By Olive Beck, 6 (as dictated to her mother) I am excited to go back to school this week because I miss my friends. I can’t wait to see them again in my new classroom. I am now going to move into 1st grade, and I can’t wait. I am really excited for recess and lunch and the 100th day of school which we celebrate in our classroom. Many things will be the same as last year: our teacher will still talk to us half of the time in Spanish, we will still have fun, and I will learn lots of things. But some things will be different: I’ll have a few new classmates. Believe it or not, one of my new classmates is named Elia, which is “Olive” in Greek! I am not nervous because I know where I’m going if I get lost in the school building. I am happy for the first day of school! By Willa Beck, 7 I’m kind of nervous to go back to school. I’m going into 3rd grade, my big sister is going into 5th, and my little sister is going into 1st. I haven’t met my new teacher yet, and new kids I don’t know well will be joining. I have met two of the new students and they seem very nice. At least I have my two BFFs [Best Friends Forever] in my class! I’m a little worried about learning different subjects. Not about math, because Mom says I have a calculator in my brain, but like social studies and science. Luckily, writing and reading are my favorite subjects, so the rest will be okay. Afternoons are always very busy, but this year, all of my after-school activities will be in-person – no more Zoom! So I’m a tiny bit excited. Bye! See ya next time! By Sienna Beck, 9 SCHOOL STARTS THIS WEEK!!!!! I’m so excited!
 Wait. Are you telling me that summer’s almost over? Or rather I am telling myself that summer’s almost over? DON’T YOU DARE RUSH SUMMER! Sorry about that! I am happy for the school year to start, though. I had a loooooong summer, with a 16-day vacation to Greece and Istanbul, Turkey, and amazing summer camps the rest of the time (like gymnastics, math + science camp, writing camps, dance camp, et cetera). At the end, to top it off, my sisters, our babysitter, and I had not one, but TWO lemonade stands to raise money for different charities. And on September 2, at 7:30 p.m., I got some really exciting news. My fourth-grade teacher, Melissa, will be teaching me again in fifth grade! There weren’t enough kids in our school for a fourth-grade dual language class, so Melissa moved up to fifth grade with us. Now I have the same teacher as last year!! I’m really excited because Melissa is such a great teacher and last year, when I was new, she welcomed me with open arms. Another reason I’m excited for the new school year is because I have a new best friend who’s joining my class this year. Her name is Natalie. She and I have, let’s see…one, two, THREE friendship bracelets together, matching glow-in-the-dark chokers, and a handshake that’s really cool. On our very first sleepover, I told her the number-one thing to remember about our school. Well, two things. One) The bathrooms are disgusting. Two) Try to avoid the cafeteria food. (Just kidding, but it's not my favorite.) To end this, I just want to say that I’m so excited for school to start!!!

By Tony Shields, M.D., Ph.D. / Detroit Another Covid-19 vaccine injection! Actually, it’s just what I wanted. The FDA and then the CDC approved the updated vaccines two days ago (September 1), and I was excited to find a place to get the injection today. So far, I have been spared a Covid-19 infection. Unfortunately, many family members, friends, patients, and colleagues have recently had Covid-19, presumably from one of the new BA.4 or BA.5 omicron subvariants. Almost all have had previous Covid-19 vaccinations, and some have had previous infections. I have already had four previous vaccinations, including the J & J vaccine for the original study in November 2020, which I wrote about in The Insider. Additionally, I received two Moderna injections in October 2021, and a Pfizer booster in March 2022. While I know that these injections decrease the risk of infection and severe disease, the antibody levels decrease within months, and they have limited efficacy against the omicron variants. Hence, my desire was to get one of the updated Moderna (SPIKEVAX) or Pfizer (COMIRNATY) bivalent vaccines. The updated vaccines are based on the technology using mRNA, which has already been shown to be successful, although not providing the long-lasting Covid-19 protection we wished. One advantage of this new vaccine development method is that it is easy to switch the mRNA sequence to provide protection for new variants. That said, the efficacy of the updated vaccines is still under study. The companies have shown in limited trials in patients using both new vaccines that they are safe. They have also demonstrated that patients receiving these new vaccines produce improved antibody responses against the omicron variants. It will take more months to prove that these vaccines effectively prevent infections and decrease symptoms in those infected. At this point, many of us don’t feel that we have time to wait for those results and the risk of another injection is minimal. This is the approach already used to produce and distribute influenza vaccines. Scientists produce new flu vaccines each year based on the strains found around the world at that time. The new influenza shots undergo limited testing to demonstrate safety, and efficacy results are collected over the flu season. We can’t wait for complete data on the influenza vaccines each year, and we must act with limited data on the updated Covid-19 vaccines. I have been watching with great interest to find out when the updated Covid-19 vaccines would be approved and distributed. Since their approval two days ago, I have been searching the web and drug stores online to find out when and where to get them. I was pleasantly surprised that they were available in some limited places today (September 3). I immediately signed up and was pleased to get a slot seven miles from my home this afternoon. The websites for the pharmacy chains are variable in their ease of use. For example, the CVS website just said that I could get a booster and did not specify whether it was the updated vaccine. I had to call and verify that I would be getting the new vaccine. Actually, the FDA removed authorization to use the old versions of the vaccines as boosters when they approved the new ones. One of our friends signed up and was told by the pharmacy that they still had the old vaccine version and that no one had the latest version. It turns out that they were speaking with uninformed pharmacists and were able to get the new version. A family member in Seattle was pleased to sign up to get the vaccine today, but then realized that the scheduled pharmacy was a 1.5-hour drive away. Over the next few days, the updated vaccines should become more available, but finding one near you may still take some work. We don’t know of any apparent differences between the updated Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, so take what you can get. The FDA and CDC state that you should not get an updated booster within two months of a previous booster. It may be better to wait three to four months. The previous booster may limit the efficacy of the updated shot. There is no clear guidance for people who have had recent infections, but I think that these timing guidelines make sense in that situation too. I would encourage everyone to think about getting the updated vaccines. After a few hours, my arm hurts a little, but hopefully, I will have very mild side effects with this injection as I did with the previous ones. While it is no guarantee that you will not get a Covid-19 infection after getting the updated vaccine, I would take every option to decrease your risk of infection and severe disease. Tony is an oncologist with an M.D. from Harvard and a Ph.D. in biology from M.I.T, where he studied viruses that cause cancer. He is currently a professor of oncology at Wayne State University, where he works on the development of new imaging methods and therapeutics. He is also a practicing medical oncologist at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit, where he is Associate Center Director for Clinical Sciences. Since 1996, he has participated in more than 500 cancer research and drug trials as the principal investigator or participated as a co-investigator.

By John Rolfe / Red Hook, N.Y. Schools are opening and the pandemic is hopefully in the rear view mirror. The district where I work as a school bus driver in New York’s Hudson Valley is back on a normal schedule and no longer requires masks or quarantine for students or staff. However, the road ahead is paved with a cold reality. That was made clear at our annual orientation meeting on Sept. 1 when, for the first time, drivers and monitors were shown a video about how to handle an active shooter. More of that training is to come. Gun violence, especially mass shootings at schools, is now a fact of American life and likely will be for the foreseeable future. Guns have been involved in the deaths of more than 30,000 people this year, including the 21 students and staff members at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Tex. My school district has not been immune to violence. In September 2021, a 16-year old student was stabbed to death during a brawl after a high school football game. Online threats and rumors of attacks have been taken seriously during the past year or so, with lockdown drills, active shooter protocols and enhanced security now the norm here as they are just about everywhere in the U.S.. Buses are often forgotten or overlooked (even by us drivers) because a certain “it only happens at schools” mentality prevails, but our vehicles are essentially rolling classrooms with lots of targets seated close together. The disturbing bottom line is that there is precious little we can do to fully protect our passengers. In the video we were shown, a gunman with an assault rifle shoots up a bus. The driver tells the kids to huddle on the floor between the seats. That idea reminded me of the "hide under your desk” order my classmates and I were given in grade school during the 1960s when the threat of a Russian nuclear attack loomed large. Bullets sprayed from an AR-15 will easily rip through the sides of a school bus and kill anyone they hit. In another video, a kid on the bus pulls a pistol and starts shooting. All the driver can do is try to make the shooter off-balance and vulnerable by slamming on the brakes or swerving the bus. It’s clear there are going to be casualties. Arming teachers is a current proposal favored by gun-rights advocates. But the huge hole I see in that idea is that the assailant will always have the benefit of surprise and the first shot or shots, especially with a weapon modified to perform like a machine gun. Kill the teacher first and those who are left will be sitting ducks. And even if the teacher can pull their weapon and return fire, a raging gun battle in a crowded classroom, especially if the teacher is not fully comfortable with firearms, is sure to end in tragedy. The same is true on a school bus. In the past year or so, school buses in Atlanta and Cleveland and Little Rock, Ark. have been shot at or hit by random gunfire in nonlethal incidents. A student was killed at a bus stop in Greenwood, Ind. All it will take is one nightmare scenario with a death and injury toll the size of Uvalde’s to put us school bus drivers back on America’s radar, this time in the gun violence debate. When Covid-19 hit in 2020 and began disrupting schools, the nation woke up to how important, and scarce (see my January 10, 2022 story in The Insider) we are. As our ranks fell sick, and many drivers quit due to the health risk, low pay, and high levels of responsibility, liability and stress, districts across the land suffered delays in service and route cancellations, leaving parents upset and scrambling. Massachusetts resorted to using National Guard members to take up the slack. Where I work, some of our driver shortage has been solved by increasing our hourly pay from $22 to $30 an hour. But we’re still shorthanded. Routes have been consolidated and parents are angry that their kids now have to walk to group bus stops rather than be picked up at their homes. But the old way we did it took more time and driving. Fuel costs being what they are, and still in need of drivers, we had to become more efficient. Teachers have been leaving their profession for reasons that include the threat of being shot, low pay, and interference from parents and lawmakers who want to limit (often with unclear guidelines and punishment) what they can teach about subjects such as race and gender. I’m curious about what course the bus driver shortage will take in a country where violence, whether random or political, seems to grow endlessly. As it is, school shootings now make up 20 percent of all firearms incidents. School bus drivers and the monitors who ride along and watch the kids haven’t been in the line of fire yet, but give it time. John Rolfe is a former senior editor for Sports Illustrated for Kids, a longtime columnist for the Poughkeepsie Journal/USA Today Network, and author of The Goose in the Bathroom: Stirring Tales of Family Life. His school bus drivin’ blog “Hellions, Mayhem and Brake Failure” is parked on his website Celestialchuckle.com (https://celestialchuckle.com) with the meter running.

By Victoria Rolfe / Red Hook, N.Y. If you are a person who eats meat, you can happily go through life with no one questioning your choice of diet. It’s just considered “normal”. But when you choose to eliminate animal products from your diet, well Lucy, you got some ’splaining to do. I grew up just like most of you, eating a mixed bag of supermarket meats, processed foods, and oh, maybe a few soggy (often canned or frozen) vegetables on the side. Lunch was often white Wonder Bread with processed cold cuts smothered in mayo. As far as I know nutrition was not even a “thing” back then. No one really talked or seemed to know much about it. It just wasn’t on our radar. Even as I was raising my own family, although I was somewhat more enlightened in terms of the need to serve healthy foods to my family, I was unfortunately getting my ideas of what healthy eating was from the U.S. government, which unbeknownst to me (and almost everyone else) was in the pocket of the very rich and powerful U.S. meat and dairy industries. I, like most moms, was pushing dairy products on my kids which “of course” they needed for calcium to grow big and strong. “Got Milk?” And protein was king! We would all be anemic without all that good red meat in our diets! And that was just the food I thought was healthy. I cringe now, when I look back at all our stops at McDonalds, our buckets of KFC, and family meals from Taco Bell. I wince when I think how happy I was to treat them to a box of Dunkin’ Donuts. It was just all part of the Standard American Diet (SAD) that it was “normal” to be eating. And what put a stop to all of that? Well, ironically enough, it was those very kids themselves. When kids become teenagers, they start to experiment with “being themselves”. They begin to explore other ways of doing things than what they were raised with. So, when the first of them announced that he was now vegetarian, I didn’t think much of it. But then one by one they all jumped on that bandwagon. And by the time my youngest came home from his first semester at Ithaca College and told me he was now a vegan, it was finally starting to penetrate into my somewhat thick skull. I began to learn to cook vegetarian (and then vegan) meals. And at first, I continued to cook meat for myself and my husband. But the more my kids talked about the reasoning behind their dietary choices, the more I began to sit up and take notice. Not only was this diet healthier for us, and (naturally) the animals, but the implications went far beyond that to the good of the planet as a whole. Right around the same time, my terrible genetic history was beginning to catch up with me. My blood sugar was starting to creep up, my always high cholesterol was getting even higher. Even my always low blood pressure was elevating. Something had to be done! And for me it was not drugs. At this point I began to research and change my diet, but I was still very much like the average American. I could NEVER live without meat and dairy! What would I eat? Well, I guess I had a head start with this as I had been making vegetarian food for my kids, and we had been eating more and more meatless meals through the years anyway. So, the first thing to go was meat. And we were now vegetarian. And it wasn’t so bad. But no dairy?? No cheese? No butter? No Ice cream?! Who can live like that? Well, the more I researched the best diet one can eat for their health, the more I kept circling back to the same (vegan) whole food, plant-based diet. Medical doctors such as Dr. John McDougall, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Dr. Neal Bernard, and nutrition scientist Dr. T. Colin Campbell were very convincing. They made a very compelling argument to the effect that we do not (as the meat and dairy industries would have us believe) need milk products for calcium, or meat for protein. These nutrients can easily be obtained in sufficient quantities through a plant-based diet. And in fact, consuming milk products (meant only for a baby calf) is actually detrimental to our human health. They also pointed out that we do not need nearly as much protein as the meat industry has hoodwinked us to believe. We can easily obtain the protein we need by eating vegetables, legumes, nuts, and grains, without all that detrimental saturated fat we are consuming when we eat meat. But could we do it? We finally decided to take the plunge, and no one was more surprised than we were at just how easy it is to eat this way. We cook and eat an abundance of absolutely delicious foods each night, and never feel deprived! And in this golden time of life when many of our peers are complaining daily of their many aches and pains, having surgeries and/or living on a handful of meds each day, John and I are fit as fiddles, energetic, and flourishing…all medication-free. Victoria’s homemade broccoli pizza with salad fresh from the garden We don’t go out to eat much, preferring to stay home and cook our own meals, often using our own fresh veggies, grown (organically) just steps from our kitchen door. But in this day and age, most restaurants offer at least a few vegan options to choose from, so finding something to eat at a restaurant is rarely a problem. I have heard people say that it is expensive to eat vegan, but this makes no sense to me. If you think about it, the most expensive items people typically buy at the grocery store are meats, dairy or processed foods. If you switch to a vegan diet and eliminate these items from your cart, unless you are buying a lot of specialty highly processed vegan foods, such as vegan “meat” (which is not healthy anyway), your grocery bill should go down, not up. But way beyond the benefits to our individual bodies, we have come to realize just how important this way of life is to the animals involved and to the very future of our planet. If you have ever watched any documentaries about the cruelties of the meat industry, such as Food Inc., you will never want to eat meat again. And not only would it put a stop to this horrible animal abuse. if everyone were to eat a vegan diet, it would go a long way towards reducing carbon emissions and helping to reverse climate change. From Stanford Earth Matters Magazine: “Based on the model, [AS2] published in the open-access journal PLoS Climate, phasing out animal agriculture over the next 15 years would have the same effect as a 68 percent reduction of carbon dioxide emissions through the year 2100. Patrick Brown, professor emeritus in the department of biochemistry at Stanford University, says ‘Reducing or eliminating animal agriculture should be at the top of the list of potential climate solutions. I’m hoping that others, including entrepreneurs, scientists and global policymakers, will recognize that this is our best and most immediate chance to reverse the trajectory of climate change, and seize the opportunity.’” So after learning all of this and then discovering for ourselves just how easy and healthy it is to eat a vegan diet, I am not only proud and happy with the lifestyle we have chosen, but have come to believe that it is actually the meat eaters who ought to be on the defensive in ‘splaining their dietary choices. ! I say Go Vegan! Animals are our friends, not our food. A long, long time ago, after the birth of her third child, Victoria made the life-changing decision to leave the work world behind and devote herself to being a full-time mom and homemaker. Along with her new title of Domestic Engineer, she took on the role of the Chief Home Economist for the family. At first, it was scary to try to live on less than half their income, but Victoria found that she not only rose to the challenge but thrived in the enjoyment of learning to live their best life with limited resources. She embraced this new frugal lifestyle of the at-home-mom and went on to add a fourth child to the mix. And their family was complete. Along the way she acquired a great deal of wisdom in how to not only avoid debt, but pay off mortgages early, buy cars for cash, travel on a shoe-string budget, and send kids to college with no student loans, all while also saving a tidy nest egg for retirement. She currently educates others in these skills through her business Bright Future. Now living the life of a modern homesteader in the Hudson Valley, New York, Victoria has added gardening to her list of skill sets as she grows many of her own vegetables to supplement her family’s primarily vegan diet. And she has come to realize that this waste-not, want-not, carbon-friendly, sustainable life she is living is not only benefiting her own family but also our Mother Earth, and that each of us has the obligation to live a responsibly sustainable life not only for ourselves, but for the greater good of our community, and our planet. We can all do this one household and backyard at a time. We are the world! And it all begins right at home. Victoria can be reached at brightfuture2budget4@gmail.com

By Lydia Hope Wilen / New York City It all started when I read an article about the quality of one’s sleep being improved with one simple step: before going to bed, open a window. Instead of breathing stale air, the open window will enhance ventilation and airflow in the bedroom, reducing carbon dioxide levels, allowing you to breathe fresh air and sleep better. WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY I’ve lived in my apartment for several decades and never, never opened the bedroom window. But who can’t do with a better night sleep? The window wouldn’t budge. The many paint jobs seem to have sealed the deal. With the help of a hammer, I was able to loosen each side enough to open the window about five inches, and immediately felt the cool air waft in. Enjoying deep breaths of refreshing air, I had a wonderful night’s sleep. A NOISE ANNOYS The next night, before getting into bed, I became aware of the flutter of the Venetian blinds. You’ve probably heard the sound of quivering slats as air prances through them. That sound was getting on my nerves. So, I raised the blinds enough to silence the twitching slats and once again, slept soundly through the night. The weather took a drastic turn with the season’s unseasonable heat wave. To prevent the hot air from blasting my bedroom, I shut the window and kept it shut at bedtime. That original article with tips for a good night sleep also said not to watch TV and not to use tech devices, but to read a few pages of a book. I was in bed, reading a book when I heard a peculiar sound. There’s a valance on the curtains, attached with double-sided tape. The day before, I had noticed that a few small sections were unattached. I thought the sound might be the valance continuing to detach from the curtains. I looked up and nothing was happening up there. Suddenly, a black thing flew out from behind the curtain. It flew across the room towards the door, passing by a mirror which caused it to look twice its size. It was much too big to be a moth and too black to be a butterfly. It was a bat. A BAT! RIGHT OFF THE BAT I thought “What would an adult do in this situation?” Then I thought, “Get me that adult!” Mistakenly thinking the bat was attracted to light, the only other light on in the apartment was in the kitchen. On my way to the kitchen, I stopped in the bathroom for a can of hairspray. Why hairspray? I am abnormally revolted by insects. A household hints book said if you spray a bug with hairspray, it will stop it in its tracks, stiffening it and, in my case, giving me time to get someone to dispose of it. While I didn’t know if hairspray would have the same holding power on a bat, it was all I had at the moment. Armed with the can, I ventured into the kitchen, looked around and, thankfully, didn’t see it. Fairly sure it wouldn’t revisit the bedroom, I went back to bed and, to escape reality, I fell asleep. BATTEN DOWN THE HATCHES The next day I looked around the entire apartment. Nothing. It’s awful to feel your home isn’t the safe haven you need it to be. I thought, if worse comes to worse, I’ll let the bat live out its life hidden somewhere in my apartment. And one day, hopefully, in the near future, I’d find it on the floor after it passed away peacefully. I thought that until I googled bats. The world’s record for a tiny bat’s life span is 41 years. Six species of bats live 30+ years. Most bats live 20 years. The bastard is going to outlive me. DIDN’T BAT AN EYELASH Monday morning, when Viviene, my assistant, arrived, I told her about my new roommate. Coming from the Caribbean, Viv is not a stranger to bats. They hang around most houses there (figuratively and literally). Viv talked about how good bats are for the environment and how they help control insect populations. I told Viv that I appreciate what they do, but not in my apartment. Viv said that the bat wants to get out as much as I want it out, but there are no open windows or doors. Because it’s trapped, it will not risk being seen and it will find a darkish place to hide. Viv looked in darkish places throughout the apartment with no luck. A couple of days went by and I was beginning to feel more at home in my apartment, forgetting about the you-know-what. I went to a walk-in closet that has molding around the doorframe. That’s when I saw it huddled in the curve of the molding, looking like a big, black egg. “Viv, I see it,” I shrieked. “Keep watching it. In case it flies away, see where it goes.” “Are you crazy? I can’t watch it!” Viv wanted to comfort and assure me, “It’s more afraid of you than you—” “NO IT’S NOT!” VIV’S TURN AT BAT What would you have done? If not for Viv, I would have considered moving to another apartment. In seconds, Viv had on rubber gloves and with a stack of damp paper towels, she corralled the critter and took it down the block to Central Park, while I arranged to have screens put in all of my windows. Even though Viv isn’t Jewish, that day she had a Bat Mitzvah! Lydia Hope Wilen had a fun collaboration with her sister Joany as nonfiction, best-selling authors and popular TV personalities. They also had a full-page celebrity feature in the New York Daily News Sunday Magazine for two years and sold a couple of screenplays, and wrote and talented-coordinated a Leonard Nimoy show on Nickelodeon . . . and that's just for starters.

By Jessie Seigel / Washington, D.C. What does it take to make politicians call a fascist a fascist? Apparently, Sen. Lindsey Graham’s inflammatory August 28 statement on Fox News, “If there is a prosecution of Donald Trump for mishandling classified information…there will be riots in the street,” finally did the trick. It certainly got President Biden to remove his kumbaya blinders concerning Congress and to directly address the threat to democracy before us. On August 25, he got halfway there. telling a group of Democratic donors in Bethesda, Md, that the entire philosophy underpinning MAGA is “semi-fascism.” Minority House Leader Kevin McCarthy called for Biden to apologize. But if McCarthy and his ilk don’t wish to be called fascists, they should stop operating like fascists. At Wilkes University on Thursday, August 30, Biden declared: "Let me say this to my MAGA Republican friends in Congress: Don't tell me you support law enforcement if you won't condemn what happened on Jan. 6." He added, "You can't be pro-law enforcement and pro-insurrection. You can't be a party of law and order and call the people who attacked the police on January 6 patriots.” And last Thursday (September 1), in Philadelphia’s Independence Hall, the cradle of our democracy, President Biden called on citizens—Democrats and Republicans alike—to make a choice. Though Biden did not use the words, the choice he laid out was between fascism and democracy. Mincing no words, Biden openly acknowledged: “As I stand here tonight, equality and democracy are under assault. We do ourselves no favor to pretend otherwise.” He went on to charge that Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans “represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic.” However, Biden took pains to make clear that not every Republican—or even a majority of Republicans—are MAGA Republicans, but that the Republican Party today is “dominated, driven and intimidated by Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans.” He added that the MAGA Republicans do not respect the Constitution, believe in the rule of law, or recognize the will of the people—refusing to accept the results of a free election. Declaring that we are “not bystanders in this ongoing attack on democracy,” Biden plainly laid out the choice between the MAGA embracing of anger, chaos, and the “shadow of lies” as opposed to a future that honors the Constitution, the rule of law, free and fair elections, and the will of the people—a nation that rejects violence as a political tool. Biden said he is asking our nation to come together “to unite behind the single purpose of defending our democracy regardless of your ideology.” He called for people to “speak up, speak out, get engaged, vote, vote, vote!” The description of the MAGA fascist threat set forth by President Biden is perfectly on target In reaction to a legal search warrant properly executed on now-citizen Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, Trump and his minions have called for violence, mayhem, and intimidation of those whose work it is to carry out the rule of law. The FBI obtained the warrant only after a long tug-of-war during which Trump and his lawyers objected, delayed and at one point grudgingly handed over 15 boxes of documents, claiming there were no others—which was false. Pursuant to the warrant, the FBI retrieved 11 more boxes of illegally taken classified material—some of it marked top secret. The subsequent faux outrage of Trump and his cohorts provoked serious threats against FBI agents, as well as an attempted armed attack on the FBI’s Cincinnati office. In addition, the family and synagogue of Bruce Reinhart, the federal magistrate judge who approved the warrant, have been threatened. And National Archives staff members have also been the objects of anger over the search. As expected, the more Trump feels the law’s noose tightening, the more he twists, turns, and tries to foment increased chaos. And the more he gets his acolytes to do the same. According to the New York Times, rather than, in January, just handing over all of the government documents he had taken , Trump used a Texas rally on January 29 to attack the investigators: “If these radical, vicious, racist prosecutors do anything wrong or illegal, I hope we are going to have in this country the biggest protests we have ever had in Washington, D.C.; in New York; in Atlanta; and elsewhere.” After Senator Graham received public rebukes for his threat last week that there will be “riots in the street” if Trump is prosecuted, he tried, to take a momentary step back, claiming, “I reject violence.” But, according to Politico, Graham’s threat was followed the next day (Monday, August 29), by Trump’s proposal “that he be crowned the ‘rightful winner’ of the 2020 election or that there be a do-over of the election because the ballot was, allegedly, ‘irreparably compromised.’” According to the New York Times, Trump then spent his Tuesday morning reposting QAnon conspiracy theories as well as those of 4chan, an anonymous message platform “where threats of violence often blossom.” The Times noted, in particular, a photograph of President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Speaker Nancy Pelosi , “their faces obscured by the words, ‘Your enemy is not in Russia.’” On Thursday morning, September 1, the day of Biden’s speech, Trump resorted to bribery, dangling the promise of complete pardons before his motley crew. He told conservative radio host Wendy Bell that if he runs and wins the 2024 presidency, he will “be looking very, very strongly about pardons, full pardons” for those convicted of crimes in connection with their roles in the January 6, 2021 insurrection—an incentive to cronies under investigation to keep their mouths shut. Trump also claimed that he is financially supporting some of those being prosecuted for their roles in the insurrection. If I were a Proud Boy or an Oath Keeper, I would not rely on any promises made to me by Donald Trump. And if I were one of Trump’s lawyers, I’d demand payment in advance. As for the mainstream Republican leaders—they are mostly playing deaf and mute. Apart from Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, those who do speak up appear concerned only about whether Trump’s actions may sink their party’s political fortunes, not the threat he poses to democracy. Many of them—Greg Abbott of Texas, Ron DeSantis of Florida, Brian Kemp of Georgia, and others are up-and-coming Trumps themselves. Biden’s speech in Philadelphia on Sept. 1 most articulately expressed what I have been warning about in many past articles. And though it will likely have no effect on MAGA supporters, it might well wake up those Republicans and Independents who have not, thus far, been paying attention –If they see and hear it. But how many people did? I was shocked to find that although President Biden gave the speech in prime time, none of the non-cable TV networks carried it--not NBC, CBS or ABC, or even National Public Television. Since when does a president of the United States giving a newsmaking speech in prime time take a backseat to a rerun of Law and Order, some reality or game show, or an episode of Young Sheldon? The failure of the regular networks to carry the speech smacks of an orchestrated corporate boycott. And as a result, many of the people who need to hear Biden’s words may not have. If you did not, I highly recommend you watch his speech in its entirety. And when November comes, as the man said: vote, vote, VOTE! Political columnist Jessie Seigel had a long career as a government attorney in which she honed her analytic skills. She has also twice received an Artist’s Fellowship from the Washington, D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities for her fiction, and has been a finalist for a number of literary awards. In addition, Seigel is an associate editor at the Potomac Review, a reviewer for The Washington Independent Review of Books, and a dabbler in political cartoons at Daily Kos. Of this balance in her work between the analytic and the imaginative, Seigel jokes, “I guess my right and left brains are well-balanced.” More on and from Seigel can be found at The Adventurous Writer, https://www.jessieseigel.com.

By Bonnie Fishman / San Francisco Bay Area One of my all-time favorite summer crops is corn. Who doesn’t love corn? It’s one of the few vegetables that most kids will eat. What a blessing. Corn makes me think of late summer and early fall. It conjures up thoughts of barbecues with hot dogs, hamburgers, and corn on the cob. I’ve gotten used to eating it plain but there is something very indulgent about slathering it with good butter and letting it drip down your arms, right? It’s no wonder that corn has become such a popular vegetable across the Americas. Maize, also known as corn, is one of the indigenous crops that was here long before first contact with Europeans in the 1600s. Maize was first domesticated in southern Mexico some 9,000 years ago. It took many years of developing it from “teosinte,” an ancient wild grass, to the modern sweet yellow variety that we eat today. Teosinte had a short cob with few kernels that were encased in a hard coating. It can still be found in the wild today in South and Central America. Corn is widely consumed throughout the world. Globally, corn is consumed as 6% of human consumption. Not only do Americans eat it on or off the cob, but it is also ground into flour, made into sweet corn syrup, used as oil and fuel. In modern times, it is sometimes transformed into plastic. (Do not try this at home! It is not meant to be eaten.) Lesser varieties are fed to livestock. Corn needs a lot of space to grow, because unfortunately, one large stalk only yields two ears. We never grow it for this reason--one needs too much land to harvest a sizable crop, in my opinion. The good news is that you can plant it along with other vegetables. One of my favorite corn trivia tidbits: for each kernel of corn per cob, there is one silk fiber (the tassel of silky fibers that protrudes from the tip of the ear of corn). Trust me on this, you don’t want to start counting silks! Or kernels for that matter! To me, miles of cornfields as far as the eye can see are true Americana. I have had the pleasure (and maybe the curse–it’s pretty boring after an hour!) of driving through Iowa and Nebraska on my way crossing the country. The expanse of waving grain is a beautiful sight. Think of the iconic movie from 1989, Field of Dreams, with Kevin Costner and James Earl Jones. The gorgeous cornfield was an integral part of the story line. Who hasn’t quoted the film’s most famous line, “If you build it, they will come,” referring to the baseball field carved out of the cornfield. I also enjoy fall, when corn stalks are used as festive decorations for porches, store fronts, schools, and Halloween. If one is lucky enough to live near a cornfield where a “maize maze” is created, take your children or grandchildren. It’s very exciting for them to try to find their way out. A brief anecdote: when my daughter and niece were about three years old (they are three days apart in age), my sister Cindy and I took them to a friend’s farm and cornfield. We adults went to pick corn for dinner. The girls wandered into the seemingly infinite rows of stalks. After a short while, we heard screams from the field. They were lost! My farm friend, Betty, dove in and grab a kid with each arm. We still chuckle with the girls about this experience. Today’s recipe is classic Mexican street food. This elevates corn on the cob to new heights. In Spanish, it is called elote, literally corn on the cob. It is usually grilled but I have been known to boil it if I’m too lazy to set up my grill. Also, I often use grated Parmesan cheese instead of dried cotjia cheese, which is harder to find. Lastly, most recipes call for sour cream. I use mayonnaise instead. Minor changes can be made with the seasonings depending upon your taste and spice level. It reheats fairly nicely in a microwave if you have leftovers for another day. Enjoy one of America’s most celebrated vegetables as summer wanes, and tell us here at The Insider what variations you use to create your own Mexican Street Corn. Also, have some fun and go get lost in a maize maze! Mexican Street Corn Yield: 6 servings 1/2 c. mayonnaise 2 Tbsp. plain Greek yogurt 2 Tbsp. chopped cilantro 1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice 2 tsp. Tajin seasoning 1/2 tsp. coarse salt 1/8 tsp. cayenne, or more to taste 6 fresh ears of corn, shucked 3/4 c. grated cojita cheese or Parmesan cheese In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise and remaining ingredients. Reserve. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Put in corn. Cover; boil for 3 minutes. Drain well. OR Grill corn on moderately high heat for about 3 minutes a side or until it is slightly charred. While the corn is hot, brush the mayonnaise all over the cobs. Then, roll cobs in grated cheese. Bonnie Fishman attended the Cordon Bleu Cookery School in London. Later, she owned and operated Bonnie’s Patisserie in Southfield, Mich. and Bonnie’s Kitchen and Catering in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. She has taught cooking for over 35 years and created hundreds of recipes. She is now living in Northern California.

One film journalist’s stream-of-consciousness cinematic journey through the pandemic, Part 99 By Laurence Lerman / New York City As this week’s Reel Streaming goes to press, I am preparing to depart for an extended weekend in Stockholm, Sweden, one of the most gorgeous capital cities in Europe and one that holds a special place in my heart. I’ve been traveling there regularly for nearly 35 years, visiting friends I made in my earlier trips there and others that I’ve made the acquaintance and friendship of over the ensuing decades. Many of them, an assortment of native Swedes and American ex-patriots, are like family to me and I was thrilled when so many of them traveled to this side of the Atlantic for my wedding 14 years ago. Even more satisfying is that my beautiful wife has also grown extremely close to them in about half the time it took me to! I first made it to Stockholm in the summer of 1988, my first-ever trip to Europe, while serving as road manager for the New York-based funk band Defunkt on the European leg of their latest club tour. Gene, a dear friend of mine, was their manager and with the incentive of a free trip to 11 countries in Europe over six weeks (room and board included), I took on the job of being the guy who had to wake up the band members every morning that we were heading to a new town (or country, frequently) and corral them into going to the train station or airport. Those six weeks were a real page-turner for me—a moving-on of sorts from my post-college young adulthood to a considerably more adventurous, ambitious and exploratory time in my life. Some of the tales that emerged from that first funky European experience defy description—or decorum, for that matter. Several years later, in the spring of 1994, I hopped on a flight to Stockholm (remember those easy-travel days when one could merely consider “hopping on a flight”?) to visit my manager friend Gene, who was by then living in Stockholm with his new wife and toddler daughters. Commercial radio had been deregulated in Sweden a year earlier prior—it had always been run by the state—and Gene and a partner had purchased a broadcast license and a radio station that winter. They formatted it as a rock-n-roll station that followed an AOR format (that’s album-oriented rock), alternating between classic tracks and new material. For Sweden, it was a whole new kind of radio. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Bandit 105.5, The Rock Home of Stockholm. And wouldja believe that my friend Gene who had hired to me to wake up funk musicians in Amsterdam several years earlier now was offering to employ me as a DJ on Sweden’s newest radio station? Well, he did—and I accepted—and I spent the next 11 months living in Stockholm and spinning CDs on what would become the hottest of a crop of new stations that were popping up all over Southeastern Sweden. A fair amount of description-defying and decorum-breaching was had, to be sure, over that year, though nothing I would hesitate to write about if this weren’t a film column. Sorry! Which leads me to the movies… Some major fun was had at Bandit in November of that year when the 5th edition of the Stockholm International Film Festival was held. Dozens of films from around the world unspooled in the city (some for the first time; other that had already played in their countries of origin). The festival’s programmers did a bang-up job of providing a slate of impressive early works by filmmakers who are still making films today as they were nearly 30 years ago: David O. Russell’s dark comedy Spanking the Monkey, Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami’s docudrama Through the Olive Trees, Michele Soavi’s arthouse zombie flick Dellamorte, Dellamore, Jeffrey Wright’s anarchic romantic drama Metal Skin and Wong Kar-Wai’s indispensable crime-romance Chungking Express, among them. Kiarostami, one of the most established and respected of the bunch at the time, died in 2016. For the two weeks the festival was in swing, Bandit 105.5 became “The Film Home of Stockholm,” with a number of directors and actors making their way to the station for promotional interviews and such. I conducted a nice on-air chat with young filmmaker C.W. Talkington for his road flick Love and a .45, starring up-and-comers Gil Bellows and future Best Actress Oscar winner Renée Zellweger. Fun stuff. And I remember my fellow DJ Brian (he named his daily radio slot “Brian Time”) telling me about his interview with a fast-talking, movie-loving director named Quentin Tarantino, whose new film, Pulp Fiction, had its Scandinavian premiere at the festival. This year marks the 33rd edition of the festival and though the schedule hasn’t been announced yet, the quality of the entrants and events is sure to be as superlative as it’s always been. The festival continues to attract veteran big names as well as new voices; last year, Achievement Awards were presented to such talented filmmakers as Jane Campion, the Norwegian sensation Joachim Trier and actor/director Kenneth Branagh, who were all there in person to collect their prizes. One of the joys of the Stockholm International Film Festival—in addition to receiving a press pass to all the screenings—was the selection of repertory titles that were being shown in theaters around Stockholm, along with all the newer movies. As this was Sweden, Swedish cinema and its rich history were mined for all it’s worth. And as leading distributor Svensk Filmindustri owns the rights to virtually the entire history of Swedish cinema and was the festival’s lead sponsor, it was relatively easy to program any older works the festival wanted. It was there that I first saw the silent classic The Outlaw and His Wife by the pioneering Swedish filmmaker Victor Sjöström; Alf Sjöberg’s Cannes Film Festival-winning Strindberg adaptation Miss Julie (1951) and, of course, a healthy dose of Ingmar Bergman. Among the three Bergmans I saw for the first time at the festival were his early charmer Summer with Monika (1953), the seminal 1957 Wild Strawberries (where I actually ate wild strawberries at the screening) and the unforgettable period drama Cries and Whispers (1972). On the newish side but equally worth catching were Lasse Hallström’s 1985 international hit My Life as a Dog and the popular Swedish drama-romance House of Angels (1992), helmed by expat British filmmaker Colin Nutley and starring Swedish star-of-the-moment Helena Bergström. As I write this Reel Streaming column, I don’t have any movies planned for our Stockholm sojourn, but I always think about that trip there nearly 30 years ago when Stockholm turned into my home for a year. And I also ponder how I still travel there semi-regularly with the love of my life at my side and a bunch of friendly smiles waiting to greet us on the far side of the North Atlantic. It's almost like a movie. Laurence Lerman is a film journalist, former editor of Video Business--Variety's DVD trade publication--and husband to The Insider's own Gwen Cooper. Over the course of his career he has conducted one-on-one interviews with just about every major director working today, including Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, Clint Eastwood, Kathryn Bigelow, Ridley Scott, Walter Hill, Spike Lee, and Werner Herzog, among numerous others. Once James Cameron specifically requested an interview with Laurence by name, which his wife still likes to brag about. Most recently, he is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of the online review site DiscDish.com.

The Insider: Hi Andrea. Right after our interview about physical therapy and Covid in The Insider, you taped your first TV appearance, right? How exciting! Andrea Kwok: Hi! Yes, I did. It was exciting, I’ve never done anything like that before! The Insider: Which program will you be on? Andrea Kwok: Good Morning America on ABC. The Insider: Wow! That is the big time! How did this come about? Andrea Kwok: One of my patients is a producer for the show, and she approached me about participating in a taped segment. The Insider: What is the segment about? Andrea Kwok: Foot pain. In my portion I go into how you can avoid foot pain as well as a few exercises you can do if you start to notice foot pain. The Insider: That’s great! Before we start talking about the shoot, want to give Insider readers a tip or two about that? Andrea Kwok: Sure! The best advice I can give to avoid foot issues is to make sure you are wearing proper footwear. Shoes should be secure on your feet, support the arches of your feet, and have some amount of cushioning, especially at the heel. Making sure that the muscles in your foot and ankle are strong will also help prevent injury. The Insider: Does doing a lot of walking strengthen your foot and ankle muscles? Andrea Kwok: It can! However, if you walk too much in very flat shoes, or if you have any underlying weakness or poor gait mechanics, walking might end up causing some pain. The Insider: Do podiatrists give good advice about that? Andrea Kwok: Podiatrists can help, as can physical therapy. The Insider: We’ll all be tuning in, to find out the details! Where did you do the shoot? Andrea Kwok: At the Spear Physical Therapy clinic on W. 92nd St., on the upper west side in Manhattan. The Insider: Since we’re a pandemic publication, I should ask you whether there were special precautions taken before and at the shoot. One of our readers works at NBC and has told us about the huge efforts taken there to avoid Covid. Andrea Kwok: Yes. This was actually the producer’s first on-location shoot since the start of the pandemic. We needed to provide the dimensions of the space, as well as number of people expected to be in the space at the time of filming. We were also asked if everyone is required to wear a mask in the clinic (they are!). The Insider: How many ABC people came to the shoot? Andrea Kwok: Four. The Insider: With what jobs at the shoot? Andrea Kwok: The producer, the camera operator and an assistant. I am not sure what the official role of the fourth person was. He seemed to be a director of sorts. The Insider: How much preparation was there before they actually came there? Had you been conferring with them? Andrea Kwok: Yes, by email for about a week leading up to the shoot. The Insider: Did they come out to look at the location beforehand? Andrea Kwok: Yes. The Insider: Did you know the exact topic that was going to be discussed? Andrea Kwok: I knew that the topic was foot pain and how the general population can manage it at home. That was all I knew prior to the shoot. Most of the email beforehand was about the space and logistics. The Insider: How long did the shoot itself take? Andrea Kwok: I was there for about an hour, maybe a little less. Everything was set up when I arrived. The Insider: What was it like? Were you nervous? Andrea Kwok: Only a little. It helped that I was familiar with the producer and we had one of our own marketing team members on site too, whom I am friendly with. Also, this is a topic that I discuss with patients all the time. Just not usually with lights and cameras on me! The Insider: Do they just shoot the segment from beginning to end, or did you have to do multiple takes? Andrea Kwok: It was filmed in parts, first the interview in a closer shot. Then we filmed the exercises from a wider angle. They filmed a few takes of each exercise. The Insider: Were you demonstrating various foot and ankle exercises? Andrea Kwok: Yes, we did one take where I explained and demonstrated the exercises myself, and another where our marketing associate volunteered to be the model. She did great! The Insider: I was going to ask you who the patient was! That’s a good solution! I’m curious whether you needed to brief them so they could ask the right questions. Andrea Kwok: I think they had an idea of what type of information they wanted explained in the interview, and asked me questions based on that. The Insider: So they did their homework. That’s impressive! Andrea Kwok: They definitely knew what they were doing! Everything was efficient from start to finish. The Insider: As a TV newbie, what was most surprising to you about the shoot? Andrea Kwok: I found it interesting that they had multiple cameras set up for each shot, I imagine so that they can cut to closer frames or different angles both for clarity and interest. But I think I was most surprised at how relaxed the whole process felt, actually. The Insider: So, did you catch the TV bug? Andrea Kwok: Haha. It was definitely an interesting experience, and more fun than I thought it would be. I’d be willing to do something like this again, but I don’t have any interest in becoming an on-screen regular. The Insider: That may change when you hear from everyone you know after the segment airs! How long will your part of the segment be? Have you seen it yet? Andrea Kwok: I think my part will be fairly short, about 2 minutes. I have not seen the final cut, I imagine the editing process takes a while. The Insider: So much time and work go into preparing those two minutes! Andrea Kwok: That’s for sure! The Insider: I saved the most important question until the end. What did you wear? Andrea Kwok: Haha! I was asked to wear a bright colored top. Unfortunately, my wardrobe is black, white, and gray–the New York uniform. But I do have one red top, so that was it! With black slacks and loafers. The Insider: Did they put makeup on you? Andrea Kwok: I was responsible for my own makeup, but I was given recommendations and tips to make it camera-friendly. The Insider: Do share! Andrea Kwok: The main message was don’t overdo it. Which was easy for me because I have a very minimal makeup selection. The Insider: It sounds like a lot of fun! When will this be airing? We want to see it soonest! Andrea Kwok: The week of September, 19th but I don’t know the exact date yet. I can let you know when I find out! The Insider: We’ll definitely trumpet the date to our readers! Congratulations, Andrea, and thanks for sharing your story. A star is born! Andrea Kwok: Haha! Thank you, happy to talk about my 15 seconds of fame! Andrea Kwok is the Clinical Director of SPEAR’s West 67th Street location. Andrea earned her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from the University of Delaware. During her time there, she completed a graduate assistantship in the Physical Therapy administrative office and served as class secretary. Prior to her graduate studies, Andrea graduated summa cum laude from Rutgers University with a major in exercise science and a minor in Spanish. Andrea was a founding member of the Rutgers club gymnastics team, where she served as team treasurer. In her professional career, Andrea has experience working with a wide range of orthopedic conditions, inclusive of sports injuries, mechanical pain, neurological pain, and post-operative rehabilitation. She pursues continuing education with a manual focus, intent on refining her ability to address joint, neurodynamic, and soft tissue dysfunction. Andrea is a large proponent of injury prevention and has participated in movement screenings for high school athletes, active adults, and local residents in the community. She is committed to restoring patient strength and function through targeted exercise and movement training.

By Andy Borowitz August 31, 2022 WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—Blasting Joe Biden’s plan to give a prime-time speech on Thursday, Sen. Lindsey Graham warned that the President’s “incendiary pro-democracy rhetoric” could lead to “voting in the streets.” “President Biden needs to watch his words very, very carefully,” the senator from South Carolina said. “People are on edge right now. Say the wrong thing, and this nation could witness unrestrained, uncontrolled voting.” Cautioning the President against embracing “reckless pro-democracy views,” Graham said, “You are playing with fire, my friend.” Graham described a “doomsday scenario,” in which Americans line up to vote in the millions and “radical activists offer them bottles of water in clear violation of the law.” He said he was “not alone” in sounding the alarm about a dangerous outbreak of voting this November. “I don’t know of a single Republican who wants to see this happen,” he said. Andy Borowitz is a Times best-selling author and a comedian who has written for The New Yorker since 1998. He writes The Borowitz Report, a satirical column on the news.

A Poem by Dr. Barry Lubetkin / New York City Dr. Lubetkin has been working virtually from his home in New York City since March 2020. He is pleased to report that "not a single patient has expressed concern about not returning to in-person therapy, and many appreciate the scheduling flexibility of the virtual model." The screen flickers and a new face appears. Warm hello’s apologies about FaceTime since Covid. She understands: “I’m remote all day.” Awkwardness fades. We talk, we share. I observe what I would have missed in my office strung with diplomas. I see her dog and her playful joy. I see her bookcase and admire her taste. Pictures of her family confirm her words. Flowers on her desk make her room glow. And I see her eyes and body language in a different way, than in my cluttered office. I see her! I can’t shake her hand I can’t sense when she catches her breath I can’t even offer her a Kleenex when she sobs but I can see her soul. Barry Lubetkin, Ph.D. is the co-director and co-founder of the Institute for Behavior Therapy in New York City. The Institute for Behavior Therapy is the oldest private cognitive behavior center in the United States.

By Judi Markowitz / Huntington Woods, Mich. Having a disabled child has brought me face-to-face with every imaginable type of social behavior. Over the years, though, I have come to realize that there are basically just four groups of people, all of whom reveal their true natures when encountering an individual with special needs. I call them the gawkers, the talkers, the smilers, and the do-gooders. The people who fall into these categories are often looking for ways to connect with my daughter, Lindsay, or myself. At times, sadly, their attempts are an utter failure. However, there are also instances when I am amazed at the warmth and grace other people display when approaching Lindsay. The first group, the gawkers, look at your child intently as you walk by. Some people have the audacity to return for a second round. Do they think I don’t notice this unwelcome intrusion? Young children can be some of the worst offenders–they are innocent and usually don’t know they are doing anything wrong. We have been in situations where groups of children have literally come within inches of us while we were shopping, and their expressions were like those of zombies. I usually bring them back to the land of the living by saying, “This is Lindsay, what’s your name?” This question breaks the ice and then conversations ensue about Lindsay’s condition. They are generally too young to discuss Marshall-Smith syndrome, so I keep it simple. But the most perplexing moment usually comes when inquiring minds want to know Lindsay’s age. When I respond, invariably there is a wave of confusion that crosses their faces. After all, Lindsay is 43, and the size of a 10-year-old. When Lindsay’s three younger brothers were growing up, and a particularly annoying individual would stare at her, I had a mantra that I repeated to them constantly. I would comment that people need an education concerning those with a disability, and their own attitudes and actions with their sister will shine a light. Throughout the years, they have done a wonderful job with this information, and I have always been proud of the love and devotion they share with Lindsay. But I must admit, there were times when my encouragement went out the window and they wanted to slug Lindsay’s offenders. Fortunately, this never happened, but it was a definite impulse on their parts. The talkers play varying roles. Occasionally, a child comes along who immediately connects with Lindsay. They might wave, approach Lindsay with smiles, not fear or wonder, and just simply talk to her as if they have known her for years. I am always awestruck by these children. They have an innate sense of what is appropriate and good. They are special in their own right, and I am invigorated by their kindness. Other talkers might ask me Lindsay’s name and comment on her beautiful black hair or lovely smile. Some, in this group, will attempt to talk directly to Lindsay, and I intervene and ask Lindsay to say hello (with a wave) or shake her head yes or no to their questions. I explain that Lindsay is nonverbal. Depending upon Lindsay’s mood, she may respond appropriately, or she might ignore them altogether. I am sure Lindsay is thinking, “Not this again! Who wants to be bothered?” Religious conversations are a frequent occurrence. I believe that most of these people are well-intentioned; the standard line those who have a disabled child receive is, “God chose you because you are capable. You are special!” I have asked myself on numerous occasions, “Do they have a direct line to The Almighty?” Lindsay was my first child, and at the age of 27, I didn’t have a clue about motherhood, let alone raising a child with special needs. Oh yes, I read all the right books at the time (Dr. Spock was in the limelight back then), but it was just information on a page. I was not special. Truly offensive talkers strike a nerve. I have overheard parents say to their children, “Don’t look at her–move away.” Do they think their children are going to catch Marshall-Smith syndrome? Instead of embracing a teachable moment, they opt out of the situation and instill trepidation in their children. I have often thought about telling these people to eff off, but I refrain. The smilers are an interesting group. I like them because they are genuine and try their best, but there are subcategories. Some people do not have words to explain their feelings and are being cordial when flashing a warm smile at us. There are also individuals who are nervous and don’t have the appropriate tools to react to a disabled individual–a smile will ease their minds. And lastly, there are smilers who give you a quick nod as if to say, “I feel for you.” Their expression, their eyes give them away. Sometimes I wonder why do people feel they have to react to Lindsay at all, especially when we are walking, or I am pushing her wheelchair through the mall. Sometimes I wish these folks would just leave us alone, and react like they would with any other individual who does not have a disability. The award winners of kindness are the do-gooders, the considerate people who treat us with deference and respect. These individuals are confident enough to approach Lindsay, acknowledge her, see her as a valuable human being, and talk to her with the utmost regard. These are the people who can elicit a response from Lindsay like no others. She is astute at sensing a connection and will react favorably. When the mask mandate was lifted in Michigan last year, Lindsay and I were finally able to visit her favorite haunts once again. I was overwhelmed when a sales representative approached us and leaned over to talk to Lindsay. She welcomed her back to the store and said that she missed seeing both of us. She then commented that she enjoyed watching Lindsay select her favorite clothing. Lindsay’s decisions come in the form of placing a hand on the merchandise that is held in front of her. Lindsay looked up at this kind lady and simply smiled. There are numerous instances when the do-gooders will approach me in a parking lot. I am not cognizant of the fact that people are watching me–but they are. When lifting Lindsay into or out of the car, I have been asked on many occasions if I need help. The same holds true when I am grocery shopping with Lindsay. People will inquire if I want assistance pushing the cart to my car. I have my standard lines which I have repeated for years. I always thank them for the offer, and then add in that I am simply fine maneuvering with my daughter. I respond that I “have my routine down pat–my muscles know just what to do.” I am always amazed at the polite opening and holding of doors for us to walk through. Even when there are automatic doors, people will extend themselves to make life a bit easier. But when there are no offers, I use my tush (butt) to hold a door open for Lindsay’s chair to ease through. I have managed to navigate most situations with little difficulty. A superstar in the do-gooder category appeared in a Florida restaurant last winter. Our family was seated at a booth and the table was clearly too high for Lindsay. The restaurant was packed, and this was the only available table. Given this situation, we asked the server if there were any chair cushions in the restaurant. She shook her head no and then proceeded to leave as we contemplated our dinner selections. However, observing Lindsay’s short stature, the server went into creative mode. She returned with the large menus swaddled in Saran Wrap, a makeshift cushion for Lindsay to eat comfortably. These acts of kindness overwhelm me, and I am reminded that the human spirit is alive and well. I take immense pride in the fact that I have maintained my composure with rude and inconsiderate individuals. But after 43 years of explanations, strange and unappreciated comments, and constant stares, a lady in the ice-cream section of the market, tipped my hand to the dark side three years ago. Deep down, I always knew that one day, someone would be the recipient of my pent-up wrath. On a hot and humid day in August 2019, I had a close encounter of the horrible kind. Lindsay and I were grocery shopping at a local market, and we walked over to her favorite section of ice-cream delights. A woman was standing by the freezer doors, staring intently at the selection. It was clear she was contemplating her choices, so I gave her space to decide. I began to make small talk with her and weighed in about our favorites. At this juncture in the conversation, she turned to look at me and Lindsay. Suddenly, she put her hand over her mouth. Then she proceeded to shoo me away with her other hand. I was totally befuddled. What was this lady doing? I wondered if she was having a medical issue--did she want me to summon for help? She immediately backed away, repositioned her hand on her mouth so she could talk to me. I just wanted to open the freezer doors and take out a carton of Mackinac Island Fudge ice cream. The woman asked if Lindsay was my daughter and proceeded to tell me that she worked with special needs clients who had multiple health issues. She inquired about Lindsay’s condition and I was in mid-sentence when the insanity began. The woman took a step back and, once again, put her hand over her mouth. while shouting for us to move away. I was stunned, unable to move. I steeled myself against this absurd woman–our attacker. She now motioned for us to move away. She yelled that she could not be by us–we were evil, and she could not be tainted by us. She insisted loudly that Lindsay was the direct result of my wrongful deeds in life. Then God came into the tirade. The woman began to shout and walk closer to Lindsay while yelling that I was hated by Him. And this woman purported to work in special education! I think not. I was in shock and moved quickly to escape her wrath. I wondered what Lindsay was thinking. I walked with Lindsay around the frozen food aisles for what seemed like hours, trying to process the scene. I could feel the rage rising in me like a volcano about to erupt. And as I turned a corner, I spotted the abusive woman in line, at the checkout. It was my turn to confront her, and every word had weight. I am generally a levelheaded individual, but this craziness and her attack got the best of me. I started to tell her, in a somewhat calm voice at first, that Lindsay and I did not appreciate her unwarranted opinions. I told her that she had no right to speak so hatefully. And then I started to raise my voice and yell about her intrusive behavior and her ludicrous accusations. I lost it. I cannot even remember all the things I said to her out of anger. I moved away as she continued with a diatribe of insults, shouting above the patrons as Lindsay and I exited the store. I was completely rattled, to say the least. Obviously, no groceries were purchased on that day. My husband, Jeffrey, inherited our crew of five when we were married nearly 25 years ago–four children, one with special needs. He did not have children and had to adapt to a full house. Adjusting to those inquiring eyes from strangers gazing his way was an entirely new chapter. But Jeffrey said it eloquently when discussing the issue. He said, “We stand tall and walk proud because we have love and a purpose to help someone enjoy their life.” In our small city, which encompasses one square mile, Lindsay is treated like a celebrity. People are always stopping to say hello. They give a shout out when we are sitting on the porch, walking to the car, or just hanging out in front of the house. Lindsay is recognized by more people than I can count and, if she could write, she would be signing autographs. I would like to think that Huntington Woods, Mich. is a microcosm of the world, but sadly sometimes it is not. Judi Markowitz is a retired high school English teacher of 34 years. She primarily taught 12th grade and had the pleasure of her three sons gracing her classes. In addition, she taught debate, forensics, and Detroit film. Judi has four adult children and seven wonderful grandchildren. She is married to Jeffrey Markowitz, whom she met in high school. Judi grew up in Oak Park, Mich. which had a stellar school district, with excellent teachers. The city provided activities for all–and there were even sidewalks. Judi moved to Huntington Woods as an adult, which is a half mile from her childhood home. She wanted the same experience for her children as she had growing up, and Huntington Woods provided that. The View from Four Foot Two is Judi’s first book.