11/26/2022

My Dear Friend & POTUS, JRB,

            Have you heard of freudenfreude? It’s joy that you get from witnessing a friend’s success. You seem to be good at it. An article in the NYT suggests it can be cultivated in various ways. I plan to try “bragitude” which is when you attribute your success to your friend’s help. It’s like “sharing dessert: both parties enjoy the sweetness of the moment.”

            Speaking of dessert, I understand that, like us, you had apple & pumpkin pies on Th. In addition, you had coconut pie & chocolate chip ice cream. How does that work? Certainly, you don’t have all of that on one plate. Please let me know if you had tiny servings of each or only ate the ice cream.

Did you know that “Thanksgiving was originally perceived as a holiday forced on the South by the victorious North after the Civil War,” so pumpkin pie was eschewed there in favor of sweet potato? We love any & all pies in this house, as long as they are homemade.

            The best sentence of my reading of the news today is, “That (your voice about which state gets to have the 1st primary) has left an increasingly unruly void, with competing states sniping at each other in public and private, as they grapple for positions ahead of a decision that could ultimately reshape the petri dish from which Democratic presidents emerge.” I like the idea of small states being the 1st to go so candidates don’t have to lots of $$ to win. I eagerly await your thoughts on this matter.

            Please give Bangladesh PM Shiekh Hasina a call. She needs help with the Rohingya refugee camp which is taxing the minimal resources of her developing country. Bringing peace to Burma would help her a lot!

            BYBS,