RunningBarb

You know the term “six degrees of separation?” It refers to the idea that everyone is connected by no more than six people. Maybe my neighbor’s aunt’s dog sitter’s brother’s wife is the personal trainer of the guy whose cubicle is next to mine at work. That sort of thing. 

I am a bike ride leader and secretary for an organization called Washington Women Outdoors (WWO). WWO is a great organization that has been around since 1977, sponsoring cool activities like hiking, camping, paddle boarding, caving, backpacking, and more. If it’s outside, they do it. I participated in my first WWO activity in 1985, rock climbing. That was rock climbing before rock climbing was cool. Since then I have done rock climbing (again and again!), hiking, caving, kayaking, archery, and a lot more. I have met fun and interesting women, many of whom have become friends. I cherish these connections, which have enriched my life.

Not too long ago some of our leaders were going through some files from way back and stumbled upon – well, not stumbled, these women are quite agile – came upon records from the founding of the organization. Turns out the signer of WWO’s articles of incorporation and its first treasurer was Alice Rivlin! Sure, you know who she is – the founding director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) from 1975 to 1983! (Later she was head of the Office of Management and Budget and Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve.) Imagine: while rolling up her sleeves to file the necessary paperwork for incorporation, set up a board of directors, recruit new members, set up a bookkeeping system, balance the budget, and all the other myriad responsibilities involved in launching a start-up, she still found the time to create the CBO! She developed job descriptions, hired new staff, designed a structural hierarchy, and pretty much determined how the office was going to fulfill its Congressional mission. All while raising three children.  

WWO grew out of this kind of energy. And today, we still have a lot of accomplished and amazing women running the show. But the even better thing about the organization is that no matter what your ability level there is a place for you. We have trips for all levels, including newbie beginners. Our core values are empowerment, knowledge, and camaraderie. Our vision is: Through WWO activities, all women in the Washington, DC region will have opportunities to experience and appreciate the outdoors within our supportive community.

We describe our activities and let you know what to expect ahead of time so you can choose the events that are right for you. Our rides and hikes have a leader in the front and a sweep in the back, meaning that if even if you are the slowest person in the group someone will stay back and keep you company. And we take the camaraderie part seriously: we want you to feel included.

So check out the website and consider signing up for something. You never know whom you will meet!

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In a previous blog RunningBarb described the Brennan Center for Justice and the information and education it provides. Today I am sharing intel about the National Constitution Center. It bills itself as “the first and only museum dedicated to the U.S. Constitution.”

It is housed in Philadelphia, which we all know is where the Constitution was written. (Remember fourth grade?) There are galleries dedicated to America’s founding, the First Amendment, the signers of the Constitution, and related topics. But you don’t have to go to Philly to learn stuff. The Center provides a daily blog on Constitutional issues, including summaries of Supreme Court cases, podcasts, which include interviews with interesting movers and shakers, online town hall meetings, and much more. It covers historical events and legal principles and also offers ideas on how to improve our democracy and system of government. 

Viewing the materials of the National Constitution Center is a great way to study the founding document of the United States, learn how it has been interpreted historically, and see how it is applied today. It gives context and a lens through which to view current events. And these days, don’t we need all the help we can get? 

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Let’s talk about news. In the old days you would wait for your newspaper to be delivered on your front lawn and read it every morning. You might listen to the news on the radio or watch it on TV. There was a short list of places to find out what was happening, and the ones that were there seemed pretty reliable.

Today, looking for news information can be head-spinning. Many traditional media outlets have closed or drastically revised how they operate, newer ones with a clear agenda and partisan bent have sprouted up, podcasters disseminating conspiracy theories with no accountability have proliferated, and random dispatches by anonymous posters pop up on social media. How to wade through the morass?

While RunningBarb doesn’t have all the answers, one place I do like to go to hear thoughtful, reasoned analysis is the Brennan Center for Justice. Based at the New York University School of Law and nonpartisan, it provides information on a wide range of timely topics, including voting and elections, money in politics, the courts, criminal justice, government power, the U.S. Constitution, and more. It has a team of legal experts who clearly explain issues, problems, and possible solutions in the pursuit of better government and strengthening democracy. They publish “explainers” to help the public better understand the matters that we are reading and learning about. For example, this week the Supreme Court heard arguments on birthright citizenship. What is birthright citizenship, and how has it been interpreted by the courts over the years? The Brennan Center clarifies this for us. 

It also hosts webinars on a wide range of topics, sends out newsletters, and publishes tons of material on its website to help us make sense of what is going on. In addition, it highlights state actions, many of which don’t make it to the national news. All of this is done in a way that focusses on solutions.

I think being in touch with the Brennan Center is a great way to educate myself in a way that is manageable. While there is a lot of bad news going around, learning from the experts at the Brennan Center allows me to take a step back, makes me feel (somewhat) hopeful, and inspires me to do my part to protect our democracy. 

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RunningBarb is the second of four children. My brother Phil is the oldest. As I was growing up I often thought my real name was “Phil’s sister.” Phil was always involved in sports, adventures, and entrepreneurship. When he was twelve he ran a paper route. (History lesson here: Back in the day boys used to deliver the daily newspaper from their bikes.) By the time he was 18 he had started a landscaping business, which he managed until he retired. Now he lives in Wyoming and maintains hiking trails in national forests. Obviously not a slouch.

One night a few years ago, as he and his wife, Cherie, were enjoying the evening, they heard a huge crash outside. Then the lights went out. Right away he knew that a car had hit the light pole in front of the house. (This is how he thinks. He knows how to identify when something breaks, and even better, how to fix it.) He looked out the window and saw a smashed car crunched at a 45 degree angle up against the pole. He observed little flames under the car, like a low setting for your stove if you were warming up dinner.

Immediately he grabbed a fire extinguisher and ran out. He jumped over his front fence to get to the car. (Sports, right?) By then – it couldn’t have been any more than 15 seconds – the entire car was engulfed in fire. A teenager had crawled out of the passenger’s side window and was now pacing the area outside the heat. “I killed my friend!” he sobbed. Apparently he had been engaging in some daredevil brinksmanship with another driver, and this was the result. 

Phil looked into the car and didn’t see anyone. Then he heard screaming. He heard pounding. It was the sound of the other guy kicking the floor and trying to escape. By then Phil had emptied the fire extinguisher and was calling to the boy, whose name was Levi, to move closer to him. Phil started to grab him and spotted what looked like a black rope around his neck. He moved it away, thinking, “What the heck . . .” Then he realized it was the melted seat belt. He pulled Levi out of the strap and continued tugging, calling “Come on, come on, come on!” The driver came over to help and together they dragged Levi’s 200 plus pound frame out to safety. It was not pretty. Levi had sustained severe burns all over his body and eventually spent more than a year in the hospital.

A few minutes later the emergency medical technicians arrived. 

For this act of courage the Medford, New Jersey Police Department awarded Phil its Civilian Service Award. 

Though he didn’t feel it at the time, he sustained burns on his hand while moving the charred seat belt. 

Phil says that when he saw the car ablaze he never thought “I can’t do that.” It was more like “I’d better do that, because I am not sure who else will.” He did not hesitate.

Phil lost his son in an accident in 2014. In 2022 he saved the life of another parent’s child. 

His actions that night represent love in action.

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Each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done . . . 

-Bryan Stevenson

Do you know about Bryan Stevenson, the lawyer, educator, and humanitarian? Over his 40 year career he has worked to reform the legal system of punishment in the United States, overturn the death penalty for more than 130 people, expand access to legal and pro bono defense, establish a National Memorial for Peace and Justice, and much more. 

Bryan Stevenson was born in a small town in Delaware in 1959. His father was a lab technician and his mother an equal opportunity officer. He grew up in a home where education was emphasized. He went to church and sang in the choir. The church promoted a philosophy of uplifting people even when they had “fallen down.” This influenced him and his later work.

He grew up in a segregated environment and watched as his mother openly protested these conditions. Bryan was a top student in high school and college, eventually earning a law degree and a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard. During law school he worked for an organization that represents death row inmates. That was the experience that set the trajectory for the rest of his life.

After law school he worked for the Southern Center for Human Rights, then founded the Equal Justice Initiative. In one of his first cases he was able to exonerate and have released from jail Walter McMillian, who had been sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit. Since then, Bryan has scored a number of victories on behalf of people unjustly impacted by the criminal system, including those who are poor, uneducated, part of a minority group, young, or a combination of all four. His work is described in his 2014 book Just Mercy, which was also made into a movie. Reading this book helps you see how being “tough on crime” harms vulnerable people and unjustly punishes the innocent. If you want insight into how our system of crime and punishment really works, read this book. Warning here, it’s a hard read.

His list of successes and achievements is seemingly endless. He takes on the most tragic and difficult cases and provides relief for the people impacted. He educates the world about the damage wrought by the significant inequality in our country and the world. He teaches us about mercy and redemption. He does so with grace and humility.

The work of Bryan Stevenson represents love in action.

Looking around in the world it is easy to see a lot of hate, oppression, vindictiveness, and you can add to the list, I’m sure. Seems like it takes an act of courage to show love. Here are some examples we can look to.

One is the Walk for Peace undertaken by 19 Buddhist monks, from Fort Worth, Texas to Washington, DC. The journey took 108 days and covered 2300 miles. Thousands came out to greet them in person en route, including 10,000 admirers in Richmond. Their online presence reached 2.9 million followers on Facebook and 1.9 million on Instagram. They met with many officials from state and local governments. They received pins, badges, and other mementos from law enforcement officers.

According to its leader, Bhikkhu Pannakara, “We walk not to bring any attention to us, but we just hope that we raise awareness of peace to all the people who will meet along the road.” 

He also explained “Love and kindness does not need power, money, or a title. It is simply the choice to stop before hurting, to sharpen before speaking. If each person takes just one second to ask, ‘Will this hurt anyone?’ the world would already be kinder.” 

A second is the ResistDance, a performance by the First Amendment Troop. This dance honors the lives of Renée Macklin Good and Alex Pretti, two American citizens shot to death by our government’s paramilitary ICE agents. This group of artists devoted hours of creativity and practice to develop precise and expressive steps and movements that tell the stories. They literally put their whole selves into it.  

A third is the knitting of the “Melt the ICE” hat being done by thousands of crafty folks around the world. The pattern for this hat is based on the hat worn by Norwegians during the World War II to protest the Nazi government. The Nazis felt so threatened by the wearing of this hat that they banned it. These knitters work their hands to stand for what is right. Proceeds from the sales of the pattern – more than $250,000 and counting – go to immigrant mutual aid groups in Minnesota.

We may feel small and unable to stop the flow of hate. But maybe we can seek out sparks of love, and even create some of our own.

What are some acts of love that you have seen lately?

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Remember last spring when the current president wrote a bunch of executive orders punishing law firms he didn’t like? Some of them sued, and won. The United States Department of Justice was set to appeal those decisions, then on Monday, March 2, dropped its appeal. Hooray for the Constitution! On Tuesday I wrote the blog below, for posting on Thursday.

Then – on Tuesday, the administration changed its mind, filing a motion to drop the motion to drop the appeal. Got it? So they are going to press on with an appeal. Lucky for them, they have unlimited resources in the form of the tax dollars you and I pay out of our hard-earned income. Unlucky for the law firms and us, this is a continuing, expensive battle to protect our Constitutional rights. Where, just where, is our country headed. 

Tuesday, March 2 Blog

Last spring – which feels like around 350 years ago now –  the president of the United States issued a series of executive orders aimed at punishing some of the nation’s largest law firms. He chose firms who took positions he did not agree with or who represented clients he did not like. He accused them of overturning elections, following illegal policies related to hiring and employment, and undermining justice, among many other complaints.  

As he often does, he offered to strike a deal with these firms. If they capitulated to his demands and provided millions of dollars of free legal representation to his administration, he would lift the executive order. Think about it: The president will use the power of one of the most well-funded Justice Departments on the planet to go after you on arbitrary grounds on a whim, but will leave you alone if you pay a bribe. 

While some firms abandoned their ethical responsibilities and caved, others stood up to protect the Constitutional rights of themselves and others. As I wrote in a previous blog, my favorite law suit of all those being filed against the administration (now up to 670) was the one brought by the American Bar Association on this very issue. The ABA claimed the executive order was issued for retaliatory purposes and violates the Constitution. Several law firms sued as well. 

The firms won their cases at the district level, and the administration was set to appeal. However it decided to drop its appeal four days before its appeals court brief was due. Seems like the Justice Department was not so sure it would win at this level. Therefore, the decisions invalidating the executive orders stand. 

It’s kind of maddening when someone or something has to spend a year and boatloads of money to defend against an action that is so blatantly unconstitutional. 

All the same, I hope the success of these law firms serves as an example to other powerful entities who are considering forsaking their principles for short term gain. While the win is good news for the rule of law, it is also a reminder that none of us should take our rights for granted. We must be diligent in protecting them, electing leaders who respect the Constitution, and being sure to participate in the democratic process. 

For Mr. K, who never misses a beat.

March 2026: L’Chaim!

Okay, I couldn’t let the story end on 17, it had to be 18. Why is that?  

In Jewish tradition, the word for “life” is “chai,” made up of the Hebrew letters chet and yud. In Hebrew each letter is associated with a number. The numerical value of chet is eight, and the value of yud is 10. Combined, they add up to 18. (Check my math here, just to be safe.) If you are giving someone a monetary gift, say, on their bat mitzvah, it is traditional to give a multiple of 18: 18 dollars, 36 bucks, 54 smackers, etc. 

So, with this 18^th entry I offer L’chaim! To life!

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For Mr. K, who never misses a beat.

February 2026: The End. Ish.

By September 2025 my echo echocardiogram showed a great deal of improvement in my heart. Not perfect, but I’m calling it good enough for now. Unfortunately, my kidneys still didn’t look so great. But Dr. Nephrologist told me I would be fine as long as they remained stable. Of course, I didn’t want stable, I wanted better. On the other hand, one of my other doctors told me people could live “for years” with my stage of kidney disease. So there is that.

It’s funny, I don’t even notice my poor kidney function. You would think that if your body doesn’t filter waste very well you would feel sick. Dr. Nephrologist told me that people can be at the point where they need dialysis and not have any symptoms. Very strange.

I once watched a webinar where there was an example of a woman with amyloidosis whose kidneys eventually got back to normal. It took eight years. I guess I can be patient.

In October 2025 I received my last (for now, and I hope forever) jab of Daratumumab. The oncology nurse asked me if I wanted to “ring the bell.” That’s a ritual to mark the end of treatment. I did not want to do it. Sure, my treatment was finished – for the time being, anyway. There’s always the possibility of relapse. And anyway, I don’t see life as a series of beginnings and endings. I see it more like you are standing on a surf board catching a wave, riding high above the water, feeling like you could sail there forever, even up to the heavens, then you come down a little and have to shift around and try to stay on top and not to fall off, and especially to avoid getting eaten by a shark. (Okay, I did try surfing in Hawaii, and I spent as much time splashing in the water as on top, so maybe it is not the best metaphor here. But you know what I am saying.)

Instead of clanging a ringer, Mr. K and I celebrated by spending nearly seven weeks in Japan.

These days I feel normal and happy. I even sleep lying down instead of sitting up. That was a big step! And I am glad to be alive. The past two years have been hard for me to wrap my head around. Did all that stuff really happen? A ten in a million disease? And I’m mostly recovered? What a miracle to go from being so debilitated, to biking hills and climbing mountains. Remember when RunningBarb couldn’t run? 

What a marvel. Science. Doctors. Modern medicine. They saved my life.

And as hard as the disease and treatment was, it wasn’t nearly as bad for me as it is for many people. A lot of suffering and incapacitation comes along with this condition. I was one of the lucky ones. I had an almost-diagnosis at the Big Boy Hospital, exceptional treatment at the Amyloidosis Center of Excellence, and Mr. K by my side through all of it. In fact, Mr. K has been there for like, 150 years, since 1984, through a globe trotting life, a big fat wedding, law school, The Darlings, and every other twist and turn in between. Does it get much better?

If you ever lie awake at night thinking, ”Hey I wonder if RunningBarb lives a charmed life?” there’s your answer.

And I also I give thanks to you, Loyal Readers, who have provided comfort, support, and positive energy over these past two months. Your feedback has been encouraging and gratifying.

How do you explain it? The mystery of the universe? Maybe I am one of those people with a bad disease who loves life and celebrates everything around them and sees every day is a blessing. 

I may die of this disease, or maybe not. Maybe one warm summer evening I will be going to the store for hot dogs and wine and wind up in the belly of a big ol’ UFO. Maybe I will be around on Earth for a long while. Who knows what’s coming up next around the bend?

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For Mr. K, who never misses a beat.

June, July, August 2025: Getting Even Better-er 

For me, things continued to improve (mostly). I kept biking until I was up to 54 hilly miles on a steamy day in July. My running pace increased. My swimming was smooth. Ultimately I climbed two more mountains in the Adirondacks. Remember how it took me 13 hours to go 13 miles the last time I was there? I wanted to see if I could do better. I practiced by going back to the Appalachian Mountains and hiking a leg of the trail that went up around 500 feet in under a mile. I went up and down the path six times, covering more than 11 miles and more than 3000 feet of elevation. Before I started I was not sure how I would do on this. It was way more than I had done in a couple of years. It was a test. By the end I was tired, but fine. I could have kept going. But – all right, already. 

So now I felt like I was in the ballpark of bagging another Adirondack 46er. The one I had my eye on was Seymour, which was in the neighborhood of the two we did in 2023. The hike to Seymour is 14 miles long with 2870 feet of elevation. I did not have my heart set on doing it. Mr. K and I agreed we would take more of a Lemme give it a try and see how I feel approach. I wanted to be optimistic, and also realistic. If I was moving too slowly to be able to finish in a reasonable time I would stop and just accept that my 46er days are over. Didn’t wanna be stuck out on a mountain in the dark again! However . . . if I felt okay, there was also Seward, which was the third one on our plan in 2023, the one I didn’t get to try. We could take a day or two of recovery time after Seymour and head up Seward. 

We had great conditions. The trail to Seymour was mostly dry. The first few miles were flat, then the climbing began. Up a rocky path until we hit some boulders which we could scale only by pulling ourselves up on the adjacent trees. It was like wrestling with a giant slab of granite. A full body experience. Then up and up and up on the switchback path until finally I spied the wooden sign with the peeling name of the mountain nailed to a tree. Exhilaration.

A few days later we climbed Seward. 

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