Category Archives: For Love of History

I didn’t know it yet…

Posted on August 19, 2025 by sheilawill

As I returned from this morning’s three-mile walk around Lake Harriet, I passed Wild Rumpus Children’s Bookstore. As I often do. A mom and dad and a skinny young boy made their way from their small car (with a Quebec … Continue reading →

Posted in America WTF?, Baby Boomers, children's books, Family Matters, For Love of History, Managing Minneapolis | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

To The Editor

Posted on August 2, 2025 by sheilawill

I’m proud that the Minnesota Star Tribune printed my letter to the editor this week. I’m two for two getting my writing into one of the country’s top newspapers. The first was “Misogyny Amplified,” a column that appeared following the … Continue reading →

Posted in America WTF?, Fight wimpiness, For Love of History, Journalism/Writing, politics | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Most Remarkable Man

Posted on July 13, 2025 by sheilawill

I’m proud to share my tribute to Ashley Bryan, which was just published in the Horn Book Magazine. It would have been Ashely’s 102 birthday on Sunday, July 13.  We need more humans like Ashley in this tumultuous world! https://www.hbook.com/story/a-most-remarkable-maine-man-a-tribute-to-ashley-bryan

Posted in children's books, For Love of History, Mount Desert Island/Maine, Old friends, Read, Read, Read | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Unscathed and Unbit

Posted on June 25, 2025 by sheilawill

Ship Harbor is my favorite one-mile stroll along the Atlantic. No climbing any of the thirty peaks on Mt. Desert Island. From that rocky coast of Maine, view the Duck Islands in the distance, a lobster boat crossing by. There … Continue reading →

Posted in Baby Boomers, children's books, Family Matters, For Love of History, Mount Desert Island/Maine, Old friends | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

All My Rage Can’t Fit On This Sign

Posted on April 5, 2025 by sheilawill

It felt good to join 6,000-10,000 humans in front of the Minnesota State Capital today. We put ourselves out there to stop the rise of authoritarianism, the outrageous oligarchy knocking on all of our doors. What creative signs Minnesotans came … Continue reading →

Posted in America WTF?, Fight wimpiness, For Love of History, Managing Minneapolis, politics | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

No Equality Here!

Posted on February 21, 2025 by sheilawill

When I stopped teaching at Mt. Desert Island High School in 2002, I got cute with my students. Not realizing that any semblance of equality would be on the chopping block in twenty-five years. “If we run into each other … Continue reading →

Posted in America WTF?, Fight wimpiness, For Love of History, Mount Desert Island/Maine, politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Done with 2024

Posted on December 31, 2024 by sheilawill

It’s been a year. But this isn’t a political rant. I no longer understand my country. I thought I did for most of my life. Money, materialism, compassion, empathy, and compromise. And more money. That’s what the mainstream is about … Continue reading →

Posted in America WTF?, Bopping Around Tucson, Family Matters, For Love of History, Old friends, politics, Read, Read, Read | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

Kamala Harris Will Be Our Next President!

Posted on November 2, 2024 by sheilawill

I live in the Democratic bubble of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Ninety-nine percent of all political house signs are for Kamala Harris (I’ve only seen one Trump sign in front of a fancy mansion). In our neighborhood (above photo) A friend who … Continue reading →

Posted in America WTF?, Fight wimpiness, For Love of History, politics | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

A Pretty Good Road Trip

Posted on March 6, 2024 by sheilawill

I miss our Mallorca Drive winter abode, its front and back patios bordered by the Sonoran Desert, its prickly pear, sunny blossoming brittle bush, and regal saguaros at our doorstep. But here we are back in Minneapolis, bypassing Mason City, … Continue reading →

Posted in America WTF?, For Love of History, Nature Girl, Out West, travel | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Book-Banning Befuddles Me

Posted on September 4, 2023 by sheilawill

In the Sept. 3 New York Times I read”This Summer, I Became the Book-BanningMonster of Iowa” by Bridgette Exman. A former high school English teacher, now the assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction for public schools in Mason City, Iowa, … Continue reading →

Posted in America WTF?, Fight wimpiness, For Love of History, politics, Read, Read, Read, The inconvenient truth about education | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments