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I once found my mother helpless on the floor and my father writhing on the couch. He'd just had quintuple bypass surgery. She was in the throes of dementia. The violence, the gaping need, and the family ache brought me into the question of care.

Since then I've worked as a certified nursing assistant (CNA) and I've written about the issues and the ache. Among the pieces: "Care and Kara," (Fourth Genre), "Celebrate CNA Week. Then Pay Us More,"  (Chicago Sun Times), "Art and the Dying Time" (Hippocampus). There's a more complete list here. 

Care is, I believe, the core moral value that has sustained the species and the planet. Human babies can't survive--and create new generations-- without care; care--not love--is the thing that knits us together, educates kids, discovers cures, builds roads, makes laws, fuels community, and ensures a future. What a joy it has been to find and, when I can, support others whose art, work, writing, and advocacy explores this core force.   

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