Letter to Grandkids #4: A Learning Time

Dear kids:

There are very few times in our lives that will literally change you as a human being. There are the usual anticipated events: graduation, spouse selection, new jobs, children, etc. But other events, unexpected and traumatic, come along with perhaps even more impact.

I think about three assassinations: John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, and Bobby Kennedy. The protests and riots in the late 1960s. Nixon resigns. The election of the first Black president. All these events had a profound and unforgettable effect on who I was and what I became. I not only thought deeply about each of these events, I wrote about them in my journal. The process of writing helped clarify my thoughts and became documents that I preserved.

We now have historic events that are equal in magnitude and significance. The pandemic, the protests, the riots, calls for justice and equality, and national leadership: all are under scrutiny. Like it or not, you are part of this potential change and transformation. This is a big deal.

You now have a wonderful opportunity to start your own journal which will capture your thoughts during a strange and unforgettable time in your young life. Please don’t let this rare time to pass by without expressing yourself in a thoughtful, even rambling way. Someday you will be thankful for doing this. (I, too, will be writing in my journal.)

In the meantime, don’t pass up the chance to read the news, listen to NPR (the least biased radio station), and observe what is happening. Talk to your friends about sensitive topics. Read books about the underlying causes behind these events. And think and write. (Writing is thinking!)

Sincerely, your grandfather.