Anticipating our California voting ballots arriving in the mail in the next few days. We will show our18-year-old son how to fill out a ballot for the first time in his life. I will drive him to the voting drop-off box at a local park (or rather have him drive me as he is practicing for his driver’s license test). Exciting milestones-stuff. To say the least?

There is SO much going on in my country right now there are basically no unimportant headlines. I rely on Heather Cox Richardson to help me make sense of daily knots. Others I follow include Katie Phang, thatpoliticsgirl (the intrepid Leigh McGowan), Meidas Touch, Aaron Parnass…

But Heather is my go-to as most Americans, like me, struggle to defend our democracy from an authoritarianism ousted upon us by bloviating cheaters corrupting a public platform as they enable a cheating idiot. And let’s never, ever again call a court supreme.

In other news, my 2nd year of BSU has begun. 5am seminars are back (8 hour time difference has me up early)! This term we delve into: nuts and bolts–technical, structural ground I’ve been aching to have translated as a writer, reader and self-editor.

Yours in reading and writing like your psyche depends on it,

PB.