By Ben Calica People thought the big danger point for small shops like mine was that first couple of months closed. But the real cliff is coming now. Many of us have been clawing to keep alive long enough to be able to survive to the other side of this…

By Ben Calica What happens when the well of stubbornly good humor runs dry, and all stores are fresh out? How do you win the fight of your life, when all the fight in you just drains out? I was doing really well. Ok not so much with the business…

By Ben Calica As San Francisco & other cities put these into play, why T&R commissions are also the sneaky/best way to keep people safe while we figure out what to do next. “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” ― James Baldwin San Francisco, Philadelphia and Boston are all doing something that is a lot smarter…

By Ben Calica Before we get tangled in the great defund/fix debate, lets get everyone on the same page about what needs to go, specifically, and in writing/law so not one more parent has to teach their kids how to survive a traffic stop. There is a lot of debate…

By Ben Calica I know we’re supposed to be eager and excited to finally get to start opening again. But the truth is eagerness and financial fear doesn’t really overrule the science. You (and I) are to important to me, so any games we play won’t be with our lives. …

Fellow Fathers By Ben Calica A poem for my fellow fathers, the ones who have to teach their kids to keep their hands visible… my shame and apology can never be enough for tsking on the sidelines at another of the world’s great wrongs while you taught your children skills …

By Ben Calica Ready, set, change! When it is time to change the world, it is the results that are non-negotiable, not the catchphrases. An approach to get everything that needs to be changed, without intentionally walking into another trap. Quick Version: We need to be careful with finding the…

By Ben Calica Reform the police or rethink and start over? In a moment when enough seem to finally be saying enough, the two factions are ripping at each other over how to best stop violence. …

By Ben Calica As I fear for my teetering business becoming collateral damage, I think about what to do with my own rage and how we use it to not just say “enough” but to actually make it finally be enough. Cops who have abused others based on their race…