I’m beginning to think the historical figure we should be drawing parallels to is Chamberlain. Or perhaps Quisling.

I got to wondering yesterday if Ben Franklin ever met Samuel Johnson. Turned out they did, and exchanged letters - one of which makes it clear what this Foundibg Father would have thought about abolishing the DoE.

founders.archives.gov/documents/Fr...

Never did get any snow here, but it’s pretty today.

Another plane crash, right by where I grew up - small plane but houses and cars are reported to be on fire.

Mending done! It’s definitely less dreary when you have company, not to mention people to discuss the relative merits of leaves vs stems with - I only wish more people came to my library’s chat group! (It’s during the day, unfortunately - bad time for most. )

Visible bending in progress - I’m not fond of embroidery but my favorite dress developed some small holes (cat-related, I hope).

My young nephew once called me “judgey”. He wasn’t wrong. But I can make one promise that may be useful to some of you, especially over the next 4 years: I will only ever judge you for two things: what you say, and what you do to others. Not for who you are, how you present, or who you love.

PS. Fuck me, can you not edit posts on this platform?How do you write a multi-part post and make it coherent then?

But if you do get burned in that way (by idealizing a hero), it doesn’t invalidate anything else about your life and it doesn’t make you a fool. Just learn and move on. Don’t look for another more perfect hero, because no one is. Just look for inspiration. 5/5

So I decided it would hurt me not to buy a Model Y a lot more than it would help Elon if I bought it.

Second, don’t canonize your heroes. Look up to and learn from what they’ve done but don’t assume it means they’re doing everything else right - or you will inevitably get burned. 4/5

But what does that mean practically? First, I need to decide what to do about each case. I might never give JKR or Gaiman another dollar, doesn’t mean I won’t reread the books I have (eventually). And in my specific case, my Tesla meets my needs better than anything else (by a long shot) 3/?

And it’s not only art. I can appreciate Ford’s innovations and be inspired by Lindbergh’s flights even though both were horrible antisemites - same for Wagner’s Ring Cycle, if I liked opera. And I can be a fan of Jefferson’s writings even though he owned slaves. 2/?

The whole Gaiman thing has me thinking, mostly that the good as well as the evil do Iives after them and neither nullifies the other. I will try never to send another dollar JKR’s way, but I can still love Harry Potter - and also Neverwhere. /?

Back home at the lake after a weekend in town with Ted. First, I found the sump pump wasn’t working. After a *very cold* hour or two trying unsuccessfully to diagnose it, I finally unpacked groceries and had a catastrophic popcorn spill. 🥺

Here, trying to figure out who I know on this platform.