12/29/2020

DJT,

I am humming a Sound of Music tune, “What will this day be like? I wonder. What will my future be? I wonder…” That song is in my head because I’m not sure if I will continue this correspondence after Jan 20, as my advice & encouragement will not be nearly as consequential as it is now. Who knows whether you have been influenced by these missives, but I know that adopting a spirit of brotherly love for you has kept my demons at bay.

As you will recall the song also includes the verse, “I have confidence that spring will come again…” and concludes with “I have confidence in me.” I imagine that the recent election eroded your confidence & I know that getting older certainly takes its toll on everyone’s confidence. So, as we face the uncertainty of 2021, let’s embrace some of the tips of Zenmaster, Leo Babauta, to boost our confidence.

Today’s let’s BE GRATEFUL & EXERCISE. Your GRATEFUL activity could be to call the 44 GOP folk who voted for your $2000 relief checks in Congress yesterday. You could start at the end of the alphabet & talk to Rep Lee Zelden of NY’s 1st District. He represents my brother & listed 15 projects of the Appropriations bill that will directly benefit the folks at the tip of Long Island. Many involve doing feasibility studies related to remedying problems such as “flood,” “hurricane” & “shoreline depletion.” It’s good to know that even though we are eschewing the term, “climate change,” your budget included lots of efforts to mitigate it.

The advice to EXERCISE speaks for itself. According to the NYT we might live longer if we include high intensity bursts of exercise into our routine – twice a week we need 4 minutes of intense activity followed by 4 minutes of rest repeated 4 times. I’m afraid golfing doesn’t count as high intensity. I’m not sure gardening does either. We might just have to start jogging – do you think our joints can handle that?

BYBS,