‘Peace House Community Journal’ Archives
PHC: The Absurd Society
By MARTI MALTBY Marti Maltby This morning, one of Peace House Community’s members stopped by to say hi. He hadn’t been here for a few months, and I was glad to see him. When I asked how he was doing, he smiled, said, “I’m doing alright”, and held up his hands to show me that all his fingers had been amputated this winter because of frostbite. I expressed sorrow at his situation, but he continued smiling and said, “Oh, you know how it is being homeless. This happens. But I’ve learned how to sign my name. I can use a fork now.” After a few more minutes of chatting he left to get on with his day, and I came back inside to try to make sense of what I had just seen and heard.Every winter, people lose anything from their fingers to their lives because one of the richest states in the richest country in the world can’t figure out how to pay for proper housing. We’re more comfortable watching some people suffer so that others can live luxurious lives than we are with [...]
Peace House Community: June ’23
Which is Worse: A Viper, a Cobra, or an Adder? By MARTI MALTBY Marti Maltby Decades ago, I heard my supervisor speaking with a friend about their respective marital troubles. They had very different challenges in their marriages, but they understood each other’s struggles. Being young, single, and stupid, I made some naïve comment that was meant to be helpful. My supervisor laughed at my ignorance and commented, “When it comes to our wives, it’s a question of whether you want to face a viper, a cobra, or an adder.” (Sorry for the implied sexism of that story. If I had a female supervisor, I’m sure it would have been a choice between a jackass, a mule, or a donkey.)My supervisor’s comment keeps coming back to me when I recognize a situation with no “good” options, just options that hopefully are less harmful than others. One such situation came up at the April City Council meeting when the City reported that it has spent between $5.5 and $7.5 million since [...]
Peace House Community: Wisdom in Unexpected Places
By MARTI MALTBY Marti Maltby Occasionally, you come across wisdom in such an unexpected place that you don’t notice it until later. It’s like driving past something quickly and then thinking “Did I just see …?” I had this experience recently when I ran across one of the best commentaries I’ve ever heard about what matters in a relationship.Some of you will remember the television series MythBusters, where Adam Savage and his colleagues would test famous but questionable stories to see if they were scientifically possible. Since MythBusters went off the air, Adam has started a live podcast (complete with video feed) where he answers fans’ questions, many of which involve his time on MythBusters. The setup is pretty simple: Adam sits at a workbench and reads questions on his computer monitor as they come in, looks directly into the camera, and speaks to whoever asked the question. In one podcast, someone asked him if he imagines an actual person behind the camera [...]
