Khan, Fawziyah, Solicit…………………………………………………………………………………………………78 Kulniszewski, Willem, Frontline Heroes…………………………………………………………………………22 LaClair, Richard, If I Were a Kingfisher

Richard LaClair, SUNY Erie professor emeritus

The mythical Greek bird could calm December seas.

If I were a kingfisher, I would calm the angry souls of Americans and open our eyes to all that we have:

The wonders of medicine, the finest of healthcare, which many kings and princes still do not possess.

Neighbors whose lives offer us wisdom of parallel struggles, victories and lossesall part of our social selves.

Access to work: places for success beyond home— the language and partnership of peers, skills, mobility.

Freedom to seek spiritual selves— value of the individual; finding mutual ethics; successful navigation through society.

Yes, if successful, I will fly a Kingfisher through America and rise to Zeus, winged victory.