Sayuri Ayers

Source: Wikimedia Commons When the falconers ask me about my interest in falconry, I don’t say where I work. I tell them that I trained in biology and am generally interested in nature. I don’t say that for the past twelve years I have worked at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) helping people around the world to conserve biodiversity and adapt to climate change.

"The Gleaners" by Jean-François Millet, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Whenever we drive past a sidewalk pile labeled “FREE” in St. Paul, my daughters chant, “Mom, keep driving. Don’t look. Just go.” They’re half‑laughing, half‑pleading — teenagers seasoned by my curbside impulses, bracing for the possibility that I might slam on the brakes and leap out to inspect a discarded dresser or chair. They think it’s a quirk — another one of my Mom things.

Photo by Julian Myles This Insight essay was originally published on September 25, 2020. Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth jumped into my childhood as if doing Russian splits off the top of a speaker wall. As a kid, I first heard Van Halen on Detroit rock radio, but by 1984 I couldn’t escape their music videos. Roth strutted and soft shoed while guitarist Eddie Van Halen, drummer Alex Van Halen, and bassist Michael Anthony rocked out with joy. MTV played Van Halen’s “Jump” on heavy rotation.