by Barbara Clarke | March 15, 2023
In 2008, I had one of those I wonder whatever happened to moments and googled my blind-from-birth, mentor and former boss, Barry Scheur. My jaw dropped when I saw the headline in Modern Healthcare, dated December 05, 2005: “HMO dreams end in court. Barry Scheur began... 
by Barbara Clarke | March 1, 2023
Several decades ago, my naturopathic doctor at the time, Marleen Haverty, invited me to join her and a few others in a sweat lodge. “I think you’re ready,” she said. Ready for what, I didn’t ask. Instead, I jumped at the chance. Being me, however, I spent more time... 
by Barbara Clarke | February 15, 2023
The first question you might ask is – Can a book really change your life? If you asked someone who has read and followed AA’s “Big Book” (written in 1939, printed in over 70 languages, and still considered AA’s basic text), they would say yes. That’s how I feel... 
by Barbara Clarke | February 1, 2023
Prior to the midterm elections I heard Sen Ted Cruz (R), from the great state of Texas (where all of Houston was on a boil water alert that day), say that if the Democrats took over government, socialism would be the horrifying result. I found this laughable. It’s... 
by Barbara Clarke | January 15, 2023
For more than a few years, desperate to leave California, I wondered what it would be like to move back to the Midwest. Maybe not St. Louis, since it had fallen on even harder times. I heard at my 50-year, high-school reunion that salvaging old bricks from condemned... 
by Barbara Clarke | January 1, 2023
A few weeks before Christmas, I drove Jack to St. Louis for his flight to visit old friends on Cape Cod where he’d lived for many years. A light snow started to fall while I loaded our truck with groceries, bakery goods, and fresh fish from the Delmar Market. Before I...