In the crazy house of mirrors that we find ourselves in these days I fell into a fantasy that I was a small-town newspaper editor who received this letter in his inbox. It was printed carefully on paper with a ballpoint pen.
I wondered what I might write back to her. At least I thought that I should publish it, which is what I’m doing now. If you want to share with me how you would answer her, that will get published too. Keep dreaming.
Dear Ms. Constitution,
My dad says you are very old and live in Washington. Are you really as old as he says? How did you get to be so old? You must have a lot of helpers around the house. My teacher at school says that you are very beautiful even if you are old. Can you send me a picture so I can put it on my door?
My mom was very sad yesterday. She said that you are not feeling well and some bad people have been making your life very unhappy. Is that true? She said you were losing your checks and balances and might fall down. I am pretty strong for a nine-year-old. I would be very happy to come to your house and help you. Maybe I could wash your windows so you could see outside better, even in the fog and rain.
And my mom says the messes around your house are really big and that people have been leaving all their trash there instead of taking care of it themselves like I do. She says there is a bad man who says nasty things about you living in your house right now. You should kick him out! That is what she says. And my mom said you probably need a mending or something like that. I can’t sew good yet, but maybe you could teach me if I came over.
This is the longest letter I ever wrote. My teacher helped me spell it right. I know you must be very busy trying to fix your house up, so you don’t have to write back unless you want me to come visit you. I hope you get rid of that bad man so I can see how beautiful you are.
Your friend,
Helen
Dear Helen,
I am very old, but I am not weak. In addition I am very wise since I have survived many, many battles over the years. The hardest thing to do now is to be patient. Bad people sooner or later will trip themselves up and show how silly they are. Good people will win over time. This may not be hopeful for you right now, but this is what I have learned over my old years. Be patient but keep your eyes open too.
Tim
Dear Helen, there are many people around the world who feel just like your Mom! Fortunately they also have wonderful children who are wanting to help and make a difference to the world in which we all live. So if you can make your house more beautiful, get rid of the trash, prune some dead wood and plant some new trees, that would be wonderful. It would help all of us who feel like you and your Mom to do the same where we live. Yours friend John