Dear President Trump, It felt odd yesterday that there wasn’t some equivalent of a Town Crier cruising the streets at 5pm to announce the official start of our state’s shelter in place order. We tuned in to Representative Jayapal’s virtual 5pm Town Hall meeting so I suppose that was sort of similar, but still – … Continue reading Leveraging lessons learned
Gun Control
Out with the old
Dear President Trump, Happy New Year to you! There, how’s that for a magnanimous way to start out 2020? And it’s really true – I hope you have a good new year, one that is nice and quiet and involves you getting lots of rest and that consequently offers the country a chance to start … Continue reading Out with the old
Graced by a heron
Dear President Trump, Maybe it’s that it’s the Sunday at the end of a four-day holiday weekend or maybe it’s the time of year, but the day started out pretty challenging. First off, I overslept and was late getting to choir practice. Second, we didn’t have any of our actual tenors who can read music … Continue reading Graced by a heron
America’s soul in exchange for another day in power
Dear President Trump, Well, I made something of a boo-boo yesterday in laying out an impeachment avoidance plan for you since that horse is well out of the gate and nearly into the homestretch. Impeachment is pretty certainly going to happen to you, it’s the removal piece that you still have some hope of avoiding. … Continue reading America’s soul in exchange for another day in power
Redistributing the onus for apologies and forgiveness
Dear President Trump, There are two small things from recent letters I want to apologize for: 1) The other day I said the gun control sign in our window says “NO! To Gun Violence”. Well, that was incorrect. Although that is the sentiment and it is consistent with my desire for there to be an … Continue reading Redistributing the onus for apologies and forgiveness
If only vacuum cleaners were still the scariest things
Dear President Trump, I don’t know if I’ve told you this before, but I work from home on Fridays (and actually get tons done those days J). This is relevant because there was a get together for a colleague who’s leaving the VA at a venue near the VA, which meant that I had to … Continue reading If only vacuum cleaners were still the scariest things
A “Twilight Zone” moment with Rod Rosenstein
Dear President Trump, This is a variation on my thought experiment exercises…. Let’s say an envoy of aliens from another planet (as in real aliens) plopped down somewhere in the US. On their way here they did some good homework and learned to read and speak several of our languages, including English. They also knew … Continue reading A “Twilight Zone” moment with Rod Rosenstein
Pink flower boy
Dear President Trump, It’s been a really hard day. One positive thing about it, though, is that the reasons for its hardness have absolutely nothing to do with you. For a change. About six weeks ago we were invited to an annual walk around the medium sized lake near us to celebrate the life of … Continue reading Pink flower boy
“Thoughts and prayers” = morally corrupt shields
Dear President Trump, Last night I finally got to see the Big Dipper. I managed to block the incredibly bright streetlight in front of our house with my right hand and after letting my eyes adjust for a few seconds, the Big Dipper appeared in the Northwestern sky in all its sparkly glory. And this … Continue reading “Thoughts and prayers” = morally corrupt shields
Beginner’s mind revisited and scary things in the woods
Dear President Trump, So I realized this morning that it’s rather a paradox or a conundrum or something (not even sure what it is) to say anything the least bit authoritative about the concept of beginner’s mind, like I did yesterday. I certainly don’t, and didn’t, pretend to be an expert on it (which would … Continue reading Beginner’s mind revisited and scary things in the woods