It’s now 3:29 here in the afternoon of Dec. 25 in the mountains of Kyushu, Japan.
That’s early after midnight, beginning Christmas day in Heather’s Maine.
Last night, many kids gathered here for a video screening of “The Polar Express” – a great success, for the movie and the abundant popcorn they had.
They all understood the poor kid, Billy, who kept to himself through the early parts of the trip north – but awakened to learn the values of friendship. Many kids on that train north in that Chris Van Allsburg story, that Robert Zemeckis/Tom Hanks film learned key human lessons, fitting for the day celebrating the birth of that Nazarene of 2,000 years ago who taught the similarly good lessons then for seeing and aiding the poor, and comforting migrants, immigrants, and those ostracized by the stereotyping by the rich and powerful of that day.
Decent people then as now learn how to be open to others. And the indecent seem uniformly – any era – full of angers, blind rage at “others” they see only by group labels, and the poisoning their hatreds lead them into.
Our news today teems with how our most hateful crave but money/power in a story that just repeats as it always has. But the kids here who saw “The Polar Express,” different: all beautiful, good-humored, delightful as individuals also always are, as we know who may be given to see even some grace.
Phil, are you military deployed in Japan, teaching there, or otherwise employed there. Maybe just visiting. Actually, I think the only Air Force Base in the mountains of Japan is Misawa. Anyway, “The Polar Express “ is a great film. We could all use some
“feel good “ time in today’s world. One of the features on our Roku is a set of live TV that’s not really live. It’s cuts from several TV shows of the past. The one my wife has been watching on some afternoons is The Ellen Show. It’s a compilation of cuts from her years of daytime TV. There’s a lot of feel good stuff. I watched some today, taking the day off, Christmas Eve, There was a series of episodes where she did video connections with several different schools. She’s always giving something away, either personally or by a sponsor. Today she had talked with a girl’s high school volleyball team that lost their school and gym to a hurricane. She had arranged for Lowe’s to send their volunteer construction crew and a million dollars to rebuild the gym. The team finished their season in other schools gyms, the spirit of helping a town in need. She had 3 guests, a math teacher, a counselor, and principal from a poor school in Texas and donated $20 thousand to their food pantry and another $30 thousand for food for the children in the school, Another school in East Harlem had their technology infrastructure donated by another organization, and she arranged for a state of the art computer lab and $30 thousand for laptops for all the kids. This was an elementary school whose new principal worked with faculty to bring the school’s rating from an F to a B in 1 year. An 11 year old child found a $20 bill and wrapped it with a note and gave it to a soldier, asking him to pay it forward. I don’t recall the exact follow up on that, but it led to a lot of pay it forward events started by the soldier. Brought tears to my eyes several times. There were more. A school library and a bookmobile stocked with books to a school in Oklahoma. It’s always heartening to see that kind of generosity.
Hi Phil, I always appreciate your comments since I also live in Japan. I’m an artist who came here “for a year” in 1980. I tried going back to America in 1990 but it was too brutal for me and I came back to Japan. Of course, like any country, it has problems, but its refinement and aesthetic sense is what keeps me here. Just going to the supermarket is an example. The cashier thanks me, I thank her back and we bow to each other as she hands me my change and the groceries. I can walk down the street alone at midnight without any fear, unlike Los Angeles where I grew up. I hope all the tourists who have been inundating Japan can learn some lessons about respect and social harmony to implement in their countries.
So glad to hear this! My son and his mixed American/Japanese family moved to Japan 7 years ago. I miss them acutely; but I am glad they are there and no longer here.
Kristin, I have never been to Japan, but our neighbors across the street have lived there and this fall took their two children on a month's long trip to Japan. I was able to enjoy their trip via photos which she posted on a regular basis. I had no idea of how beautiful it is. Right now another friend and her Japanese husband are there and I am enjoying their photos too. It is nice to read about a place where people are polite to each other instead of being constantly full of anger.
In Grantchester (TV series), S6:E8, WWII veteran Detective Inspector Geordie Keating says to conscientious objector Reverend Will Davenport, “Will, I did not think any less of you for not serving. In fact, I’m glad you didn’t. Because you can see the world as it ought to be.”
Not everyone needs to be able to see the world as it ought to be, but Christmas is to remind its celebrants that the appearance that a better world is an illusion is the illusion.
Strangely enough, it's possible to have a similar experience in the US. At least in El Paso, Texas. My preferred grocery store is a small one, where I've gotten to know a lot of the employees. It's where I go to get hugs and good social time. I'm not sure I want to walk down the street at midnight, but that's mostly because I'd rather be asleep.
Hi Kristin. El Paso is a special place. I've lived in the Los Angeles area (where I grew up) and in Richmond, VA, and El Paso is the best place I've ever lived. It is the only place I've lived where there is apparently not a lot of racial prejudice. I think our huge Mexican-heritage population, with their caring and family values is the reason. When I moved here, I was concerned about the quality of medical care I would find, but it has turned out to be the best I've ever had. I live in a blue collar neighborhood, which means I have real people (as in down to earth) for neighbors. I wouldn't want to live anywhere else.
Hi Kristin, I’m an 80 year old American. I was born and raised on Long Island in New York. I was raised to say please and thank you. I’m never rude, because of the way I was raised. The current climate in my country is not who we are, the US was never perfect, but we were once known for our generosity. Please keep in mind that most Americans do not like what’s going on in our country. I’m the grandchild of immigrants and doing what I can to end this deplorable situation. I’ve always believed that our success was based in our diversity.
Please don’t give up on us, we’re a young country with a lot to learn.
Hi Kristin, I am glad you appreciate living in Japan. I am your opposite, born and educated in Japan but came to America for graduate study and eventually a career at a university. You are outside of the traditional Japanese hierachy based on the school one attends, family income and occupation and so on. I felt such a freedom in the campus town of my university for graduate degree. Professors treated me without any prejudice. I have found an American family who accepted me like a family member. All men are created equal, the concept Japanese do not understand.
Hi Hiro, I agree with you completely. If I had been born Japanese, I would probably have left as well. I think we both find balance by living in two cultures. I’m married to a Japanese man, but we got secretly married because his parents would have disowned him and scratched him off the family register if he married a foreigner.
"Talking with Victor Charlie," by Sedgwick D. Tourison, Jr.
Was it you, Alec, who recommended this most fine account of some U.S. translators in the Nam war? Someone on a thread here some time ago cited it -- and I got a copy on my next trip back to the U.S. (1991 paperback all I could locate).
If it was you, thank you for the nod.
But you do know him. So let me ask you this: can you imagine U.S. high schools and colleges filled with the best of people from many cultures, all teaching their languages, along with their literatures, cuisines, histories, and other arts and landscapes?
This implies another Q: can you imagine U.S. schools not under slavish service only to testing's neutered and neutering conceits?
I’m a Vietnam era veteran. I got my commission in October, 1968, in the Army’s graduate student program. They were recruiting Clinical Psychologists with 1 year of graduate school. My stepchildren’s father was killed in Vietnam in 1967. He was a young “butter bar “ 2nd Lt. Special thanks for your service. My daughter has made 2 bad choices for husbands. I is in prison for a LONG time for things found on his computer. The 1st let her do all the heavy work and support them while he got his BA. Expected her to send him to veterinary school after they divorced. Current choice is an Afghanistan veteran sent to language school and learned Pashto; his good friend was his interpreter-needed more than 1 language in Afghanistan.My father and his brothers were veterans, one in each service. The youngest was an Annapolis graduate and was killed in a helicopter crash while working in the Vietnam mountains with the mountain tribe at 41 years old. Merry Christmas, or in your case Merry Boxing Day. British.
Money is everything—but what a force for changing lives! And what generosity can do for others from someone who has much—a lesson. (I believe Ellen has moved to England during Trump.)
I also was drawn to Polar Express last night--magically, for the first time.
I have read Melody Beattie's book Journey to the Heart for daily reflections and journaling prompts for the last three years. She believes that you need to be open to the universe (or God, if you prefer) and ask for what you need. And then you need to be open to the universe's response. The right people, thoughts, feelings, insights, opportunities will be provided.
Last night I asked for a sign that people's better natures would prevail, that the ugliness and inhumanity we are being deluged with wouldn't win.
Polar Express was the first movie in the Hulu queue.
It seems like the universe is responding to a lot of us.
Ah, Isaac, someday (hopefully this is the year) my Christmas novel whose theme is EXACTLY that will finally be published. Probably self-published via ebook as I lack the connections to score an agent and traditional publisher. I've let the insanity of the Trump regime depress me and take much of my initiative away.
For all the hopes and prayers of a certain person's demise, I'm amazed it hasn't happened yet.
Miselle, Don’t give up on the idea of a literary agent. You do not need connections, but you do need a well crafted manuscript along with a well written letter to each agent(research agents who represent your chosen genre and write a personalized letter to each). It is time consuming and it does take time for agents to go through their stack of unsolicited manuscripts but it is worth it. If you can, attend a writer’s conference where you can actually meet one on one with one or more agents for feedback. Don’t expect one to offer to represent you off the bat but if your pitch is strong they might ask you for more than one chapter. Best of luck.
Thank you for the encouragement, Allison. My first manuscript was professionally edited and it's a good one, I'm sure of it. My query letter sucks, and I have considered having it professionally edited as well. I have read that the lack of any social media accounts is a negative, and at minimum, I need a website. My editor charged me $6K and it WAS worth it, but I have to admit, it's rather fearful to invest the amounts of money I could to push myself to the top of the heap. (And they sure do get a heap of unsolicited submissions.)
Right now, my husband who worked in IT has been self-teaching himself about web design. We're very close, but before we launch it, I need to have content in it and I'm unsure what to put up. Author friends have made suggestions, but in all honesty, I can tell a good fiction story, but I have no particular interesting personal history. I could probably embellish my life and thoughts, but with the THOUSANDS of Substacks out there, who cares?
I've researched agencies and agents, and I did try to personalize the letters, but it didn't seem to matter. One good thing though, in the researching, I discovered some wonderful resources. One in particular is a webletter called Writer UnBoxed. Very good essays and excellent interactions!
There will be a conference in Chicago in 2026 which I hope to attend. VERY scary for me, as I feel like a fraud attending it. I have no cred at all and my hands sweat just thinking about it. I get so anxious about it that I think I'd make a fool out of myself and cause more damage than good. But I will think about it. "Feel the fear and do it anyway" as the saying goes.
Most writers feel the way you do. It's a self-driven and often isolating process, but it's the writing more than the social media that truly matters, at least I hope it still does! Is your manuscript fiction, memoir or non-fiction? If memoir, that is where the backstory counts, obviously but not so much for the others. Don't overthink it....pesue your dreams otherwise you will likely regret it.
I’m going to suggest that for our family gathering today. Last night was “A Christmas Carol” (for me, personally, it is my favorite redemption story; my favorite versions feature Patrick Stewart or George C. Scott as Scrooge. We watched the Muppets version last night (which I had never seen). It was wonderful!
My favorite Christmas movie is the original "Miracle on 34th Street", which was way ahead of its time. Protagonist was a divorced single mom who also worked. Santa Claus was more or less portrayed as the spirit of Christmas, but it was right out there that the parents actually bought the gifts. It has so many perfect little moments that reflect on the good and bad things about our country.
Georgia, your last word, "Believe," reminded me of the handwritten poster taped above the doorway of the A.F.C. Richmond locker room in the Ted Lasso TV series, another dramatic effort that reminds us to see the best in people, even when they're showing us their worst.
Georgia, see my reply below to Isaac. And btw, I titled my manuscript "BELIEVE"
Enough of me. Part of my problems getting my novel out is I am very, very poor at self promotion, and I've read that prospective authors MUST market themselves.
When I do get my book out there, I will announce it here and from what you've expressed, I think you would enjoy it. I hope the forum will be kind and indulge me.
Phil, your comment that "our most hateful crave but money/power" set me thinking: what if that fanatical craving for money and power capitalism honors as proper ambition is instead the ultimate expression of hatefulness? That the true motive for its apocalyptic quest for wealth and authority is the weaponization of its perpetrators' hatred? Jes' sayin' -- it's a new notion; it sorta blows my mind, and I'm still thinking it through. But thanks to you -- and beneficent holidays to all here.
Yes, the ultimate bully - I have it, you don't, ha ha ha. This bully has a megaphone and sidekicks. How he/they got here, sadly says much about our society.
Last night I watched Christmas Story (what a delight), Ralphie finally had enough of the neighborhood bully and beat the crap out of him. It had to happen.
I guess best scene of the bully finally getting it is in "A History of Violence."
This is when the high school son of the character played by Viggo Mortensen finally has enough of the bullying done to him who's always been a kind softie.
Keep in mind a lot of that craving and hateful behavior hides a huge sense of inadequacy, often unacknowledged or unknown to themselves. As they cut the wide swath of destruction and cruelty, they pursue some sort of sense of worthiness, which will never occur, as this isn't the way to it. I know this doesn't resolve the messes they make but perhaps it can help us know they too have enormous weak spots and that could be their undoing in the end. In the meantime if we're able, we can feel gratitude for our own circumstances and enjoy the company of those we love and who love us.
J. Nol. I had a round with a MAGA yesterday on a post about immigration. She accused me of being delusional and suffering from TDS. I shut the discussion down, but of course, last word, had to give me the laugh emoji. I am astounded that people can support death star and then proclaim they vote for law and order. Part of the discussion was about two parents here in Oregon who have a very young child. They were swept up and swiftly deported. The baby is still here with a relative. People had all kind of nasty things to say about them and immigrants who come here without documentation. They have no idea how other people live and what they go through. I thought it is Christmas Eve and some of the posters were cruel and without compassion This is why I start my day here and read Heather and then the comments of the many people who I have come to know via their posts. I want to wish Heather and Buddy and all of you a serene holiday season and express my gratitude for what you post.
Michelle, I cannot fathom the lack of compassion for immigrants that I’m seeing in that world, and from people that I know have compassion and mercy in their hearts. The real TDS is believing that this administration is doing good things.
Especially when we all descend from immigrants, if we are not ourselves immigrants. I am one. Fortunate to have arrived as a child with my parents in the New World. At the time immigrants were welcomed, at least if they belonged to the "correct group". I'm so tired of the petty, small-minded, hatred of those who target people not like themselves. In their xenophobia they exhibit their ignorance and fear. Which of course is encouraged by the monster infecting the White House.
What particularly frosts me is that so many MAGAts claim to be Christians. I didn't get that until I read about the difference between horizontal as opposed to vertical religion. Then is made at least a little sense.
MAGAts are simply delusional. If you doubt it, try having a civil discussion with Rick Sender on these threads.
I'm a public school teacher, and one of my colleagues is a MAGAt. I offended him by telling him I would no longer discuss politics with him. This after nine years of politely telling him he is misinformed or needs to check his sources. I finally told him he "believes dumb-ass shit that isn't true" and that we inhabit different realities. He believes that if we calmly discuss our political differences we will understand and respect each other's views. I will never respect his. He voted for Trump in 2025. That's all I need to know.
The notion of MAGATs allowed to teach children should terrify us all; their every word intentionally fosters ecogenocidal racial and misogynistic hatred.
It is 12:38 in Northern Germany and it is a sunny Christmas Day! So, today there is light. I am glad the children saw a holiday message of caring and friendship. This is helping to form them. Let us hope that the decent people of the world prevail. We need to GOTV in 2026 and bring more decency back into our government.
Quick, bring in ICE. Bring in CBP. Lots of guns, military assault weaponry. Masked thugs. Bullet-proof vests. Gas masks. Grenades. Ammo clips. Visored helmets. No name tags. All those correctly convicted of violence at the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6, 2021, and first day of the criminal back in the White House pardoned as if thug criminality were henceforth immune to law, as the billionaires raping underage girls were as immune to law as that orange felon has been demonstrating since.
Phil, you started the most interesting, most intelligent thread of conversation. HCR and comments are my new Facebook; sorry, a bad name for Substacks, but the exchanges are intelligent and thoughtful. Real humans here.
Linda, There are many people that I think are decent in our government. None of them are MAGAs, and my DINO senator Dick Durban is not anymore if he ever was. I think that Mamdani is decent, and so is my governor Pritzker and so are many of my local elected representatives. Chicago's mayor Brandon Johnson may not be the most effective mayor, but his heart is in the right place on many issues and he is decent. Our city has remained a sanctuary city and helped many people get settled who were sent in droves from Florida and Texas. , Bernie Sanders, Jasmine Crockett, AOC, Adelita Grijalva, Ro Khanna, Maxwell Frost, Jared Moskowitz, Jonathan Jackson (mine), Jamie Raskin, Kwame Mfume, Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, Michelle Fischbach, Hakeem Jeffries, Tammy Baldwin, Tammy Duckworth (mine), Amy Klobuchar, Jon Ossoff, Elissa Slotkin, Tina Smith, Elizabeth Warren, Rafael Warnock, Katie Hobbs, Janet Mills, Wes Moore, Maura Healey, Gretchen Whitmer, Tim Walz, Josh Stein, Tina Kotek, Josh Shapiro, Bob Ferguson, Tony Evers, and many more local and statewide people. So, the parts of our government that are about decency are coming from people who make things decent. I can say in my community in Chicago there are a lot of people who are decent and involved in making our neighborhood and city a better place. Too bad they are not as organized nationally as Moms for Liberty, a group of horrid people, doing horrid things that local groups are starting to push back against on their school and library boards.
These are the decent people that keep decency from totally going under right now. The US government is set up to have an ever changing cast, although my governor does not have a limit to the number of terms he can serve, so we could have him for a while. Other jobs do have limits. Elizabeth Warren is decent and has been around for a long time. I am not saying things are not bad, but it is a preponderance of decent people that make decent things happen. It is not just the big government but local as well. I do think there have always been decent people in government, but the whole clunky thing being decent is not something I can say.
My political book club is reading Yevgeny Zamyatin's book "We" written in 1921. He was enthusiastic about the Russian Revolution, and the possibilities until he was living under the system that was put in place by those who led the Revolution and saw that what those people chose to do with the system they had allowed to be possible, was not what he had envisioned, or at least did not work out the way he had hoped, and he saw what was wrong with it. I feel like we are seeing that in our system too. It works best when the people who are carrying it out have a vision that is similar to what we envision. The more such people the better, and mine was not an exhaustive list, just a short list of people I felt were decent. There are others where I just don't know them. The government is not a thing, it is the people involved in creating it and working in it. I know a lot of decent people working in the government who have lost their jobs as Trump replaces them with loyalists. They are the decent people of government too. So much is taken for granted because of them.
My senators and representatives, Chris Murphy, Johanna Hayes, Richard Blumenthal, from Connecticut are all decent people working on behalf of the people.
I hope I encounter this sentiment throughout the rest of the year. Such a beautiful post, filled with a harsh reality but also hope. I am hopeful that kindness and a true love of human beings wins out over what we are being told to worship…bullying, greed, anger, vengefulness, bitterness, insecurity, gluttony. It is our obligation to fight against despair, even when it is being marketed as a better way of life and crammed down our throats.
Have a wonderful, JOYFUL Christmas, everyone. Even if not in your faith wheelhouse, just enjoy 12/25/25 for being a day to fight the despair and choose hope.
Thank you Phil for your sharing of love filled moments experienced from such a beautiful place on earth.
I haven’t had time to read LFAA for some weeks now.
The quiet before the dawn this morning I feel so blessed to sit and read everyone’s comments and all the love from Heather’s readers.
What a safe loving place to be. And the best part is we are enough of a community where the voices feel very familiar and comforting from reading the comments over these many past years.
I am grateful for Heather’s knowledge and writing and also especially for everyone here taking that knowledge and light out into the world.
Polar Express is what our gathering watched as well! We hadn’t watched it since our grandchildren were much younger and I’m so glad that as adults they still love to watch the movie.
Many blessings to all as we ponder how to bring love, respect and peace to everyone with intention and grace.
Thank you for this comment today, Phil. I, too, love The Polar Express. It has so many lessons in it and it always makes me cry! Happy Holidays to you!
That's just a few kilometers n.w. of my town of two river valleys, Taketa.
Kuju has the height of the tallest Appalachians, either in New Hampshire or the South. Two other mountains near Taketa (Aso and Sobo-san have same elevation, but no skiing.
But up into Kawabata's "Snow Country" -- that's the world you bespeak.
Phil, My friend's son is applying for University in Japan. I hope he gets in and goes there. He is looking at going in Osaka.
Interestingly Yasunari Kawabata's "Snow Country" is one of the books my daughter had on her Christmas wish list and got. We all got books for Christmas. My daughter had a list of 5, and she is both interested in the contents and the covers, so we had to get her specific editions. She did a project on the evolution and relevance and design of book covers, so it is a thing. Our family is into the hand held book still, and Interestingly, I got her a book in English here in Germany that she was not able to get from our excellent book store in Chicago.
While the books my husband and I got were a surprise to us, we will both enjoy reading all of the books we got, since there is overlap in our taste.
Well on the topic of books, I have a small but growing collection of first edition Mark Twain books and I just acquired 4 at regional auction. I have two of these 4 already so I’ll take the ones I have and put them in a New York auction house and enjoy my new acquisitions. Sam Clemons, aka Mark a Twain, is my (I don’t know, literary mentor of sorts?) He lived in my home town of Hartford for about 20 years when Hartford was a literary hotspot. Since my high school was built next door to the Nook Farm (Harriet Beecher Stowe lived there as well) and Twain’s house, I used to sneak out of school at lunch and walk to the porch at the Twain house to eat my lunch and fantasize Twain actually coming out to greet me.
Bill, I believe my daughter is or was reading, "Life on the Mississippi" in one of her classes. I like Twain a lot, though I have not read all his books. Cool that you have such a personal connection to these two renowned people in Twain and Stowe.
I believe my community has a lot of renowned writers as well. I am friendly with 3 children's book authors who live within a few blocks of me in Chicago, one being my neighbor, and then a good friend who writes children's books in our community she is well known although she lives in another neighborhood. On my morning dog walks, when I am in Chicago, my neighbor and I walk by mystery writer Sara Paretsky's house. She has a book library outside which I check, and sometimes drop off books or pick them up. I love her writing. My mom, who was a book collector until this year when I helped her move into assisted living, introduced me to Paretsky and several other female mystery writers when I was a child.
I also live near a wonderful bookstore in Chicago called Seminary Coop, which is part of the University of Chicago. They have 2 branches and one has more popular fiction, the other has more academic books and a fantastic collection of literature. Both hold authors' readings, many of them local. Several of them friends. We support writers and are very alarmed a the direction in which the humanities are going in the US, of course along with the suffering of people.
I think “Life o the Mississippi “ is one of the books a won. When Twain came toHartford around 1871 and decided to build this grand house, he had his architect design a structure somewhat resembling a steamboat to the consternation of the neighborhood. Fortunately it survives as a museum and center. Unfortunately the houses along the street destroyed to make way for Hartford High School in the early 1960s — which was a terrible loss.
Linda, I do hope our son gets his wish to study in Japan. I think the NYT recently had an article about book covers which I think was a list of the best ones for this year. I love this post about books, the hand held ones. My husband and I have a tradition where we buy each other books for Christmas and then hand them out one at time after we have read the book we have. We do give each other a list, but often add something we think the other will enjoy. We have a house full of books and the floor to ceiling shelves in the den need some work, so that we can shelve some of the newer ones. We are both voracious readers and while some of what we read overlaps, we each also have our own interests.
Michele, It is my friend's son who wants to study there, and I wish him the best of luck. He is choosing a city he thinks has a good skate board culture. She is so lucky. Instead of being on tech all the time, he and his friends are out at skate board parks skating and practicing their tricks. He is also in AP classes in high school in math and English and doing well in school. So, he will hopefully get to skate and learn in Osaka.
I think you, your husband, my husband, my daughter and I all love books. We have shipped 110 boxes of books to Germany and left behind bookcases we had built in and other ones which we did not think we could move. This is what is left after purging about 2000 books from our collection, and then another 5-6000 of my mother's books before moving her with the remaining books. With her dementia she cannot read any more. My husband also has 18 boxes of books at a friend's house in another German state which we need to get. We have enough bookcases to have shelved 26 boxes of books, but will have some made once we sell our house in the US and can afford it. We plan on floor to ceiling shelves, but wooden bookcases cost more here than in the US, so it has to wait now that we are on a fixed income.
I should reread before I post. I also think that the Cathar shepherd's name is Pierre when I was discussing that with you, and I hope i am remembering the right person here. I remembered in bed! I think you have us beat in the number of books. We do get rid of some, mostly fiction which we donate. And every now and then, we do a purge of other things. We used to go to Powell's book store on Christmas as they are open. Quiet and peaceful in the morning. In the living room we have beautiful black walnut book cases and shelves. The cabinet person knew about this wood that had been down for 30 years (but still needed to dry). It turned out my husband worked with the lady that had the wood. The rest of the book cases are ash as we didn't want to spring for oak and ash is a beautiful wood. Kitchen cabinets are bamboo. It took us several years to do all this and yes, even several years ago, expensive. We had a meticulous person doing the remodeling and an excellent cabinet maker.
I remember reading that book to my students. I started teaching in 1989 and bought it a a book fair at the school. However, it was the illustrations that made me pick the book up to review. The story never failed to bring tears to my eyes, as I read it to my students. It was written and illustrated in 1985 by Chris Van Allsburg, and won the Caldecott Medal for illustration in 1986. My daughter now has my copy in her classroom. The movie brought the illustrations and story to life. Naturally, I bought my grandchildren the book for Christmas years ago.
Per BBC America, Wednesday, 12/24/25 Pamela Bondi of the Trump Law Firm has located "a million more" [Epstein Files]. Yes, over 1 million more.
The new number for the TOTAL Epstein number file is now over 1.1 Million. That number means Bondi Gang has produced LESS than 10% of the "files" required by law as of 12/19/25!
*********
UPDATE:
Headline at CNN Politics by Marshall Cohen: "DOJ says it has found over a million additional documents. ... may need a few more weeks to review & release...".
†***†***
We need to build an alternative database or upgrade existing accessible, searchable efforts.
My hope for Pam Bondi and the rest of the Trump administration and thier families this holiday season is that they enjoy the same treatment that Epstein and Trumps sex trafficking ring inflicted on hundreds if not thousands of others.
If they want to protect it so badly, im sure they won't mind a bit!
From what I understand they ran the files through Adobe and blackened out everything. Some smart person ran it back through Adobe and returned it to white. Now you can read it without any problem. I think we already know what kind of people were involved, maybe not all of their names. Nothing stays hidden forever. Please, God hear our prayers and let us as a society find love, caring, empathy and decency again.
Bondi law firm uses Adobe Acrobat blackout feature to mask text in thousands of pages of sensitive government documents published on their website. Thousands of interested readers download same, open, hit F3 to reveal codes, delete blackout attribute, and copy to file.
Bryan, a million sounds like one of those fictitious "Trump numbers," pulled out of that dark valley between two rounded mountains.
If she found that many documents, then we have to wonder how many are authentic and how many were just generated to obfuscate and discredit the whole lot of them. One such false document has already been discovered.
Pamela did not "find" anything; this obstruction of justice is a lie, you don't "find" anything when you maliciously don't look.
The reality has been reported by 5 CBS reporters led by MELIISSA QUINN. U.S. Attorneys located the records accessible at the Southern District of New York.
A very happy holiday and good cheer as we wait for the light that you bring every day dear Heather. All the best to you and Buddy and all here who care.
Happy holidays Dr. Richardson and blessings to you and your loved ones. Thank you *so much* for helping us stay sane during these trying times. I look forward to a much better 2026!
Many are missing people due to ICE, so many have lost everything as in Gaza and Ukraine. I think of the soldiers of WWI and WW2, how many have spent time away from loved ones at Christmas. Even though I am not with my grown up children this year, I know I have much to be grateful for. At my age, 70, time spent with those I love is the best present. Peace be with you.
Leslie, your comment reminded me that my grandmother waited for her only son (age 19) and son-in-law to return from WWII—of course hoping they DID return. (They did.) I am trying to emulate her day-by-day patience to wait out this destructive, cruel government.
Heather, a peaceful Christmas to you and Buddy from Connecticut. I hope we can get to the place where no one should have to feel "lucky" to have shelter and food and warmth. And I hope that the gradual return of sunlight is figurative as well as literal.
Food, shelter, warmth - indeed - all of these should be human rights for every human being. The attempts to strip away an already weak, ineffective and pitiful social safety net by these billionaires has enraged me like nothing else. People think they’ll never need this help but many of us do or will or are one emergency away from needing them.
It is my fervent hope that in ridding this nation of the utter filth and criminality that has taken over, we can create a stronger, better, more efficient social safety net that allows people dignity. No one should feel embarrassed, less than, as if they’re a burden or have committed some kind of moral failing simply because life has been more difficult for them, because they are physically or mentally unwell, or work two or three jobs in a society so messed up that they still need food aid and health insurance to survive. I will spend every free moment I have in 2026 making sure the Republicans who voted to strip away food, health insurance, housing, Medicaid from children, the elderly, the disabled, and the hardest working adults - will lose their precious seats in Congress. And yet still, they will leave with large pensions and health insurance for life. We need to do a lot of work on this country once we get it back from these cruel bastards.
". . . need to do a lot of work on this country," you say, Denise.
Can you imagine how Dems in public life might speak to that it any of them had any reference to any of our novels, memoirs, histories, or other arts in touch with the people?
Or if our schools had any priorities other than those dictated by the neutered bastards of standardized testing, all witlessly in service only to the billionaires' packaging?
These are the not so subtle musings , Phil and hopefully added to …the list. It’s long. Worthy.Hopeful. How the path unfolds from this comedy of errors?
Which ones will the fountains bless?
May it also be born today as was the truest of love’s intent…be it a story, be it a song, thank you for the whys in ‘can’t we all just get along?’
History shows that we have always had people struggling to find "shelter and food and warmth". That is a tragedy ... but the greater tragedy is how relatively little we (all humans) do to alleviate that situation.
While here in the US, and throughout the world, there are many doing yeoman work to help the poor and suffering among us, we also have craven leaders who seem not to care about 'helping' these people (or really anybody but themselves), and take actions that specifically worsen their circumstances ...
... e.g. defunding USAID, an agency bringing help / relief to many millions of unfortunates around the world. That was one of America's greatest soft power agents, and reaped us a priceless amount of 'good will value' worldwide. In 2024 USAID accounted for 0.3% of all federal spending - ONE THIRD OF ONE PERCENT!
And that defunding came under the guise of DOGE cost-cutting measures. Either someone(s) has their risk / reward assessment very confused ... OR, maybe, that's the point! Shameful ... and embarrassing to msny of us who care.
8am in NE Italy, a small village where I live in Friuli Venezia Giulia. After two days of mist and rain the clouds have parted to reveal snow on the closest mountains. A serene Christmas to you, HCR. At 86 (tomorrow) I appreciate how you knit my world together for better or for worse.
Merry Christmas! Thank you for writing these daily letters, giving us context and historical perspective, and documenting for future historians. Be sure to take care of yourself and don’t run out your battery.
This has been an extremely hard year both politically and, for me, personally. This is our first Christmas without my husband, and it is intensely painful. He would have loved this Christmas snow. I don’t think I’m ready for the light to return yet.
Dearest Lisa, I lost my husband 8 years ago, and tonight it feels like he’s still here. The pain is unspeakable, you will work through it, and know that you never “get over” it, and that’s good. He will be in your heart all the days of your life. Be well.
Yet it sneaks back in. We adjust because we have to. Pain, numbness, a clearer view of the mountain from a distance, ephemeral, loving connections in times of need. But a wound that leaves a scar, proof of life if there has been any humanity.
Thank you for the warm thoughts and lovely photo for this holiday. Grateful for what I have, my family, sad about our unexpected loss this past year, and also grateful for this community. Earlier this year I was surprised to learn my apolitical husband had also subscribed to this newsletter; grateful that we could share that for a few months.
I sure hope so. This country could use some light, although a big and gracious thank you, Heather, as you provide a decent amount of light on a daily basis!
Happy holidays to you and your family and see you soon!
It’s now 3:29 here in the afternoon of Dec. 25 in the mountains of Kyushu, Japan.
That’s early after midnight, beginning Christmas day in Heather’s Maine.
Last night, many kids gathered here for a video screening of “The Polar Express” – a great success, for the movie and the abundant popcorn they had.
They all understood the poor kid, Billy, who kept to himself through the early parts of the trip north – but awakened to learn the values of friendship. Many kids on that train north in that Chris Van Allsburg story, that Robert Zemeckis/Tom Hanks film learned key human lessons, fitting for the day celebrating the birth of that Nazarene of 2,000 years ago who taught the similarly good lessons then for seeing and aiding the poor, and comforting migrants, immigrants, and those ostracized by the stereotyping by the rich and powerful of that day.
Decent people then as now learn how to be open to others. And the indecent seem uniformly – any era – full of angers, blind rage at “others” they see only by group labels, and the poisoning their hatreds lead them into.
Our news today teems with how our most hateful crave but money/power in a story that just repeats as it always has. But the kids here who saw “The Polar Express,” different: all beautiful, good-humored, delightful as individuals also always are, as we know who may be given to see even some grace.
Phil, are you military deployed in Japan, teaching there, or otherwise employed there. Maybe just visiting. Actually, I think the only Air Force Base in the mountains of Japan is Misawa. Anyway, “The Polar Express “ is a great film. We could all use some
“feel good “ time in today’s world. One of the features on our Roku is a set of live TV that’s not really live. It’s cuts from several TV shows of the past. The one my wife has been watching on some afternoons is The Ellen Show. It’s a compilation of cuts from her years of daytime TV. There’s a lot of feel good stuff. I watched some today, taking the day off, Christmas Eve, There was a series of episodes where she did video connections with several different schools. She’s always giving something away, either personally or by a sponsor. Today she had talked with a girl’s high school volleyball team that lost their school and gym to a hurricane. She had arranged for Lowe’s to send their volunteer construction crew and a million dollars to rebuild the gym. The team finished their season in other schools gyms, the spirit of helping a town in need. She had 3 guests, a math teacher, a counselor, and principal from a poor school in Texas and donated $20 thousand to their food pantry and another $30 thousand for food for the children in the school, Another school in East Harlem had their technology infrastructure donated by another organization, and she arranged for a state of the art computer lab and $30 thousand for laptops for all the kids. This was an elementary school whose new principal worked with faculty to bring the school’s rating from an F to a B in 1 year. An 11 year old child found a $20 bill and wrapped it with a note and gave it to a soldier, asking him to pay it forward. I don’t recall the exact follow up on that, but it led to a lot of pay it forward events started by the soldier. Brought tears to my eyes several times. There were more. A school library and a bookmobile stocked with books to a school in Oklahoma. It’s always heartening to see that kind of generosity.
Good for your recountings of generosity, Rudyard.
My military time was a long time ago -- as U.S. Army Vietnamese translator/interpreter, 2 Sept. 1969 - 4 Apr. '72.
I'm just a retired guy, who happens to love these mountains and river valleys, much of the culture of Japan, and the eyes of kids.
Hi Phil, I always appreciate your comments since I also live in Japan. I’m an artist who came here “for a year” in 1980. I tried going back to America in 1990 but it was too brutal for me and I came back to Japan. Of course, like any country, it has problems, but its refinement and aesthetic sense is what keeps me here. Just going to the supermarket is an example. The cashier thanks me, I thank her back and we bow to each other as she hands me my change and the groceries. I can walk down the street alone at midnight without any fear, unlike Los Angeles where I grew up. I hope all the tourists who have been inundating Japan can learn some lessons about respect and social harmony to implement in their countries.
So glad to hear this! My son and his mixed American/Japanese family moved to Japan 7 years ago. I miss them acutely; but I am glad they are there and no longer here.
Dear Linda, Please come for a visit!
Too many reasons why I can't just yet. Maybe someday....!
Kristin, I have never been to Japan, but our neighbors across the street have lived there and this fall took their two children on a month's long trip to Japan. I was able to enjoy their trip via photos which she posted on a regular basis. I had no idea of how beautiful it is. Right now another friend and her Japanese husband are there and I am enjoying their photos too. It is nice to read about a place where people are polite to each other instead of being constantly full of anger.
In Grantchester (TV series), S6:E8, WWII veteran Detective Inspector Geordie Keating says to conscientious objector Reverend Will Davenport, “Will, I did not think any less of you for not serving. In fact, I’m glad you didn’t. Because you can see the world as it ought to be.”
Not everyone needs to be able to see the world as it ought to be, but Christmas is to remind its celebrants that the appearance that a better world is an illusion is the illusion.
Happy holidays everyone!
Strangely enough, it's possible to have a similar experience in the US. At least in El Paso, Texas. My preferred grocery store is a small one, where I've gotten to know a lot of the employees. It's where I go to get hugs and good social time. I'm not sure I want to walk down the street at midnight, but that's mostly because I'd rather be asleep.
Hi Susan, I’ve heard from others that El Paso is a special place.
Hi Kristin. El Paso is a special place. I've lived in the Los Angeles area (where I grew up) and in Richmond, VA, and El Paso is the best place I've ever lived. It is the only place I've lived where there is apparently not a lot of racial prejudice. I think our huge Mexican-heritage population, with their caring and family values is the reason. When I moved here, I was concerned about the quality of medical care I would find, but it has turned out to be the best I've ever had. I live in a blue collar neighborhood, which means I have real people (as in down to earth) for neighbors. I wouldn't want to live anywhere else.
Hi Kristin, I’m an 80 year old American. I was born and raised on Long Island in New York. I was raised to say please and thank you. I’m never rude, because of the way I was raised. The current climate in my country is not who we are, the US was never perfect, but we were once known for our generosity. Please keep in mind that most Americans do not like what’s going on in our country. I’m the grandchild of immigrants and doing what I can to end this deplorable situation. I’ve always believed that our success was based in our diversity.
Please don’t give up on us, we’re a young country with a lot to learn.
Hi Kristin, I am glad you appreciate living in Japan. I am your opposite, born and educated in Japan but came to America for graduate study and eventually a career at a university. You are outside of the traditional Japanese hierachy based on the school one attends, family income and occupation and so on. I felt such a freedom in the campus town of my university for graduate degree. Professors treated me without any prejudice. I have found an American family who accepted me like a family member. All men are created equal, the concept Japanese do not understand.
Hi Hiro, I agree with you completely. If I had been born Japanese, I would probably have left as well. I think we both find balance by living in two cultures. I’m married to a Japanese man, but we got secretly married because his parents would have disowned him and scratched him off the family register if he married a foreigner.
Thank you for that. Cross paths with Tourison?
I put "Tourison" in my search engine, Alec, but got replies only for "tourism."
Sedgwick Downey Tourison, Jr.
"Talking with Victor Charlie," by Sedgwick D. Tourison, Jr.
Was it you, Alec, who recommended this most fine account of some U.S. translators in the Nam war? Someone on a thread here some time ago cited it -- and I got a copy on my next trip back to the U.S. (1991 paperback all I could locate).
If it was you, thank you for the nod.
But you do know him. So let me ask you this: can you imagine U.S. high schools and colleges filled with the best of people from many cultures, all teaching their languages, along with their literatures, cuisines, histories, and other arts and landscapes?
This implies another Q: can you imagine U.S. schools not under slavish service only to testing's neutered and neutering conceits?
I’m a Vietnam era veteran. I got my commission in October, 1968, in the Army’s graduate student program. They were recruiting Clinical Psychologists with 1 year of graduate school. My stepchildren’s father was killed in Vietnam in 1967. He was a young “butter bar “ 2nd Lt. Special thanks for your service. My daughter has made 2 bad choices for husbands. I is in prison for a LONG time for things found on his computer. The 1st let her do all the heavy work and support them while he got his BA. Expected her to send him to veterinary school after they divorced. Current choice is an Afghanistan veteran sent to language school and learned Pashto; his good friend was his interpreter-needed more than 1 language in Afghanistan.My father and his brothers were veterans, one in each service. The youngest was an Annapolis graduate and was killed in a helicopter crash while working in the Vietnam mountains with the mountain tribe at 41 years old. Merry Christmas, or in your case Merry Boxing Day. British.
Money is everything—but what a force for changing lives! And what generosity can do for others from someone who has much—a lesson. (I believe Ellen has moved to England during Trump.)
You can see, MLM in East Tennessee, money's not so much for those on this thread.
She has indeed.
I also was drawn to Polar Express last night--magically, for the first time.
I have read Melody Beattie's book Journey to the Heart for daily reflections and journaling prompts for the last three years. She believes that you need to be open to the universe (or God, if you prefer) and ask for what you need. And then you need to be open to the universe's response. The right people, thoughts, feelings, insights, opportunities will be provided.
Last night I asked for a sign that people's better natures would prevail, that the ugliness and inhumanity we are being deluged with wouldn't win.
Polar Express was the first movie in the Hulu queue.
It seems like the universe is responding to a lot of us.
Believe
I think I need to rewatch Polar Express today.
The universe is ALWAYS responding to ALL of us...
Isaac, agreed. I try to keep myself open to the messages.
should make for an interesting life...
Ah, Isaac, someday (hopefully this is the year) my Christmas novel whose theme is EXACTLY that will finally be published. Probably self-published via ebook as I lack the connections to score an agent and traditional publisher. I've let the insanity of the Trump regime depress me and take much of my initiative away.
For all the hopes and prayers of a certain person's demise, I'm amazed it hasn't happened yet.
Miselle, Don’t give up on the idea of a literary agent. You do not need connections, but you do need a well crafted manuscript along with a well written letter to each agent(research agents who represent your chosen genre and write a personalized letter to each). It is time consuming and it does take time for agents to go through their stack of unsolicited manuscripts but it is worth it. If you can, attend a writer’s conference where you can actually meet one on one with one or more agents for feedback. Don’t expect one to offer to represent you off the bat but if your pitch is strong they might ask you for more than one chapter. Best of luck.
Thank you for the encouragement, Allison. My first manuscript was professionally edited and it's a good one, I'm sure of it. My query letter sucks, and I have considered having it professionally edited as well. I have read that the lack of any social media accounts is a negative, and at minimum, I need a website. My editor charged me $6K and it WAS worth it, but I have to admit, it's rather fearful to invest the amounts of money I could to push myself to the top of the heap. (And they sure do get a heap of unsolicited submissions.)
Right now, my husband who worked in IT has been self-teaching himself about web design. We're very close, but before we launch it, I need to have content in it and I'm unsure what to put up. Author friends have made suggestions, but in all honesty, I can tell a good fiction story, but I have no particular interesting personal history. I could probably embellish my life and thoughts, but with the THOUSANDS of Substacks out there, who cares?
I've researched agencies and agents, and I did try to personalize the letters, but it didn't seem to matter. One good thing though, in the researching, I discovered some wonderful resources. One in particular is a webletter called Writer UnBoxed. Very good essays and excellent interactions!
There will be a conference in Chicago in 2026 which I hope to attend. VERY scary for me, as I feel like a fraud attending it. I have no cred at all and my hands sweat just thinking about it. I get so anxious about it that I think I'd make a fool out of myself and cause more damage than good. But I will think about it. "Feel the fear and do it anyway" as the saying goes.
Most writers feel the way you do. It's a self-driven and often isolating process, but it's the writing more than the social media that truly matters, at least I hope it still does! Is your manuscript fiction, memoir or non-fiction? If memoir, that is where the backstory counts, obviously but not so much for the others. Don't overthink it....pesue your dreams otherwise you will likely regret it.
I’m going to suggest that for our family gathering today. Last night was “A Christmas Carol” (for me, personally, it is my favorite redemption story; my favorite versions feature Patrick Stewart or George C. Scott as Scrooge. We watched the Muppets version last night (which I had never seen). It was wonderful!
My favorite Christmas movie is the original "Miracle on 34th Street", which was way ahead of its time. Protagonist was a divorced single mom who also worked. Santa Claus was more or less portrayed as the spirit of Christmas, but it was right out there that the parents actually bought the gifts. It has so many perfect little moments that reflect on the good and bad things about our country.
My favorite is always the Mr. Magoo version but I love all of them.
Georgia, your last word, "Believe," reminded me of the handwritten poster taped above the doorway of the A.F.C. Richmond locker room in the Ted Lasso TV series, another dramatic effort that reminds us to see the best in people, even when they're showing us their worst.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rExyVUwPJE
Georgia, see my reply below to Isaac. And btw, I titled my manuscript "BELIEVE"
Enough of me. Part of my problems getting my novel out is I am very, very poor at self promotion, and I've read that prospective authors MUST market themselves.
When I do get my book out there, I will announce it here and from what you've expressed, I think you would enjoy it. I hope the forum will be kind and indulge me.
My favorite Christmas movie!
Perfect for this evening Phil.
Phil, your comment that "our most hateful crave but money/power" set me thinking: what if that fanatical craving for money and power capitalism honors as proper ambition is instead the ultimate expression of hatefulness? That the true motive for its apocalyptic quest for wealth and authority is the weaponization of its perpetrators' hatred? Jes' sayin' -- it's a new notion; it sorta blows my mind, and I'm still thinking it through. But thanks to you -- and beneficent holidays to all here.
"Live simply, that others may simply live."
Yes, the ultimate bully - I have it, you don't, ha ha ha. This bully has a megaphone and sidekicks. How he/they got here, sadly says much about our society.
Last night I watched Christmas Story (what a delight), Ralphie finally had enough of the neighborhood bully and beat the crap out of him. It had to happen.
We too watched "A Christmas story"- last time was 40 years aago when we watched with our 4 little boys - why did the lame duck felon never watch it?
He needs mental help - let's give it to him before it's too late.
That was our choice last year. I’ll probably binge watch Christmas movies the next few days.
I guess best scene of the bully finally getting it is in "A History of Violence."
This is when the high school son of the character played by Viggo Mortensen finally has enough of the bullying done to him who's always been a kind softie.
Keep in mind a lot of that craving and hateful behavior hides a huge sense of inadequacy, often unacknowledged or unknown to themselves. As they cut the wide swath of destruction and cruelty, they pursue some sort of sense of worthiness, which will never occur, as this isn't the way to it. I know this doesn't resolve the messes they make but perhaps it can help us know they too have enormous weak spots and that could be their undoing in the end. In the meantime if we're able, we can feel gratitude for our own circumstances and enjoy the company of those we love and who love us.
J. Nol. I had a round with a MAGA yesterday on a post about immigration. She accused me of being delusional and suffering from TDS. I shut the discussion down, but of course, last word, had to give me the laugh emoji. I am astounded that people can support death star and then proclaim they vote for law and order. Part of the discussion was about two parents here in Oregon who have a very young child. They were swept up and swiftly deported. The baby is still here with a relative. People had all kind of nasty things to say about them and immigrants who come here without documentation. They have no idea how other people live and what they go through. I thought it is Christmas Eve and some of the posters were cruel and without compassion This is why I start my day here and read Heather and then the comments of the many people who I have come to know via their posts. I want to wish Heather and Buddy and all of you a serene holiday season and express my gratitude for what you post.
Michelle, I cannot fathom the lack of compassion for immigrants that I’m seeing in that world, and from people that I know have compassion and mercy in their hearts. The real TDS is believing that this administration is doing good things.
Especially when we all descend from immigrants, if we are not ourselves immigrants. I am one. Fortunate to have arrived as a child with my parents in the New World. At the time immigrants were welcomed, at least if they belonged to the "correct group". I'm so tired of the petty, small-minded, hatred of those who target people not like themselves. In their xenophobia they exhibit their ignorance and fear. Which of course is encouraged by the monster infecting the White House.
Indeed and I pointed that out.
What particularly frosts me is that so many MAGAts claim to be Christians. I didn't get that until I read about the difference between horizontal as opposed to vertical religion. Then is made at least a little sense.
I will have to look that up!
MAGAts are simply delusional. If you doubt it, try having a civil discussion with Rick Sender on these threads.
I'm a public school teacher, and one of my colleagues is a MAGAt. I offended him by telling him I would no longer discuss politics with him. This after nine years of politely telling him he is misinformed or needs to check his sources. I finally told him he "believes dumb-ass shit that isn't true" and that we inhabit different realities. He believes that if we calmly discuss our political differences we will understand and respect each other's views. I will never respect his. He voted for Trump in 2025. That's all I need to know.
The notion of MAGATs allowed to teach children should terrify us all; their every word intentionally fosters ecogenocidal racial and misogynistic hatred.
Don't care why. Not coddling bullies.
I don't think I was suggesting this. My point was that the seeds of their destruction if it occurs lies mostly in themselves.
Good. That is acceptable.
Knowing why helps settle my mind.
Doesn't change anything, though....
So true! Especially the fact most MAGATs are genuinely incorrigible.
Value community, friendship, and a life simple enough that you have time and energy to be there for others.
It is a delight to be part of this on-line network, and today get to know some of you better.
It is 12:38 in Northern Germany and it is a sunny Christmas Day! So, today there is light. I am glad the children saw a holiday message of caring and friendship. This is helping to form them. Let us hope that the decent people of the world prevail. We need to GOTV in 2026 and bring more decency back into our government.
". . . bring more decency back . . .."
Ah, Linda, Linda, Linda.
Linda means “beautiful” in Spanish💕
Spanish? Is someone speaking Spanish?
Quick, bring in ICE. Bring in CBP. Lots of guns, military assault weaponry. Masked thugs. Bullet-proof vests. Gas masks. Grenades. Ammo clips. Visored helmets. No name tags. All those correctly convicted of violence at the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6, 2021, and first day of the criminal back in the White House pardoned as if thug criminality were henceforth immune to law, as the billionaires raping underage girls were as immune to law as that orange felon has been demonstrating since.
Phil, you started the most interesting, most intelligent thread of conversation. HCR and comments are my new Facebook; sorry, a bad name for Substacks, but the exchanges are intelligent and thoughtful. Real humans here.
Please--remind me when there was a whole lot of decency in our government....
Linda, There are many people that I think are decent in our government. None of them are MAGAs, and my DINO senator Dick Durban is not anymore if he ever was. I think that Mamdani is decent, and so is my governor Pritzker and so are many of my local elected representatives. Chicago's mayor Brandon Johnson may not be the most effective mayor, but his heart is in the right place on many issues and he is decent. Our city has remained a sanctuary city and helped many people get settled who were sent in droves from Florida and Texas. , Bernie Sanders, Jasmine Crockett, AOC, Adelita Grijalva, Ro Khanna, Maxwell Frost, Jared Moskowitz, Jonathan Jackson (mine), Jamie Raskin, Kwame Mfume, Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, Michelle Fischbach, Hakeem Jeffries, Tammy Baldwin, Tammy Duckworth (mine), Amy Klobuchar, Jon Ossoff, Elissa Slotkin, Tina Smith, Elizabeth Warren, Rafael Warnock, Katie Hobbs, Janet Mills, Wes Moore, Maura Healey, Gretchen Whitmer, Tim Walz, Josh Stein, Tina Kotek, Josh Shapiro, Bob Ferguson, Tony Evers, and many more local and statewide people. So, the parts of our government that are about decency are coming from people who make things decent. I can say in my community in Chicago there are a lot of people who are decent and involved in making our neighborhood and city a better place. Too bad they are not as organized nationally as Moms for Liberty, a group of horrid people, doing horrid things that local groups are starting to push back against on their school and library boards.
Respectfully, those are all individuals in an ever changing cast. When was the entire clunky organization more decent?
These are the decent people that keep decency from totally going under right now. The US government is set up to have an ever changing cast, although my governor does not have a limit to the number of terms he can serve, so we could have him for a while. Other jobs do have limits. Elizabeth Warren is decent and has been around for a long time. I am not saying things are not bad, but it is a preponderance of decent people that make decent things happen. It is not just the big government but local as well. I do think there have always been decent people in government, but the whole clunky thing being decent is not something I can say.
My political book club is reading Yevgeny Zamyatin's book "We" written in 1921. He was enthusiastic about the Russian Revolution, and the possibilities until he was living under the system that was put in place by those who led the Revolution and saw that what those people chose to do with the system they had allowed to be possible, was not what he had envisioned, or at least did not work out the way he had hoped, and he saw what was wrong with it. I feel like we are seeing that in our system too. It works best when the people who are carrying it out have a vision that is similar to what we envision. The more such people the better, and mine was not an exhaustive list, just a short list of people I felt were decent. There are others where I just don't know them. The government is not a thing, it is the people involved in creating it and working in it. I know a lot of decent people working in the government who have lost their jobs as Trump replaces them with loyalists. They are the decent people of government too. So much is taken for granted because of them.
Don't let perfection be the enemy of the good
My senators and representatives, Chris Murphy, Johanna Hayes, Richard Blumenthal, from Connecticut are all decent people working on behalf of the people.
I am sure. I just do not know them and cannot speak to people being decent just because they are democrats. Thanks for adding them in.
Nov. 19, 1863, at Gettysburg, Pa.
I hope I encounter this sentiment throughout the rest of the year. Such a beautiful post, filled with a harsh reality but also hope. I am hopeful that kindness and a true love of human beings wins out over what we are being told to worship…bullying, greed, anger, vengefulness, bitterness, insecurity, gluttony. It is our obligation to fight against despair, even when it is being marketed as a better way of life and crammed down our throats.
Have a wonderful, JOYFUL Christmas, everyone. Even if not in your faith wheelhouse, just enjoy 12/25/25 for being a day to fight the despair and choose hope.
Phil Balla,
It is a gift, that for a while, the love of the Christ Child, born in a barn surrounded by God's
creatures and his humble earthly parents....continues filling us with His love....love that is meant to be given away as He gave Himself for us.
It appears you are spreading this love and the children are receiving it!
Thanks for passing it on.....
Even those of us who are non-believers can appreciate our annual attempt at being more caring and generous toward others.
Thank you Phil for your sharing of love filled moments experienced from such a beautiful place on earth.
I haven’t had time to read LFAA for some weeks now.
The quiet before the dawn this morning I feel so blessed to sit and read everyone’s comments and all the love from Heather’s readers.
What a safe loving place to be. And the best part is we are enough of a community where the voices feel very familiar and comforting from reading the comments over these many past years.
I am grateful for Heather’s knowledge and writing and also especially for everyone here taking that knowledge and light out into the world.
Merry Christmas Everyone! ✨🎄🕊️
Christy, my sentiments exactly and thank you for being here.
🤗🤗 Back at you Michele! Hope your days are full of joy and love!
Phil, I have an Akita, does that count for anything? :)
I was stationed on my 2nd submarine in Sasebo JN…. a long time ago in a galaxy far, far way. Merry Xmas Phil
I used to meet U.S. service guys from Sasebo, TJB, in Japanese airports at the holidays.
Thanks for doing that. I was on USS BARBEL (SS-580) in the mid ‘80s
Polar Express is what our gathering watched as well! We hadn’t watched it since our grandchildren were much younger and I’m so glad that as adults they still love to watch the movie.
Many blessings to all as we ponder how to bring love, respect and peace to everyone with intention and grace.
Thank you for this comment today, Phil. I, too, love The Polar Express. It has so many lessons in it and it always makes me cry! Happy Holidays to you!
Tears in my eyes, too, Colette.
How’s the powder up there? The mountains of Japan have some of the best skiing.
Wish you a calm, serene day and if you get a hot spring water bath, enjoy the beauty of Japan!
People do ski here on Kuju mountain, Johan.
That's just a few kilometers n.w. of my town of two river valleys, Taketa.
Kuju has the height of the tallest Appalachians, either in New Hampshire or the South. Two other mountains near Taketa (Aso and Sobo-san have same elevation, but no skiing.
But up into Kawabata's "Snow Country" -- that's the world you bespeak.
Phil, My friend's son is applying for University in Japan. I hope he gets in and goes there. He is looking at going in Osaka.
Interestingly Yasunari Kawabata's "Snow Country" is one of the books my daughter had on her Christmas wish list and got. We all got books for Christmas. My daughter had a list of 5, and she is both interested in the contents and the covers, so we had to get her specific editions. She did a project on the evolution and relevance and design of book covers, so it is a thing. Our family is into the hand held book still, and Interestingly, I got her a book in English here in Germany that she was not able to get from our excellent book store in Chicago.
While the books my husband and I got were a surprise to us, we will both enjoy reading all of the books we got, since there is overlap in our taste.
Well on the topic of books, I have a small but growing collection of first edition Mark Twain books and I just acquired 4 at regional auction. I have two of these 4 already so I’ll take the ones I have and put them in a New York auction house and enjoy my new acquisitions. Sam Clemons, aka Mark a Twain, is my (I don’t know, literary mentor of sorts?) He lived in my home town of Hartford for about 20 years when Hartford was a literary hotspot. Since my high school was built next door to the Nook Farm (Harriet Beecher Stowe lived there as well) and Twain’s house, I used to sneak out of school at lunch and walk to the porch at the Twain house to eat my lunch and fantasize Twain actually coming out to greet me.
Bill, I believe my daughter is or was reading, "Life on the Mississippi" in one of her classes. I like Twain a lot, though I have not read all his books. Cool that you have such a personal connection to these two renowned people in Twain and Stowe.
I believe my community has a lot of renowned writers as well. I am friendly with 3 children's book authors who live within a few blocks of me in Chicago, one being my neighbor, and then a good friend who writes children's books in our community she is well known although she lives in another neighborhood. On my morning dog walks, when I am in Chicago, my neighbor and I walk by mystery writer Sara Paretsky's house. She has a book library outside which I check, and sometimes drop off books or pick them up. I love her writing. My mom, who was a book collector until this year when I helped her move into assisted living, introduced me to Paretsky and several other female mystery writers when I was a child.
I also live near a wonderful bookstore in Chicago called Seminary Coop, which is part of the University of Chicago. They have 2 branches and one has more popular fiction, the other has more academic books and a fantastic collection of literature. Both hold authors' readings, many of them local. Several of them friends. We support writers and are very alarmed a the direction in which the humanities are going in the US, of course along with the suffering of people.
I think “Life o the Mississippi “ is one of the books a won. When Twain came toHartford around 1871 and decided to build this grand house, he had his architect design a structure somewhat resembling a steamboat to the consternation of the neighborhood. Fortunately it survives as a museum and center. Unfortunately the houses along the street destroyed to make way for Hartford High School in the early 1960s — which was a terrible loss.
Linda, I do hope our son gets his wish to study in Japan. I think the NYT recently had an article about book covers which I think was a list of the best ones for this year. I love this post about books, the hand held ones. My husband and I have a tradition where we buy each other books for Christmas and then hand them out one at time after we have read the book we have. We do give each other a list, but often add something we think the other will enjoy. We have a house full of books and the floor to ceiling shelves in the den need some work, so that we can shelve some of the newer ones. We are both voracious readers and while some of what we read overlaps, we each also have our own interests.
Michele, It is my friend's son who wants to study there, and I wish him the best of luck. He is choosing a city he thinks has a good skate board culture. She is so lucky. Instead of being on tech all the time, he and his friends are out at skate board parks skating and practicing their tricks. He is also in AP classes in high school in math and English and doing well in school. So, he will hopefully get to skate and learn in Osaka.
I think you, your husband, my husband, my daughter and I all love books. We have shipped 110 boxes of books to Germany and left behind bookcases we had built in and other ones which we did not think we could move. This is what is left after purging about 2000 books from our collection, and then another 5-6000 of my mother's books before moving her with the remaining books. With her dementia she cannot read any more. My husband also has 18 boxes of books at a friend's house in another German state which we need to get. We have enough bookcases to have shelved 26 boxes of books, but will have some made once we sell our house in the US and can afford it. We plan on floor to ceiling shelves, but wooden bookcases cost more here than in the US, so it has to wait now that we are on a fixed income.
I should reread before I post. I also think that the Cathar shepherd's name is Pierre when I was discussing that with you, and I hope i am remembering the right person here. I remembered in bed! I think you have us beat in the number of books. We do get rid of some, mostly fiction which we donate. And every now and then, we do a purge of other things. We used to go to Powell's book store on Christmas as they are open. Quiet and peaceful in the morning. In the living room we have beautiful black walnut book cases and shelves. The cabinet person knew about this wood that had been down for 30 years (but still needed to dry). It turned out my husband worked with the lady that had the wood. The rest of the book cases are ash as we didn't want to spring for oak and ash is a beautiful wood. Kitchen cabinets are bamboo. It took us several years to do all this and yes, even several years ago, expensive. We had a meticulous person doing the remodeling and an excellent cabinet maker.
Thank you for your beautiful words I so needed to hear this morning.
Amen!
I remember reading that book to my students. I started teaching in 1989 and bought it a a book fair at the school. However, it was the illustrations that made me pick the book up to review. The story never failed to bring tears to my eyes, as I read it to my students. It was written and illustrated in 1985 by Chris Van Allsburg, and won the Caldecott Medal for illustration in 1986. My daughter now has my copy in her classroom. The movie brought the illustrations and story to life. Naturally, I bought my grandchildren the book for Christmas years ago.
May the spirit of kindness spread.
We could use some more extended light Professor.
Per BBC America, Wednesday, 12/24/25 Pamela Bondi of the Trump Law Firm has located "a million more" [Epstein Files]. Yes, over 1 million more.
The new number for the TOTAL Epstein number file is now over 1.1 Million. That number means Bondi Gang has produced LESS than 10% of the "files" required by law as of 12/19/25!
*********
UPDATE:
Headline at CNN Politics by Marshall Cohen: "DOJ says it has found over a million additional documents. ... may need a few more weeks to review & release...".
†***†***
We need to build an alternative database or upgrade existing accessible, searchable efforts.
“Pam Bondi Passes Out From Sharpie Fumes After Redaction Marathon…”
—Andy Borowitz, December 23.
Thanks for the laugh. Much needed.
you're not alone.
My hope for Pam Bondi and the rest of the Trump administration and thier families this holiday season is that they enjoy the same treatment that Epstein and Trumps sex trafficking ring inflicted on hundreds if not thousands of others.
If they want to protect it so badly, im sure they won't mind a bit!
That laugh made my lungs whistle - I've had a wild bronchitis for the past four days. (Bronco buster?)
From what I understand they ran the files through Adobe and blackened out everything. Some smart person ran it back through Adobe and returned it to white. Now you can read it without any problem. I think we already know what kind of people were involved, maybe not all of their names. Nothing stays hidden forever. Please, God hear our prayers and let us as a society find love, caring, empathy and decency again.
Oh so funny, a very necessary chuckle for me.
PLEASE!
Bondi law firm uses Adobe Acrobat blackout feature to mask text in thousands of pages of sensitive government documents published on their website. Thousands of interested readers download same, open, hit F3 to reveal codes, delete blackout attribute, and copy to file.
😂
Bryan, a million sounds like one of those fictitious "Trump numbers," pulled out of that dark valley between two rounded mountains.
If she found that many documents, then we have to wonder how many are authentic and how many were just generated to obfuscate and discredit the whole lot of them. One such false document has already been discovered.
“Found”? What kind of filing system does this law firm have?
Pamela did not "find" anything; this obstruction of justice is a lie, you don't "find" anything when you maliciously don't look.
The reality has been reported by 5 CBS reporters led by MELIISSA QUINN. U.S. Attorneys located the records accessible at the Southern District of New York.
You go Melissa.
My question is how many Epstein files did Pam Bondi bury when she was the Florida Attorney General?
I believe this newest dump came from SDNY and if that's so, she may have tried to hide them and SDNY caught her.
Far and wide. Merry Christmas to all!
A very happy holiday and good cheer as we wait for the light that you bring every day dear Heather. All the best to you and Buddy and all here who care.
Happy holidays Dr. Richardson and blessings to you and your loved ones. Thank you *so much* for helping us stay sane during these trying times. I look forward to a much better 2026!
Many are missing people due to ICE, so many have lost everything as in Gaza and Ukraine. I think of the soldiers of WWI and WW2, how many have spent time away from loved ones at Christmas. Even though I am not with my grown up children this year, I know I have much to be grateful for. At my age, 70, time spent with those I love is the best present. Peace be with you.
Leslie, your comment reminded me that my grandmother waited for her only son (age 19) and son-in-law to return from WWII—of course hoping they DID return. (They did.) I am trying to emulate her day-by-day patience to wait out this destructive, cruel government.
And also with you.
Dearest Heather, you have been a gift to us all. Wishing you Peace and all the blessings this Holiday Season✨🙏🏼✨
You are a light in this darkness. Thank you & bless you.
Heather, a peaceful Christmas to you and Buddy from Connecticut. I hope we can get to the place where no one should have to feel "lucky" to have shelter and food and warmth. And I hope that the gradual return of sunlight is figurative as well as literal.
Food, shelter, warmth - indeed - all of these should be human rights for every human being. The attempts to strip away an already weak, ineffective and pitiful social safety net by these billionaires has enraged me like nothing else. People think they’ll never need this help but many of us do or will or are one emergency away from needing them.
It is my fervent hope that in ridding this nation of the utter filth and criminality that has taken over, we can create a stronger, better, more efficient social safety net that allows people dignity. No one should feel embarrassed, less than, as if they’re a burden or have committed some kind of moral failing simply because life has been more difficult for them, because they are physically or mentally unwell, or work two or three jobs in a society so messed up that they still need food aid and health insurance to survive. I will spend every free moment I have in 2026 making sure the Republicans who voted to strip away food, health insurance, housing, Medicaid from children, the elderly, the disabled, and the hardest working adults - will lose their precious seats in Congress. And yet still, they will leave with large pensions and health insurance for life. We need to do a lot of work on this country once we get it back from these cruel bastards.
You speak for me.
❤️🙏🏻💫
And me too!
You speak for me also.
". . . need to do a lot of work on this country," you say, Denise.
Can you imagine how Dems in public life might speak to that it any of them had any reference to any of our novels, memoirs, histories, or other arts in touch with the people?
Or if our schools had any priorities other than those dictated by the neutered bastards of standardized testing, all witlessly in service only to the billionaires' packaging?
These are the not so subtle musings , Phil and hopefully added to …the list. It’s long. Worthy.Hopeful. How the path unfolds from this comedy of errors?
Which ones will the fountains bless?
May it also be born today as was the truest of love’s intent…be it a story, be it a song, thank you for the whys in ‘can’t we all just get along?’
I too believe.
🫶🤶🎄🇺🇦🇵🇾🇬🇱🇨🇦🎶
What she said. Yes.
That , Denise, is the whole point. HALELUJAH!
A rude awakening from a rude man…could be the point which turns heads collectively to do.the.right.things!
Perhaps then the world could see togetherness as the key for peace and equality.
Amen.
Yes! This! 100%!
History shows that we have always had people struggling to find "shelter and food and warmth". That is a tragedy ... but the greater tragedy is how relatively little we (all humans) do to alleviate that situation.
While here in the US, and throughout the world, there are many doing yeoman work to help the poor and suffering among us, we also have craven leaders who seem not to care about 'helping' these people (or really anybody but themselves), and take actions that specifically worsen their circumstances ...
... e.g. defunding USAID, an agency bringing help / relief to many millions of unfortunates around the world. That was one of America's greatest soft power agents, and reaped us a priceless amount of 'good will value' worldwide. In 2024 USAID accounted for 0.3% of all federal spending - ONE THIRD OF ONE PERCENT!
And that defunding came under the guise of DOGE cost-cutting measures. Either someone(s) has their risk / reward assessment very confused ... OR, maybe, that's the point! Shameful ... and embarrassing to msny of us who care.
Enjoy your holidays.😉
8am in NE Italy, a small village where I live in Friuli Venezia Giulia. After two days of mist and rain the clouds have parted to reveal snow on the closest mountains. A serene Christmas to you, HCR. At 86 (tomorrow) I appreciate how you knit my world together for better or for worse.
Happy Birthday, Judith!🎂
Happiest birthday ever Judith, and Merry Christmas to you and yours !
Happy Birthday to you Judith. It sounds like a beautiful place to be.
Happy Birthday Judith!
Happy Birthday, Judith. LFAA does knit us together, and I believe it is for better.
Merry Christmas! Thank you for writing these daily letters, giving us context and historical perspective, and documenting for future historians. Be sure to take care of yourself and don’t run out your battery.
This has been an extremely hard year both politically and, for me, personally. This is our first Christmas without my husband, and it is intensely painful. He would have loved this Christmas snow. I don’t think I’m ready for the light to return yet.
Dearest Lisa, I lost my husband 8 years ago, and tonight it feels like he’s still here. The pain is unspeakable, you will work through it, and know that you never “get over” it, and that’s good. He will be in your heart all the days of your life. Be well.
Your love carries you both now… About the snow, he knows.
Yet it sneaks back in. We adjust because we have to. Pain, numbness, a clearer view of the mountain from a distance, ephemeral, loving connections in times of need. But a wound that leaves a scar, proof of life if there has been any humanity.
My sympathies, Lisa.
I am so sorry Lisa. My thoughts are with you and your family.
My condolences, Lisa. Such a time of transition.
🫂
Thank you for the warm thoughts and lovely photo for this holiday. Grateful for what I have, my family, sad about our unexpected loss this past year, and also grateful for this community. Earlier this year I was surprised to learn my apolitical husband had also subscribed to this newsletter; grateful that we could share that for a few months.
Hugs, Marcia. I’m so sorry for your loss.
What a beautiful symbol of the meaning of Christmas!
"...when the light starts to come back..."
I sure hope so. This country could use some light, although a big and gracious thank you, Heather, as you provide a decent amount of light on a daily basis!
Happy holidays to you and your family and see you soon!
Wishing you a joyous season of light and thank you for being here
Blessings Heather. Your grounding in history is calming and awe inspiring. Thank you Buddy for the beautiful photo. 🕊🌲❄️