I’ve never seen so many homegrown protest signs as I have this past year. I spotted this one on the way to Seward Co-op to pick up veggies for dinner. Displays like this really help keep hope alive. Some historians tie the Humpty Dumpty rhyme to the fall of King Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485. We eagerly anticipate a great fall for our own wannabe king.
Category: In This Together
Seeing with clear eyes
After a routine eye checkup, I walked over to the memorial at the site where a federal agent murdered Alex Pretti, a VA ICU nurse, six months ago. There were so many flowers and sad and defiant messages. The words of Anne Frank described Operation Metro Surge as if she had been in Minneapolis in January.
The joy of voting
Dropped our primary ballots off at the Minneapolis early voting office. The election judges were in a great mood, and one insisted on taking my photo. I thanked them for running a system we can all trust.
Independence Day 2026
Filled out primary ballots for U.S. Senator, U.S. Representative, Governor, and all the way down to school board members. In doing so, we asserted our right to choose a government that “shall seem most likely to effect [our] Safety and Happiness,” as declared in the Declaration of Independence. I’ll hand-carry these ballots to a drop-off point, especially since the Federal Government is threatening to block mail-in ballot delivery in states that don’t accede to their demands.
A bridge too far
Our objective was a bridge over the BNSF Northtown Yard, a rail yard that stretches for over three miles. It was another heat advisory day, and the weather caught up with me at the bridge as my pedal power faded. My friend, knowing my aversion to hydration, had brought an extra water bottle that worked wonders. I made it back home, but my blood pressure was abnormally low due to dehydration, prompting a firm vow to always carry water from now on.
A Meccano moment
Thought of my dad in the 1920s and myself in the ’50s and ’60s, modeling the world with Meccano. A freight train rumbled overhead as I took shelter under the Short Line Bridge, briefly escaping the sun’s direct rays. Motivating me forward was the promise of fish tacos for lunch at Sea Salt in Minnehaha Park, and the knowledge that today’s extreme heat warning would deter the usual long line snaking out the door.
Joy is resistance
Trapped at a red traffic light on our bicycles, a sign warned us that God hates people like Dwight and me. White “christian” nationalists shouted at us through a bullhorn, promising that Tr*mp would punish us. Arriving at the Pride Festival, we joined a crowd of many thousands, got to see the world’s biggest rubber duck, and sipped a Deschutes Fresh Squeezed in a beer garden on a gloriously sunny day.
Improvising at the library
At the Franklin Library, my adult learner had forgotten her reading glasses. Usually, the librarians keep a few pairs handy, but they were out of readers. Instead, we had a spoken session on the life of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. It went well, and my learner showed good comprehension. Afterward, I ordered a bunch of reading glasses that I’ll drop off at the library next week.
Empathy, community, and lived history
Tonight: Come from Away at the Guthrie, about the airline passengers stranded in Gander, Newfoundland, on 9/11. I was struck by how much of the Guthrie’s online study guide explains the actual events of 9/11, but then I realized that over 40% of Americans were either not yet born or were too young to remember it. I’m expecting good theater focused on the acting, with strong doses of empathy and community, and minimal conflict.
Speaking truth to power
Took the light rail to Fort Snelling Station to meet a friend for a bike ride along the Minnesota River. While waiting, I waved to these good people who had been risking arrest monitoring ICE activity at the Whipple Federal Building (seen on the left). Activity here is way down from last winter, when brown people, including U.S. citizens, were swept off the streets and detained under cruel conditions.