Do you remember your favorite book from childhood?
I remember having “Pat the Bunny” as a very young child.
This favorite book for babies was first published in 1940.
Books by Dr. Seuss and his protégé P.D. Eastman (“Go Dog Go”) were good for both learning to read and being read to. Horton was particularly fascinating, perched on that nest while lazy Mayzie flew off to Palm Beach!
As I got older, nothing beat Judy Blume for real talk about real things that I actually cared about. “Deenie” was a favorite and of course, “Are you there God? It’s me, Margaret?”
Book banners like to target Judy Blume books, which is all the more reason to keep buying them, reading them, and giving them to your kids and grandkids.
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck gave me a much better understanding of the Depression and the Dust Bowl and that whole chapter in US history. The take home message that people were poor to the point of starving, with no safety net, is something that stayed with me.
Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi was not an easy read, but I’m glad I made it through. It was one of several books that became bestsellers during the worldwide racial justice reckoning that followed the murder of George Floyd in May 2020. It’s a survey of the history of anti-Black racist ideas throughout American history. It helped lift the veil from my eyes.
I was having a hard time making it through this very dense and challenging material, so I started a short-term nonfiction book club with two friends over Zoom. I’m glad we read it together in the summer of 2020.
The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood came out when I was in college and was a huge bestseller. This dystopian novel describes a Christian fundamentalist theocratic regime in the former United States where some women are forced to conceive and bear children in the most horrific way. It really motivated my involvement with the pro-choice movement of the 1980s. I recently read the sequel: The Testaments, which was published in 2019.
So much of Handmaid’s Tale horror has re-surfaced and resonated loudly since the Dobbs decision by the MAGA Supreme Court. It’s scary—and infuriating.
I had a fear that I was never going to be able to get past knowing that certain people in my family had supported Trump for President in 2016 and 2020. When Trump finally lost in 2020 (after multiple days of waffling by the networks), I thought I’d be able to put that knowledge behind me, but then the insurrection happened and they did not condemn it.
When Biden was finally sworn in, I tried to “get over it.” For a while, I did. I never dreamed the GOP would nominate Trump again in 2024, but apparently that’s exactly what’s going to happen next month (despite the fact that Trump is now a convicted felon).
My feelings of anger towards these family members is back and now I feel they are truly permanent. I don’t think I will overcome them.
It’s sad that a once-in-a-lifetime con man and demagogue has torn apart so many perfectly good relationships. To me, supporting the new MAGA GOP is not a matter of right vs left, but right vs wrong.
Now that I’m 55+ and have lost several friends my own age to cancer and addiction, I am not picky. I like all my old friends. If I’m in touch with them at all at this point in my life, it means there was/is a real connection there.
In making new friends, I gravitate to people who both listen and talk. And obviously, no MAGA. That’s a deal-breaker.
Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda in “Grace & Frankie” on Netflix. No surprise that I was a big fan of all seven seasons of this show.
As a kid, I had numerous collections—shells, rocks, stamps, glass animals, and dolls…lots of dolls.
I’ve purged the attic of all my old collections (I think), including my vinyl record albums. (That one was sad, but they were warped and I don’t own a turntable anymore.)
The last collection to go was the dolls. I had a few specialty dolls, along with a large collection of Madame Alexander dolls, which were very popular gifts for girls in the 70s. I loved their pretty costumes representing the nations of the world. These weren’t dolls you played with (like Barbie), they were meant to be displayed and admired. They lived on a shelf in my room. Of course, I did play with them sometimes, but I felt badly for doing so. Thinking back, I already felt enough pressure to be perfect and not commit “sins” (as defined by the Catholic Church), so I really didn’t need those dolls tempting me too!
In the end, they were basically worthless. Even though they were in good shape (with their original boxes), a doll dealer gave me less than $50 for the whole lot. I should have played with them all along.
They sat on the dining room table for about a week, creeping out my husband, before I sold them.
The child bride doll (talk about creepy!) was the one I played with the most.
I’m pretty sure some of these costumes would be considered stereotypical or even racist now. You can’t see them in the photo, but the Dutch girl had real wooden clogs. And the Scottish girl had bright green eyes like emeralds. Spain was cool with her black veil. The Indian doll had a red dot on her forehead.
The question of legacy always reminds me of the song “Everything Possible” by Fred Small. I knew Fred when he was my minister in the early 2000s. I heard him perform this lullaby on several occasions and each time it made me cry.
It was especially meaningful during the battle for marriage equality in Massachusetts. We were the very first state to legalize same-sex marriage in 2004 (20 years ago), but it was a protracted legal and legislative fight. Though it had been written in 1983, “Everything Possible” struck a chord during that time. In our church, Fred took a stand and stopped performing all marriages, until marriage was legal for same-sex couples too. The song became a highly emotional signature anthem for the Boston Gay Men’s Chorus.
Recently, Fred tweaked the lyrics to be more inclusive of non-binary people and created a children’s book to accompany the song and further spread the message of love and acceptance.
The chorus is the most beautiful part.
You can be anybody you want to be, You can love whomever you will You can travel any country where your heart leads And know that I will love you still You can live by yourself, you can gather friends around, You can choose one special one And the only measure of your words and your deeds Will be the love you leave behind when you’re done.
Here’s a beautiful live performance of the song by the Boston Gay Men’s Chorus.
And here’s Fred himself singing the new version of “Everything Possible.”
I’ll definitely be buying this book for my granddaughter, when she’s old enough.
I’d like to be remembered for the love I leave behind when I’m done.
Rev. Fred Small having a chat with a group of children in my church around 2004—the year when marriage equality became law in Massachusetts
I mean, I like to think of myself as being a serious person that people listen to, but I’ve not held many traditional leadership roles in my life. I can’t think of one committee that I ever chaired or co-chaired. Maybe that will change, as I’ve been appointed to my church’s executive team for next fiscal year.
At work, I was always a respected “individual contributor” (as they say in HR). I never managed a team.
With my family, I’d say I’m pretty much the leader (CEO), with my husband as CFO (and let’s face it, CTO—I’m clueless about technology), but with my son soon to be fully launched, I may be in more of an advisory role soon.
With my activist volunteer work, I’m definitely a follower. Tell me who to call or write, and what to say, and I’ll get it done. I respect the work of the smart and serious activists in my community and I gladly follow them. We’re united in our mission to create a blue wave in 2024 and save democracy from the MAGA cult. We’ve got new and different people showing up every week (including men—yay men!), plus many helping out from home.
Can you tell who the leader of this group is? It’s Denali (front right)—an experienced, passionate activist who has been organizing since the 60s. She even gives us tips on how to quickly apply stamps. 😉
“Disagree” is not the right word (far too mild), but I feel I might be preaching to the choir here on WordPress. (As a longtime church choir member, I love that expression.)
Perhaps I’ll see what a (free) AI image generator can do with my intense feelings.
Ooooo…I like this one ^ Perps in Prison. Jerks in Jail. Dirty Old Men. Power Pervs.Catch & Chill (suggestions welcomed)
I’m part of a few different communities, but as for the town itself, I mainly vote and pay taxes—lots of taxes.
In fact, I just voted to increase my own taxes to help fund the schools and other municipal services. In Massachusetts, we call that “a Proposition Two and a Half Override.” I have no idea why.
We’ll find out tonight if the override passed.
My feeling is that even though my kids are done with the schools, I want current students to have what they need. But these tax increases are very tough on elderly people with fixed incomes. I see both sides.
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