Grandchildren surrounded by Halloween decor

Today I went into my pharmacy to get my fall Covid and flu shots. The pharmacist who gave me the vaccines, someone I had never met,  began to talk to me (speaking into my iPad dictate program) as she did her work…”Are you scared of the world today? I’m terrified…,”  she said. She told me she is 70, lives alone, and is afraid, angry and hates someone for the first time in her life; she feels this political person is going to kill us all because of his ego. She feels helpless. She told me I must wait in the pharmacy for 15 minutes after the shots,  then talked for over 20 minutes, sometimes in tears. I was so happy to be able to listen to her pain; our pain! I think many of us are feeling it.

How do we find our power, the power of love, as we regard the daily goblins popping up in the news? How do we not shriek and run or hide in fear and anger? What empowers us to hold steady? What allowed my ancestors to survive pogroms in Russia?  What allowed yours to survive whatever they did?

My grandfather Max fled from the Russia-Polish border around 1880-85, at age 17, leaving his family behind, in a world where there were no planes, phones or internet to assure later connection, and took steerage passage on a boat to escape religious persecution. He arrived at NY harbor, learned a trade and brought his whole family here (he was the oldest of 5 children). He eventually enhanced his tailoring skills to create a large men’s clothes and tailoring company. What amazing courage! It was his way of saying no to the horror of the world around him, of imagining and creating a wholesome new life. I’m proud of my immigrant heritage and my “Pop”.

• Max Golden & Son, Inc. was a historic men’s tailored clothing manufacturer based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Unlike a traditional retail store storefront, it primarily operated as a mid-20th-century union manufacturing plant specializing in men’s suits, sport coats, and trousers.
• World War II Defense Contracts (1940s): During World War II, the company was heavily involved in manufacturing military apparel for the U.S. war effort. In September 1940, they were among a select group of firms awarded major government contracts by the Quartermaster Purchasing Office to produce enlisted service coats and “Ike” jackets.
• Union Operations: Max Golden & Son operated as an organized union shop. For decades, its workforce was represented by the Philadelphia Joint Board of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America (ACWA), which routinely negotiated collective bargaining agreements covering the plant’s tailors and garment cutters

I have wonderful memories of my annual trip into downtown Philadelphia to choose the wool fabric for my new winter coat. Pop would measure me, draw on the fabric, (and my brother present for his coat), turn aside his cutting room staff and cut the fabrics on the cutting table himself, and baste fabrics together for each of us to try on. Then we would go out to lunch, to Horn and Hardart automated cafeteria; a real adventure!

Two of my grandparents and four of my great grandparents came to the US as immigrants. Unless you’re Native American, your ancestors did too. Today they use the phrase “illegal aliens.” Words matter! What a negative term! With “alien” we already have separation and fear. With “immigrant” we have our own grandparents courageously seeking out a new life. We’re a nation built of immigrants with all the wonderful strength we brought with us. How can we bring the phrase back to ”immigrant”, an honored term that stands for courage, love and skill. And “illegal”. People are only “illegal” because they have not been given the path to being “legal”. My grandfather had that path as did your ancestors.

Hal’s caregiver Mamady came from Guinea, West Africa 4 years ago at 16, fleeing for his life just as my grandfather did. He did all the legal work to request asylum and was on that path. He graduated from Ypsilanti High School, was learning English, taking courses at the local community college, hoping to train to work in a medical field and was an amazing caregiver to Hal. In January, 2026 ICE arrested him during a routine scheduled interview. Mamady  turned 21 this summer in a detention camp in northern Michigan. He’s now been there 9 months! At least he’s presently safe from deportation (we pray) and we hope that January brings a change in his and other’s fortunes. My son Davy and his children who love and look up to Mamady visited him in the camp in July (an eye-opening experience for a 5 and 8 year old) . He is okay. He’s in many people’s prayers. What about the detainees with no one to support and pray for them, or fundraise for lawyers ?

Goblins are everywhere. (a grandson under here)

Today we have this news:

“A convicted election denier sat in the Oval Office this week to talk about “plans” for the midterms. Tina Peters’ attorney says her plan involves seizing ballots nationwide, and he’s discussed strategy for a potential civil war. The White House says she has no role in election policy, but a former Trump DOJ official says “the president’s taking it seriously.”

And also the threat of a nationally televised execution by firing squad!

There always have been goblins, in various forms. How do we learn to love what scares us, and still say “No; you may not do this harm”? Like the pharmacist, I do feel hate! How do I relate compassionately to myself?

Quoting the Buddha: “Hatred never resolves hatred. Only love resolves hatred…” How do we bring forth that love in today’s world, saying a clear no but without more hatred? Cultivation of this skill really is the heart of our work. Let’s remember our power for the two steps: to say NO to the goblins, and to say it without hatred.

Hal on Halloween, 2019 , a year after the stroke, in a nursing home