When Silence Screams: The Hubris and Apathy of a Broken Leadership

In the aftermath of the tragic shootings that claimed the lives of members of the Hortman and Hoffman families, what should have been a solemn moment of collective grief and unity was instead met with a telling void—no statement, no gesture, no condolences from the White House. Not even the minimal decency of recognizing innocent lives lost. In place of empathy, there was deflection. From the GOP, we witnessed what has become a familiar routine: politicized finger-pointing and bad-faith rhetoric that serve only to deepen divides and avoid responsibility.

This absence of compassion, this gross indifference, is not just morally staggering—it’s emblematic of the rot that has metastasized in our political leadership. Under Donald Trump’s influence, cruelty has not only become policy—it has become performance. Hubris has eclipsed humility, and political gain has all but extinguished our national conscience. The failure to even pretend to care speaks volumes about how desensitized and broken this administration is, and how far we’ve drifted from any recognizable moral compass.

We are watching, in real time, the normalization of violence—not merely as a societal ill, but as a partisan tool. When the lives of American citizens are reduced to narrative pawns in a culture war, when leaders refuse to grieve with their people because it doesn’t serve their agenda, we lose more than just lives. We lose a piece of our shared humanity. And when silence is all that comes from the top, it becomes deafeningly clear: the message is that some lives are unworthy of acknowledgment, depending on whose grief is politically convenient.

What kind of country have we become when our government cannot deliver even the most basic human response—sympathy? How is it possible that in the face of senseless violence, our leaders offer not unity, but opportunism? It is grossly, dangerously unacceptable.

This isn’t just a failure of leadership. It is a deliberate choice—a choice to divide, to deflect, and to harden the national heart. That choice diminishes us all.

I am deeply saddened—though no longer surprised—that this country has once again reached an all-time low. Under this administration, “lowest” has become a consistent signature, an evolving standard by which tragedy is not mourned but manipulated. We must not accept this as normal. We must not allow apathy to replace accountability, or arrogance to replace empathy. Because if we do, the silence will only grow louder, and the violence more routine.

We are better than this. We must demand better than this.

To Fathers — Just As They Are

To Fathers — Just as They Are

On this Father’s Day, we celebrate not only the fathers who stood tall with unwavering strength, but also those who stumbled, struggled, and tried in their own imperfect ways. Fatherhood is not a role marked by flawlessness—it is a deeply human journey, often layered with silence, pride, and quiet love.

Some fathers show their love in embraces and bedtime stories. Others reveal it in fixed cars, paid bills, or in the long hours they worked without complaint. Some may not have always known how to say the right words, or how to be emotionally present, but still hoped to be seen for the person behind the silence.

We honor the fathers who were gentle, who listened, and who offered protection like a shelter in a storm. And we also honor those who were broken in their own ways, who loved imperfectly but loved nonetheless. Their humanity does not diminish their worth—it invites understanding, forgiveness, and a deeper kind of love.

To all fathers, present and absent, praised and misunderstood—you have shaped our stories in ways we are still learning to understand. And today, we thank you. Not for being perfect, but for being real. For showing up however you could. For being part of the complicated, beautiful fabric of who we are.

Happy Father’s Day. – Ida Zecco 6/15/25

Pride Month

Pride Month was not born of a need to celebrate being gay, but the right for our sisters and brothers to exist without persecution. It is a vital celebration of visibility, resilience, and the ongoing fight for LGBTQ+ rights. It honors the courage of those who have challenged discrimination, from the Stonewall uprising to present-day advocacy, reminding us that equality is neither inevitable nor complete. Pride Month is a statement: that every person deserves to live openly, authentically, and without fear. In recognizing Pride, we affirm the dignity of LGBTQ+ individuals and renew our collective commitment to justice, inclusion, and love.

For Esther Bernstein – A Beautiful Soul

Today, we celebrate a woman that shined, to honor a woman whose presence was a quiet miracle in each of our lives. She was not simply kind—she lived kindness. It wasn’t a virtue she chose, but rather one that chose her, something she carried effortlessly, like breath or light.

She treated everyone she met with genuine respect—whether stranger or friend, whether their path was smooth or troubled. There was something in the way she looked at people, in the way she listened, that reminded you that you mattered. You always felt seen, and more than that, you felt safe.

Her generosity was never showy. It was a warm and constant hand on your shoulder in times of doubt, a call when you least expected it but needed it most, a presence that felt like home. She gave without condition, with a grace that asked nothing in return.

Music was her companion, her sanctuary, and her celebration. She loved musicians not just for the sounds they created, but for the courage it took to bare their souls through melody. She found beauty in every note and joy in the ones who played them. She didn’t just listen to music—she felt it, and through that love, she helped others feel it too.

But perhaps the most extraordinary thing about her was the way she radiated. Not with grand gestures or loud declarations, but from something deep inside—a quiet glow that reached us all. She was a healing force in this world. A balm. A light in dark corners. A friend who reminded us who we are when we’d forgotten.

Her absence leaves an ache, yes. But more than that, her life leaves a legacy. One of compassion, joy, and quiet strength. She taught us how to care better, listen deeper, and live more generously.

She was a friend to all, and her spirit will echo in the laughter she sparked, the music she adored, and the love she gave so freely.

We miss her deeply. But we carry her always.

Why Memorial Day Still Matters

Every year, as the last Monday in May approaches, Americans gather in parks, around grills, and beside headstones. For some, it’s the unofficial start of summer; for others, it’s a day of solemn remembrance. But behind the barbecues and parades, Memorial Day holds a sacred place in our national conscience—a day not just of memory, but of meaning. It remains as vital today as it was when first observed in the aftermath of the Civil War.

At its heart, Memorial Day is about honoring sacrifice. It’s a day to remember those who gave their lives not for glory or reward, but to protect an ideal: democracy. These men and women wore the uniform of our country and carried its burdens into battlefields both near and far. Their courage didn’t just preserve borders—it preserved freedoms: the right to vote, to speak, to worship, and to dissent.

But Memorial Day isn’t only about distant wars and fallen heroes in foreign lands. It’s also about those who have defended democracy here at home. Throughout our history, from civil rights marches to courtroom battles, Americans have stood against injustice to ensure that the promise of freedom reaches every citizen. Some of them, too, paid the ultimate price—not with rifles, but with resolve.

In a world that often feels fractured and uncertain, the sacrifices we honor on Memorial Day ground us. They remind us that democracy isn’t inherited—it’s defended. Not once, but continually, by those willing to serve and, if necessary, to fall.

So we remember—not just to mourn, but to reaffirm our commitment to the values that those we honor believed were worth dying for. Memorial Day asks us not just to look back, but to look within and ask what we’re doing to keep the flame of liberty alive.

Because freedom endures not by chance, but by choice. And remembrance is part of that choice.

The Unsung Heroes of the Theater

Theater reviews are like magic tricks: they make you look in a certain direction and applaud the obvious. “Stunning performance by the lead actor!” They gush. “A moving portrayal of grief, joy, and indigestion!” Yes, the actor cried on cue and remembered all their lines. Bravo. Meanwhile, the director—the sorcerer who stitched the show together with mood boards, unpaid overtime, acted as Mom and pychologist and spilt tears of pure aesthetic anguish—gets all the credit of a coat rack.

And the stage manager? Ha! They get less attention than the fog machine. Which, incidentally, they also had to fix, cue, and explain to the fire marshal.

Let’s break it down. The actor appears onstage, speaks words someone else wrote, moves in ways someone else blocked, wears clothes someone else designed and constructed, and gets a standing ovation. The director spent six weeks preventing the show from becoming a very expensive interpretive dance about emotional confusion and/or awkwardly performed comedic timing. They wield vision, psychology, and a truly disturbing protocol as to how to stay calm and patient when they are about to implode.  They are the puppet master—only, instead of strings, they’re manipulating egos, schedules, and a cast that insists on “finding their truth” by rewriting the blocking during tech week.

And the stage manager? Oh, you mean the caffeine-fueled deity wearing all black who knows the entire script, blocking, prop list, and cast’s food allergies by heart? The person who keeps the show running when the lead accidentally enters in Act I dressed for Act III and the fog machine won’t stop coughing like a Victorian child? The person who, by sheer willpower and a Google Sheet, ensures that this chaotic, live spectacle actually happens at the correct time, in the correct order, without someone tripping over stage furniture or face-planting into a Christmas tree?

Theater critics, I beg you: diversify your praise. If a show is brilliant, it is not solely because an actor emoted with the intensity of a method-trained avocado. It’s because a director made bold choices and a stage manager executed them with battlefield precision while also double-checking whether the fake blood had stained a borrowed costume. You do seem able to mention the director and the stage manager in volumes if the production is a flop.

Actors are the frosting. But the director is the recipe, and the stage manager is the oven. No one thanks the recipe or the oven. But without them, you just have raw eggs and good intentions.

So next time you’re moved to tears by a production, remember: Someone called that lighting cue. Someone told that actor where and when to cry (or laugh). Someone made sure the swords were “theater standard” and not, say, a real katana from one of the actor’s college “samurai phase.” Neither of those people who made those things happen are barely mentioned (if at all) in the review.

Applaud accordingly. Or at the very least, bring them snacks and wine.

Remembering My Mother on Mother’s Da



You were more than a mother. You were the steady heartbeat of our home, the gentle force that held everything together, making sure each day was full of warmth, love, and purpose. Your hands, which I remember so well, weren’t just skilled at comforting or cooking—they were magic in their own right, capable of making the world feel safe, no matter what the day had brought.


There were countless lessons you gave me, ones that weren’t always spoken, but instead woven into the fabric of everyday life. In the small acts of patience, kindness, and understanding, you taught me the true meaning of love, and how it isn’t always loud or dramatic, but often soft and enduring, much like the breeze that carries memories of you when I need them the most.


Your love is still the compass that guides me, and even though you are no longer here in the way I wish, your spirit still wraps itself around me like the comforting hug I so often seek.


I carry you in everything I do, and on this day, I honor you—my first friend, my greatest teacher, and my forever mother. Happy Mother’s Day, Mom. You are loved beyond words, forever and always.
The Quiet Geometry of My Birthday
 
 
There is something oddly reverent about waking up on your birthday. The world doesn’t look different—no sudden shimmer in the air, no mystical alignment of clouds—but the day feels stitched with a quieter thread, as if time is whispering your name through the fabric of everything. I woke up today into that softness.


It’s not that I expect balloons or fanfare. In fact, as I grow older, I crave the opposite. The loud parties of childhood—frosted cake, torn wrapping paper, sugar highs—have faded into the background like the static of an old radio. Now I find myself drawn to the stillness between the moments, the subtle arithmetic of having lived another year. What did I learn? What did I let go of? Who did I become?


My birthday has become a kind of private ritual. A checking in. I notice things more keenly on this day: how the morning light folds gently through my window, how my face in the mirror carries traces of every version of me I’ve ever been. I smile at the child I was, the one who thought being an adult meant answers. I nod respectfully to the teenager who scribbled dreams into the margins of notebooks. I hold a kind of quiet companionship with the recent me, the one who survived some things I didn’t see coming.


This day no longer feels like it’s about celebration so much as it is about gratitude. Not the kind shouted in social media captions, but the private kind. Gratitude that I’m still here. That despite the jaggedness of time and the occasional loneliness that comes with living in a human body; living alone, I keep unfolding into myself. I keep arriving.


I’ve started a tradition. Each year on my birthday, I write a letter to myself. Not full of goals or resolutions, but reflections. What was I afraid of this year? What surprised me? Where did I feel most alive? These letters become time capsules of truth, written not for who I hope to become, but for the person I already am—worthy, unfinished, real.


Birthdays, I’ve come to believe, are less about marking time and more about inhabiting it. Today I don’t need a party. I just need a long walk, a cup of coffee, a moment to breathe and remember that life is not made of milestones alone, but of mornings like this—quiet, slow, brimming with meaning.


Another year. Another layer. Another unfolding. And for that, I am deeply, simply grateful.
The Blind Spot in Business Gratitude
 
 
In my 40-year career as a business leader, executive director and manager, the greatest and most sustainable lessons I learned is “thank you,” to a working team, can either light a fire of pride or smother morale within a company.  I am currently retired from the global companies for which I gratefully worked – with terrific colleagues and teams.  However, I decided to go back to work in a small, locally owned company and a memo from the new owner to “the staff,” reminded me of The Blind Spot in Business Gratitude. If you are a manager, I hope you find this of value.


Every manager knows to thank their sales team when revenue spikes. They might praise marketing after a successful campaign or applaud operations after a smooth product launch. But too often, recognition stops there.


What about the finance analyst who optimized the budget? The administrative department who meets, greets, answers phones and is the center of office communication? The IT specialist who kept systems running?


This tutorial will help you, as a thoughtful manager, develop a habit and strategy for thanking everyone—not just those in the spotlight. Because when gratitude is inclusive, engagement, retention, and morale rise across the board.


Lesson 1: Shift Your Perspective—Success is a Network, Not a Ladder


The Ladder Mindset

• Gratitude climbs up and down, focusing only on clear wins.

• Departments at the top (sales, marketing, leadership) get the bulk of the thanks.


The Network Mindset

• Every function is a node; success is shared through connections.

• No single win happens in isolation.


Action Tip: When reviewing a success story, ask: “Who else made this possible, indirectly or behind the scenes?”


Lesson 2: Build a Thank-You Map


Before the next all-hands or internal memo, take 15 minutes to do the following:


1. List the visible contributors. (e.g., product, sales)


2. Identify enabling roles.

o Who maintained the systems they used?

o Who processed the invoices?

o Who recruited and trained the staff?


3. Name the invisible champions.

o Culture builders

o Front desk, security, HR, compliance

o Cleaners, cafeteria workers, and vendors


Outcome: A holistic view of contributors that often go unrecognized.


Lesson 3: Use Language That Elevates Everyone


When expressing gratitude, avoid language that creates a hierarchy of importance. Instead of:

“Big thanks to the sales team for driving our success.”


Try:

“Our success was a team effort—from the sales team who closed the deals to the support teams who kept everything running behind the scenes.”


Bonus Phrases:

• “Thanks to every hand that touched this project.”

• “Appreciation goes to both the seen and unseen contributors.”

• “Your impact may not always be visible, but it’s always vital.”


Lesson 4: Create Rituals of Recognition


Make inclusive gratitude a habit—not a one-off.


• Monthly Gratitude Roundups: Ask teams to submit unsung heroes.

• Rotating Spotlights: Feature different departments in internal comms, regardless of headline wins.

• “Thank You Forward” Chains: Encourage team members to thank someone who helped them—and explain why.

• Meetings:

o If you are meeting consistently with a few teams, try to figure out a way to meet with all teams, even if it means to bring everyone up to speed/on the same page.

o No department/person appreciates being the last to know because they are never appropriately briefed on changes, updates or new directions taking place in the company.

o Administrative roles are as important to the business’ success as any other department

o Make everyone feel like a contributor of the business.


Key Rule: Every recognition ritual must be designed to reveal the invisible.


Lesson 5: Model It in Meetings and Messages


Managers set the tone. In your next leadership call or team meeting:

• Pause to name contributors from lesser-known departments.

• Share a brief story of someone who made a quiet, meaningful impact.

• Ask other leaders: “Who else made this possible?”


Remember: Gratitude expressed publicly builds culture. Gratitude expressed privately builds trust.


Conclusion: Thanking Widely Is Thinking Wisely


When you recognize all contributors—not just the headline-makers—you create a culture where everyone feels seen. This is not just good manners. It’s smart leadership. Because people repeat the work that gets recognized, and if you only see part of the picture, you’ll only inspire part of the effort.

So, next time you say, “thank you,” look beyond the obvious. The real engine of your business includes everyone.
Cinco de Mayo: A Completely Serious and Accurate Historical Account (Not Really)
 
 


Let me begin by saying that I love any holiday that justifies eating guacamole before noon and drinking margaritas the size of birdbaths. Naturally, Cinco de Mayo is high on my list of favorite holidays—right up there with National Pancake Day and whatever Wednesday my local pub decides to call “Trivia Night.”








Like most Americans, I used to think Cinco de Mayo was Mexico’s Independence Day. I believed this confidently and loudly, usually while wearing a sombrero I got from Party City and holding a beer imported no farther than St. Louis. As it turns out, Mexico’s actual Independence Day is September 16th. Oops. Cinco de Mayo commemorates the Mexican victory over the French at the Battle of Puebla in 1862.








Now, you may ask, “Why would the French invade Mexico?” Good question. Apparently, Napoleon III was bored, couldn’t get a Netflix subscription, and decided that Mexico would look fabulous with a little European flair. But the Mexicans weren’t having it. Despite being outnumbered and outgunned, they beat back the French like a mom slapping a spatula out of your hand before the cake cools. It was a wildly impressive underdog moment—Rocky Balboa but with bayonets and mustaches.








And yet, despite this dramatic military victory, Cinco de Mayo isn’t even a big holiday in most of Mexico. In fact, most Mexicans are like, “You guys are still doing that?” while watching gringos attempt salsa dancing like caffeinated giraffes.








In the United States, however, Cinco de Mayo has become a glorious, guac-fueled celebration of Mexican culture, music, and tortilla-based architecture. It is a day when we collectively remember that tequila has consequences and that wearing a poncho to the office might raise HR questions.








Now, let’s be clear—Cinco de Mayo is not just an excuse to drink margaritas at 11 a.m. on a weekday. It’s also an excuse to eat nachos the size of a futon while pretending you know what a mariachi band is. If you’re lucky, you’ll attend a street festival where toddlers in tiny sombreros throw confetti at your feet like you’re some kind of queso-coated monarch.








And yet, despite all the fun, Cinco de Mayo offers something deeper: the opportunity to celebrate resilience, culture, and the triumph of the underdog. Also, tacos. Lots of tacos.








So this Cinco de Mayo, raise a glass (or three), learn a little history, and try not to refer to your neighbor as “amigo” just because he’s wearing sandals. And remember: the real battle is not against the French—it’s trying to eat a burrito the size of your forearm without it disintegrating into your lap.








¡Viva el guacamole! ¡Viva Cinco de Mayo! And most importantly—viva nap time afterward.


 
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