5/9/2021

My Dear Friend & POTUS, JRB,

            Its Mother’s Day & I just got off the phone with our ELD – that stands for Ever Loving Daughter. She’s our one & only offspring. While she was growing up, we impressed on her how lucky she was to be an only child. We told our friends, “One is fun,” & I preached this mantra to would-be mothers who talked about having big broods. Included in the sermon were a) you don’t have to divide your time between your kids to make sure that they all feel equally loved, b) you don’t have to deal with sibling rivalry & c) you can go on more trips because you don’t have to pay for extra plane seats.

            I understand that you adored your mom, Catherine Eugenia Finnegan. I love her message to you that no one is better than you & everyone is your equal. Even better was the idea that “without courage you cannot love with abandon.”

            You may recall that Julia Ward Howe is credited with having started Mother’s Day by asking for a convention of international women to settle the world’s disputes. In her proclamation she wrote, “Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn all that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience. We women of one country will be too tender of those of another country to allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs.”

            So, pass the peace today at Camp David & do all you can to end the occasion for war.

            BYBS,