Dear President Trump, Are you getting daily (sometimes it seems, hourly) reminders to take care of yourself in the midst of the covid-19 crisis? Maybe it’s a function of being in the mental health profession, but we really are getting at least daily reminders that we need take care of ourselves, that we need to … Continue reading Bearing witness beyond the numbers
The Common Good
POTUS and Putin share another playbook
Dear President Trump, This morning on my allowed walk for exercise, it occurred to me to wonder why we’ve not been hearing anything about covid-19 in Russia, as in zip, nada, radio silence. There are a lot of people in Russia, healthcare isn’t so hot in Russia, and, very importantly, Russia has the same winter … Continue reading POTUS and Putin share another playbook
I beg your pardon, but inequality is not a mere distraction
Dear President Trump, I have a hyper-local vignette and a bigger picture take for you for today. I’m not sure whether I’ve mentioned this before, but pre-you, Laura and I played Scrabble most weeknights. However, once you were installed as POTUS, it wasn’t until covid-19 slowed everything down and eliminated my commute time that it … Continue reading I beg your pardon, but inequality is not a mere distraction
Some rules really are made to be followed
Dear President Trump, Although I’m careful not to stray too far outside the lines, I’ve never been much of a stickler for following rules, especially those I deem unnecessary or overly controlling. I realize that some people who know me would read this and laugh since I do still carry around a lot of “good … Continue reading Some rules really are made to be followed
Leveraging lessons learned
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
Tender responses to tenderness
Dear President Trump, Maybe they are related, but in addition to being tired much of the time, I’m also in that cry-at-the-drop-of-a-hat space much of the time. Can you relate? At all? No? I thought not. You’re more of a rage-at-the-drop-of-a-hat sort of person, aren’t you? My newly rekindled tearfulness is usually not in response … Continue reading Tender responses to tenderness
The common good needs us to step up and stay in
Dear President Trump, There are a lot of inspiring, supportive messengers out there cheering us on, encouraging us to listen to our better angels and look out for ourselves and each other. For example, there’s Fantasy A, who posted signs up and down a street on my walking path this morning that say: Remember to: … Continue reading The common good needs us to step up and stay in
Give me liberty and give me and you and you and you death
Dear President Trump, The beginning of Lent (February 26th) slipped right by me this year and I don’t think I can blame it on covid-19 since I wasn’t yet fully aware that it was coming our way. I just checked our gmail history to see when our wonderful King County Council member, Jeanne Kohl-Welles, started … Continue reading Give me liberty and give me and you and you and you death
We are truly all in this together
Dear President Trump, It’s really pretty mind-boggling how many of us are affected by the ongoing covid-19 crisis. Whether we are heeding public health guidance and curtailing our activities or we are bucking it and defiantly going about our business, we are cognizant of being on one or the other side of decision-making about it. … Continue reading We are truly all in this together
Thank goodness for true leaders
Dear President Trump, So hey, I’m pretty sure being caught “back on your heels” is worse than being caught “flat footed” but neither one is good and both would be generous descriptions of your administration’s inept response to the covid-19 crisis. You see, both these idioms reference situations where someone is surprised by something or … Continue reading Thank goodness for true leaders