A Lot of Young People

My younger one sighed and said she had no time for reading together.  No time for anything. She had to prepare a speech.  “wow, cool” I said, to something that she clearly regarded as other than “cool.”  What do you want to do it on?  “Love yourself.”  I am hip enough to know that this is not only the title of her favorite band’s latest album, but also the theme the bullet-proof-boys are promoting on their world tour. 

"Yes.  Of course.  That's a fine theme to start with.  And what about 'love yourself'.” Do you know want to say about it?  “Well, a lot of young people don’t love themselves.  And that’s wrong.”  “And what else is part of your speech?  “Not sure.” 

We worked on it for a while.   We identified the situation, the challenge, and what she aimed to do about it.  And we even left a a little room to mention her beloved idols.  I was glad to be able to offer some help on a homework assignment .  I’m not usually much help with memorizing the periodic table. 

This morning I caught my father and step mother on the ride home.  I'm experiencing the beginnings of spring here finally.  They are still buried in snow.  We didn’t get far before we talked about Michael Cohen’s testimony.  I certainly didn’t “listen” to much of it, but I read lots of analysis.  The part I’d heard where he calmly told the House Republicans that they were doing precisely what he had done for years, in making excuses for Donald Trump.  And that this had lead him to ruin.  This, I offered to the snowbound New Yorkers, seemed Shakespearean, like an inescapable, prophetic truth that might have sprung from one of MacBeth's witches.  When you're making excuses for Donald Trump clearly, you're not loving yourself.  

Tuesday, 03/05/19