Blog | SUZETTE MARTINEZ STANDRING

Art by kids lets grownups dream

Posted on May 30, 2016 by Suzette Standring

Art by kids decorates the Town of Milton, and I’ve been uplifted by the creative vision of children. On Pleasant Street, giant pinwheels rollick in the wind, and smaller ones affixed to the chain link fence spin and whirl near the word BREATHE in big green letters. I need that reminder. Fifteen art installations made by school children delight me…

Graduation: dinner with my three husbands

Posted on May 23, 2016 by Suzette Standring

(Photo: Star and I today. Her 1996 college graduation dinner was memorable.) A graduation poses challenges for the multi-wedded. I’ve been married three times, odd for a spirituality columnist to admit, but guess what? I’m an optimist. Experience decrees that when breaking bread with exes, stay positive. Star, my daughter, graduated from college in 1996, and for that milestone, family…

Nuns help sex trafficking survivors

Posted on May 10, 2016 by Suzette Standring

Sister Peggy Cummins, age 67, runs a safe house for survivors of sex trafficking. Honoring her vow to chastity for 48 years, she had no experience with either sex or trafficking when she began this work in 2011. Yet the horror and debasement did not shock her. Instead she was jolted by a different realization. “They are normal, beautiful women….

A Jewish temple rises in Milton

Posted on May 5, 2016 by Suzette Standring

At Congregation Beth Shalom of the Blue Hills I sit by the gallery’s fireplace with Lila Rosenbaum, 86. Sunshine warms our backs from the wall-high windows and she speaks of finally “having a home.” The 9,500 square foot temple is tucked to the side of an open field by a stand of old growth trees and built on 1.9 acres…

Women Writers: No apologies

Posted on April 7, 2016 by Suzette Standring

[Photo: At EBWW conference, Suzette with Gina Barreca, author and professor of English and Feminist Theory at the University of Connecticut. Suzette is wearing the “tribal mask” for loud, smart, funny women. Thanks for the gift, Gina!) A smart, competent female writer stood up to share her thoughts. “I’m sorry to take up the time…I’m probably wrong, but…” Many repeated…