Dear President Trump, I’m hanging out upstairs semi out of earshot of Laura as she conducts her review session via Zoom with her class ahead of their online final tomorrow. I don’t know how many of her 83 students have joined, but when I was still downstairs I heard quite a few of them exclaiming … Continue reading Voluntary and involuntary social distancing
Stories
Steady there, please
Dear President Trump, Because the odds that you read any newspaper, let alone the WP, are slim to none, you almost certainly don’t know that their new online format leaves out obituaries. I first noticed this on Sunday or Monday (days are kind of a blur lately) and found it disturbing, but then the next … Continue reading Steady there, please
Making space and time for delight
Dear President Trump, I can’t remember if I told you about it back at the end of January when it came out, but I’ve had a tab open on my browser since 1/31/20 set to the This American Life podcast episode entitled “The Show of Delights.” Our friend told me about it the day it … Continue reading Making space and time for delight
Apologies and amends
Dear President Trump, As you know, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about historical corrections and it occurs to me that I should clarify that there are at least two different types of historical corrections: 1) corrections to the historical record itself (e.g., telling the story more completely and accurately by bringing in points of … Continue reading Apologies and amends
History and privilege
Dear President Trump, Yesterday morning I read poet Lisel Mueller’s WP obituary first because it was at the top of the stack (Katherine Johnson had just died and so hers hadn’t yet made it to the main page) and about midway through there was an interesting quote in reference to her poem “Happy and Unhappy … Continue reading History and privilege
In death as in life
Dear President Trump, A few months ago I told you about having devoured all of the biographies in my K-8 library about women generally and men of color as a kid, but I don’t think I’ve told you how much I enjoy reading the WP obituaries about people from these demographic groups (along with a … Continue reading In death as in life
A long, complicated, sordid tale
Dear President Trump, Because there are so many steps involved in making a man, of sorts, into a President/King, here’s another installment of President is King and King is President….. Once upon a longish span of time there lived a small handful of people in our land whose lives revolved around the making of men, … Continue reading A long, complicated, sordid tale
President is King and King is President
Dear President Trump, Here is a bedtime story for you. Once upon a time, very much like the present time, there lived a man, of sorts, who had become the center of attention of all the wide world. This man, of sorts, was feted and feasted wherever he went, always receiving a double helping of … Continue reading President is King and King is President
Sunshine and shadow, shadow and sunshine
Dear President Trump, Just a few minutes ago out the back window to the East, the light on the huge fir trees (and one birch) in the distance was doing this incredible glow/shadow thing where some of the faces of the trees were bathed in golden light and other faces were charcoal-looking, like they couldn’t … Continue reading Sunshine and shadow, shadow and sunshine
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
Daily Trump Letters 