My brother, Randy Smiley, took this picture of the bleeding hearts
and posted it on his political blog. He
and I were amused by the thought that some crabgrass conservative would
probably refer to them as “damn liberal weeds.”
The bleeding hearts seem like a fitting tribute to Randy. He would have been the first to tell you that
criticizing someone for caring about others does not speak well of the
critic. Randy was a much kinder and
better man than I am. I could not help
thinking about him as I celebrated this season of compassion and redemption.
Consider this a tribute, my brother. Though you are gone our struggle for a kinder, fairer
society continues!
