning I lit the firepit with the gas up too high - b) I wasn’t hit by the silent hybrid lexus on Birdie Drive while walking the dog - c) I didn’t trip over the crack in the sidewalk while walking too fast after almost being hit by the hybrid Lexus And then, of course, there are the other notable facts. I wasn’t killed in the accident...the colon cancer was only stage one...the lung resection showed no cancer at all. Some might say that I’ve been lucky. Others call me unlucky, to lose both parents and both siblings before reaching 60. But I choose, instead, in my wiser, more evolved moments, to focus on the fact that I had them in my life for as long as I did. Counting blessings can work when one is not depressed. I’m proof! And that is why I’m not letting all of those pesky aging things get me down. Nope. Not me. Sure there’s a benign brain tumor that has to be checked each year; the TMJ disorder that makes me wear an ugly mouthguard and has me eating mush whenever it flares; there’s eczema in my ear; GERD & Barret’s Esophagus which requires daily medication and a periodic edoscopy; I had my cataracts removed and take eye vitamins twice daily to slow down the macular degeneration and then there’s oh so commonplace, wait, why did I walk into this room?. But all of this is manageable. Really manageable. In fact, there’s humor if you’re willing to go there. I celebrated my 70th birthday with a gaggle of friends in Costa Rica, dear friends, friends who were always positive, never complaining, always on time, who stood up after falling saying “I’m fine!” (OKAY, I was one of those people. What’s a bruise anyway?) We hiked through rainforests and cloud forests, found the elusive sloth, the quetzel, a brightly colored tree frog, and even a taranchula with the help of Stiven, our exceptional guide,.We laughed hysterically as white faced capuchin monkeys hopped onto our table and stole the pineapple slices out of our pina coladas. We swam in the warmest Pacific ocean we’d ever encountered and zip lined in Monteverde, even taking on the Tarzan swing. If this is 70, I’m all in. And then….on the last day of the trip…Fred and I had the biggest thrill of all – the healthy birth of our grandson, Luca Samuel Greene. So what do I think of aging? So far so good. Yes there are wrinkles and crepey skin, yes I need periodic naps and am told that I sometimes repeat myself. But, hey, I’m not going to stop pushing the envelope, taking reasonable risks, and surrounding myself with loving, authentic, smart, honest people because that’s what makes the journey rich and meaningful. ## ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Joanne’s book, “By Accident: A Memoir of Letting Go” is now available from your favorite online book seller. Stay tuned to hear if Joanne will be speaking at a bookstore near you. If you’re interested in having her come to your local bookstore, contact her directly at joannergreene@gmail.com or get updates on her website at joanne-greene.com and make sure to sign up for her newsletter!

16 FEB 2024 · Women on the radio receive letters from prisoners. It's a given. I only responded once and it was when I was contacted by Bill Harris, of the Symbionese Liberation Army, the small band of revolutionaries who had kidnapped newspaper heiress Patty Hearst in 1974. Hear the full story of my experience with a man the FBI called one of the first terrorists to emerge from the American left. Joanne’s book, “By Accident: A Memoir of Letting Go” is now available from your favorite online book seller. Stay tuned to hear if Joanne will be speaking at a bookstore near you. If you’re interested in having her come to your local bookstore, contact her directly at joannergreene@gmail.com or get updates on her website at joanne-greene.com and make sure to sign up for her newsletter!

2 FEB 2024 · What does it mean to spread love everywhere you go, to make those who cross your path happier for having done so. Balancing open heartedness with cynicism can be tricky but in a world where hate pervades, we could a lot more love. Joanne’s book, “By Accident: A Memoir of Letting Go” is now available from your favorite online book seller. Stay tuned to hear if Joanne will be speaking at a bookstore near you. If you’re interested in having her come to your local bookstore, contact her directly at joannergreene@gmail.com or get updates on her website at joanne-greene.com and make sure to sign up for her newsletter!

19 JAN 2024 · Many, if not most, of us love the beach. Some of the best memories of my childhood are of the timelessness, the smell of the ocean, the sound of the waves crashing, and the warmth of the sand and the air at Nantasket Beach, near Boston. Our childhood "happy places" are good to return to in our minds when we're feeling unhappy, unsaafe, or unmoored. Try it! Joanne’s book, “By Accident: A Memoir of Letting Go” is now available from your favorite online book seller. Stay tuned to hear if Joanne will be speaking at a bookstore near you. If you’re interested in having her come to your local bookstore, contact her directly at joannergreene@gmail.com or get updates on her website at joanne-greene.com and make sure to sign up for her newsletter!

5 JAN 2024 · Often, we hold two truths simultaneously. It's a skill that humans develop, an art form for some of us. In this episode of "In This Story," Joanne Greene speaks about dualities - about the messages we tell ourselves and how we're always balancing an inclination toward goodness and getting away with something. Here's an example of a duality: religion is the source of much conflict; religion is also what helps people to forgive, self-reflect, and rise about our instinct to get revenge. Joanne’s book, “By Accident: A Memoir of Letting Go” is now available from your favorite online book seller. Stay tuned to hear if Joanne will be speaking at a bookstore near you. If you’re interested in having her come to your local bookstore, contact her directly at joannergreene@gmail.com or get updates on her website at joanne-greene.com and make sure to sign up for her newsletter!

22 DEC 2023 · Some us have internal thermostats that reliably work. We overheat when everyone around us feels more. Some of us, though, women of a certain age, have heating and cooling systems with minds of their own. In this episode, Joanne speaks of the unspeakable...as least as far as her mother taught her. You don't discuss periods, or private parts, or anything to do with the reproductive system. You're probably not surprised that Joanne dismissed that instruction. Joanne’s book, “By Accident: A Memoir of Letting Go” is now available from your favorite online book seller. Stay tuned to hear if Joanne will be speaking at a bookstore near you. If you’re interested in having her come to your local bookstore, contact her directly at joannergreene@gmail.com or get updates on her website at joanne-greene.com and make sure to sign up for her newsletter!

8 DEC 2023 · The world of "What If?" is compelling and potentially dangerous. In this episode of "In This Story", Joanne explores the roads not traveled. What if she'd gone to Woodstock? Taken the job on Madison Avenue post college at the ad agency? Stayed with her first boyfriend in San Francisco? Had a third child? It's fun to imagine but, really, what's the point? After touring around in imaginary pasts, Joanne concludes that it makes more sense to consider the choices still available and to choose wisely. Joanne’s book, “By Accident: A Memoir of Letting Go” is now available from your favorite online book seller. Stay tuned to hear if Joanne will be speaking at a bookstore near you. If you’re interested in having her come to your local bookstore, contact her directly at joannergreene@gmail.com or get updates on her website at joanne-greene.com and make sure to sign up for her newsletter!