Remember tomorrow from 8:00 pm - 9:00 pm you get to ask me anything during office hours.

So glad you are here! Invite someone into the community.

Fresh Air By Kathleen Tonn The scent of lilacs I walked Towards the haystack. Wind stirred the clover I breathed Nearly falling over. Oxygen rich air Lungs bursting So I dare. Truth not contained I speak No, I will not abstain.

How Sure Are You By Kathleen Tonn I sat at my desk making travel plans. My “to do” list was nearly completed. My passport was up to date. My vaccinations are current, including my tetanus shot. My travel funds were put in an international bank. My home was sold. My car was sold. I would board the plane with a brief case and a small suitcase. I said good bye to my friends knowing we’d stay in touch despite the ocean separating us. I am starting over abroad. It took ten years of soul searching to arrive at that decision. It was also fomented by the economy. The corporation I worked for said to me, “Hayden, AI is taking over your role. We appreciate all you have done, but we must move forward technologically.” I wasn’t alone. My whole department received their pink slips. The anger and frustration my coworkers experienced was disturbing. Some were single parents, and some were single wage earners. Bottom line, they had children and aging parents to look after. It stunk. I requested the corporation to give my coworkers my stock dividends. I had fifteen years of accrual which amounted to twenty-five thousand dollars. I figured that would help my five closest associates. I instructed the human resource department to keep that donation confidential. I was to catch my plane to Brussels at one a.m. Before doing so, I was going to have dinner with an old friend from college. We were meeting at the Olive Garden for a glass of wine and their delicious Braised Beef Tortellini. I took Uber to the restaurant. The car’s windshield wipers worked furiously to clear the rain from the glass. The driver and I watched the sheets of rain smack the pavement as the raindrops bounced off the streets. Thunder and lightening pounded out a rhapsody overhead. It many ways, the storm was a perfect crescendo for an eventful American life. The driver saluted me as I exited his Acura. Then, I ran towards the restaurant’s front door. The host offered to take my wet jacket before showing me to Dillan’s and my table.

The Lectern By Kathleen Tonn I walked into PAS Room 119 and took my seat in the fifth row of the small auditorium. The capacity sign at the entrance door read one-hundred-and twenty people. The university met the fire department’s regulations. I sat on the left side closest to the exit. A habit I acquired after a fire broke out in a movie theater I was in. Survival instinct. Other students were filing into the auditorium. Some were talking excitedly about their winning team at the Super Bowl. Others were discussing their bus routes that were disrupted by the awful snowstorm that resulted in the cancelation of classes. I just sat in my seat looking at the simple, brown lectern. Noble speakers, in years past, used it to convey heartfelt messages on the importance of civic participation. After all, this lecture hall was used primarily by the Political Science Department. Today’s guest, Jonathan Renaldo Targetto, would speak on the crisis of the first amendment housed in the U.S. Constitution. I heard him speak at Lexington University a year earlier. He was sincere; yet, his passion for the Constitution was conveyed through a quick wit. His sarcastic humor sliced through student boredom like a knife. No puffery, no platitudes and no poison diluted his message Silence fell in the room as our instructor walked up to the lectern. “Students, I want to welcome Mr. Targetto to our class. His knowledge of the Constitution and the first amendment is extraordinary. He will give you ample understanding of why you can grumble on social media about the referee’s fatal call in yesterday’s Super Bowl. With those words, laughter spread across the room from the fans of the winning team. Then Mr. Targetto took his place at the lectern. “I oppose your laughter students. I support the losers.” A fresh wave of laughter sprung up. Not by the students who joyfully threw barbs at those whose team lost. Instead, the laughter came from those besmirched students supporting the losing team. “Okay, let’s get serious. I’ve got forty-five minutes to convey the importance of free speech. Without your understanding of this vital amendment, and your commitment to it, you will lose it. Do I have your attention?”