Month: September 2020

Lucas McGarvey is standing on the sidewalk stocking the Little Free Pantry, something he does at least once a week. Lucas is a member of Troop 65. He’s glad he stopped by today, because there’s not much in there — just a couple of cans of carrots and soup and a box of cereal. He opens his shopping bag and pulls out packages of pasta, arranging them artfully on the shelves. Lucas, a member of Boy Scouts of America Troop 65 and earner of 30 merit badges, opened the pantry on…

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Sitting on the stoop sipping coffee, Ahmed El Shaer can’t help but marvel at his good fortune. Ahmed’s a visual artist. A visual artist, he’s just moved into a new apartment that has a back yard and enough space for him to paint and create videos. He looks toward the front window, where he can see the unpacked boxes piled up in the living room. His year-old black rescue cat, Tomasa, stares back at him with owl-like amber eyes. Ahmed, who has curly black hair, a soft voice and…

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Julie Schwietert doesn’t look like a superhero. For one thing, she’s not wearing a cape. Julie is the founder of Immigrant Families Together. Short in stature and soft in voice, she’s standing firm in the courtyard of her apartment building,  dressed modestly in a lime-green skirt and a bold floral-patterned blouse that don’t look as though they’ve ever flown through the air. Her hair, no-nonsense straight and long, is pulled back, and her sunglasses are perched solidly atop…

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It began about a month into the quarantine when my 8-year-old Wheaten terrier, Zora, put her paws on the front wall of a house down the block to say hello to the puppy poking her head out the window. Zora The Wonder Dog. While Zora’s tail wagged like a hummingbird’s wings, the puppy got into play pose. I watched in wonder – and shock.Zora’s a dedicated dog despiser. When she spies or smells one of her own kind, she throws a tantrum that involves growling, barking and grabbing the…

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