I do not want to diminish the serious nature of PTSD but this past weekend I believe I suffered a mild case. I am not being funny. I would not be categorized a PTSD patient by any therapist. I am a 75 year old white woman and I have had some second chances...jobs, friendships, housing, and health. Nonetheless, this weekend I was totally suicidal - a combination of anger at living in a state where I can't get a vaccine because Ron DeSantis, a Trump lackey gave the supply to a grocery chain that sent money to Trump. My neighbors still fly Trump flags. I live alone - no kids, one friend in my pod. 11 months of dread. I feel hopeless. I am not helpless but this past weekend my anger overwhelmed me...the trial, the future, the lack of human connection. I just wanted to die. I am okay today but my heart goes out to all PTSD sufferers. They need a second chance. Please send this brilliant piece of writing to everyone you know.
I am so tired of being told we should move on and not require a reckoning of any sort from the people who think they should have second chances. The Lincoln Project in particular made me crazy. On twitter all these nice Dems were ready to just embrace the LP because they were spending the big money to make ads against Trump and when I reminded people of just who the LP was, how we have been paying the price for all they did for many years, I was told to move on, stop being childish, and asked, isn't it enough that Biden won (I am a Bernie voter who obviously voted for Biden in the end). And the hagiography of Reagan, an evil bastard who set in motion much of what is wrong with this country. We need a truth and reconciliation process of some kind but it will never happen in this land that glorifies reinvention and short memory. Just move on. Just move on. So it can happen again and again and we can all be surprised because we live inside of Groundhog Day, the movie.
Thank you for this article! I'm sorry you called it 'second chance' - that's not what the republican perpetrators of crimes are getting. What they are really getting is a total and complete freedom to commit the same crimes again, and while they plan and plot how to further disempower the citizens of the US - each of us taxpayers, send them a generous monthly check! The message seems to be: 'crime pays'! I am beyond angry, I am deeply hurt and feeling betrayed. I am a 'Bernie voter' - did vote for Biden, but I don't feel greatly reassured by Biden's actions and positions at the moment. If I hear one more 'lets reach out to republicans' - I'm gonna scream! I really think that Americans have been brainwashed from birth with this crap of being 'the greatest country in the world'... We need to publicize all the very horrible injustices, the staggering poverty that exists in the country, the hopelessness of the less educated and unemployed, etc. AND we must publicize how life is MUCH better in other countries that extend a better social-safety net to people. Most of all - we must join effective political groups, promote and participate in Labor Unions, and whatever else works (i.e. vote conscienciously, participate in street demonstrations) to change this system! I say that while feeling - ever more dystopic about the future.
As Charles Blow recently said, we’re talking about the problems more than the solutions, not that the latter are easy or short term. We need solutions to all you’ve written about, and might benefit from a Cabinet level Officer of Betterment that welcomes fresh, thought-through ideas and, sometimes puts them to the public for rank-ordered voting — a radical by, for, and of the people concept as opposed to our by, for, and of the rich, white, power-centric men.
"So one of the problems with this kind of second chance that so dominates our public life is that it isn’t really a second chance, because people don’t atone, don’t seek mercy, don’t show they’ve changed. They just clean their stink, which is different." Agreed. I have no words for how infuriatingly disgusting this trend has become. We're inside a GIANT hamster wheel of excuses: "It was generally legal. Way too costly to pursue (a legal cause of action). It's not illegal to hire a firm for a PR cleanse. S/he has the money, it's a waste of resources to shine the spotlight." What's worse? Second-chancers often end-up glorified for having pulled-it-off. Rhetorically: "How is it so few see through this? Where are the ancients, Stoics (or, ____ your pick) when we need them?" Happened to watch the documentary "the social dilemma" on Netflix. Well worth the time. Will end my rant with this thought by Adam Grant, Ph.D.(Wharton School of Business): “Listen to ideas that make you think hard — not just opinions that make you feel good." So grateful for The.Ink - Anand crushes this part :)
I find the anger I sense in your column to be cathartic. I was hoping I'd be less angry now that we have President Biden. Then I read about Lindsey Graham talking about impeaching Kamala Harris. That man facing accountability would definitely be cathartic.
When there is no downside to the sins that affect a nation, especially if you are a malignant narcissist like Trump, why would he modify his behavior? Anand's latest book, Winners Take All, is filled with examples of people who make decisions that clearly further their own self interest and diminish the general welfare of our citizens, but without a countervailing force to make them change, it simply won't happen. Trump's cult members will never confront the truth that Trump's Big Lie that voter fraud is a fraud, because that's what cult members do. They will only believe it if Trump tells them to believe it, and he will only do that if he is somehow compelled to do it. I believe that the only way that would happen is if he is given the choice of going to jail or telling them that he lost the 2020 election fair and square. He needs to be investigated, tried for his crime(s) and convicted. Then he must convince his cult followers that he's used them like all the other marks he's bamboozled over the years. Otherwise the Big Lie will continue to fester in our democracy and America will further devolve into some form of fascistic state.
For the right, Trump's base, Republicans in general, it is clearly a way of bouncing back from (what is in their view) a minor setback. For the spite-driven among them (~93%), getting away with it is the very point of it. But I also think that a big component in this (as in all sociopolitical phenomena) is cultural. In a very banal sense, so much of what operates politically in this country acts on a level of the pervasive bases of celebrity and commodity culture, and as well it reflects a society that values "success" above ethics, image over substantive fact (and truth). The entire Trump phenomenon could not have occurred outside of the context of a culture that is based on the values that it currently holds. (A whole subject of discussion in itself). Yes, there is the phenomenon and pattern that is outlined so well in "Winners Take All", the solving of problems by those who made them, and the bubbles of acquaintanceship within those worlds. But that in itself dovetails with the aspect of branding. Name recognition is huge in the land of marketing ontology - driving viewership clicks across platforms, and politically, operating on the level of political understanding of TweetWorld, cable and internet media. Granted, Cornel West might get decent ratings on those fancy talk shows, but I wonder how those numbers compare with American Idol or Dancing With the Stars. (Personally, I'm just hoping that Sean Spicer doesn't get another chance.)
I totally agree with your premise that "second chances" have unintended consequences. As a nation, we still suffer from a second chance that changed the course of our his: The second chance afforded the Confederacy after the Federal Laws of Reconstruction were eliminated. The Neo-Confederates are alive and well and a making a second-ditch effort to take power. Germany during the 1930s is the cautionary tale: The (rigid orthodoxy) of the Communists would not allow them to join with the Social Democrats to defeat the (minority party) Weimar Republic Nazi insurgency.
All of our individual choices interact to create the world we all have to share. This is why we must strive to respond to second chances in the most healthy way possible so that we all progress towards a better version of our world. Sociopaths try to take advantage of our weak responses for their selfish gain, they are very adept at finding those weaknesses, and they aggress those weaknesses over and over again for selfish gain. They take no note of their injurious behaviors. They do not learn: they do not change. So it's up to us seekers to use our mental agility to unpack this high level concept of second chances for better results. BTW, there are more seekers than sociopaths so the odds are in our favor. We seekers share this journey which spreads the light that sanitizes the scum in the dark corners of our world.
It is not in anyone's interest to allow users to keep using. When they get away with using and get to do it again rewards the behavior, and what is rewarded is repeated. We must gain strength in understanding to replace our weakness that they so easily exploit. Formulating a strong strategy to use on our respective watches for these second chances is key. We need to reward true learning while extinguishing the using. Here's the tricky bit: multiple tries are how humans do learn, and Dear God we want people everywhere to learn better ways! Mistakes are for learning, so it is important to attempt to distinguish actual learning from using patterns in the offenders.
1. Some choices are so injurious that second chances cannot be allowed. Pedophile priests comes to mind. They should go to jail for their crimes against children. Upon release, they are invited to find another line of work that is safely away from children because a learning curve on their part is too dangerous to allow. I think politicians that behave like criminals (condone murder, lie ferociously, abet break-ins, and are comfortable with violence) should never be in leadership roles ever again. No corporation would employ that type of person and nor should We the People.
2. Did the offender initiate stating their mistake clearly, illustrate their understanding of how it was injurious, and did they explain how they are making sure they are not going to make that mistake again?
3. Did the offender show interest in my reaction to their choices? Narcissists and sociopaths will never do this. They may feign interest for a few seconds, but they cannot stand to listen to how you think what they did was wrong. So true learners will show some interest in the legacy of their mistake and are able to hear constructive criticism.
3. With learning, there is a progression. So if the user comes at us wanting more without practically demonstrating a bit of new facility, this is not learning. If they make a mistake, then subsequently perform some better than the past mistake, that is learning.
4. The offender does not get to be a leader right after making a considerable mistake. A person wanting to learn and overcome in the area of their mistake will welcome and appreciate guidance and oversight while they learn. Users are the ones that want to run things and maintain leadership control despite demonstrating their unwillingness or inability already.
It is difficult to arrive at accurate determinations of other people's intent, but time will tell. With authors and gurus, taking a beat before supporting their self-promoted 'rebirth' is wise.
We have to talk with each other and act in unison to make positive choices to uplift those that have put in the work to learn.
Why are you giving a pass--a "second chance"--to all the Democrats who helped pave the way for Trump? What about Obama's "second chance" after bailing out the "too big to fail" banks and then failing to bail out the millions of Americans ruined in the process? Trump was Obama's legacy. He was the legacy of decades of massive corruption and failures of the Democratic Party. Obama was the nice, courteous, articulate face of the murderous U.S. Empire. Trump in many regards was more honest. He showed us the ugly reality of who we are.
And now we get a "second chance" in Syria. Biden is building a new military base there. Way to go Democrats! More ugly (and illegal) wars, more ugly sanctions, killing more innocent people.
What happened to you after your excellent reportage from Bombay?
As I read the article I saw the truth in it. I felt overwhelmed at the same time.
The injustices angered me. The manipulations & dishonesty enraged me. Some of the biggest lessons of our day is the importance of Truth, Democracy & Justice . They are all interdependent on one another. They will not stand alone. Yet the power of money & privilege repeatedly attack one or all three. Within Truth, Democracy & Justice the power of money meet their greatest adversaries. It is why the repeated attacks are seen there.As I cut through all the layers of injustices & manipulations, I find that we each must raise our most powerful protective shields of Truth, Democracy & Justice to effectively battle the challenges of our day. When we use that power in unity we then may finally find we have given ourselves our first chances. Our first chance must come from within ourselves. We can’t passively wait for it to come from a system that doesn’t believe in Truth, Democracy or Justice. When & if we recognize that power, we can change an unjust system to a just one. When we unite together with respect love & care in our Democracy it has the power to defeat the enemies. When we commit to hold on to & promote the Truth we build a first chance for each & everyone of us- it will disempower our enemies.
It was that way in corporate America. Top managers anointed for their pedigree and chutzpah, got second, third and more chances even when they ran a project into the ground, by making stupid mistakes after promising fantastical results.
D'ohhh. I was a little slow. I noticed the Guardian article this morning regarding Bill Gates and his unique position to advise the world on climate change. The title seemed to uncannily anticipate something along the lines of "Winners Take All" ("I Can't Deny Being a Rich Guy With an Opinion". (A different problem, I realize. Is that kind of like the arsonist giving you a loan to buy a car after yours got stolen?) At any rate, I just noticed Anand's tweet regarding an interview. If he gets it, I'm hoping that Mr. Gates might clarify something I (mis?) read in his Gates Notes Insider last year. He explained that he had for a while tried being a vegetarian, but realized that he was in a privileged position in that he could afford to be one. The direct quote, "I realized it was a luxury for me to spurn meat". I couldn't quite follow the reasoning. (Lentils cost more than beef? He felt guilty because he could be a vegetarian and others couldn't? The cognitive strain got to be too much, I finally gave up.) The article: https://www.gatesnotes.com/Books/Should-We-Eat-Meat.
No surprise that this is the most comprehensive dot-connecting assessment of the significance of where we now stand that i've read thus far. Masterful interweaving across domains of injustices and administrations and more ...
The only thing i would perhaps challenge is that i don't think they even "clean their stink" ... At least our latest Infinite-Chances- aka Misanthrope- aka Toxin-in-Chief certainly hasn't been required to and never does voluntarily … He has koolaided a herd to keep giving him impunity, stink and all ... You'd think they actually relished his Murder on Fifth Avenue self-aggrandizement ... and I suppose his oft-summoned "second amendment folks" did indeed ...
I share your despair-hopefulness see-saw ...
Looking forward to my first chance to partake in your zoom version tomorrow ...
I do not want to diminish the serious nature of PTSD but this past weekend I believe I suffered a mild case. I am not being funny. I would not be categorized a PTSD patient by any therapist. I am a 75 year old white woman and I have had some second chances...jobs, friendships, housing, and health. Nonetheless, this weekend I was totally suicidal - a combination of anger at living in a state where I can't get a vaccine because Ron DeSantis, a Trump lackey gave the supply to a grocery chain that sent money to Trump. My neighbors still fly Trump flags. I live alone - no kids, one friend in my pod. 11 months of dread. I feel hopeless. I am not helpless but this past weekend my anger overwhelmed me...the trial, the future, the lack of human connection. I just wanted to die. I am okay today but my heart goes out to all PTSD sufferers. They need a second chance. Please send this brilliant piece of writing to everyone you know.
I am so tired of being told we should move on and not require a reckoning of any sort from the people who think they should have second chances. The Lincoln Project in particular made me crazy. On twitter all these nice Dems were ready to just embrace the LP because they were spending the big money to make ads against Trump and when I reminded people of just who the LP was, how we have been paying the price for all they did for many years, I was told to move on, stop being childish, and asked, isn't it enough that Biden won (I am a Bernie voter who obviously voted for Biden in the end). And the hagiography of Reagan, an evil bastard who set in motion much of what is wrong with this country. We need a truth and reconciliation process of some kind but it will never happen in this land that glorifies reinvention and short memory. Just move on. Just move on. So it can happen again and again and we can all be surprised because we live inside of Groundhog Day, the movie.
Thank you for this article! I'm sorry you called it 'second chance' - that's not what the republican perpetrators of crimes are getting. What they are really getting is a total and complete freedom to commit the same crimes again, and while they plan and plot how to further disempower the citizens of the US - each of us taxpayers, send them a generous monthly check! The message seems to be: 'crime pays'! I am beyond angry, I am deeply hurt and feeling betrayed. I am a 'Bernie voter' - did vote for Biden, but I don't feel greatly reassured by Biden's actions and positions at the moment. If I hear one more 'lets reach out to republicans' - I'm gonna scream! I really think that Americans have been brainwashed from birth with this crap of being 'the greatest country in the world'... We need to publicize all the very horrible injustices, the staggering poverty that exists in the country, the hopelessness of the less educated and unemployed, etc. AND we must publicize how life is MUCH better in other countries that extend a better social-safety net to people. Most of all - we must join effective political groups, promote and participate in Labor Unions, and whatever else works (i.e. vote conscienciously, participate in street demonstrations) to change this system! I say that while feeling - ever more dystopic about the future.
What we need is some critical mass of public accountability. Too many people believe the lies that keep them oppressed.
As Charles Blow recently said, we’re talking about the problems more than the solutions, not that the latter are easy or short term. We need solutions to all you’ve written about, and might benefit from a Cabinet level Officer of Betterment that welcomes fresh, thought-through ideas and, sometimes puts them to the public for rank-ordered voting — a radical by, for, and of the people concept as opposed to our by, for, and of the rich, white, power-centric men.
"So one of the problems with this kind of second chance that so dominates our public life is that it isn’t really a second chance, because people don’t atone, don’t seek mercy, don’t show they’ve changed. They just clean their stink, which is different." Agreed. I have no words for how infuriatingly disgusting this trend has become. We're inside a GIANT hamster wheel of excuses: "It was generally legal. Way too costly to pursue (a legal cause of action). It's not illegal to hire a firm for a PR cleanse. S/he has the money, it's a waste of resources to shine the spotlight." What's worse? Second-chancers often end-up glorified for having pulled-it-off. Rhetorically: "How is it so few see through this? Where are the ancients, Stoics (or, ____ your pick) when we need them?" Happened to watch the documentary "the social dilemma" on Netflix. Well worth the time. Will end my rant with this thought by Adam Grant, Ph.D.(Wharton School of Business): “Listen to ideas that make you think hard — not just opinions that make you feel good." So grateful for The.Ink - Anand crushes this part :)
I find the anger I sense in your column to be cathartic. I was hoping I'd be less angry now that we have President Biden. Then I read about Lindsey Graham talking about impeaching Kamala Harris. That man facing accountability would definitely be cathartic.
When there is no downside to the sins that affect a nation, especially if you are a malignant narcissist like Trump, why would he modify his behavior? Anand's latest book, Winners Take All, is filled with examples of people who make decisions that clearly further their own self interest and diminish the general welfare of our citizens, but without a countervailing force to make them change, it simply won't happen. Trump's cult members will never confront the truth that Trump's Big Lie that voter fraud is a fraud, because that's what cult members do. They will only believe it if Trump tells them to believe it, and he will only do that if he is somehow compelled to do it. I believe that the only way that would happen is if he is given the choice of going to jail or telling them that he lost the 2020 election fair and square. He needs to be investigated, tried for his crime(s) and convicted. Then he must convince his cult followers that he's used them like all the other marks he's bamboozled over the years. Otherwise the Big Lie will continue to fester in our democracy and America will further devolve into some form of fascistic state.
For the right, Trump's base, Republicans in general, it is clearly a way of bouncing back from (what is in their view) a minor setback. For the spite-driven among them (~93%), getting away with it is the very point of it. But I also think that a big component in this (as in all sociopolitical phenomena) is cultural. In a very banal sense, so much of what operates politically in this country acts on a level of the pervasive bases of celebrity and commodity culture, and as well it reflects a society that values "success" above ethics, image over substantive fact (and truth). The entire Trump phenomenon could not have occurred outside of the context of a culture that is based on the values that it currently holds. (A whole subject of discussion in itself). Yes, there is the phenomenon and pattern that is outlined so well in "Winners Take All", the solving of problems by those who made them, and the bubbles of acquaintanceship within those worlds. But that in itself dovetails with the aspect of branding. Name recognition is huge in the land of marketing ontology - driving viewership clicks across platforms, and politically, operating on the level of political understanding of TweetWorld, cable and internet media. Granted, Cornel West might get decent ratings on those fancy talk shows, but I wonder how those numbers compare with American Idol or Dancing With the Stars. (Personally, I'm just hoping that Sean Spicer doesn't get another chance.)
I totally agree with your premise that "second chances" have unintended consequences. As a nation, we still suffer from a second chance that changed the course of our his: The second chance afforded the Confederacy after the Federal Laws of Reconstruction were eliminated. The Neo-Confederates are alive and well and a making a second-ditch effort to take power. Germany during the 1930s is the cautionary tale: The (rigid orthodoxy) of the Communists would not allow them to join with the Social Democrats to defeat the (minority party) Weimar Republic Nazi insurgency.
Take note and be forewarned.
All of our individual choices interact to create the world we all have to share. This is why we must strive to respond to second chances in the most healthy way possible so that we all progress towards a better version of our world. Sociopaths try to take advantage of our weak responses for their selfish gain, they are very adept at finding those weaknesses, and they aggress those weaknesses over and over again for selfish gain. They take no note of their injurious behaviors. They do not learn: they do not change. So it's up to us seekers to use our mental agility to unpack this high level concept of second chances for better results. BTW, there are more seekers than sociopaths so the odds are in our favor. We seekers share this journey which spreads the light that sanitizes the scum in the dark corners of our world.
It is not in anyone's interest to allow users to keep using. When they get away with using and get to do it again rewards the behavior, and what is rewarded is repeated. We must gain strength in understanding to replace our weakness that they so easily exploit. Formulating a strong strategy to use on our respective watches for these second chances is key. We need to reward true learning while extinguishing the using. Here's the tricky bit: multiple tries are how humans do learn, and Dear God we want people everywhere to learn better ways! Mistakes are for learning, so it is important to attempt to distinguish actual learning from using patterns in the offenders.
1. Some choices are so injurious that second chances cannot be allowed. Pedophile priests comes to mind. They should go to jail for their crimes against children. Upon release, they are invited to find another line of work that is safely away from children because a learning curve on their part is too dangerous to allow. I think politicians that behave like criminals (condone murder, lie ferociously, abet break-ins, and are comfortable with violence) should never be in leadership roles ever again. No corporation would employ that type of person and nor should We the People.
2. Did the offender initiate stating their mistake clearly, illustrate their understanding of how it was injurious, and did they explain how they are making sure they are not going to make that mistake again?
3. Did the offender show interest in my reaction to their choices? Narcissists and sociopaths will never do this. They may feign interest for a few seconds, but they cannot stand to listen to how you think what they did was wrong. So true learners will show some interest in the legacy of their mistake and are able to hear constructive criticism.
3. With learning, there is a progression. So if the user comes at us wanting more without practically demonstrating a bit of new facility, this is not learning. If they make a mistake, then subsequently perform some better than the past mistake, that is learning.
4. The offender does not get to be a leader right after making a considerable mistake. A person wanting to learn and overcome in the area of their mistake will welcome and appreciate guidance and oversight while they learn. Users are the ones that want to run things and maintain leadership control despite demonstrating their unwillingness or inability already.
It is difficult to arrive at accurate determinations of other people's intent, but time will tell. With authors and gurus, taking a beat before supporting their self-promoted 'rebirth' is wise.
We have to talk with each other and act in unison to make positive choices to uplift those that have put in the work to learn.
Why are you giving a pass--a "second chance"--to all the Democrats who helped pave the way for Trump? What about Obama's "second chance" after bailing out the "too big to fail" banks and then failing to bail out the millions of Americans ruined in the process? Trump was Obama's legacy. He was the legacy of decades of massive corruption and failures of the Democratic Party. Obama was the nice, courteous, articulate face of the murderous U.S. Empire. Trump in many regards was more honest. He showed us the ugly reality of who we are.
And now we get a "second chance" in Syria. Biden is building a new military base there. Way to go Democrats! More ugly (and illegal) wars, more ugly sanctions, killing more innocent people.
What happened to you after your excellent reportage from Bombay?
As I read the article I saw the truth in it. I felt overwhelmed at the same time.
The injustices angered me. The manipulations & dishonesty enraged me. Some of the biggest lessons of our day is the importance of Truth, Democracy & Justice . They are all interdependent on one another. They will not stand alone. Yet the power of money & privilege repeatedly attack one or all three. Within Truth, Democracy & Justice the power of money meet their greatest adversaries. It is why the repeated attacks are seen there.As I cut through all the layers of injustices & manipulations, I find that we each must raise our most powerful protective shields of Truth, Democracy & Justice to effectively battle the challenges of our day. When we use that power in unity we then may finally find we have given ourselves our first chances. Our first chance must come from within ourselves. We can’t passively wait for it to come from a system that doesn’t believe in Truth, Democracy or Justice. When & if we recognize that power, we can change an unjust system to a just one. When we unite together with respect love & care in our Democracy it has the power to defeat the enemies. When we commit to hold on to & promote the Truth we build a first chance for each & everyone of us- it will disempower our enemies.
It was that way in corporate America. Top managers anointed for their pedigree and chutzpah, got second, third and more chances even when they ran a project into the ground, by making stupid mistakes after promising fantastical results.
D'ohhh. I was a little slow. I noticed the Guardian article this morning regarding Bill Gates and his unique position to advise the world on climate change. The title seemed to uncannily anticipate something along the lines of "Winners Take All" ("I Can't Deny Being a Rich Guy With an Opinion". (A different problem, I realize. Is that kind of like the arsonist giving you a loan to buy a car after yours got stolen?) At any rate, I just noticed Anand's tweet regarding an interview. If he gets it, I'm hoping that Mr. Gates might clarify something I (mis?) read in his Gates Notes Insider last year. He explained that he had for a while tried being a vegetarian, but realized that he was in a privileged position in that he could afford to be one. The direct quote, "I realized it was a luxury for me to spurn meat". I couldn't quite follow the reasoning. (Lentils cost more than beef? He felt guilty because he could be a vegetarian and others couldn't? The cognitive strain got to be too much, I finally gave up.) The article: https://www.gatesnotes.com/Books/Should-We-Eat-Meat.
His new realization about the issue probably doesn't have anything to do with this: https://www.bllnr.com/philanthropy/why-bill-gates-is-now-america-s-biggest-farmland-owner
Thank you.
Anand,
No surprise that this is the most comprehensive dot-connecting assessment of the significance of where we now stand that i've read thus far. Masterful interweaving across domains of injustices and administrations and more ...
The only thing i would perhaps challenge is that i don't think they even "clean their stink" ... At least our latest Infinite-Chances- aka Misanthrope- aka Toxin-in-Chief certainly hasn't been required to and never does voluntarily … He has koolaided a herd to keep giving him impunity, stink and all ... You'd think they actually relished his Murder on Fifth Avenue self-aggrandizement ... and I suppose his oft-summoned "second amendment folks" did indeed ...
I share your despair-hopefulness see-saw ...
Looking forward to my first chance to partake in your zoom version tomorrow ...
Carolyn