Dear President Trump, The sermon on Sunday was delivered by one of our associate ministers, a woman in her late 60s or early 70s who went to divinity school just a few years ago after her husband died. The title of her sermon was “Fully Human: Our Jagged Edges.” The premise of the message was … Continue reading “Jagged edges”
Community
Political trash and literal trash
Dear President Trump, Lately, I’ve been noticing that in addition to feeling as though overt racism is acceptable again, many of us seem to have decided to go back to the good ol’ days when no one gave a second thought to throwing trash out of car windows. It’s as though we need our physical … Continue reading Political trash and literal trash
The finite nature of nature’s capacity
Dear President Trump, I just checked your schedule for today and it looks like you took this Labor Day off. Don’t presidents usually do some pro-labor sort of thing on Labor Day? I just Googled “President Obama Labor Day” and found a slew of recordings of Labor Day addresses he gave over the years. Hmm. … Continue reading The finite nature of nature’s capacity
Matter and energy
Dear President Trump, Today is my mom’s birthday, the last in a long string of August family birthdays that started on the 10th with my deceased grandfather, then my father’s on the 12th, my twin sisters’ on the 14th, and our brother-in-law’s (BIL) on the 18th. When we were kids my brother and I would … Continue reading Matter and energy
“…. I don’t see any up sides to this situation”
Dear President Trump, Our brother-in-law’s (BIL) niece suggested we read Joan Didion’s memoir “The Year of Magical Thinking.” It’s Didion’s account of her life during the year following her husband, John Dunne’s sudden death from cardiac arrest. Her ability to capture the sense of loss and of being lost following a close loved one’s death … Continue reading “…. I don’t see any up sides to this situation”
John McCain’s gift
Dear President Trump, A little while back I wrote to you about the virtues of leading with love. It’s been abundantly clear you’ve not heeded the message and I don’t think it’s just because you missed that letter. You had such a great opportunity to pretend to be a magnanimous leader in how you chose … Continue reading John McCain’s gift
Endings and transitions
Dear President Trump, I’m pretty much at the end of my stay here in Atlanta. Laura left this morning and I leave at the crack of dawn tomorrow. I think it will be good all around for us to be home. Laura’s brother says he’s ready to start sorting out his new normal without his … Continue reading Endings and transitions
Angels and stories
Dear President Trump, There is a painting hanging above the fireplace in Laura’s brother’s family room that I’ve always liked a lot. It’s an abstracted plaza scene with 25 or so figures in dresses, overcoats, and suits traversing the space rather pell-mell. Most of them are casting multiple shadows as if there are lights on … Continue reading Angels and stories
Legislation can help us be better to one another
Dear President Trump, Today was filled with chores, visits, flowers, and tears. Laura has been doing a lot of the proverbial heavy lifting; figuring things out, getting calls made and faxes sent, carting things to Goodwill. She also found the perfect place to donate our brother-in-law’s (BIL) bike. She’s been fearless and tireless with the … Continue reading Legislation can help us be better to one another
Both/and
Dear President Trump, About an hour after we got back to the house last night Laura’s brother called and told us that our brother-in-law (BIL) died just before midnight. He wasn’t pronounced dead until after midnight so the official record will list his death one day after his birthday. We’ll always know, though, that his … Continue reading Both/and
Daily Trump Letters 