2025 Life Logs, Day 266: Shadow Update and Field Trip to South Boston
Date: Tuesday, September 23, 2025
Weather: Partly Sunny to Cloudy, Warmer; High Temp 71, Low 63 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA

Today’s Newcomers/Encore field trip to the John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse in South Boston was great.

Moakley became known as “common Joe” because he fought for the common man as a US representative from Massachusetts from 1973 until his death in 2001. He was responsible for securing funding for Boston’s Big Dig project and the federal courthouse was part of that project. So, Congress named the building for him. It is an architecturally rich building with the side facing the Boston Harbor a wall of glass.

We were given a tour by a private group called Discovering Justice and US Justice Richard Stearns invited us into his chamber to talk with us about the clean up of the Boston Harbor.

After having lunch in the federal courthouse café, we returned to Castle Island via Uber. We parked our cars near the fort on the island where parking is free and Ubered to and from the courthouse. It was a stress-free and cheap way to visit Boston. But those of us in the car I was in had a bit of stress as we drove out to the island. There was an Ice raid taking place right in front of us, so we pulled over to document and call LUCE to inform them of the incident. We were in front of Boston College High School and the young man they handcuffed and put into the ICE vehicle looked like a student. As we sat there documenting what was happening, suddenly the young man was invited to get back out of the car and was set free. All good, but still stressful to watch.

A Boston-famous ice cream establishment, Sullivan’s, is right next to Castle Island Fort Independence. So, upon our return, we were free to explore the grounds surrounding the fort and have an ice cream cone to celebrate a good day. Today’s granite fort began in 1634 as an earthwork and 2 platforms with 3 cannons serving as the sea defense of early Boston. It has gone through 7 rebuilds from wood to brick to granite and was named Fort Independence in 1799 by President John Adams.

I was able to leave Shadow at home and go on the trip today as my neighbor, Andy, came over to check on him a couple of times during the day. Since the doctor prescribed rest and relaxation for Shadow, a quiet day alone was just what the doctor ordered. He seems a little more responsive today, but not much of a change from yesterday.

2025 Life Logs, Day 265: First Day of Fall 2025
Date: Monday, September 22, 2025
Weather: Perfect Fall Weather; High Temp 69, Low 59 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA

I spent this first day of fall focused on Shadow. He was a slight bit better this morning than he was last night, but I woke up very early this morning worrying about my best buddy. When I finally got up, I put him in the car and went to his veterinarian’s office. It was 8:30 am and there was not one car in the parking lot and no one inside. I waited about 10 minutes, still no one, so I drove to Joanie’s house to pick up Archie to walk with me and my Shadow. We did a short walk and I called the vet halfway through the walk. I could not get an appointment for today, so I called a new vet in town. I was desperate to get a doctor’s opinion on Shadow’s condition today. Joanie had sent me the number of this vet after I picked up Archie. They could see Shadow at 2:30 pm, so I made the appointment.

I took Shadow home, delivered checks to the library as part of my job as Treasurer for the Board of Trustees, and went to the Coonemessett Inn to pin down details for the Encore Holiday Luncheon in December. At 2:30 pm, Shadow and I arrived at Vista, the new veterinarian’s office. After a multitude of tests, I learned that Shadow does not have Lyme disease, does not have an invasive blood infection, does not have heartworm, does not have . . . His blood tests were described as ‘perfect’. The doctor examined him inside and out. He does have swollen scent glands, but that is not the problem. Who knew dogs have scent glands? He tests as a super healthy dog. The doctor says it could be a pancreatic issue, inflammation of the gut lining, or that he strained for sprained something jumping and running while playing fetch. This first set of tests cost $600. So, he suggested a 4-day medication to calm his gastrointestinal system along with 4 days of rest, no long walks. After that, we can determine if an ultrasound is necessary. So this is a continuing story.

Tonight, I was sitting on the sofa talking to friend Lynne Kirwin and Shadow jumped up and sat on my lap for the first time in 4 days. I hope this means that whatever is wrong is righting itself. I hope, hope, hope, that is true.

Lynne is flying back to New Zealand on Wednesday, so this was our farewell talk. Of course, I can still talk to her once she is back in NZ. But that is so far away. Safe travels, Lynne. Shadow and I hope to see you next summer!

2025 Life Logs, Day 264: Happy Birthday to Shadow
Date: Sunday, September 21, 2025
Weather: Sunny and Cool; High Temp 65, Low 51 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA

Shadow turned 6 years old today, but it was not a day for celebration. I fear Shadow is really not well. In fact, I think he is seriously unwell. I have no idea what is wrong, but over the past week or so, he has changed from my rambunctious ‘bad boy’ who jumps on everyone and everything, to a quiet dog that can’t even get up on the sofa to sit with me. He is still eating and drinking water, but otherwise, he doesn’t move. He stopped playing fetch on Friday and that is his favorite thing to do in the whole world. Our once-a-day ball games are a fun time that both of us look forward to. Yesterday I thought he was better. We walked our two miles in the morning with Archie. Shadow was not energetic but seemed okay. But then last night, he couldn’t jump up on the bed to sleep beside me. Instead, he slept on the floor beside the bed. This morning, he was able to get in the car to drive over so we could pick up Archie and go for a walk. I drove Shadow over so that our walk would be only one mile. He seemed so lethargic, and I didn’t want to push him too far.

Shadow was able to walk the mile, but then he was not able to get up on the back seat of the car without my help to come home. It is breaking my heart to watch him and not have a clue what to do. I will take him to the vet or to the animal hospital emergency unit in the morning. I love my Shadow and can’t imagine life without him, so I sure hope to have better news tomorrow night.

2025 Life Logs, Day 263: Soccer Saturday, Rally on the Green, R&R
Date: Saturday, September 20, 2025
Weather: Sunny, Cooler; High Temp 68, Low 48 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA

After walking with Shadow and Archie this morning, I headed to Falmouth High School to a home soccer game. It was a good game, ending in a 1-1 tie, but Jonah didn’t get as much play time as he had hoped. There is another home game on Wednesday, so I’ll return and hope to see more of Jonah on the field.

I left the game as soon as it was over to hurry to the Green to catch the last 45 minutes of the Saturday rally. I was delighted to see that we now have Indivisible Falmouth banners, but I was disappointed as there were a couple of verbal battles with passers by with a different point of view. Indivisible’s stand is that we should never engage, just smile. But today, people seemed a little testier and did engage. All the more reason for a focus on nonviolent conflict.

So, I was then off for home to spend time viewing some of the films we are considering for the nonviolent resistant film festival. I have not had a chance until today to start watching some of the possible choices. I’m calling the film viewing R & R time. I have been fighting what I thought was just a sinus issue. But it has gotten worse and worse. My voice is raspy and octaves lower than usual. And it is now feeling more like a bronchial asthma issue as it has moved into my chest. I don’t feel bad and have had no fever, but it is starting to zap my energy level.

I stopped by Heather and Jed’s to trade cars. I had theirs, and they had mine so they could haul Ollie’s Sunfish to and from Woods Hole. They did not get to sail it yesterday, but Heather and Ollie returned today and had a wonderful sail in Great Harbor. Hurray! Even though I took my car back this evening, Jed is hoping to use it again tomorrow to go sailing with Ollie. He watched as Ollie and Heather sailed it this afternoon and thought it looked like great fun that he wants to enjoy.

2025 Life Logs, Day 262: Another Meeting, a Boat Lunch, Mingle and Mix
Date: Friday, September 19, 2025
Weather: Sunny and Warm. Beach Weather; High Temp 76, Low 54 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA

Somehow my days just busier and busier. I had an almost two hour Newcomers/Encore meeting this morning reviewing the results of our member surveys from last spring. Those results guide our decision making going forward and it was great to compare our results.

I spent the afternoon baking a flourless chocolate cake to take the Mingle and Mix tonight and also spent a couple of hours hitching Ollie’s Sunfish on its trailer to my car and taking Ollie and Heather to Woods Hole to launch the little sailboat for the first time since Ollie purchased it this summer. I have the only car with a hitch that can trail it. And with lot of help from Ollie and Heather, I was able to successfully back it down the boat ramp in Woods Hole to get it into the water. It was the first time I have ever down that, and I was very pleased that it went smoothly. I have not hear a report on what happened after I left, but I do hope they got it off the dock and sailed it.

I left my car in Woods Hole with Heather. Jed, and Ollie, and took Heather’s car to go pick Jonah up from soccer practice and head to the Mingle and Mix. The weather was wonderful, so we were outside for the evening, warm and no bugs. The hosts have a wonderful fire pit and I stayed after most everyone had left and had a great conversation sitting around the fire with just the hosts and one other person. The wonderful thing about Newcomers and Encore is all of the wonderful opportunities to constantly get to know different people.

2025 Life Logs, Day 261: Two Meetings and Collapse
Date: Thursday, September 18, 2025
Weather: Partly Cloudy; High Temp 70, Low 58 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA

Two very important meetings for me were both this afternoon, keeping me busy from 12:30 to 5:30 pm with the meetings themselves, prep work, and follow-up. The first meeting was the field trip group I co-lead with Christina Brodie. We now have a full slate of 12 months of field trip ideas. Then it was on to the Exploring Public Policy meeting I co-lead with Jon Kaufman. At that meeting, we brainstormed ideas for meeting for this coming year. So a good start.

The afternoon of meetings was a lot, but on top of that, I am dealing with a massive sinus issue. Ugh. That is sapping my energy. And I literally had 4 meetings to choose from for tonight. But I ditched them all and went to the 99 for $9.99 burger night with friends Bruce and Jane, at their invitation. Thank you, Bruce and Jane! That way more fun than any of the other meetings might have been, plus I got to catch up on what is happening in their lives.

After dinner, I came home and previewed a short film on nonviolent resistance and watched one segment of Jen Psaki’s program on MSNBC. Stacey Abrams was on promoting a “10 Steps” framework that describes a playbook for resisting autocracy and defending democracy, based on a model from Princeton Professor Kim Scheppele. Instead of a book outlining these steps, the campaign is primarily promoted through Abrams’ podcast, Assembly Required, and her Substack newsletter, Assembly Notes, as a toolkit for action. I really recommend you read it below. Nothing new here, just another way to summarize what we are living through and what we can do about it.

The framework is presented in two parts:
• 10 Steps to Autocracy: This part identifies the warning signs of a country sliding toward authoritarian rule.
• 10 Steps to Freedom and Power: This part offers solutions and actions for citizens to take to push back against these autocratic tendencies.

The 10 steps to autocracy
This framework is inspired by Professor Scheppele’s analysis of how autocrats take power, often while maintaining a facade of democratic legitimacy. The steps include:
1. Winning an election, which provides a veneer of legitimacy.
2. Expanding executive power beyond constitutional limits.
3. Making the legislature complicit and neutering the judiciary.
4. Gutting the civil service by firing competent officials.
5. Installing loyalists in key government positions, such as the FBI, Justice Department, and Defense.
6. Using loyalist institutions to go after political enemies.
7. Identifying scapegoats, such as vulnerable communities.
8. Undermining civil society by targeting universities and other civic institutions.
9. Incentivizing private violence and using federal troops against citizens to instill fear.
10. Canceling elections or making participation so difficult that no one believes it is safe or matters.

The 10 steps to freedom and power
To combat the rise of autocracy, Abrams’ campaign offers a corresponding set of actions for citizens. These steps are designed to build resilience and empower communities:
1. Connect the dots: Explain to friends and family how autocratic policies directly impact their lives, translating complex political terms into lived experiences.
2. Make democracy deliver: Show that democracy can work and solve everyday problems to prevent citizens from losing faith in the system.
3. Use mutual aid to support communities and reduce reliance on government services.
4. Speak the truth and resist propaganda.
5. Rebuild community by organizing locally and fostering connections across different groups.
6. Support a free press to combat misinformation.
7. Fight for fair elections and work to combat voter suppression.
8. Invest in civic infrastructure by supporting universities, charities, and other institutions that strengthen civil society.
9. Defend vulnerable communities targeted by autocratic leaders.
10. Challenge leaders and hold them accountable.

2025 Life Logs, Day 259: Another Working Day
Date: Tuesday, September 16, 2025
Weather: Mostly Sunny; High Temp 69, Low 66 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA

If I got paid for all of the hours I work volunteering for various things, I would be making good money. After walking the dogs this morning, I had a Zoom meeting about the film series I am launching in late October. This is the third meeting I have had with two women who will be helping me with this project, but up until now, I have done all of the leg work. We now have the logistics of where and when it will happen, but we are still working on the content. We are hoping by next week, we will at least have the final list of films. Then we will work on who will lead the post-film discussions. So that is a work in progress.

I then spent more time on the film series and dealt with details for tomorrow’s Encore September luncheon. As Program VP, the speaker programs throughout the year plus the luncheons are Program responsibilities. And then I changed gears and went out to complete the business canvassing I started on Friday for the Falmouth Immigrant Rights Coalition. And after that, it was on to a Board of Library Trustees special meeting. Except for that meeting and the canvassing, I was sitting at this computer all day. It is time to turn this critter off and get some sleep. I’ll continue on tomorrow.

2025 Life Logs, Day 258: Working Monday
Date: Monday, September 15, 2025
Weather: Mostly Sunny; High Temp 72, Low 54 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA

After walking Archie and Shadow early this morning and attending a Falmouth Immigrant Rights Coalition Zoom meeting for the rest of the morning, I basically spent the entire afternoon and evening on my computer. I was working on the nonviolent resistance film festival, the Encore luncheon on Wednesday, writing and sending program promos to the Encore newsletter, dealing with other Encore business, and doing some Indivisible Falmouth work. And I made soup and canned chicken broth. Tomorrow looks very much the same. A long morning Zoom meeting with follow up on the phone and computer in the afternoon, ending the day with Board of Library Trustees meeting. That’s the story of my life these days. But I keep telling myself that you can only do so much organizing and then you get to enjoy the results of all the planning. At least that’s the hope.

2025 Life Logs, Day 257: Happy Birthday to Justin
Date: Sunday, September 14, 2025
Weather: Mostly Sunny; High Temp 72, Low 55 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA

Justice, like in ”indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” That is how my son Justin got his name. Mark and I searched and searched for a boy’s name and all we could come up with were two names: Erin, an Irish unisex name meaning “peace”, and Justice because Mark and I both believed that “justice for all” was critical for the survival of our democracy. Yes, it was 1977 when both peace and justice were being celebrated. Justice was Mark’s favorite, but I said it was too hard to say. I countered with Justin. When I was in late grade school, I came home from school every single day to watch American Bandstand. My favorite dancer was Justine. That led us from Justice to Justin. Not until after he was born and we took our first look at him did we settle on Justin. That is how Justin Bryant Handley, 48 years ago today at home in Jenkins, Minnesota, got his name. I honestly don’t know if he knows this story. If not, let this be his special birthday gift. In any case, Happy Birthday, Justin!

I picked Ollie up from his Scout camping trip this morning and picked Heather and Jed up in Woods Hole when they returned from their sailing trip to Padanarum and took them to their car in Quissett. Then tonight, I had dinner with my Dining-In group tonight. It was a good day.

I’ll end with a Sunday Thought from Robert Reich about things that hold us together as a country … shared commitments.

“Dear Friends,

After a horrifying week — horrifying not just because of a politically motivated assassination but also the brutish and angry response from people who should be pulling the nation together rather than adding fuel to its divisions — many of you are understandably worried about America’s future.

As I travel around the United States, I hear concerns that America is losing its identity.

But what is that identity? If you examine our history, you’ll see that the core of that identity has not been the whiteness of our skin, or the uniformity of our ethnicity, or agreement on religion, or like-mindedness about sexual preference or orientation.

The core of our national identity has been the ideals we share: our commitments to the rule of law, to democratic institutions of government, to truth, to tolerance of our differences, to equal political rights, and to equal opportunity.

We have not always achieved these ideals, to be sure, but most of us have been committed to seeking to achieve them. Indeed, generations of Americans have been willing to sacrifice their lives for these ideals.
These shared commitments inform our judgments about right and wrong. They constitute America. Without them, there is no “we” in We the People.

Trump and his lackeys want us to forget these shared commitments. He is using every tool at his disposal — even this past week’s heinous murder — to subvert them.

But We the People will not — must not — let him.”

2025 Life Logs, Day 256: Massachusetts Democratic Party State Convention
Date: Saturday, September 13, 2025
Weather: Cloudy in Springfield; High Temp 67, Low 58 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA

I traveled to Springfield in western Massachusetts today as a delegate to the Massachusetts Democratic Party State Convention. I was a registered Independent that mostly voted for Democrats until George W was President. After four years of his administration, I became a registered Democrat. But I have never before been involved in the inner workings. I drove to Springfield with friend, Judy Fenwick, Rosemary Carey who is the head of Falmouth Dems, and Jason Cullinane who has helped with Indivisible Falmouth.The Markey breakfast was fun.

But when we went into the exhibit center to get to work, things got interesting. The people who prepared that Party Platform appeared to have made it less progressive than in 2021, and the delegates rebelled. At the end of the day, the 2021 Platform was adopted. So there was some division, but there was also a lot of total group (about 2,000 people) enthusiasm. US Senator Ed Markey was the star of the day, along with Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey.

Markey encouraged everyone to become activists. “This is the time. This (Massachusetts) is the place. We ARE the people.” Governor Healey made it very clear that Donald Trump with his ICE and miliary troops are not welcome here, stating that the Massachusetts National Guard is under her jurisdiction. Unfortunately, Senator Elizabeth Warren, my personal favorite, was not able to attend today. But I have to say that Markey, who is going to be 80 if re-elected in 2026, is moving up to #1 on my list. All you have to do is watch what he does to know that age should not be an issue for him. He gets things done! Boston Mayor Michele Wuu was also not in attendance, but when a video was played that she prepared ahead of time, there was a standing ovation. Another standing ovation that was most notable was when Markey referred to the struggle in Gaza. When he mentioned the horrific situation of starvation, the crowd burst into a very long standing ovation in support of the people of Gaza.

Even though things didn’t go as smoothly as I am sure the organizers hoped, making the whole process a little messy today, I would like to return next year as a Delegate. But since it is a mid-term year, I am sure I will have a lot of competition.

Even though it was cloudy north of the Cape today, it was sunny here. Heather sent a photo of Jed at the wheel of Ardena as they sailed from Quissett to Padanarum this afternoon, and there was a deep blue sky.