what a world to return to. i have been reading the news for the last two hours, catching up on those things that happened while i was away. the destruction of lebanon, the onslaught on the only abortion clinic in mississippi, all this resistance and running; i know its the cycle of history moving round but it looks like an immense amount of pain in the world right now.

there is so much more to act on than there is capacity to act. last night someone was pitching me on new things ruckus should focus on, and it was all good ideas, but i had such a sense of limited capacity. we need so many more people.

my body is sore in a million new ways. the more you learn about how to live, the more you realize you’ve been living in a bubble, living as if you couldn’t take control and survive on your own. i am ok to be back in the world but part of me wants to take my loved ones and make us all go out even further into the woods and hone our survival skills. or do an urban survivalist course. my brain is churning.

milwaukee always shows me a different side. the first few times i was in the city, it was at the side of organizers who wanted to show me the hood, where the gun violence was happening. the last time, i went to a super chi-chi restaurant and got my eyebrows done down the street, got to hear about how this white world had moved in on the hood. this time i have gotten promises that someone will show me the southside.

this is such a summer of gatherings. suddenly it feels very necessary to be seeing each other all the time. this network – if we are successful, by next summer we will have all replaced ourselves with others who train and represent our organizations, or at least added to our numbers.

my major work today has been tending to my minor wounds, remembering how thrilling it was to be hanging upside down having lifted myself to that place. i have a grant to write, a camp report to write up. in short – an exciting day. are you coming to chicago?

i have 730 emails to sort through. the fun just never ends!