Warm Hearts On Hot News Day
A girl walks into a diner
This morning around 11am, my daughter texted the following image:
Though there was no message, I thought I gleaned what was going on.
“What’s the feeling there? Pleased?” I texted back. “Oklahoma has about the strictest abortion laws in the country.”
My phone rang within the minute and Tafv (rhymes with “lava”), I learned, had sent the photo for another reason entirely.
“I had to drive to Shawnee and there’s no place to eat but this one diner,” she said. When she went in, it was full of older people, FOX News was on and there was a photo of Trump on the wall.
“I sat down and everyone was really nice,” she said. As for any huzzahing when the news of the leaked Supreme Court memo came on TV, there was none. People were chatty, friendly, including with Tafv. “Everyone knew each other and they were all super-nice,” she said.
Everyone, she thought, but one guy, giving her what she thought was a funny or maybe scowly look. “It’s Oklahoma and I’m Native American and I thought, maybe that was it?”
In any case, stopping in for breakfast turned out to be an unexpected delight; out of her usual lane and yet very comfortable and even comforting. Then she went to pay.
“And they tell me, ‘No, it’s taken care of. Mike got it.’”
Tafv turned, and Mike - scowly guy - was looking at her. “We are happy to have you here,” he told her, she said, and that he meant it.
“Mom it was such a nice place,” she said.
I told her, I am always proud of her, that I always love her, and also that I love how she understands how you don’t slot people into “good” or “bad,” and how even and especially on a hot news day, she appreciates that it's just a difference of opinion and that these were good people.
"And the food was really good too," she said. "Really fresh. Better than most of the diners I go to."
I expect - nay - I know the abortion issue is one Sarah Hepola and I will talk about on the next episode of Smoke ‘Em If You Got ‘Em podcast, which we officially launched last week on Substack. Please hit subscribe! (It’s a lot of Substack subscribing, I know; you do you!)
And speaking of Johnny Depp-Amber Heard (which Hepola and I did on the last three episodes), I could gloat about calling out that Heard did not write the 2018 Washington Post Opinion piece on domestic violence that is the subject of the current defamation suit…
… but I won’t. I will ask whether WaPo Opinion feels any compunction to come out now and say, “We didn’t realize the piece was written by anyone other than Ms. Heard” or “We realize it was more of a message looking for a messenger but that’s sometimes how it goes” or “famous bylines often don’t write their own pieces” or “The questioning of our ethics on this important issue makes us question your commitment to ending domestic violence” or “da fuck?” or “Sorry!” Betting a nickel none of these happen. Betting, too, we will continue to get “the sky is falling!” columns from a certain WaPo columnist, whom you can hear Matt Welch and me slag a little during last week’s podcast on various media blah-blah, which we will be doing every Tuesday around 12:15pm EST on the Paloma Media YouTube. Question: Do we call it, See You Next Tuesday? Send me your suggestions and we will consider!
Speaking of Matt, his cover story, “After the War,” in the June issue of Reason is worth your time, with so many beautiful turns of phrase I was like, dammit… (in a good way!).
Other worthwhile media this week:
Andrew Sullivan and Bari Weiss dig into various trans issues, with big hearts and open eyes
Michael Moynihan takes you into the world of TikTok houses. (Full video here)
The article “New Heights,” about limb-lengthening surgery, freaked me out a little. Thoughts?
If you’re following the abortion debate, here are several pieces/people you might want to catch up with:
David French, “The Supreme Court Abortion Leak—Your Questions, Answered,” with a link to a Dispatch Live happening tonight
Bari Weiss, “The Shocking Supreme Court Leak - And Our Race to the Bottom”
Caitlin Flanagan, thrice:
“The Dishonesty of the Abortion Debate” (Atlantic)
“The Brilliance of ‘Safe, Legal and Rare.’” (Atlantic)
“Why You’re Wrong - and Right - About Abortion” (Honestly podcast)
“Where Every State Stands if Roe v. Wade is Overturned” (WSJ)
Anyone who reads Paloma Media knows that each day we hit you with a Beauty Mark, a little interesting something-something. Here’s tomorrow’s:
Last, I will leave you with something sweet that the above mentioned daughter sent xx
The story of your daughter’s diner experience made me smile. Thanks, I needed that.