During what has got to be the most stressful days of Heather Heyer's mother's life, she continues to be thoughtful, clear and generous, as well as firmly drawing boundaries where they need to be drawn.

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The more I see of Heather Heyer's mother, Susan Bro, the more I understand that we are in the presence of a truly remarkable person. During what has got to be the most stressful days of her life she continues to be thoughtful, clear and generous, as well as firmly drawing boundaries where they need to be drawn.

It's hard to imagine that another administration would not have sent a representative to Heather Heyer's funeral, especially since Charlottesville is only a couple of hours from Washington, DC. I was in Prescott, AZ when the Yarnell "Hotshot" firefighters lost their lives in 2013, and Vice President Joe Biden flew in and gave a moving speech. President Obama spoke at the service for the slain Dallas policemen in 2016. He also sent Cabinet Secretary Broderick Johnson, and two other prominent advisors, to Freddie Gray's funeral. He sent three government officials to Michael Brown's funeral, and delivered a eulogy for the for the funeral of pastor Clementa Pinckney after the Charleston Church shooting.

It doesn't look like Heather Heyer's family got anything official except disparaging remarks. And still, Susan Bro remains steadfast and centered, an inspiring example of grace under pressure.

The White House had been trying to contact Bro, but she said one of the calls came in while she was at the funeral. (Was ascertaining the timing of the service beyond the White House staff's capabilities?)

"I hadn't really watched the news until last night, and I'm not talking to the president now," said Bro. "I'm sorry. After what he said about my child -- and it's not that I saw somebody else's tweets about him -- I saw an actual clip of him at a press conference equating the 'protesters like Ms. Heyer' with the KKK and the white supremacists."

That woman is solid as a rock. When I grow up I want to be as centered as Susan Bro.

Authors Website: http://www.OceanViewArts.com

Authors Bio:

Meryl Ann Butler is an artist, author, educator and OpedNews Managing Editor who has been actively engaged in utilizing the arts as stepping-stones toward joy-filled wellbeing since she was a hippie. She began writing for OpEdNews in Feb, 2004. She became a Senior Editor in August 2012 and Managing Editor in January, 2013. In June, 2015, the combined views on her articles, diaries and quick link contributions topped one million. She was particularly happy that her article about Bree Newsome removing the Confederate flag was the one that put her past the million mark.

Her art in a wide variety of media can be seen on her YouTube video, "Visionary Artist Meryl Ann Butler on Creativity and Joy" at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcGs2r_66QE

A NYC native, her response to 9-11 was to pen an invitation to healing through creativity, entitled, "90-Minute Quilts: 15+ Projects You Can Stitch in an Afternoon" (Krause 2006), which is a bestseller in the craft field. The sequel, MORE 90-Minute Quilts: 20+ Quick and Easy Projects With Triangles and Squares was released in April, 2011. Her popular video, How to Stitch a Quilt in 90 Minutes with Meryl Ann Butler can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrShGOQaJQ8

She has been active in a number of international, arts-related projects as a citizen diplomat, and was arts advisor to Baltimore's CIUSSR (Center for Improving US-Soviet Relations), 1987-89. She made two trips to the former USSR in 1987 and 1988 to speak to artists, craftpeople and fashion designers on the topic of utilizing the arts as a tool for global wellbeing. She created the historical "First US-Soviet Children's Peace Quilt Exchange Project" in 1987-88, which was the first time a reciprocal quilt was given to the US from the former USSR.

Her artwork is in collections across the globe.

Meryl Ann is a founding member of The Labyrinth Society and has been building labyrinths since 1992. She publishes an annual article about the topic on OpEdNews on World Labyrinth Day, the first Saturday in May.

OpEdNews Senior Editor Joan Brunwasser interviewed Meryl Ann in "Beyond Surviving: How to Thrive in Challenging Times" at https://www.opednews.com/articles/Beyond-Surviving--How-to-by-Joan-Brunwasser-Anxiety_Appreciation_Coronavirus_Creativity-200318-988.html

Find out more about Meryl Ann's artistic life in "OEN Managing Ed, Meryl Ann Butler, Featured on the Other Side of the Byline" at https://www.opednews.com/Quicklink/OEN-Managing-Ed-Meryl-Ann-in-Life_Arts-Artistic_Artists_Quilt-170917-615.html

On Feb 11, 2017, Senior Editor Joan Brunwasser interviewed Meryl Ann in Pink Power: Sister March, Norfolk, VA at http://www.opednews.com/articles/Pink-Power-Sister-March--by-Joan-Brunwasser-Pussy-Hats-170212-681.html

"Creativity and Healing: The Work of Meryl Ann Butler" by Burl Hall is at
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Creativity-and-Healing--T-by-Burl-Hall-130414-18.html

Burl and Merry Hall interviewed Meryl Ann on their BlogTalk radio show, "Envision This," at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/envision-this/2013/04/11/meryl-ann-butler-art-as-a-medicine-for-the-soul

Archived articles www.opednews.com/author/author1820.html
Older archived articles, from before May 2005 are here.