8/31/2022

Dear Friend,

            I missed our letter yesterday because I was working with the 5th graders. We are figuring out how many pennies are in my collection & the kids got intrigued by the dates on the pennies when I told them they would get a dime for every penny they found that was older than me. I can no longer read the dates on the coins, so I will bring my magnifying glass next time.

The highlight was when King, the smallest boy with the deepest voice, shared how he added 28 + 14 + 24 + 36 which involved starting with the tens, then adding on the ones. He was eager to tell his classmates about his “invented algorithm” & I was thrilled that he had the flexibility to decompose numbers. He sparkles & I felt lucky to incite his neurons.

It looks like you had fun giving your speech in PA yesterday. Did you see any of your old buddies from Scranton? I recently heard that your life there was not as bleak as you portray it. I look forward to learning more details this weekend from the recent article in the New Yorker that tells the “Untold History” of your family. Have you read it? If so, what did you think?

Back to your speech. Thanks for mentioning the 26,000 people who used a gun to commit suicide & that death by firearms is the leading killer of school-aged children. I was surprised by your claim that “More children are killed by guns than are active-duty police and active-duty military combined.” When I googled it, I found a 6/7/22 fact check article in the WP that neither supported nor negated it. They noted that including 18-year-olds in the count skews the data. It’s a flashy fact, best used sparingly.

            “Evacuee.” That’s what Japan calls Ukrainians as a way around its exclusionary immigration policies. How about using that term rather than “refugee” to relocate folks from Burma? Certainly, the Rohingya who have suffered fire & flood in their camp in Bangladesh need to evacuate for their health & well-being. Please look into it.

            BYBS,