Stunning photo, Buddy. Thank you, Heather, for sharing it with us. Just beautiful and calming somehow. Get a good rest and come back swinging...metaphorically.
Something about the early light on the Maine coast... Inevitably, I find myself staring at Buddy and Peter's photos for a long time. Always a respite from the madness.
Or maybe the allure is they prod my memory to those magical days of several years in my early childhood on a narrow dead-end street in Nashua, NH. Sledding a forested hill across the street and ice-skating at the bottom of a drop-off behind our house, where a finger of a river tributary petered out. Always with my two brothers, at the time an inseparable trio born 26 months apart.
Thanks for the memory! How lovely. Truly a positive childhood experience -- something every child needs and deserves: the sense of belonging by having friends/siblings who are about fun and joy and not stuck on phones being manipulated by Meta. Growing up in a home with parents who love and protect them because they grew knowing that -- and not the fear of racism and classism. All children deserve that unfettered time of play and in this nation we are not making that possible because many parents are not earning a living wage. Infants and parents are not invested in and given the time at birth to bond, which would prevent all manner of mental and physical health problems. Housing and food insecurity, racism, inequity, poverty rob many children of the joy of simply being children.
Our nation sucks at providing the healthy starts of with security and parental presence we see in many Denmark and other advanced nations, where people are recognized as humans and the most valuable resource the nation has, and receive the investment of time with parents in the form of paid parental leave instead of parents juggling and struggling to get back to minimum wage jobs that are a joke, finding a way to piece together childcare that is often times anything but safe, stable and nurturing. I could go on and on and on about our need to prevent and heal trauma, provide the basics of safe, stable, nurturing environments and supports to new parents, and how this would be an investment that would save BILLIONS in health care, mental health, incarcerations, joblessness, homelessness, pain and suffering.
Not sorry to be on this tangent this morning.
All children deserve that kind of memory of being able to sled and play in the fresh and clean outdoors.
Let’s keep working to make that possible.
Check out PACEsConnection.com, where we work to prevent and heal childhood trauma, build healthier, more compassionate communities where all people thrive.
We have an “Historical Trauma in America” series webinar coming up January 19. It is on Historical Trauma in the American NW. We go from region to region ex as topics explaining the impact of genocide of Native Americans, kidnap and enslavement of others; how generational trauma impacts our nation now.
I’ll post the registration for this next session below.
I wonder how many people who had relatively good childhoods stop and think they were damn lucky. They easily could have ended up in terrible, even unthinkable circumstances like so many do.
You're so right about what little the U.S does for children compared to other countries. Also, thank you for the info about PACES Connection. An excellent cause. And I'm curious about the episode in the trauma series about the Northwest, where I live. I'm familiar with some of the NW tribes and have with worked with a few for two research/writing projects.
Coincidentally and speaking of tangents, some of the books I've read recently had children as main characters, children who lived in terrible circumstances. In some cases, those characters also grew up in the books, and readers get to see how they coped to reach adulthood and even thrived. Remarkable perseverance was a consistent theme. I highly recommend: "All the Light We Cannot Sea," "Cloud Cuckoo Land," "Demon Copperhead," and "The Warmth of Other Suns."
My brother gang of 5 and I used to go across street to some empty acres used for gardens in the summer where the snowdrifts would pile up. We used to dig in and go a ways back with our tunnels and clear out a small room. No idea how not safe that was. It was just adventurous and fun. I think those were my young times when I started to understand in kid terms to know things were scary but not to be afraid.
Loved your story, Michael. Photos like Buddy’s get me thinking also.
I love this memory — so vivid. And you've captured such an essential element of childhood in the learning that "things were scary but not to be afraid."
Beautiful photo - thank you! Please do get some rest. Clearly, there’s a lot of angst about what’s happening in Brazil and how it’s similar/different/connected to the January 6th attempted coup in the US. I look forward to reading your next letter! Take care.
We love seeing the photos but the most important thing is hearing what is happening from someone who "knows" what's going on in this country and the world and can explain it simply. Your posts are the first articles we read in the morning knowing that we don't have to dive deeper to find the truth. You keep us sane. Thank you.
Brazil has me, as an old Brazil hand, in a n unusual place. I expected this from Bolsanaro and was quite sure it would happen. The election of Lula seemed to me to be the path back to democracy, strange as it may sound. Lula knows how to work the political system for the general good. Brazilian politics are very corrupt at all levels. You have to make decisions, as a voter, on the relative values of those who are running. This past election was a clear choice and I think the Brazilians made the right one.
Thank you Buddy for these wonderful photographs of one of the most beautiful coastlines in the world!
Wishing you a good night’s rest, Dr. R! You certainly deserve it! Thanks for your letters, and for sharing this beautiful photo from Buddy! Until tomorrow’s letter!
The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep.
Robert Frost
Sleep well, Heather. Your promises may wait until another day.
Why say anything else? Thank you for the poem, and to Dr Richardson and her husband for the stunning picture.
My favorite poem for these times. Thank you. Marg.
Thank you for bringing me back to 7th grade. Times were so carefree.
Thanks for those words. I need to keep them in the forefront of my mind.
Stunning photo, Buddy. Thank you, Heather, for sharing it with us. Just beautiful and calming somehow. Get a good rest and come back swinging...metaphorically.
Something about the early light on the Maine coast... Inevitably, I find myself staring at Buddy and Peter's photos for a long time. Always a respite from the madness.
Or maybe the allure is they prod my memory to those magical days of several years in my early childhood on a narrow dead-end street in Nashua, NH. Sledding a forested hill across the street and ice-skating at the bottom of a drop-off behind our house, where a finger of a river tributary petered out. Always with my two brothers, at the time an inseparable trio born 26 months apart.
Thanks for the memory! How lovely. Truly a positive childhood experience -- something every child needs and deserves: the sense of belonging by having friends/siblings who are about fun and joy and not stuck on phones being manipulated by Meta. Growing up in a home with parents who love and protect them because they grew knowing that -- and not the fear of racism and classism. All children deserve that unfettered time of play and in this nation we are not making that possible because many parents are not earning a living wage. Infants and parents are not invested in and given the time at birth to bond, which would prevent all manner of mental and physical health problems. Housing and food insecurity, racism, inequity, poverty rob many children of the joy of simply being children.
Our nation sucks at providing the healthy starts of with security and parental presence we see in many Denmark and other advanced nations, where people are recognized as humans and the most valuable resource the nation has, and receive the investment of time with parents in the form of paid parental leave instead of parents juggling and struggling to get back to minimum wage jobs that are a joke, finding a way to piece together childcare that is often times anything but safe, stable and nurturing. I could go on and on and on about our need to prevent and heal trauma, provide the basics of safe, stable, nurturing environments and supports to new parents, and how this would be an investment that would save BILLIONS in health care, mental health, incarcerations, joblessness, homelessness, pain and suffering.
Not sorry to be on this tangent this morning.
All children deserve that kind of memory of being able to sled and play in the fresh and clean outdoors.
Let’s keep working to make that possible.
Check out PACEsConnection.com, where we work to prevent and heal childhood trauma, build healthier, more compassionate communities where all people thrive.
We have an “Historical Trauma in America” series webinar coming up January 19. It is on Historical Trauma in the American NW. We go from region to region ex as topics explaining the impact of genocide of Native Americans, kidnap and enslavement of others; how generational trauma impacts our nation now.
I’ll post the registration for this next session below.
https://www.pacesconnection.com/blog/paces-connection-presents-the-historical-trauma-in-america-series
I wonder how many people who had relatively good childhoods stop and think they were damn lucky. They easily could have ended up in terrible, even unthinkable circumstances like so many do.
You're so right about what little the U.S does for children compared to other countries. Also, thank you for the info about PACES Connection. An excellent cause. And I'm curious about the episode in the trauma series about the Northwest, where I live. I'm familiar with some of the NW tribes and have with worked with a few for two research/writing projects.
Coincidentally and speaking of tangents, some of the books I've read recently had children as main characters, children who lived in terrible circumstances. In some cases, those characters also grew up in the books, and readers get to see how they coped to reach adulthood and even thrived. Remarkable perseverance was a consistent theme. I highly recommend: "All the Light We Cannot Sea," "Cloud Cuckoo Land," "Demon Copperhead," and "The Warmth of Other Suns."
My brother gang of 5 and I used to go across street to some empty acres used for gardens in the summer where the snowdrifts would pile up. We used to dig in and go a ways back with our tunnels and clear out a small room. No idea how not safe that was. It was just adventurous and fun. I think those were my young times when I started to understand in kid terms to know things were scary but not to be afraid.
Loved your story, Michael. Photos like Buddy’s get me thinking also.
Salud!
🗽
I love this memory — so vivid. And you've captured such an essential element of childhood in the learning that "things were scary but not to be afraid."
Beautiful! We almost never get that kind of picture here in central Texas, which is a good thing considering who our governor is...
lol
Agreed! We do need an actual governor who cares about the people here...
Loved Ann Richards
And Molly Ivins!
Amen.
Hale Sandra!
I am from rural East Texas now a refugee from that area in Western NY someplace!
What beauty you and Buddy bring to this world! Thank you. 😊
Beautiful photo - thank you! Please do get some rest. Clearly, there’s a lot of angst about what’s happening in Brazil and how it’s similar/different/connected to the January 6th attempted coup in the US. I look forward to reading your next letter! Take care.
We love seeing the photos but the most important thing is hearing what is happening from someone who "knows" what's going on in this country and the world and can explain it simply. Your posts are the first articles we read in the morning knowing that we don't have to dive deeper to find the truth. You keep us sane. Thank you.
And Heather is showing us, every weekend, what keeps her sane.
Take care of yourself. The craziness isn’t going anywhere.
One of the most beautiful photos I've seen. Stunning!
Brazil has me, as an old Brazil hand, in a n unusual place. I expected this from Bolsanaro and was quite sure it would happen. The election of Lula seemed to me to be the path back to democracy, strange as it may sound. Lula knows how to work the political system for the general good. Brazilian politics are very corrupt at all levels. You have to make decisions, as a voter, on the relative values of those who are running. This past election was a clear choice and I think the Brazilians made the right one.
Thank you Buddy for these wonderful photographs of one of the most beautiful coastlines in the world!
Wow, that is a stunning photo! Thank you (and Buddy) for sharing it!
Wishing you a good night’s rest, Dr. R! You certainly deserve it! Thanks for your letters, and for sharing this beautiful photo from Buddy! Until tomorrow’s letter!
We’ll be here whenever you are available <3
That is an amazing photo, Buddy! Thank you and Heather for sharing it! ❤️
Stunning photo, Buddy! Thank you for all you do, Heather. Rest well. You’ve earned it.
The beauty of our earth can be an source of solace in an unpredicatble world. Beautiful photo.