[Note: as I publish this essay, it appears both Democratic Senate candidates won in Georgia; once confirmed, that means the Dems will control the White House and both houses of Congress.]
One of the first essays I wrote in school was about "the man I admired most."
My choice was my grandfather, who had migrated to the U.S. from Scotland as a tool and die maker recruited by the Ford Motor Company.
I believe the draw was the salary -- $5 a day.
Actually, had I been a bit more accomplished as a writer at the time, I might have called the essay "The Most Intimidating Man I Know," as my grandfather, who seemed stern and remote and rarely smiled, certainly qualified for that title.
Clearly, he was a perfectionist. His main message to me was to pick up every stray penny discarded by others and save -- don't spend -- it.
He died when I was young, and a lot of things happened to me over the subsequent decades but up until very recently I never did pass up one of those pennies on a sidewalk. When we cleaned out my apartment a year ago, I asked my oldest son to take the pennies away; by then they were in the thousands.
Today as when I was a child, school assignments provide many people their only real opportunity to write; relatively few pursue this pastime on their own initiative. But from my POV, that is unfortunate, because well-written stories are hardly monopolized by those of us who do this professionally.
Plus writing about other people's lives is one thing. Writing about your own life is quite another. When I am mentoring young journalists, I watch for the signs of burnout, which I define as the point where reporters finally tire of telling other people's stories. This usually happens a bit later in their careers. At that moment, they may choose to change professions or begin to explore fiction.
Another, less comfortable option is to turn the lens inward and report on their own lives. And what is true for journalists can be even more true for everyone else.
One of my activities for a number of years was teaching memoir-writing to seniors. My students did not consider themselves writers at all but they certainly had fascinating stories to tell.
As we worked together over during a course administered by the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute through U-C, Berkeley, these wonderful students found their voice -- both by telling their life stories in class but also in writing, or as audio files or on video.
The media choice is not important; the commitment to tell the truth is. And in many cases the truth hurts. More than once, my students had us all in tears as they recalled the painful moments that punctuated their passage through childhood to adulthood to old age.
In a major way, my central message to all students then and to all readers now is: Do not underestimate the value of your own story when it reaches another person, someone you may or may not know somewhere in the world.
So think about telling your story. You may just be surprised who is listening.
***
The news:
* An Insurgency From Inside the Oval Office -- President Trump’s effort to overturn the election he lost has gone beyond mere venting of grievances at the risk of damaging the very American democracy he is charged with defending. (NYT)
* Hawley, Cruz and their Senate cohort are the Constitution’s most dangerous domestic enemies (WashPo)
* The FBI should open a criminal investigation into Trump for solicitation of election fraud, House Democratic Reps. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) and Kathleen Rice (D-N.Y.) said. The lawmakers, both former prosecutors, sent a congressional letter to the FBI, alleging that Trump violated two federal statutes and one Georgia law forbidding the solicitation of election fraud when he pressed a Georgia election official to alter the vote total in order to declare Trump the winner of the state’s 16 electoral votes. [HuffPost]
* Britain Re-enters Sweeping Lockdown as Virus Variant Rages -- Prime Minister Boris Johnson closed schools and declared a national lockdown in England, following on the heels of Scotland. (NYT)
* Busiest month on record for U.K. grocers as Champagne and salmon boost Amazon partner Morrisons. (MarketWatch)
* Trump could be planning a trip to Scotland to avoid attending his successor Joe Biden’s inauguration, according to aviation sources. Prestwick airport has been told to expect the arrival of a U.S. military Boeing 757 aircraft, that is occasionally used by Trump, on January 19 – the day before his Democratic rival takes charge at the White House.Speculation surrounding Trump’s plans has been fuelled by the activity of U.S. Army aircraft, which were based at Prestwick airport for a week and said to be carrying out 3D reconnaissance of the president’s Turnberry resort. (The Sunday Post)
* Scottish leader tells Trump to stay away amid reports that he may go to his golf course on Inauguration Day (WashPo)
* A series of moves by Russia has alarmed neighboring countries including Sweden, which has overturned decades of its own defense and foreign policy to strengthen its military and tighten ties with the U.S. (WSJ)
* High-profile health-care venture backed by Amazon, JPMorgan and Berkshire Hathaway shutters (WashPo)
* Biden has assembled what environmentalists are calling an “all-star” team to lead his government’s efforts to curb climate change and reverse the Trump administration’s astoundingly pro-polluter legacy. With the Senate likely to remain in Republican hands this year, Biden seems to be preparing to resurrect the Obama administration’s approach after Democrats lost the House in the 2010 midterms. [HuffPost]
* The amount of baked-in global warming, from carbon pollution already in the air, is enough to blow past international agreed upon goals to limit climate change, a new study finds. (Nature Climate Change / AP)
* Without Tourism, Life in a Tuscan Village Slides Back in Time -- The sharp drop in visitors since the start of the pandemic pressed a small community in the hills of Chianti to cling to the essentials: the pharmacy, the food store and agriculture. (NYT)
* Democrats, Republicans race to finish in Ga. as Trump casts shadow over Senate runoffs (WashPo)
* Addiction has grown across North America during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the construction industry—already facing a shortage of manual labor—has been hit particularly hard. (WSJ)
* Trump’s Call Leaves Allies Fearful for American Democracy -- Many now take the president’s disregard for democratic and ethical norms for granted, but also fear its effect on America’s standing in the world. (NYT)
* In California, anti-mask protesters stormed a Ralph’s grocery store and the Westfield Century City mall on Sunday, calling customers “mask Nazis” and ramming masked shoppers with shopping carts. The disruption comes a week after people in Trump regalia orchestrated a similar clash at a Fairfax grocery store. [The Los Angeles Times]
* U.S. health officials say they plan to stick with two-dose coronavirus regimen (WashPo)
* Trump is seeking the dismissal of a lawsuit claiming he defrauded his niece out of an inheritance worth tens of millions of dollars, accusing her of embracing "conspiracy theories" in her quest to consume him with lawsuits after he leaves the White House. (Reuters)
* Leader of Proud Boys, a Far-Right Group, Is Arrested as D.C. Braces for Protests -- About 340 National Guard troops are expected to deploy in support of local law enforcement before demonstrations against the election results. (NYT)
* The American Legion removed an Escondido post commander from two national leadership roles in the veterans service organization after he bragged on social media about joining the Proud Boys and violently attacking a liberal demonstrator as part of a pro-Trump protest. [The San Diego Union-Tribune]
* U.S. bankruptcy filings hit 35-year low thanks to government pandemic aid (Reuters)
* Just 1% of Californians immunized amid slow vaccine rollout (AP)
* CDC Unveils List Of Twitter Accounts You Can Follow To Piece Together Vaccine Information. (The Onion)
***
And let your poor heart break a little.
That's the story of, that's the glory of love.
Until the clouds roll by a little.
That's the story of, that's the glory of love.
We've got the world and all its charms.
And when the world is through with us,
We've got each other's arms.
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