Dear President Trump, All I’ve got time and energy for today is a short postcard-like letter so here are two quick things. First, today is our 7th wedding anniversary of the legal sort (1/1/20 was our 31st real anniversary), and second, the blossoming trees around here have really started doing their thing. Actually, some of … Continue reading Cherry blossoms and fairy lights
Health
Hitting the limits of magnanimity
Dear President Trump, As you know by now, I’ve worked very, very hard not to let hate settle into my psyche. I don’t want it to take hold or to be a motivating force. It’s poison, and ingesting and holding poison in one’s system is a bad idea for all sorts of reasons. I tried … Continue reading Hitting the limits of magnanimity
Peace is higher priority than ease
Dear President Trump, I had a little-big epiphany as I was going through my loving-kindness prayers on my walk this morning. I realized that it doesn’t make sense to send intentions for my life, my family’s lives, and strangers’ lives to unfold with ease and intentions for your life to unfold peacefully – that really, … Continue reading Peace is higher priority than ease
Breathing out and breathing in
Dear President Trump, I’m afraid I don’t have much for you tonight, but I’ll give you what I’ve got. It’s raining again (we’re at 131% of normal thus far for 2020) and the forecast is for more and more and more rain this week. Lately it’s been sounding like there’s a creek under our house … Continue reading Breathing out and breathing in
“Adulting” is hard
Dear President Trump, This morning on my walk I’d turned towards home and was going past a favorite tree (the old low-slung ornamental cherry whose major roots are exposed and look like they are doing the splits) on the corner of 21st Ave and 77th St when I heard a cat-bell sounding, as though the … Continue reading “Adulting” is hard
Dreams, identities, and democracy
Dear President Trump, After I wrote to you about Ruby Sales last night, I watched her TED talk from September, 2018. She opened with the story of the attack on her and her friends back in 1965 that resulted in the deaths of Jonathan Daniels and another man. She explained that the sheriff had jailed … Continue reading Dreams, identities, and democracy
Another wise woman
Dear President Trump, If you’ve not gotten this before, I’ll tell you plainly that Laura is a terrific finder. I see things that happen to pop up right in front of me and I regularly sleuth out what I need for paper and letter writing, but she actively searches out new stuff all the time … Continue reading Another wise woman
Polka dots of wonder
Dear President Trump, Yesterday’s sore throat seems to be gone and all that’s left is a little bit of snuffley-ness and a light cough. The snow, however, is still here – and then some. We got maybe another half inch overnight as the sidewalks and side streets are all blanketed this morning. Feeling fairly (at … Continue reading Polka dots of wonder
Fortunes
Dear President Trump, It’s been quite an odd day today and now at the very end of it I’m pretty worn out. I may or may not tell you about it tomorrow or the next day – we’ll see – but part of it involved gathering up the 50 or so fortunes from fortune cookies … Continue reading Fortunes
Eyes wide with fear
Dear President Trump, Much has already been said about your strange, even-for-you, speech about Iran yesterday. I’d seen some of the assessments noting how stilted and incoherent you were and heard about how widely dilated your pupils were. I even looked up which drugs of abuse tend to dilate mammalian pupils (cocaine, amphetamine, meth, and … Continue reading Eyes wide with fear