First Day of Summer

So, greetings from the world of the Georgia Cat on the first day of summer. It is a beautiful day and not too hot. So, what is new?

Mike has signed the Charter for Compassion. He thinks it is the right note to strike in these disturbing times. He is an admirer of Karen Armstrong, and has been ever since he read her book entitled The History of God. He says it is really about the history of the ideas about God, but you have to admit, the title is catchy. A few years ago she started the Charter for Compassion. There is a great TED talk of hers about it. You might want to check it out.

How about them Hawks?

Mike’s book project is moving forward. Most of what he has to do now is establish a social media presence. In that regard he will be writing his own blog. I will let you know when it starts.

Emory University is stepping up and owning their inglorious racist past. They used to have a policy in which they did not accept people of African descent into their medical school. They have just issued a public apology to Dr. Marion Hood who was denied admission to the medical school there around 60 years ago. At least they returned his $5 application fee at the time. When Mike’s father was in college at the University of Minnesota there were quotas for the number of Jews they would accept—at a state school–not a private school. Moses Gordon wanted to get into their engineering school, and actually was admitted as one of the few Jewish students because of his strong academic performance. Mike says he thinks there were less than 10 black students in his medical school class at the University of Illinois back in the sixties. And, one of them was from Nigeria. Furthermore, there were less than 20 female students, in a class of 200. He is just now wondering for the first time if he would have made it into medical school if the competition for the slots was fair. We shall never know.

So, Juneteenth is now a national holiday. Speaking as a black cat, I couldn’t be more pleased (or surprised.) Since I am committed now to be totally non-political in my blog, I can’t say why I am surprised—just that I am—and pleased.

I hope all of you have a delightful summer. It is certainly my plan to do the same. I will write again when more needs to be reported. Be well, be safe, and remember, love is the answer. Bye, bye.