A LETTER TO THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS---AND OTHER THOUGHTS

Dear Ms. Smith: First, let me say how wonderful it is that my boy Tommy has a male teacher in elementary school. It is so rare. I also want to acknwoledge that this has been a difficult year for you and your staff. On the other hand, let me share a few parental thoughts. In general, if you believe my son has been educated over the last year, you are mistaken. Remote education is a contradiction in terms. We were lucky to have a computer--otherwise, it could have been called no education. It has been a little over a year since the virus impacted the town, the state, the country, and even the world. I could not expect that the local school system would have prepared for this disaster.So,my child was remotely educated for the last 3 months of the 2019/2020 school year. That deprived him of all sorts of peer interaction and, as a single parent, it created a major crisis in our home life. I did expect that by September of 2020, your system would have made adjustments and minimally would have offered multiple days of weekly instruction--even if remote. But nope, Tommy continued to be fully educated remotely throughout the fall--for half days. Since January, he has gone into the school building one full day a week. Recently, we were told tht all K-8 students would return to buildings completely by May 1st. But our local teachers union has sued the state saying they have not been prepared adequately. If my math is accurate, 13 months have passed since the beginning of the crisis. What have you been doing if not preparing for the reopening of schools? Preparing lawsuits? Hiring lawyers? Plese explain why the CDC says teachers are safe to teach in person. Please explain how teachers can be prioritized for vaccinations yet still not be prepared. I have already lost my job and have to hope that the recently passed federal bail out will reach us soon. I assume you and all the teachers have continued to get paid. TOMMY'S MOTHER Moving on: --Am wondering if Cuomo will survive. Kind of believe he has done all these awful things. Also wonder why it took so long for Senator Gillenbrand to say he should step down--after all, it took all of 5 minutes for her to ask Al Franken to resign. --Speaking of Senators, can someone explain to me how the state of Wisconsin can elect a progressive out gay woman (Tammy Baldwin) to one Senate seat and elect a moron like Ron Johnson to the other? He is too stupid for words. --I'm waiting for Ozzie and Harriet to show up at one of those CPAC conferences maybe with Robert Young along for the ride. Bring back small town values and all the good stuff from the 50's. Sky King is at the airport ready to pilot your 737. --I did not watch the Oprah interview with the royals and have no time for their shit. I got enough of my own, thanks. --The Globe gave us this past week the 25 most frequently used names of dogs. The vaccinations are all screwed up here and we continue to get pet stories. --Kids are streaming across our southern border and being detained for, on average, 107 hours. That is better than the Trumpster but detaining young children is not a good idea and kind of still smells like an unplanned big time first problem for Joe. --One can only hope that the stimulus money does in fact impact low income people and enhance their lives. ONE SPORTS NOTE: I worry that both the Bruins and Celtics have the same issues--no depth and lots of inconsistency. SHALOM.

DOG NAPPING AND OTHER URBAN ANECTDOTES

So, right here on this very block, right here in this very complex, right here a few doors down (the litany as stolen from Arlo), in other words very close--a neighbor has a mini-dog named Lady Gaga. That dog had a traumatic week when she learned that two of her distant relatives were dognapped and their dog walker assaulted. Furthermore, that dog never knew that she was named after a famous singer--it was all news to her and apparently the Globe which featured the story prominently. Our local Gaga quarantined herself in case those dognappers came for her. But fortunately the dogs were found--due to the vigilance of Officer Obie (also stolen from Arlo) and other public servants just doing their job. Moving on. --Close your eyes and see me if you can imabgine this: a President who visits an ailing Senator from an opposition party. Can you imagine that President being Trujmp. Nah, not even with your eys open. Biden just visitd Robert Dole who apparently is very ill. Biden may have already made some mistakes but the affect coming out of the White House and the presidency in general is so much more positive and less gloomy. Mistakes are allowed. Dark versions/visions of American are the work of fools. --Speaking of which, what planet deposited Ron Johnson here? I mean the Senator from Wisconsin not the former great Wolverine running back. The guy from the Badger state is still supporting the Big lie theory of the election. And used one of the confirmation hearings to share his grievances. --I hope all of you saw some of the speeches at the CPAC conference. All of those light weights paying homage to Trump as they are already running for Presidengt in 2024. Pathetically Cruz was making jokes about his Cancun trip. At least, he did not blame his daughter which he had done previously. --I did not grieve for a second over Limbaugh's passing. He was a festering wound on the body of our democracy. Not worthy of that Congressional Medal hung on his neck by the Trumpster. --I am so so tired over the Cornel West tenure battles with Harvard. He wants it and they don't want to give it. But why should I care about anything going on over on that Cambridge campus? Give it to him or not--but it truly is not the biggest issue in my life. --But the vaccine might be the biggest. Got my first one last night at the Tom Menino YMCA. The Y is located in a Boston neighborhood and is named after the former Mayor who lived in that area. Easy peasy. The difficulty was finding the place since I had never been in that part of the city before. --Our Governor, who I happen to like, really botched the whole vaccination process especially the on line access to the vaccine appointments. This is a guy who ran a major health care business and loves to be identified as a hands on manager. Well, he pretty much mismanged this and he exhibited as little skill as I might have. Ugly computer crashes, long lines, and confusing guidelines. --I am beginning to really like Brianna Kellar on CNN. She is factual, to the point, and nails politicians with what sems like an unending supply of video catching them in all sorts of lies. --Do you have a weather addict in your family? You know, the kid of person who cannot plan an activity withoout checiking the weather firt. The kind of person who gets immobilized by the first mention of the word STORM. Well, I thought I was above that fray until this winter when I kind of got caught up in all the weird weather all over the place. Not quite addicted by getting close. --And now this--to quote John Oliver. I had a memorable week last week as I passed the 3/4 century mark. The women in my life made that day so very special. Friends/family said very nice things about me--to the point that I wondered if they mistook me for someone else. I am still exhilirated by that day. Love them all Shalom