It Begins to Hit Home

Bongiorno! Io sono Tommaso, come si chiami? Come sta?

I’m learning Italian, in prep for a trip.

Guarda il bellissimo falco!

I saw a Red-tailed Hawk on my bike ride this morning. I could tell from afar, because I saw the banded tailfeathers.

Also saw a throuple of Red-bellied Woodpeckers, a species that loves to warn everyone that a big goon on a bike is coming.

Vistro tre picchi!

I don’t have much to talk about today, except that the mother and father of the Emanet family, owners of Jersey Kebab, a great little restaurant in our state, have been detained by ICE. They have been waiting 8 years for a judgment on their Green Card, have raised a family here, and a business that’s part of the community. Allegedly they were turned in by an anonymous Quisling. Their restaurant has a sign that says a meal is “Free to anyone with a disability, homeless, or simply cannot afford it.”

The father has been released but the mother remains detained. They have four children, including two teens, one who is autistic. There is a GoFundMe if you want to help.

The cruel policies of the Trump administration have consequences. It has been 5 weeks, inflation is rising again, the stock market is quavering, and thousands are out of work. The GOP budget (which cuts $2 trillion in spending to pretend to fund $4.5 trillion in tax cuts for the wealthy) has passed the Housem, and both Social Security and Medicaid—built with our money—are on the cutting board as they have been rebranded as “entitlements” by billionaires.

Also, National Parks had 1,000 jobs cut, and people have been told that their reservations were canceled. I know you’re shocked and tired, but call your Senators and Representatives today, especially if they are Republican. Every single one voted for that budget. They control all three branches of government. The buck stops with them and them only, no matter who they try to blame.

I took a long walk with my friend Suzanne on Sunday, where we vented our frustrations and watched a Red-tailed Hawk and a Turkey Vulture enjoy swooping around above us as they looked for snacks. Later, we saw a Pileated Woodpecker. They are one of my favorite birds, probably because they resemble pterodactyls. This one played peek-a-boo from behind a tree with us for a while. The ones I see are usually shy like this; I don’t blame them, when there’s a hawk around!

I was planning on taking my niece and nephew on road trips to National Parks this year, but to be safe, I will be choosing State Parks so we aren’t disappointed by the chaos sown by this administration’s reckless policies.

May the daily poems of

Neil Barker

help you focus on the remaining beauty of the world:

Pileated Woodpecker: "Pecking Today"