Dear President Trump, Recently at a social gathering I learned that someone I don’t know all that well has been reading my letters to you on my blog every day for the last two years. She said it’s one of her main ways of coping with what’s happening to our country. I was (and am) … Continue reading Fear and courage, courage and fear
Use Your Powers for Good
If only vacuum cleaners were still the scariest things
Dear President Trump, I don’t know if I’ve told you this before, but I work from home on Fridays (and actually get tons done those days J). This is relevant because there was a get together for a colleague who’s leaving the VA at a venue near the VA, which meant that I had to … Continue reading If only vacuum cleaners were still the scariest things
A sweet anniversary and a critical caution
Dear President Trump, I watched it again this morning even though I knew it would make me tear up and even though I knew you would be popping in at the end ruining everything again (still). It was the last thing I looked at last night before going to bed. Well, except for a quick … Continue reading A sweet anniversary and a critical caution
Shifting the baseline towards love
Dear President Trump, Yesterday when I was mentally formulating my letter to you I kept thinking that the “shrinking baseline syndrome” was the “shifting baseline syndrome” – not that far off, but not quite right, either. When I was in “shifting baseline” mode, though, I found myself toggling between the frightening shifts in ethics and … Continue reading Shifting the baseline towards love
Not afraid
Dear President Trump, Whether you care at all, I’m sure you’ve heard that Cokie Roberts died yesterday from complications of breast cancer. She was only 75. I heard clips of some of her interviews on NPR driving home last night and when they aired the one where she interrupted the other broadcaster and told him … Continue reading Not afraid
A “Twilight Zone” moment with Rod Rosenstein
Dear President Trump, This is a variation on my thought experiment exercises…. Let’s say an envoy of aliens from another planet (as in real aliens) plopped down somewhere in the US. On their way here they did some good homework and learned to read and speak several of our languages, including English. They also knew … Continue reading A “Twilight Zone” moment with Rod Rosenstein
Risking connection and compassion
Dear President Trump, I didn’t tell you about this part of yesterday in yesterday’s letter because I wanted to hold it close for a little while before sharing it with you, my most difficult person – still. What happened is that the universe did its universe thing when one of our neighbors called in the … Continue reading Risking connection and compassion
Pink flower boy
Dear President Trump, It’s been a really hard day. One positive thing about it, though, is that the reasons for its hardness have absolutely nothing to do with you. For a change. About six weeks ago we were invited to an annual walk around the medium sized lake near us to celebrate the life of … Continue reading Pink flower boy
Tears and outrage, outrage and tears
Dear President Trump, I’ve already cried twice this morning. And have been outraged once. The morning is still young and it’s the anniversary of such an awful and impactful morning 18 years ago that there’ll probably be quite a few more strong emotions before it’s over. To get it out of the way, I’m going … Continue reading Tears and outrage, outrage and tears
‘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
Daily Trump Letters 