Good morning to the staffer that's reading this, and to Senator Johnson: The first thing I want to say is that every time I've ever contacted your office for help with an issue (not often, but I have), you have been incredible. For every stand the Senator takes that I don't agree with, and there … Continue reading An Open Letter to my Senator about Uvalde, Tx.
Category: Heartbreak
Update (January 24): I wrote this post on January 20th shortly after the first two videos were released. Rereading the post after all the other information occurred, I was pleasantly surprised to see how much I'd gotten right. I'm leaving the post as is and adding a couple of thoughts: The teen I named "Smirkboy" … Continue reading Covington students latest link in long, depressing chain: a post with images & an update
I was in the middle of an anxiety dream involving my mother, peanut sauce and Wales when the sound of a door opening jarred me awake. It was Sweetheart, with our morning coffees. After I attempted to describe the dream (Sweetheart: "Peanut stew? That sounds terrible!"), I said, "It's Election Day!" Then, I started … Continue reading Retain your complaining rights! A “nag you to vote” post featuring Alice Cooper, Mom’s 3¢ postage stamp, Tuki & Ward 201
File yesterday under “Days when you’re glad your mother and aunts are dead.” File yesterday under “This is why I grapple with knowing that I look and benefit from being white but don't ever feel entirely white.” File yesterday under “What part of their part in this do Donald Trump, Mike Pence, Chuck Grassley, Paul … Continue reading Whistle long enough, dogs show up: Best synagogue shooting response? Weep. Mourn. Vote.
Dear Dr. Ford: I watched some of your testimony last week and want you to know that I thought you were amazing. You made sense out of something that was hard to make sense of, and you did it with elegance and good humor and decency. It was easy to imagine you as … Continue reading Thank you from the bottom of my heart: an open letter to Dr. Susan Blasey Ford
I caught a little of the testimonies of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and Judge Brett Kavanaugh before the Senate Judiciary Committee today. It was horrifying. The contrast between the two witnesses was stark. Dr. Ford told her story with remarkable composure. She was visibly upset, but did an amazing job describing her reasons for coming … Continue reading #Metoo vs. #Poormetoo: Senate Committee hears from Ford & Kavanaugh
Mom died on February 25th. Her funeral was in Utica, New York; yesterday was her memorial service. This is the eulogy I wrote and read yesterday. Eulogy II The first Tuesday after Mom’s funeral, I woke up and, because it has been part of my waking-up ritual for what seems like forever (even though it … Continue reading Death: the most unlikely of happy endings or ‘Bossiest Eulogy Ever’
In light of recent events surrounding United Airlines, I'm reposting this account of my 2015 United flight experience. Having flown them once since (to collect the $500 voucher referenced below), I made reservations with Sweetheart to fly United later this year. At the moment, I'm rethinking that decision and wishing my economic reality was such that … Continue reading An Open Letter to United Airlines: Rerun with Update
While Sweetheart and I were somewhere loud and happy Saturday night (a wedding), loud and not-so-happy things were happening close to us. In the morning, my friend Walter, a Baptist minister, posted this selfie on his way to his church. He invoked Nehmiah 1. By then, we’d heard the news. Riots had broken out hours after a police … Continue reading Police shootings, mob violence and the comfort of strangers: A Dispatch from Milwaukee
The house is so quiet. No one needs to go outside before we go to bed. There are no clacking feet in the middle of the night, the prelude to a trip down the stairs and outside into the dark. No one needs to go outside first thing in the morning. And no … Continue reading A bottle of wine and a cat: Surviving the first dogless days
the sentence factory 