President* Trump, Well, I gave watching the debate quite a decent go this evening and hung in longer on this one than the last one. I couldn’t tell how much the mic-muting was actually happening – maybe it was only when you each had your formal 2-minute responses – but however it worked, things seemed … Continue reading Finders not keepers
Homelessness
The good old, less bad days
Dear President Trump, It struck me the other day that I was missing times past when we were all focused on whether we could invoke Article 25 or we could watch and see whether this or that egregious abuse of power was going to be the thing that finally brought you down. How is it … Continue reading The good old, less bad days
An ok Christmas and a blessing
Dear President Trump, The day got away from me and it’s late so this is just a postcard of sorts wishing you an ok Christmas and sending out a blessing for everyone (even you). May it be true one day very soon that we all have safe, warm places to call home. May our collective … Continue reading An ok Christmas and a blessing
The homeless encampment was swept last week
Dear President Trump, Last Thursday the homeless encampment just outside the fence of the public golf course by the VA was swept. By the time I’d parked to walk in to work, nearly half of the 20 or so tents had been removed and none of the people who’d been living there for months were … Continue reading The homeless encampment was swept last week
‘Blessing Boxes,’ tent encampments, and our messed up priorities
Dear President Trump, Yesterday on our Saturday dog walk we were in a neighborhood we frequent pretty often and we saw one of those Little Libraries. They sometimes look like the houses they belong to, but are always smallish wooden boxes with shelves that are perched atop a post. Each one has a glass-paned door, … Continue reading ‘Blessing Boxes,’ tent encampments, and our messed up priorities
Class analysis (1)
Dear President Trump, I’m 100% sure that if you actually read these letters you wouldn’t be thrilled to know that this is the first of what I think will be several, if not many, letters about class, power, and race coming out of last week’s Undoing Racism workshop by the People’s Institute. On the first … Continue reading Class analysis (1)
A good news break
Dear President Trump, As I left work today I was mentally fishing around for a topic for today’s letter and decided to look out for acts of kindness on my way home to tell you about. Usually there are at least a few instances where someone is clearly patient and/or generous with another driver so … Continue reading A good news break
A tiny, precious miracle
Dear President Trump, It’s sort of awkward writing to you when you are already in tomorrow, but I suppose it isn’t that different from usual since you and I are rarely in the same time zone and we never occupy the same reality. How was it meeting with the Japanese families of people who were … Continue reading A tiny, precious miracle
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
Forging a path between all and nothing
Dear President Trump, I’ve started this letter over four times now. It hardly ever happens to me that I can’t get a toehold with a letter, but today I’m really struggling. I’m quite certain it’s because I keep thinking about how white Northeast Seattle is and the fact that I live here and am not … Continue reading Forging a path between all and nothing