8/15/2026

My Dear Friend & POTUS, DJT,

I am in Dunbar, WI. The temp is 56, humidity is 93% & precipitation is 0. 

How is your weather?

Why am I starting with the weather today? Maybe because I am fixated on how moist it is here as compared to West Sac. Maybe I have become more sensitive or maybe I am more easily irked, but when I get sticky after only minor exertion I can’t stand it. Am I becoming a wimp? 

Or am I just being influenced by my great-grandfather Col. Harry Trippe’s (HT) letters from WWI which always began with info about rain &/or cold? I just surveyed his correspondence on a quick trip to the archives at UW-Whitewater which houses two boxes of documents related to HT’s life. He wrote home almost every day during his duty in France & Belgium.

Why am I telling you about HT’s communication with his family? Because I’m not sure you understand what’s it’s like for military folks to endure the stressful conditions of war. The loneliness, existential angst & exhaustion. can be soul crushing. 

If you understood the tremendous toll of combat duty on the human spirit you would not have said that the sailors’ deployment on the USS Lincoln is “not nearly long enough.” I’m sure you are aware they have set a record for uninterrupted time at sea & some of the sailors have become so disillusioned that they are trying to jump overboard. Their families are hearing horror stories about the conditions on the boat, so when you said that you broke their hearts. Please apologize.

Speaking of stressful conditions, the people of Burma are dealing with monsoon rains right now which are flooding the rivers. They are facing a cholera outbreak, among other diseases. Please get your folks to send humanitarian aid there, now!

BYBS,