President* Trump, I’m at the gallery today and because September is my show month I’m getting to sit here with my work on the walls and it’s pretty cool. Mostly people are walking by outside and not stopping, but my sense is there’s a bit more curiosity than usual and a bit more eye contact … Continue reading We have to see each other
Visibility
Morning sightings
President* Trump, So I couldn’t find a nest up in the ornamental cherry in the backyard where all the bird drama took place last night. It’s pretty dark in the interior of the tree most of the time so there may actually be a nest in there, but if so, it definitely blends in well. … Continue reading Morning sightings
Signs and perspective taking
President* Trump, Two mornings ago I came across a unicorn sign, as in a very cool one-of-a-kind sign (at least to me). It looks like a purchased or manufactured sign as it’s professionally done and has the same basic structure as all the BLM and “In This House We Believe…” yard signs, but it doesn’t … Continue reading Signs and perspective taking
History keeps repeating itself; will we finally act this time?
President* Trump, I finished all of the material in the 10-minutes-a-day section recommended by the Justice in June website (https://justiceinjune.org/#10-minutes) and moved on to the first podcast recommended in the 25-minute section yesterday, “A Decade of Watching Black People Die” (https://www.npr.org/2020/05/29/865261916/a-decade-of-watching-black-people-die). Ironically, I got interrupted about 10 minutes into it and didn’t come back to … Continue reading History keeps repeating itself; will we finally act this time?
Stories can change the course of history
President* Trump, As I was not falling asleep last night, I realized that part of why I felt so dang tired at the end of the day yesterday was because I didn’t have work to distract me or to help me feel like I was doing something instrumental that was tilting things in a positive … Continue reading Stories can change the course of history
“Black Lives > White Feelings” and better late than never rainbows
President* Trump, I’ve already cried twice this morning and it’s still early. It’s going to be one of those days, I think. The first thing that brought on tears was the 24-second Twitter clip of violinists in New York playing Amazing Grace to honor Elijah McClain, the young Black man who was killed in Aurora, … Continue reading “Black Lives > White Feelings” and better late than never rainbows
Evil incarnate through and through
President* Trump, evil (adjective): profoundly immoral and wicked incarnate (adjective): embodied in flesh; in human form evil incarnate (example): If you encounter someone who pulls off butterflies' wings for fun, you might describe that person as “evil incarnate.” I didn’t come up with the example above – it’s what Vocabulary.com has to say about the … Continue reading Evil incarnate through and through
Let’s stop helping maintain the status quo
President* Trump, I don’t think it’s that I’m especially sensitized to it, though I can’t completely rule out the possibility, but I think I’ve been hearing even more of the following lately: “Hey guys, let’s go ahead and get started.” “Thanks guys, this is great.” “What do you guys think?” “Hi guys, how’s it going?” … Continue reading Let’s stop helping maintain the status quo
Words matter, a lot
President* Trump, Last night as I was trying to fall asleep, I realized that I closed out yesterday’s letter to you in a highly problematic way, one that betrays my implicit racial biases that, unfortunately, run parallel to the WP editors I called out earlier in the week. Here is the offending text: “This tree … Continue reading Words matter, a lot
Why now?
President* Trump, I’m 95% certain I’ve told you about this tree before – it’s the ancient chestnut tree a few houses North of the original 21st Buddha and I’ve walked past it at least once a week for about 10-ish years now. Because it’s sited at the end of the block its massive canopy shades … Continue reading Why now?
