A summary of posts included on MORE TO COME in July 2023.

We’ve spent the better part of July on the road, with the majority of that being in the great state of Alaska. Not only was it Our 49th state to join the Union, but it is also #49 toward my bucket list goal of visiting all 50 states! You’ll have to read the post to see what the final holdout is . . . and my plans for crossing that off the list.

I was in The Last Frontier (or Land of the Midnight Sun ― take your pick) as an educational expert for a National Trust Tour to visit the Alaskan Glaciers and Inside Passage. Naturally I wrote about the experience (with photos) on MORE TO COME. You can find them as:

• Names matter with thoughts on the historic name for the highest peak in North America;

• You can learn a lot by reading the plaques as I consider fun (as well as more sober) facts discovered along the way as we traveled in California, British Columbia, and Alaska*;

• Indigenous perspectives (a pre-trip post) that captured stories and histories of Native Alaskans; and

• Song for Alaska which is the catch-all post at the end of the trip with even more pictures.

But there was more going on during July than just being on the road again. So let’s jump in and see what else was on my mind.

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TOP POST BY READER VIEWS

My former colleague at the National Trust, Joe McGill, is the founder and leader of The Slave Dwelling Project. Joe has just written a book on his experience in growing this modest regional effort into a national force for saving and interpreting the homes of enslaved individuals. He graciously agreed to chat with me about his work in Changing the narrative one slave dwelling at a time. I found it to be a fascinating book and an enlightening discussion. Many MTC readers apparently agreed with that assessment.

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OTHER BOOKS THAT CAME OFF THE TBR LIST

In addition to Sleeping With the Ancestors and The Alaska Native Reader, I took three other books off my “To Be Read” pile during the month of July. As always, I shared my thoughts on these works with the readers of MTC.

• Legitimacy, once lost, is hard to reclaim considers Adam Cohen’s 2020 book Supreme Inequality and the 50-year effort to design a high court that “has sided with the rich and powerful against the poor and weak” in virtually every area of the law.

• The poet and writer Mary Oliver is someone I’ve come to admire in recent years. After reading a book of her thoughtful and inspiring essays, I pondered some of the key insights that struck my mind in If this was lost, let us all be lost always.

• In the July installment of “my year of reading dangerously” I discovered Donna Leon and the Commissario Guido Brunetti series. Destroying what is beautiful highlights the second in Leon’s Brunetti canon, and I was pleased when long-time fans (who travel frequently to Italy) wrote to say that they loved the observations I made about this book.

• And, of course, there is the always popular The books I read in June 2023.

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DEMOCRACY AND HISTORY PUSH BACK

July has been an important month in the fight to maintain our democracy and push back against the whitewashing of history. I didn’t cover as much of that news as was possible, but I did make observations on two important milestones.

• In what is fast becoming a holiday tradition, I wrote This is what democracy looks like to celebrate democracy, diversity, and our founding principles from the vantage point of the Takoma Park July 4th parade.

• Moving us forward was my piece in response to President Joe Biden creating the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument. I visited one of the sites included in the new monument in 2018 and I brought back those reflections and added new considerations by historian Heather Cox Richardson for this recent post.

And in the “this doesn’t fall into any category” list, While the sun shines is a very short reminder of what one old saying is telling us in today’s world. Also, I explain why there is no Saturday Soundtrack feature this month.

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CONCLUSION

Thanks, as always, for reading. As you travel life’s highways be open to love, undertake some mindful walking every day, recognize the incredible privilege that most of us have, and think about how to put that privilege to use for good. Women, people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, immigrants, and others can feel especially vulnerable . . . because they are. Work hard for justice and democracy as the fight never ends.

Bash into some joy along the way.

And finally, try to be nice. Always be kind.

More to come . . .

DJB

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*For instance, Jim Morrison went to high school in Alameda, CA during his freshman and sophomore years, but if the plaque can be believed he apparently spent a lot of time hanging out in the local park before he became the lead singer for The Doors.

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For the June 2023 summary, click here.

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Photo on the Alaska Railroad, with Denali coming into view by DJB