[Dennis Slattery]

Thank you James and Shaahayda for your poignant stories and further sites for reading. I am packing right now for a trip to Ohio early Wed. morning to visit family and friends after two years. I am feeling some anxiety about getting on a plane, but must do it.

I have read your entries above and find that your keeping the conversation going is a treasure to me. I want to acknowledge you both. I am new to posting pieces on the site and you two as well as others have shown me how important it is to reach out to one another as we move deeply into this new pandemic of voter suppression, fake fables of voter fraud and a general turn to violence as a solution. James Hillman wrote that violence is a clear expression of a failed imagination. That lizard part of our brain has been awakened, is stirring and, to paraphrase the poet Yeats, is slouching towards many Bethlehems around the globe, but with its sights set on devouring democracy one chunk at a time.

So much gratitude to you both for keeping the lamp lit to reveal what we must acknowledge and own to some degree.

Ok, off to print out boarding passes and make sure I have all my meds for the adventure. Much love to you both and any other that join the conversation.