202 Comments

tide pools? fragile little (inverse) islands of life, surviving between high-tides. I love tidepools. You see this community of little creatures, coexisting cheek-by-jowl, managing to eke out an existence on what floats by, totally dependent on the "atmosphere" above and around them.

When will the tide come back in for us lovers of a rules-based society? A culture war in Tennessee is like a burning house down the block. Kentucky sounds like a foreign country. Here's hoping the tide is turning, heading back to renew us again, washing that hatred out to sea.

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Great analogy and great wording. The tide always comes back in. I am keeping that in my head when I get frustrated and furious. Thank you.

Hatred - that's really the difference between Blue and Red now, isn't it? Blue wants to offer assistance to all. Red hates that. Blue wants a level playing field for all - including those who are "different". Red hates that.

Blue thinks the essentials of life should be available to all humans - because, well, aren't we all in the end, brothers and sisters? All part of the same species?

Blue sees homeless encampments and tear up - and ask for answers. Red wants to "clean them out". Blue thinks that "I am one step away from being homeless". Red says they are lazy.

The greatest irony for me is that the haters claim to have the only valid connection to a god. I grew up thinking that the church people were far from perfect yet well intentioned - like all of us. And that ultimately their clergy would remind them of their prophets teachings of brotherhood, sisterhood, love, tolerance, acceptance, forgiveness and welcoming spirit. ALL were to be welcome at the table. Now the clergy teaches exclusion and hatred.

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Quite a good wordweaver yourself, Bill.

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Well said Bill-we’re reminded that most churches have long been segregated and most dominations have rules against women being in the pulpit.

In his book, Sojourner Truth: Slave, Prophet, Legend (1993) Carlton Mabee said Truth (1797-1883) often criticized preachers who “spent too much time ‘spouting’ and too little listening”.

Truth spoke to predominantly White congregations-too many churches were opposed to abolition and women’s rights so she was often not allowed to enter or speak. Mabee described a time when she was given a chance to speak from a church pulpit and she said “I prefer to be no higher’n what you are”.

Thanks for your poetic words related to our divided nation. I love watching and listening to the tides come and go. If only we could see that the ideal of equality is worth pursuing if we really want to “save the soul of our nation”.

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Any chance, Bill, now that you've had feedback, that you might be interested in rewriting your original comment?

Sweeping generalizations are wrong (generally), even this one with its pusillanimous ().

But, thinking the way you wrote, unless reexamined, leads to the kind of problem it seems to me to be at the base of the Red/Blue argument. Neither side can hear what the other side is saying after the first sentence, so it can't be called a debate.

How about asking, instead of labeling?

I'm from MA, but live now in WA.

The world I grew up in, a thoroughly involved family in local politics, included the reddest of the reds and the blue-est of the blues, sitting down after supper to talk and give each other "food for thought" after the "food for the belly".

That world is gone.

I hope it is not irretrievably lost.

Those of us who care to think, need to do what we can to encourage its return. That starts most often, I find, if when really angry, I write it out. ThenI leave it overnight and then, rewrite.

Just a suggestion, not an order.

Keep writing, please. Always helps to clarify what /'m thinking when I hear a point of view that shakes mine.

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Thanks for weighing in Debby. But I wouldn't change a word.

However, here I am very willing to add to the comment and respond to you. I also remember a time when the partisan divide was less of a canyon. And I am ready to help close it. When a Republican wishes to discuss politics using facts and concern for the future, I listen and I engage. I have a neighbor who I do that with.

I grew up as a wasp in a very modest neighborhood. My folks were fans of Ike. They had fought with him. Their best friends were Irish Catholic Democrats. They loved each other. Religion and politics? They drove a Chevy, we had a Ford. What was important was their loyalty to each other and bridge games with beer. That was half a century ago.

More recently, we had a neighbor who was the polar opposite of us. He was a "church guy" Republican CFO type. Very friendly and generous. We would have dinners together. The talk would always flow towards social problems. A lefty and a righty tossing ideas back and forth on how to improve education, housing, the ocean and on and on. By the end of the evening we would have found some simple solutions to solve a problem. We found common ground because we wanted to go there. I miss him a lot. We had to move away.

It's ten years later. And now we are at war. Democrats and Liberals did not fire on the Republicans. They just appealed to more Americans. Republicans, quivering with fear, furious after being fed lies are reacting as if their neighbors were the enemy. We who would help provide a level playing field are being attacked for considering all Americans as equals who should have access to health care, education, water, food...clean air?

It's not Democrats demonizing people because they have a certain faith. It's not Democrats who want to rule a woman's body. It's not Democrats who want only certain people to vote. It's not Democrats who are ignoring the speeding freight train of Climate Change.

It is now a war between blue and red. It is akin to the 1930's in Germany. If you don't believe that, just review the decisions of our Extreme Court.

Here's the good news. Demographics are on our side. Younger people don't like racism, sexism and planetary destruction. How to win? Get out the vote. Marginalize the red menace.

One of my favorite organizations is turnup.us

And this week, my newest Republican neighbor will invite us over for a drink and maybe dinner. We support each other in many neighborly ways. I try to remember my parents example. But if he tries to suggest that every kid doesn't deserve the basics of life including a great education, the temperature in the room will rise.

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Gotta wonder how many readers live anywhere near the ocean. The tide comes in indeed -- and almost immediately it starts going out again.

I live in a "Blue" state (MA) and I don't recognize that characterization of Blue. Our Dem-dominated legislature is one of least transparent and accountable in the nation. So I'm guessing the characterization of Red is just as off base. And as to believing that somehow Blue is immune to hatred -- why do I suspect that you've never been a woman?

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I love your comment. I live in MA as well. Pardon my sweeping generalizations.

I get what you are saying about our legislature. They seem to be on vacation more often than not. Do you by any chance listen to "Marjorie and Jim"? He certainly agrees with you.

Honestly, I am not Boston oriented. I am too focused on the national scene.

I don't remember being a woman - in a past life...maybe. But I can honestly say that I am often more comfortable hanging out with women. I'm not a sports fan, so...oops, another sweeping generalization, eh?

In my working career, the nature of the business was that most of my employees were women. I felt lucky about that.

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I live near the ocean 6 months of the year. Sometimes the tide goes out further, so far you cant see where the mud meets the water. It always comes back in...."The Edge of the Sea" is a remarkable book.

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Well said, Bill!

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Very nicely crafted, Nathan. Your analogies are perfect. We could sure use a refreshing high tide.

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You're a wordworker, Nathan; that's what you are. Much gratitude!

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Thank you for this, Nathan

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Always remind me of Rachel Carson with her head in the pool

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Montana is the western version of the above states!

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As is Idaho.

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I hope you are speaking up & out!!! ID has some good grass roots organizations for political action

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After such an exhausting ‘boots on the ground’ slog through the muck of Republican hi jinks and the helmsmanship of Skipper Biden, Heather has richly earned a ‘boots off the ground’ break, before returning as our North Star on the soul of the United States.

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Thanks HCR. One of the many things you teach is to pause, to rest, to enjoy. Best.

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I'm always pleased when you give yourselves a little break.

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Heather, once again you show us the importance to stop, relax, enjoy the beauty that’s all around us. This is a beautiful picture.

With that said, now I’ll say what I think of when I look at this.

The two tide pools. I’m depicting them as TFG’s two current court cases. Just sitting there currently in the works, just waiting on the incoming tide, the ocean to swell, roll in and consume the entire beach.

The ocean. This depicts all the other investigative cases currently ongoing against TFG and his minions. Very soon, they will swell, overtake the beach, and give the two other cases the final push to cross the finish line bringing guilty verdicts on all cases.

When the tide swells on the Georgia case, and the federal investigations into his being responsible for the January 6th attempted overthrow of our democracy, attempted coup, where 5 people lost their lives, and countless others permanently injured. Plus the investigation into the unauthorized removal of top secret, classified, documents from the National Archives. TFG is going to find himself consumed by the tide.

I want to take this opportunity to apologize to everyone. I just couldn’t pass up this analogy of such a beautiful picture. That said, I wish I was parallel on the beach in Maine overlooking the gorgeous ocean.

What a life! Sure beats living under a bridge!

Have a wonderful, relaxing, Sunday everyone!

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Not in the mood for so many words as you surmised, so, at first, I passed you by. Glad to have returned, Daniel Cooper. The tide was good. It was a pleasure to watch TFG being voraciously consumed by her.

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Absolutely!

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Just throwing this out because it is so joy-filled. I wish everyone a little elephant love ❤️🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7054196471897681923?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

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A heavy, adorable, young elephant at play in the mud with a young girl; wonderful winners both! Thank you for these moments of mirth, Gailee Walker Wells.

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You are so very welcome Fern McBride ❤️❤️❤️🐘🐘🐘

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That's muddy adorable! It always amazes me to see the way a baby elephant is just a scaled-down big elephant. They may not go through an awkward stage, but they certainly go through a playful stage

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Anne-Louise, baby elephants have almost no control of their trunks for the first year or so. They have to learn how to direct its complex musculature. So they certainly have a “nose toddler” phase, if not an awkward middle school phase!

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Really? That's fascinating - and something I've never considered. Yes, the trunk is a truly extraordinary limb, directed not by instinct but by the brain, with all that that implies. Kindness, affection, humour, pain, sorrow, anger, revenge. The legendary memory. Thanks, Craig, you've opened a new book for me.

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Thank you Craig!

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You are muddy welcome ❤️🐘❤️🐘❤️🐘

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Er, hang on a second - on this forum? but they're only baby elephants - they can still be taught. OK. (Thanks for the laugh!)

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So mudorable! Thanks, Gailee.

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❤️❤️❤️Great word!

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Just tossing it out there - discussing topics such as politics, economics, the environment, etc. is well & good AND NEEDED, but discussions like this give a tad - bit of respite to keep us from burning out over the significant topics.

Someone should post a link to some puppy videos or cat videos up in here, stat ! 🐶 😸 Couldn't hurt.....

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Last night I watched the 2021 movie "Land" directed & acted by Robin Wright; it's a story of psychological recovery with life restoring cinematography in mountain wilderness. 2 Thumbs Up.

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I would love to see Lost Horizon, the original movie. Once you stay there awhile you can't leave, even though you become basically IMMORTAL. I have a list of movies I haven't seen in YEARS, including Good Morning Vietnam.

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Interesting juxtsposition of movies Daniel. Via "Pieces of History" Blog, the percentage of TV sets installed in American homes in 1950 to 1966 went from 9% to 93% ... from a small box to the Big B Tube. And 1966, "That's the Way It Is" in Vietnam was much different than what General Westmoreland pitched to LBJ.

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Pieces of History - I'll have to Google that.......I used to subscribe to Atlas Obscura, I'll have to resubscribe. They have everything from culinary history of Pompeii to deciphering the symbology of grave markers to unusual items left on the Moon by the astronauts of the Apollo program.

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Atlas Obscura big in my house ... the more obscure the better.

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Part of why elephants are such nice creatures is their politics: the oldest female is automatically the group leader, so none of the back stabbing that pervades human politics. One of the best books on elephants is The Fate of the Elephant, by Doug Chadwick (1993 or thereabouts). Part personality profile, part natural history, part adventure (the author goes everywhere of importance to elephants), part political economics (of the then contemporary ivory trade).

The Elephant Whisperer by Lawrence Anthony, and Elephant Company, by Vicki Constantine Croke also fill out various aspects of who elephants are.

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The sad thing is that the human population of Africa is expected to double over the next generation. As that happens, the elephant population, now a couple of hundred thousand, down from 20 million in 1900, will probably shrink to a level where elephants will no longer be able to indulge in their normal behavior--migrations of thousands of miles annually to find food and water, and the communications among different elephant groups over long distances, and thus they will become like Indians on a reservation, and so their culture will disappear and their intelligence will devolve.

This is a tragedy among a species that is among the smartest on the planet. (Among other things, elephants recognize themselves in a mirror.

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What a wonderful giddy way to start my Sunday. He thinks he’s a lap elephant

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Loved this- thank you!

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You are so very welcome ❤️

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It's always a worthy endeavor to say "Hello" to your Merrells 😎.

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I tramp round our local Meadow, grateful for my at least tenth pair of Merrells, and love to see that occasional M on boots passing by. Thanks too for these wonderful Letters and superb photos from HCR which I read daily in our small English village

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Thanks for the "tramping" reference Pamela. I tamped around the Lake Distrci in 1983. My B&B hosts moved out there during the blitz & never returned to London.

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Ah yes, the red logo; I just scored a lighter pair for urban landscapes. Mahalo.

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What I wear, climbing mountains or at the edge of the sea.

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The wonders of low tide. And on a stunning day.

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I am looking forward to visiting Maine one day. Enjoy the rest.

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Your life will change a bit when you do experience Maine. And assume for the better, more enriched

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One of my favorite places on earth since I was a child. :)

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My wife & I went last fall for a nephew's wedding on the coast. We flew up, rented a car a drove along the coast for 4-5 days. It was delightful...however we drove to the top of Cadillac Mountain on a foggy morning and could only see about 15 feet....

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That’s the best reason to stay longer on Mt. Desert Island; to actually see that view! Along with the billion other reasons to linger among its beauty.

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yes, 4-5 days was not enough...but it was a good start.

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We did two months and I still felt it was not enough. The place is a gem.

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Lived in my beloved Maine 13 years. Will always miss it. Every other year return visits never sufficient.

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Thats the best view from Cadillac. The rest is just water.

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When you come , dont forget the motto on the state seal Dirigo. Thats Latin for "bring money "

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...and if you're able to, go sailing in Eggemoggin Reach up near Stonington. It's the best in the world, and offers a Maine experience unlike any other. Good place to eat a lobster, too, if you're so inclined!

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Miz Professor: I don't know where you get your mental energy, but, PLEASE, take care of yourself. You make a difference in so many people's understanding of what's going on in our country and in the world.

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An amateur photographer myself, I found your self portrait delightful.

And more importantly, of course, your letters. While I sometimes get an ache in my stomach

When I read what you’ve uncovered, I am grateful for the truth that you report.

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Beautiful scenery, especially the part with your boots, that you are horizontal, relaxing. ENJOY!

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Time for a tall cold one or a bucket of o' margaritas ! Couldn't hurt.....

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What's your favorite tequila ?

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Gotta go with Cuervo, although I miss the tequila worm. Good source of protein. 😆 There was a scene in Poltergeist where Craig T. Nelson's knocking back a bottle of tequila & the worm opens a huge eye.

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I like their 1800 Reposado, add a touch of Grand Mariner with Tres Agaves mix, rocks & salt. That's a funny scene.

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I’m now a big fan of mezcal! Love the smokiness.

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I like, smokey, warm also. Try the Blue Nectar, Rep...it's a good price point for a real nice tequila

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Jaegermeister - it gets a bad rap, but it's not all that bad. Don't think that it's been in a movie.... Product placement could change its rep.

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I just realized that we turned a nice calm photo into a drinking story...

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Back in my drinking days, Cuervo!!! Straight!

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This made me smile, Daniel. Thank you.

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Anytime, & it's on the house / gratis.

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Perfecto❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️

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Good shoes before tidal pools on a perfect day comprised the photograph to subscribers of Letters from an American on this early Sunday morning before sunrise. It is a beautiful beginning of the day, gifted by Heather Cox Richardson. Thank you for your masterful work all week, HCR, and for this visually memorable self-portrait today.

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Good morning and thank you. Have a great weekend!

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" Simplify ! " - Henry David Thoreau, IIRC.

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Ah, yes it is. Thank you💜

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