Have a Heart. No, Really. Do Have One.

Here are the hearts I embroidered and sent to the people who open the mail. We get everyone employed by helping everyone, not by chasing them away, creating an "us" and "them mentality.

February 10, 2017

Dear Person Who Opens the Mail for Senator Bennet,

The embroidered heart enclosed is for you. I had some time during the Super Bowl to make it. It might be a good rug for a dollhouse, or something.

Mmm-mmm-mm.

What are we going to do?

Crazy people in the White House.

Gonna bring back all those jobs that left.

My parents lived all their lives in Monte Vista, Colorado.

Down south, in the San Luis Valley.

Ever heard of it?

They had a Sears store. Good money in a small town.

Closed up in 1991. Wal-Mart killed it.

I even wrote about it for the paper.

Google “Sausages, Saddles, and Bees.”

It was in the Denver Post.

Internet would have killed the business if Wal-Mart hadn’t.

They opened a health food store after that.

Barely broke even.

They basically made no money after age 55.

Rural areas are a tough place to be.

Yeah, Trump and the Republicans,

Gonna bring back those jobs.

What—Dial back Wal Mart? The Internet? Those robots that do what people used to do?

You know they’re not going to come back.

Ok, here’s what I’d like to tell Mr Bennet:

Keep thinking about education.

That’s what helps.

Flexibility, too. If only we could teach that.

I’m behind you.

Let me know what I can do.

El 

Evil at the Center of the White House

Here is the picture I sen to my Congressmen. Like having a combination of Dick Cheney, Darth Vader and Satan in the White House. Why do we have to put up with him there?

Dear Person Who Opens the Mail,

Yes, he really said this.

Very cool for a comic book villain.

Not so cool when you’re talking about the United States of America.

When you’re talking about the National Security Council.

What the hell is up with letting this man in the White House?

-The question I have for your boss is: What is he going to do to protect us all from Steve Bannon?

There has to be something. As Leia said “You are my only hope.”

Most Sincereley,

El

Save a Heart -- Keep Insurance for All Americans

"Dear Mr. Congressman"  I sent hearts to staffers ans asked them to remind the Congressman that my dad's heart problems were not covered before ACA. They were pre-existing conditions.

January 24, 2017

Dear Person Who Opens the Mail,

Today, some hearts for you and your co-workers.

My father had a bad ticker.  He owned a small business, a Sears catalog store. It was kind of of like a franchise. He would get a percentage of the sales. Boy, you could buy anything from the Sears catalog. You could even order bees. The Post Office would call my dad in the morning to tell him a hive of bees had arrived for a customer.

Well, as I said, he had heart problems. And, insurance companies were glad to take his money. But they made sure to make it clear that they wouldn’t cover anything related to his heart. Pre-existing condition, you know. And the thing that would be most likely to kill him.

Dad was lucky, in some ways. He didn’t have his heart attack until he was old enough for Medicare. The bill would have bankrupted the whole family, otherwise.

So, here is my message to the Congressman: don’t repeal the ACA. Don’t get rid of the rule that says insurance companies have to cover pre-existing conditions. Otherwise, all but the jillionaire are one bad health scare away from losing everything

I hope you have a nice day. Talk to you later.

Warm regards,

El

The "Dear Mr. Congressman" Project

For my first "Dear Mr. Congressman" letter, I sent the person who opens the mail a lucky red envelope with 26 cents in it. 

Hi.

Welcome to the first issue of "Dear Mr. Congressman." All of my representatives in Congress are men, hence the name.

Like a lot of people, I think that our representatives are getting farther and farther away from the people. So, this year, I've decided to get in contact with them more.

I call.

I fax.

And, I write letters.

I'm away that many Congressmen ignore letters that are sent out. But, I'm hoping that I can make my letters interesting enough for the people who open the mail to pay attention to.

I send art.

I send humor.

I send food for thought.

And, I also ask them to talk to their boss for me.

Above, you'll see a picture of the first thing I sent to them.

And, here is the text of the first letter:

Dear Person Who Opens the Mail,

Do you like your job? I used to be the person who got all the mail at work, and I found it fun. A lot of mail was humdrum, but every now and then there was a surprise.

And I have a surprise for you, not for the Congressman. Enclosed you will find a red envelope that is used to present gifts for the Lunar New Year in China. It’s coming up on Jan 28. People typically include gifts of money.

I have a daughter, adopted from China, and I must say, it’s been fascinating to learn about Chinese history and customs.

Here in the US, we’ve added a different take at big Chinese New Year celebrations, and we give the children a chocolate coin in the envelope.

I considered sending you a chocolate coin, but let’s face it. Who would eat something from someone they don’t know?

It seemed ungenerous not to enclose something, so I’ve decided to enclose 26 cents. See, my daughter is in college now. She studying Spanish and Chinese and International Affairs. She wants to study abroad, maybe get a master’s degree and work in government.

I am concerned that it will take her a while to get one of those good jobs with health benefits. And now, it seems that Congress wants to repeal ACA and take with it the provision that children can stay on their parents’ health insurance until they are 26.

So, here is my message to the Congressman: don’t repeal the ACA. Could you pass that along for me? I’d be ever so grateful.

As to the 26 cents, I’d like to stress that it’s not a campaign contribution. Take the envelope to your child or grandchild. Or leave it on the sidewalk for someone to find.

I hope you have a nice day. Talk to you later.

Warm regards,

El