Dear Sir

Dear Sen./Rep.______ ,

A hundred days.

In which we've seen economic chaos with on again off again tariffs, Greenland and Canada's sovereignty  threatened, Putin catered to, Zelensky  kicked out of the White House, people arrested without due process and sent to foreign prisons, our universities held hostage, vital research programs shut down,.. all at the whim of an egotist with a Sharpie.

I could go on.

But what I want to.know is how you, my elected congressman, feel about this. Do you support the president unconditionally, or do you have some doubts

At long last, sir, have you no shame?

Your unhappy constituent, 

 

And the Iris

 

The way the iris catch the morning sun always feels like a special blessing.78

Heretic

                            

The word heretic comes from the Greek, originally meaning choosing or chosen. Nixey's fascinating book details the multiple choices available in ancient religions, many bearing surprising commonalities with Christianity.

In fact, many of these "heretical" choices considered themselves Christian. But it was the Catholic Church that assumed the role of orthodoxy, ruthlessly suppressing other beliefs and choices, burning sacred texts and compelling "heretics" to join the one true religion. . . or else.

 

The book is full of interesting stories that have survived, in some form or another, centuries of censorship. I enjoyed it, having no particular religious faith to be challenged. For others it might be eye-opening and perhaps unsettling.

But as I read I kept thinking of the slippery slope our country finds itself on, as a madman and his followers attempt to impose their particular orthodoxy on our media and our schools, banning books, intimidating judges, and deporting dissidents.

It's happening here. So I guess I also found the book unsettling.

Almost Eight Years Ago

Hard to believe this cherub is almost eight  (going on twenty seven.)

Once again, the following group of pics showed up backwards and will make more sense if you begin at the end. 

 

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A Prospective Reader

 Came across this in a file I kept of fan mail. I had to tell her that books weren't for her.

I was reminded also of a student I once had in a writing workshop who refused to read anything that contained the words God damn. Or, indeed, anything like G. D. Or even a blank because, she said, she'd know what was meant.

Silence

 

This and the Other

A beautiful hydrangea a friend brought to the party. When it finishes blooming, we'll plant it down at the party site.

My snake has moved to the planter by the green house door.

.

Maybe s/he wanted to see the epiphyllums in bloom.

 

Coincidence

There is,of course, no reason to link the death of the Pope to the visit paid him by JD Vance just hours before the sad event.

Nonetheless, I confess that the mere thought of JD and his smarmy face kinda  weakens my own will to live. 

Imagine his  effect in person on a very old gentleman, just recovering from a serious illness and faced with a self described "baby Catholic" who embodies much that Francis deplored.

Probably a coincidence. 

 

As If Democracy..

 

My son Ethan brought this quote from Mick Herron's BAD ACTORS to my attention.

"Keyboards were weaponized, trolls emerged from under bridges, and somewhere along the way, free elections turned into free-for-alls, as if democracy were a shaggy dog story to which a joke president was the punchline. 

All those decades of the arms race and it turned out there was no greater damage you could inflict on a state than to ensure it was led by an idiot."

Yep.

The Party

 

It was a perfect day, full of happy kids and lots of food and friends,old and new.

For some reason, my pictures loaded backward so if you want to see the party as it unfolded, go to. the end and scroll up.

H

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