The conversation started over breakfast, a thread to a tangent passed with pepper and more coffee, but it stuck like syrup in a mustache (it happens). Eventually it moved from a stranger-coveted empty table in an increasingly busy restaurant to another prolonged standstill in the parking lot, two family members dancing a tango of societal and political opinion while everyone else kicked leaves and waited for car doors to open. Then it continued in the front seat for another 20 minutes, me in the back with a 5-year-old on my right. His toy made a loud, electronic shriek, apparently forever, … [Read more...]
Thanksgiving Conversations to Avoid at Family Gatherings
Thanksgiving can be a stressful holiday for many reasons, but the elections and politics of the past few years makes it more taxing than usual. Keep your sanity intact this holiday by avoiding the following Thanksgiving conversations and topics: Blue wave: Unless you are talking about your plans for a beach vacation. “Make _____ Great Again” jokes: “Pass me the gravy so I can Make This Turkey Great Again!” We get it, Grandpa Republican, we get it. Fight Club: IT'S THE FIRST RULE OF FIGHT CLUB! Don’t talk about Fight Club. Safe spaces: Exception -- You may say, just once, "No … [Read more...]
An Open Letter to the Day After Midterms
Dear Tomorrow, Hi, it’s Tuesday. It’s relatively early now, and the midterms won’t end for a handful of hours, but I wanted you to know that I’m thinking of you. I know, I know, we are all tomorrow, and we are always a day away. Annie nailed it. Wednesday just seems so full of finality, nothing personal. And yet, everything is personal, isn’t it, Wednesday? I wonder what is decided tomorrow, if anything, in terms of terms and the politics of it all. I wonder if the results are in. Are concessions closed? There were children in the polling place today. Every single one. They are the … [Read more...]
Mental Health, Masculinity, Hearings and Cookies
“Come here,” I said. “You need to see this.” My oldest boy walked toward me, his hands bright and swollen in mismatched oven gloves, one of which complimented the apron. He knew what it was that he needed to see, or at least the gist of it. I had been calling him to my side of the kitchen island for the better part of an hour, skipping from video to video, Twitter to Facebook and back again. “Watch this one,” I said. This one featured a man twisted as a pretzel. He was stale, salty and, apparently, wanting for beer. My son watched in silence for a moment, the words screaming … [Read more...]
Bipartisan Parenting: Turning Presidential Racism into Teachable Moment
On the same day President Trump reportedly said “s---hole” countries in Africa were inferior sources for future American immigrants, my 12th-grade daughter was starting to read Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness in English class. The juxtaposition was too much.Conrad’s British novel indicts the racism of European imperialism in Africa in the late 1800s, specifically during the ivory trade. Ironically, however, many readers consider the novel a racist text because of the way it backgrounds Africa, stereotypes the “primitive” natives, and treats the whole continent as a blank slate for the white … [Read more...]
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