Friday Donuts

Friends, It occurs to me national coffee day is a great opportunity for the Russian twitter bots that have been seeking to divide our great nation to put another chink in the armor of western democracy. I propose two new hash tags we can rally behind (depending on our views): #TakeASip and #CaffeineIsaPED. Like coffee? Take a sip! Don’t like coffee? Frown upon those who do by calling it a performance enhancing drug! Or, we could all respect each others’ views and put such silliness behind us over a donut. On this my last day as a 49 year old, I brought in a dozen Dunkin’ Donuts. So, come grab one –or exercise your right to abstain from processed foods, up to you. Happy Friday!

Friends, The equinox is an awkward day. Half-summer and half-fall, it is both yet neither. It brings that elusive perfect balance of daytime and nighttime, blanketing the whole world and everyone in it with the same number of daylight minutes. On this last summer’s aurora, I admired phosphor during my pre-dawn jog and felt the crisp air had just the right bite. As seasons change, it occurs to me change is a necessity for living things. Sure, it is tempting to try to hang-on to what was, still, I prefer to think of today as half-fall -I suppose that makes me an uptimist. As we mull modifications of all sorts, it is comforting to rely on the comfort food that has become somewhat of a constant Friday morning staple. So, come enjoy a warm beverage of your choice and a donut and look ahead with me to the beautiful season ahead. Happy Friday!

Friends, Last night around 2:55 AM, the space probe Cassini intentionally crashed into Saturn and was destroyed in its atmosphere –may she rest in pieces. Earth’s six ton envoy orbited the gas giant for 13 years, making fascinating discoveries. Seven new moons, extraterrestrial liquid lakes (on the moon Titan) and a salty ocean (in the moon Enceladus). Through its eyes we saw the hexagonal north pole storm change colors, the honeycomb structures of Hyperion riddle us, the dumpling-shaped moon Pan make us salivate and solved the mystery of the Ying Yang moon Iapetus. Of all the pictures this scientific station sent, my favorite was taken on July 19, 2013. I hope you were looking up and smiling because the white spec seen below the rings is Earth -i.e. us! (think of Cassini as a $3.26 Billion selfie stick). Then there were the myriad detailed images of the donut-like Cronian rings, which bring me to the reason for this note. In honor of this historic event, this morning we have a

Friends, Sorry for such a long-winded and weighty note on a donut Friday. As an Immigrant, I may be overly-sensitive to the current immigration debate, recently fueled by President Trump’s ending of DACA, so I felt compelled to get my thoughts out there. I won’t dwell on technicalities (i.e. whether the executive branch has the authority to implement a policy that contravenes the legislative framework we live under) and will forgo the “dreamers are a sympathetic group” window dressing. I will focus, instead, on trying to debunk some of the misconceptions and myths that seem to be the basis for our inability to pass comprehensive, humane immigration reform. I respectfully submit these views as my own and I understand reasonable people can see things from different perspectives. I don’t expect anyone else to agree with me and I certainly won’t count it against you if you don’t. As I see it, there are five fallacies that anchor the views of those who would oppose changing the status

Friends, If anyone deserves a holiday it’s women in labor. And, alas, they got one! On Monday we celebrate that experience which is, allegedly, almost as painful as the common cold is to men. As to why the 50% of the population that is incapable of sustaining this experience gets to share in the R&R that comes from this obligatory day off, I suppose it’s one of life’s mysteries -like why the tooth fairy doesn’t give adults who lose teeth money. Whatever the reason, I hope your plans for the long weekend include a moment to thank all the mothers who underwent labor so you and I could be here today. I also hope they include you swinging-by the office today so you could get a donut. Happy Friday!