Music is one of the world's great ways to connect, to reach across barriers, to get to know people and place. In a time when division seems to be the order of the day in many aspects of life, music can offer ways to think about connecting. Perhaps going to hear a concert will lift your spirits and give you a break from thinking about such divisions. Then again, perhaps a bit of wisdom, an insight, an image you receive by way of a song or a tune will inspire you to carry on with ways to heal, to respect, to connect.

The summertime may bring opportunities to travel for business or pleasure, but hitting the road may also bring on aches and pains if you live with rheumatoid arthritis, or RA. So how do you cope with common travel conditions that may lead to an increase in pain from RA?Here now to talk about ways to help managange travel triggers, are rheumatologist Dr. Grace Wright and Maria, a woman living with RA.

My love of history has inspired countless trips to museums around the world. It’s a wonderful treat when I only have to drive a half an hour to visit a spectacular event. While traveling exhibits include only a small portion of a museum’s collection, they allow a wider audience to become exposed to an important topic. 

Wandering the Artist Alley at Grand Rapids Comic Con, we were stunned with the talent everywhere we glanced. Like everyone in the hall, we looked and marveled, and then the next booth came, and we did the same, ad infinitem. When we discovered artist Melissa Cordes, though, we actually stopped (never an easy feat at a busy comic con) and talked. So impressed with her talent, beautiful art, wide variety of styles, and joy in creating, we knew we had to share her art with our wandering educators.