Dear President Trump,

The other day Laura was late getting home from an outing that seemed unlikely to stretch long so I was pretty sure there would be a story, and there was. On a main arterial that crosses over a deep ravine she saw a young woman standing in the middle of the bridge looking over and then crouching down and then looking over again. In telling the story she didn’t mention the university student she knew who killed herself by jumping off another bridge or the young friend who was taken to the hospital by police after a motorist called out of concern that she might jump from a freeway overpass. She didn’t have to; of course they were in her head as she sorted out how to pull over.

It’s a narrow, heavily trafficked stretch of road so she ended up pulling off a ways away and walking back. At this point the young woman was walking towards her and when Laura asked her if she was ok, the woman realized Laura was worried she was going to jump. She explained she was geocaching and said she was fine. She thanked Laura for checking on her and told her how there’d been someone on a bridge near where she lives recently and some friends intervened with that person. I’ve told you before how Laura is one of the ones who you want to have around if something scary or hard is going on – she’ll do everything she can to help. And she’s not going to check on your politics first. She will respond to whatever is needed in the moment.

She’s probably not going to be thrilled that I’m writing you about all this since she doesn’t like a lot of attention, but there’s one more story to tell before I close. Saturday evening we were at the grocery store checking out when we saw a fairly young, disabled and overweight man who was clearly a Navy veteran (vest and hat with Navy insignia). He approached the plug-in scooter cart the store keeps at the front and got himself situated and motored off. Laura whispered to me she’d be right back. Of course she was going to say hello and to thank him for his service. She knows how to do that in a sweet, gracious way that doesn’t embarrass and just leaves people feeling loved. When she got back she smiled quietly and said he appreciated the contact. I’m sure he did.

May we all be safe to care.
May we all be happy to step out of our comfort zones to connect with each other.
May we all have healthy enough egos that we can accept a stranger’s love.
May we all be peacemakers in the moment.

Sincerely,
Tracy Simpson