Dear Jews,
What a messy, complicated, glorious, tough, lovely thing it is to be Jewish. Family dinners, orthodontia, summer camps, a shared sense of history, destiny, and endurance amidst impossible odds. So much of it’s just swell. Then there’s the other stuff: exile, persecution, pogroms, genocide, the many horrors that are as much a part of our narrative as parting waters, burning bushes, and coats of many colors.
My dearest, sweetest Sarah,
As I write this, you're wandering around the apartment in a half-awake stupor, sipping your green tea, watching the Graham Norton show, or whatever DIY YouTube channel has struck your fancy this morning. We're doing good - more importantly, you're doing good. These first three months of marriage have been, in a word, real. I love you more than ever. And it's so good to see you up and about and smiling.
Dear Darlings All,
The night of the election, I watched the results roll in from one state after another, turning a red that seemed bloodthirstier with each passing result.
I said aloud, “The course of my life changes tonight.”
Dear Queerblings,
Like many of you, I was in shock the morning after the election. How could this be happening? I entered the day and stepped into a rearranged landscape with so much trepidation and yes, fear. This is a landscape that I had prevented myself from imagining. But here we are. In a new reality. And I am thinking of you, the younger generation, who has so much to do now and such a heavy lift ahead of you.
To the fearful and disheartened majority,
Hi. My name is Zack Weinstein. Thirty-one years old. Straight white cisgender male. Married. Actor. Mostly TV. (Ugh, so LA.) Also: Quadriplegic. Power wheelchair. Spinal cord injury. When I was nineteen. Trust me, it really doesn't matter how it happened.
And a quick piece of advice: Don't ask strangers in wheelchairs what happened to them. That might seem pretty obvious but you would be surprised. Develop a sincere connection with someone first. Then you can ask.
