2/22/21

My Dear Friend & POTUS, JRB,

            Did you notice that the date has 5 twos? It’s similar to 8.8.88, the date when students in Burma staged an uprising for democracy. The people are rising up again in 97-degree heat with their blood types written on their arms. One likened living under military rule to being a “slave,” while another noted, “Under the military dictatorship, no one is safe whether you take to the streets or sit at home, so we chose to voice our objection rather than staying silent.” I appreciate that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is tweeting about the situation. I hope you will continue to monitor it closely.

            Please send good vibes our way. My daughter has CV. She’s got a bad headache & no energy. Luckily, her partner is taking care of her, although Jack probably has it, too. It’s discouraging because they were doing everything right & still, somehow, they got it. I am trying not to worry.

            Thank you for scheduling a moment of silence today to mark the loss of 500,000 American lives to CV. I am trying to fathom that #. I’ve seen an analogy showing that a bus caravan of all those people would stretch from DC to Delaware. I’ve heard how the # compares with our nation’s war dead. I’ve seen the image of 50,000 dots, 10 for each CV death. Today’s NYT had photos of places that mourners with their loved one – an empty bar stool, the back pew of a church, a street corner. You & I know that the sorrow that comes from those empty spaces when we are reminded that we can no longer share the joy we once had with someone who has passed. Even so, the magnitude of the loss for our nation is still hard to imagine.

            Lest we get too sad, let’s share in Hayley Arceneaux’s happiness as she anticipates going up in space on the Inspiration4 mission. In case you haven’t heard, she survived pediatric cancer with the help of the doctors at St. Jude. She works there now & is psyched for her upcoming adventure.

            PBWY,