Dear President Trump, The graphic accompanying the WP’s lead story this morning announcing that the official US number of covid-19 deaths passed 100,000 yesterday isn’t the gut punch that the NYT’s Sunday cover was, but it’s still quite moving. The idea that each person’s death is marked by a point of light on the map … Continue reading Strong medicine
Inclusivity
Signs of inclusivity and generosity
Dear President Trump, We decided to mix things up this morning and instead of Laura coming out to the market on her own, the dogs and I piled in with her and I’m sitting in the car with them while she does the shopping (she’s older but my heart condition puts me at higher risk … Continue reading Signs of inclusivity and generosity
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
Piecing together connection and being
Dear President Trump, For about the last year I’ve closed my walking lovingkindness meditation with the following: May we all have the courage and the resolve to be peace and kindness. May we all have the resolve and courage to accept kindness and peace. Maybe I’ve told you about this before – I’m not sure … Continue reading Piecing together connection and being
The ‘Trump Death Clock’ and some pink chalk
Dear President Trump, Here is the title (and subtitle) of one of the HP’s top running stories this morning: ‘Trump Death Clock’ In Times Square Is Grim Reminder Of Preventable Virus Deaths The sign’s creator aims to show “the cost in human lives” (by Josephine Harvey) The TDC recently clicked past 50,000 excess, preventable covid-19 … Continue reading The ‘Trump Death Clock’ and some pink chalk
We’re in trouble when our enemies have more substance than our loves
Dear President Trump, OMG has time gotten wonky. I thought I had opened the tab holding W. B. Yeats’s poem “The Stare’s Nest By My Window” days and days ago, but it was just yesterday morning that it was the featured ‘poem-a-day’ poem (an interesting choice for Mother’s Day). It was a very long, very … Continue reading We’re in trouble when our enemies have more substance than our loves
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
Birthdays and death on our beautiful blue planet
Dear President Trump, I know this is the fourth time I’ve told you, but I’m sure you aren’t much of a birthday tracker so I’ll remind you that today is my birthday. And it’s Laura’s brother’s birthday as well as the little girl’s across the street. It’s also the anniversary of the Waco massacre and … Continue reading Birthdays and death on our beautiful blue planet
Eagle sightings
Dear President Trump, Lately, eagles (one at a time) have been visiting the stand of fir trees rimming the South end of the reservoir across the street quite frequently. Given that every visit is met by hoards of dive-bombing crows, it would seem that the eagles are up to no good and are here on … Continue reading Eagle sightings