September 16, 2020
Dear Mr. President,Well, this has been an incredible week and it’s only Wednesday. (It’s Wednesday, right?). You have been in the news non-stop and that’s how you like it. Then, there were the really strong rallies over the weekend with thousands of your fans. By the way, did you know that the word “fan” is short for the word “fanatic”. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary says the word “fanatic came from the Latin word “fanaticus”, and originally meant “insanely but divinely inspired”. It referred to a temple or sacred place which in Latin was a “fanum”. Isn’t that interesting? I wonder how the word ”fanatic” is connected to the phrase “herd mentality”?
So, why has my anxiety ramped up to CRAZY level? Me, a fairly calm, even tempered person, is feeling antsy, having trouble sleeping, and needing very long walks while listening to Heather Cox Richardson or Chuck Rosenberg (The Oath). Could it be the smoke from the West Coast that reached Michigan yesterday and is now over New York City and Washington D.C? Maybe it’s the looming number, 200,000, that we will reach by the end of the week. Of course, it could be that I’m worrying about how our grandchildren are handling Zoom learning. The eldest thinks it’s weird that there are lots of faces on the screen, but no one is talking. The next oldest is taking Spanish. He wrote something in the Chat Box and the teacher was impressed that he already knew the language. He said, “no, he used Google Translation”. One of the first graders cries every day and another two are totally wiped out by dinner time.
Whew, just putting those worries on paper helps me calm down. It’s also such a comfort to know that you are completely in charge of everything. Your intelligence is shining a bright light on current events. Of course, it could be the glow from the burning fires out west. Your statements on climate change show how optimistic you are. “It will get cold”, “The scientists don’t know” and, my favorite, “Trees will just explode”, really show off your knowledge.
Dear Mr. President 