I’m not there yet
Dear Hope Nation, Since the nights of broken glass began back in April, Hope has taken a whole bunch of steps to try to prevent further damage and to catch the thrower. In addition to using Families in Transitions’ cameras, reporting to the Manchester Police...
Dear Hope Nation, Another day, another two broken windows. Another day, another senseless attack. Another day, another chance to experience anger and sorrow. Another day, another opportunity to practice serenity. God, grant me Reinhold Niebuhr, the American...
Feedback is always welcome
Dear Hope Nation, I’ve tried my hand at a lot of different kinds of writing, generally with only passing success. From journalism to essays to short stories to poetry to songwriting to novels, I’ve completed some works of which I’ve been proud and a number which I’m...
Just another bozo on the bus
Dear Hope Nation, Church sanctuaries held wisdom for me as a boy. It may have been wisdom I didn’t understand, and certainly couldn’t apply to my life, but when I went into the sanctuary of the Durham Community Church, I assumed the Reverend Novotny had a pathway to...
The power of optimism
Dear Hope Nation, I started writing a beautiful, wise and insightful letter a little while ago. Unfortunately, it looked at burial practices in Colonial America for three distinct groups: suicides, drunkards and duelists. These personae non grata (“people without...
Playful, yes, but also nutritious
Dear Hope Nation, I’ve always got more ideas to write about than time to do so. While these letters have been, mainly, a pleasure to write each day, they don’t offer the chance to clean my desktop of unrelated ideas, which pile up like newspapers by a vacationing...
Reading books is dangerous
Dear Hope Nation, {At my editor’s request, I’m pointing out that the following is an example of irony, in which the writer actually means the opposite of what she or he writes, usually for humor or emphasis. I have more faith in you as a reader than my editor does. My...
Not poor, just broke
Dear Hope Nation, “Not poor, just broke.” That’s the title of the first section of comedian/social activist/fruitarian Dick Gregory’s autobiography. In case the meaning escapes you, being broke means you’re out of money, but you can still hold your head...
Evidence of Hope
Dear Hope Nation, First and foremost—Thank all of you for your support and donations regarding the broken windows at Hope! The money is huge—more than $5,100 as I write this—and much appreciated. It means we’ll be able to pay for most of the broken windows—freeing up...
More damage than it should
Dear Hope Nation, It’s 4:01 am, Saturday, June 20, 2020, as I write these words. I’m sitting in the front room at Hope with my heart breaking and my vigilante side rising. Another broken window. Another goddamned broken window. I believe life’s creative force is...
Help us make the future
Dear Hope Nation, I bring you good news, glad tidings, music to all our ears. The voyage across the Sea of During is coming to an end. Initial landing parties have begun exploring the Land of After and discovered that it is good, not the same as the Land of Before,...
Focus on the future
Dear Hope Nation, Although I can be passably humorous, I’ve got lines I think are hilaaaaaaaaaarious, but that have never gotten much more than a grunt. For example, whenever I’m asked to sign a yearbook or a going-away card, I write, “If I don’t see you in the...
A wrong turn doesn’t ruin your journey
Dear Hope Nation, Relapse (reoccurrence) is not part of recovery. Let me repeat: relapse is not part of recovery. “Part of” implies, I think, that recovery would necessarily include reoccurrence, in the same way that in the Christian tradition, repentance is part of...
“I didn’t drink. I didn’t use. I didn’t die.”
Dear Hope Nation, A dear but shy friend of mine celebrates 30 years of continuous sobriety today. I’d like to write an appreciation of him and of all the work he’s done and is doing for folks needing recovery, but he’s the kind of man who doesn’t want attention. If I...
Mad Libs for the professional class
Dear Hope Nation, I’ve had a love/hate relationship with mission statements. More honest: I’ve had a like/hate relationship with mission statements. Most honest: I hate mission statements. Hate is a strong word, too strong to be used toward a meaningless gathering of...
A Parable About Nothing
Dear Hope Nation, Recently I’ve been asked by a number of people whether I’m looking to leave Hope any time soon. I’m not. I’m very happy at Hope because I get to spend time with folks in early recovery, the activity that means the most to me. Since it’s Sunday,...
A far, far better peace that I know
Dear Hope Nation, It is the best of times, it is the worst of times, it is the age of change through peaceful demonstrations, it is the age of violent riots, it is the epoch of recovery, it is the epoch of pandemic disease, it is the season of insight, it is the...
I knew I’d get a detention or three
Dear Hope Nation, No subtle or not-so-subtle message here today. Just a dreamy memory of childhood—and what a stinker I was. When I was in sixth grade, my science teacher was Mr. Lefave (most definitely not pronounced “Lefebvre,” although that name is pronounced...
Recovery Pearls
Dear Hope Nation, As some of you know—but all of you should!—Hope now has 14 in-person all-recovery meetings a week, at noon each day in the back parking lot behind the Hope building, and at 6 pm at Derryfield Park by the gazebo. I’ve been doing some of these meetings...
Stay out of ditches
Dear Hope Nation, I was at a recovery meeting the other night, and the issue of psychotropic medication came up. In this case, the question was about Adderall being prescribed for ADHD. The person in recovery had used meth as his favorite escape vehicle, so the issue...
Please consider jumpstarting your gratitude
Dear Hope Nation, [Trigger Warning: This letter contains potentially distressing material. Readers who have benefitted financially during the COVID-19 pandemic may wish to avoid that annoying sting to the conscience. Even those who have not benefitted, but who have...
I will be wrong again, but not in this way
Dear Hope Nation. I was wrong. Yesterday, I wrote a letter to you about Hope for New Hampshire Recovery—"Hope is a recovery center, focused on helping people find, maintain and strengthen their recovery from drug and alcohol misuse.” I believe that is true. I also...
Hope is a Recovery Center
Dear Hope Nation, Over the past couple weeks, I’ve been asked why Hope for New Hampshire Recovery hasn’t issued a statement condemning the murder of George Floyd, the brutality of some police officers and the scourge of institutional racism. This inquiry, I...
If you haven’t read it, borrow a copy
Dear Hope Nation, I have had a lot of time to read during this journey across the Sea of During, time of which I’ve not taken advantage. I’ve also had a lot of time to ponder the reading I’ve done in the past, and to write some about that reading. That I have done....
Not there yet, but eventually when you walk in…
Dear Hope Nation, Those of you who have read previous letters, or anyone who’s ever tried to have a conversation with me, recognizes I have a hard time staying focused. Or, more honestly, I can focus like a laser beam until I’m distracted. While I’m a good writer, my...