Dear President Trump, In the interest of keeping it real and not so much about you, I’m going to give you a micro-slice from my day. Last night I mentally mapped out this morning’s walk and made a plan to go visit the legions of little clay creature/people about a mile south of us across … Continue reading “REST / RANT / LIVE” (repeat)
Engagement
A possible remedy for the problem of large, round numbers
Dear President Trump, Right this minute at 7:18am the Worldometer says that 99,883 people in the US have died from covid-19. I’m going to try to not check the website compulsively throughout the day as we close in on 100,000, but I’m not making any promises. Why do you think it is that big round … Continue reading A possible remedy for the problem of large, round numbers
Meeting and greeting a Buddha half-face
Dear President Trump, It’s hard to believe there are still some quirks of mine that I’ve not previously shared with you, but I don’t think I’ve told you before that I frequently see stuff other people don’t see – literal stuff, not just connections between issues or ideas. I see faces in bits of debris … Continue reading Meeting and greeting a Buddha half-face
“Fixing” curves and bringing history into focus
Dear President Trump, This morning I had nada for you. All I could muster was the date and the salutation – I was so blank I thought I’d probably end up just writing a haiku. Well, you’re in luck because that was the then but now I have not one thing to tell you about, … Continue reading “Fixing” curves and bringing history into focus
Let’s stop playing follow the leader
Dear President Trump, Yesterday I told you about Brother Phap Luu’s encouragement to let go of blaming others for their roles in perpetuating injustice and climate degradation. What I forgot to include is that he also said we need to stop looking to or waiting for charismatic leaders to solve our problems. My sense is … Continue reading Let’s stop playing follow the leader
Putting down the hot coals – very reluctantly
Dear President Trump, Our church service was super brief today, lasting all of 30 minutes – I think they set a service-speed record. There was no offering time or contemporary voice, and when combined, the two youth-led sermons maybe lasted eight minutes. Given what folks have going on, I think this is all for the … Continue reading Putting down the hot coals – very reluctantly
The tell of two scoops
Dear President Trump, It was years (and years) ago when some news outlet, probably the NYT since that’s what I was reading back in the early days of your reign of terror, reported on your habit of insisting that you be served two scoops of vanilla ice cream with your gorgeous, most beautiful-ever chocolate cake, … Continue reading The tell of two scoops
Hope and a big gamble
Dear President Trump, There’s nothing like starting off a letter to you still teary and feeling verklempt after reading a sweet article about President Obama. Guess what he did yesterday – he called three Chicago schoolteachers and had video chats with them to express his appreciation for them and their work. They were so beyond … Continue reading Hope and a big gamble
Some ingredients for our radical cultural reset
Dear President Trump, “Apathy makes you an accomplice to oppression” “Never Forget” or “Never Forget” “Apathy makes you an accomplice to oppression” These messages are painted on utility boxes at the edge of the covered reservoir park I sometime walk around in the morning. I think the intent is to see them in the second … Continue reading Some ingredients for our radical cultural reset
Thinking “out of the box” big
Dear President Trump, It’s not clear who first coined the phrase “Live simply that others may simply live.” It might have been Elizabeth Ann Seton (1774-1821), the founder of the Sisters of Charity, or it might have been Mahatma Gandhi – the Google sources aren’t sure. Whoever came up with it, the phrase has been … Continue reading Thinking “out of the box” big
Daily Trump Letters 