God’s Message to Treehuggers and Peacemakers: Blessed Are the Peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. (Matthew 5:9) Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, [...]
I first noticed them at the next bench over from the drummers’ bench, a separate group of homeless youth who often congregated there. They wore different clothes than the rest of the people. Their clothes were darker and somewhat [...]
THE LILIES OF THE FIELD People look at them sideways as they pass by along their way toward the drum circle. These street kids are the dustiest, wildest-looking bunch on Sharon Meadow. They look as if they’ve lived outside for years, and they have. They share a rugged existence in the [...]
GOD’S EYES I first noticed them at the next bench over from the drummers’ bench, a separate group of homeless youth who often congregated there. They wore different clothes than the rest of the people. Their clothes were darker and somewhat dusty, but serviceable for survival. Next to the [...]
An Aura of Freedom All I gave them was a panful of soggy burritos wrapped in foil, left over from a party the night before. The love I got back seemed out of proportion to my small gift. The big vegetarian burritos might’ve been thrown away to make room in a full fridge. To get rid of them, [...]
❦❀❦❁❧❀❧❦❀❦❁❧❀❧❦❀❦❁❧❀❧❦❀❦❁❧❀❧❦❀❦❁❧❀❧❦❀❦❀❦❁❧❀❧ THE NOMADS BUSLOADS OF TOURISTS The hippies have been chased away from sitting on the front steps of the McDonald’s that’s on the corner of Haight Street and [...]
A Lifetime of Kindness He sets up a camp on the lawn with many of the comforts of home, within inches of the drum circle. Early in the day he spreads out blankets on which he arranges an array of musical instruments like shakers and drumsticks and cowbells. He brings out bags of free pastries [...]
The drum circle is a good place to consider the problems of the world because a lot of the same things happen there that disturb nations. Even here there appear dominant types who want to control everything, lead the drums, decide who stays or who goes. The power they’re addicted to is to [...]
The drummers suffer for their political art. Their passionate activism through drumming sends them to doctors for their hands, arms, necks and backs. The taping of their hands and fingers with yards of adhesive tape is not for decoration or just to look cool. It’s not even just to protect [...]
There are chalk drawings on the pavement where the drum circle is, big ones in rainbow-colored chalks. There is a peace sign about five feet wide, a heart, and various words written in big letters like “LOVE” and “PEACE.” As the drums play, people dance around the drawings and on top of [...]