j.jill

A close friend recently shared astronaut Ron Garan’s thoughts that seems to have been changed by his 178 days and 71 million miles in the “freedom” of space, and by his time on the International Space Station. This transformation has…

Sitting outside on a finally warm sunlit spring day, a robin chirps for attention from a blossoming tree nearby and seems to be looking directly at me. It feels as if the insistent noise is a message, as if this…

New York is the most unequal state in the nation and yet we know our government officials – those elected by us to represent us—ignore realities most New Yorkers are experiencing.  And worse yet, they try to convince us that…

The word “Love” has lost much of its authenticity, it seems, in recent years. It’s much like the difference between a warm bowl of homemade garden vegetable soup—hand-peeled onions, chopped through tears, diced potatoes and carrots, garden greens, beans, vine-ripened…

There are more judgments from experts and pundits than there are cable channels with the rolling witness of deception and destruction in Ukraine. On a recent broadcast, an expert in geopolitics referred to military troops under authoritarian mindset as, “used,…

Under a sky with an imposing full moon, the Jesse Kinch Returns concert offers more than just music—the gratitude and love from this talented artist are palpable at Long Island University’s Krasnoff Theater. A version of Jesse’s own Divine Comedy…

In February 2021, I went out to breakfast with a friend of mine whose husband died after a long illness. We refreshed the friendship after years of living, picking up the bittersweet pieces of life’s joys and tragedies with the…

There are many countries that understand and will celebrate April 25, 2022 – Liberation Day. It is a designated day  marking the beginning of the end of Nazi-Fascism. Today, April 22 is Earth Day, an awareness moment celebrated globally in…

On a school trip to Central Italy in April 2014, I met Italian film director Paolo Bianchini, who together with Paola Rota, create and produce artistic, meaningful films full of social value with their enterprise, Alveare Cinema. These films of…

When we pick up a newspaper or turn on a television news broadcast, more often than not, information focuses on conflict, violence, disaster. Nationally and internationally, it seems an increasing number of broadcasts and publications skew focus and create confusion…