Dear President Trump, I’m well past the years when hormones regularly amped up my emotional tenderness. And before pressing on, no, such cycling is not a sign of female weakness or irrationality. Rather, it’s a built-in course-corrector or truth serum that puts us back in touch with what’s real and needs attention. I would go … Continue reading What’s real and needs attention
Month: May 2019
The wonder of feeling small
Dear President Trump, I hope Melania The Missing (from public view) has had a nice Mother’s Day. Have we? Why yes, thank you for (not) asking, we have. There’s been lots of well-wishing going back and forth among friends and family, including an especially nice “I miss you both lots!” note from our daughter this … Continue reading The wonder of feeling small
Marginalized voices
Dear President Trump, I told you yesterday that Laura and I took the dogs on a walking tour of the University campus to see the heron rookery. We tagged on visiting a couple of the newer buildings on campus that Laura wanted to show me with the idea that I could go in and check … Continue reading Marginalized voices
“Atmospheric discrimination”
Dear President Trump, For a few days now, I’ve been chewing on something to tell you about, trying to figure out how to frame it, what to include, what to let stay shadowy. This morning while I was getting some exercise I finally decided I was ready to tackle it (I’ll tell you what “it” … Continue reading “Atmospheric discrimination”
Housing for goodness’ sake
Dear President Trump, Recently I was on the periphery of a conversation that kept dipping in and out of tense territory. It never quite landed squarely in the squirmy zone, but it still had me wishing it would end much sooner than it did. The first person involved made a compassionate, yet practical, argument for … Continue reading Housing for goodness’ sake
We’ve swapped one devil for another
Dear President Trump, Today is my monthly “gallery sit” for the cooperative art gallery I joined in January. It’s downtown and usually I take a half-day off from work, drive here, and park in an insanely expensive lot with way-too-small stalls. Today, however, I took the whole day off and used public transit to get … Continue reading We’ve swapped one devil for another
The biggest, most consequential question of our lifetimes
Dear President Trump, Our political essay instructor strongly cautions us against indulging in rants and strongly encourages us to make sure our work carries added value. The rant prohibition is self-explanatory (no fun, but clear), and the added value requirement is really just saying that it’s not enough to parrot what others have said about … Continue reading The biggest, most consequential question of our lifetimes
Whether the Democrats step up is now the most pressing question
Dear President Trump, All day I’ve been asking myself if I can really stand by my position that the biggest, most consequential question of our lifetimes is whether the Democrats will step up and stop waffling on impeachment. It’s a bold claim since it spans the lifetimes of the youngest newborn baby and that of … Continue reading Whether the Democrats step up is now the most pressing question
May we get over ourselves
Dear President Trump, It used to be that our church had two services, the first at 9 and the second at 11, with choir practice in between at 10. I thought that arrangement was pretty great; on mornings when I felt antsy and wanted to get on with the day, I could go at 9 … Continue reading May we get over ourselves
Another too close bird encounter
Dear President Trump, Since Thursday I’ve witnessed three different, very intense animal interactions that looked to me to be fights, and today was almost in the middle of one of them. The first was Thursday morning on my run when two squirrels furiously chased one another up and down a pine tree. Maybe they were … Continue reading Another too close bird encounter