2026 Life Logs, Day 74: The Ides of March
Date: Sunday, March 15, 2026
Weather: Partly Cloudy; High Temp 42, Low 37 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA

Today was the Ides of March, the date in 44 B.C. when Julius Caesar was assassinated in Rome. Fast forward more than 1600 years, when Shakespeare made this a day to “beware” as it marked the violent end of a dictator and a turning point in Roman and world history. Evidently, we were not “beware” enough, as we now have another great nation falling into the hands of a dictator. A violent end I am not wishing for, but a nonviolent turnaround, yes.

On this Ides of March, all I could think about was not a turning point, but a tipping point. Can we stop the madness happening in this country, nonviolently, soon enough to avoid another turning point in history? So, my day was spent getting ready for tomorrow’s Indivisible Falmouth de-escalation workshop. In 2026, we know from the extensive research done on the topic of civil resistance, that the fastest and surest way to turn a country from an autocratic break through back to a full democracy is through nonviolent resistance. The research shows that violence is actually slower and most often does not work. But the nonviolent approach doesn’t happen by accident. It takes the fierce determination and training and practice of a huge mass of the population. That is what Indivisible is doing nationwide by forming groups in every little town and every big city in every state across this country and offering trainings online and in person to thousands of people everywhere, all at once. I hope you are one of those determined people and that on March 28, the day of the third nationwide NO KINGS protest, you will be out there nonviolently making your voice heard. No Kings in 1776! No Kings in 2026!

2026 Life Logs, Day 73: State Jazz Band Competition
Date: Saturday, March 14, 2026
Weather: Mostly Sunny and Gale Warning Windy; High Temp 49, Low 29 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA

It was a chilly, windy day, but as always, rain, shine, snow, or wind, we are always on the Village Green at noon on Saturdays to rally for democracy. I meet the most amazing people on the Green. Today it was couple who live just around the corner from me. Their daughter lives in Madagascar and we had a great conversation while holding our signs for democracy.

After the rally, I headed to Heather and Jed’s to ride with them to Norwood for the state jazz band competition. Falmouth High School won Gold in the regional competition. Today they gave an award winning performance. They didn’t win the top prize, but are already gearing up for next year’s competition. They won Silver today, which in itself was amazing. Falmouth High School hasn’t been in the state finals for 20 years. Mr. Borning, who is the current band director for the 5th and 6th graders, was in the high school jazz band back then. Mr. Hellwig became the high school band director last year. He took an already good jazz band and upped the level to get them back in state competition. I love watching them play because all of the kids really seem to enjoy what they are doing. They play like they are in a professional jazz band, not like high school students. Congratulations to Jonah and all of the members of the FHS jazz band!

2026 Life Logs, Day 72: Whoville
Date: Friday, March 13, 2026
Weather: Mostly Sunny; High Temp 40, Low 35 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA

I have to keep reminding myself that it is still winter and that it is normal to be chilly outside. But we have had a few warm days, and one gets spoiled. But when you live on a peninsula in the North Atlantic Ocean (that technically became an island due to the human construction of the Cape Cod Canal) and are surrounded by cold ocean water at this time of year, the coming of warm spring weather is slow. The water temperature is going to rise much more slowly than the land temperature, so we still have a lot of cool weather in store while those living just a few miles inland are going to be much warmer. Today it felt 10 degrees colder than the thermometer said. And we are going to have a lot of days like this due to the wind and moisture blowing in from over the water. But, have heart, spring is on the way.

I was feeling a bit overwhelmed today with the many time sensitive things I have to get don when I took a break to peruse our local newspaper that arrives on Friday mornings. I picked it up from the driveway when I returned from taking Shadow to his every seven weeks’ grooming appointment at Pampered Paws. The thing that caught my eye was a letter to the editor from my friend Jerry Lanson. Jerry is a Professor Emeritus, Emerson College, a lifelong journalist, a writing consultant for graduate students at the Harvard Kennedy School, and a good friend. His letter was a plea for every one of us to show up on March 28th at a No Kings protest. He makes an analogy to the people of Whoville in Dr. Suess’ children’s book, “Horton Hears a Who.” It reminded me of why I am so immersed in Falmouth Indivisible and the Falmouth Immigrant Rights Coalition right now. The work can be exhausting, but it is where I will spend all of my energy until our collective voices are heard. Reading his letter gave me the energy to continue. I hope you will read Jerry’s letter that follows, and I sincerely hope you will find a No Kings protest somewhere nearby wherever you live where you can go and have your voice heard on March 28. In Falmouth, that place is the Village Green at noon.

MARCH 28 MATTERS: PLEASE SHOW UP
To Make a Dent, Huge Numbers Need to Turn Out for the No Kings 3 Protests
JERRY LANSON MAR 13, 2026

My cousin — I’ll call him Charlie — is one smart guy. He graduated from Harvard University, started and runs his own business analyzing big data to help medical providers, and plays a mean piano. He’s certainly no Trumpie. But I think he — and his mother and aunt — have lost their way when it comes to confronting the reality of contemporary politics.

They consider protesting a waste of time and believe the next election likely will start to resolve the problems that ail this country. They seem, despite mounting, daily evidence, to be oblivious to what I see as a clear and present threat to that very election and to our democracy itself.

We had a spirited conversation last weekend at a birthday party for Charlie’s younger daughter. I was urging them all to participate March 28 in the third No Kings protests, which will likely be held in a few thousand locations across all 50 states. Unfortunately, I don’t think I made a lot of headway.

Let me try again with you (I’ll forward the column to them, too).

These are dangerous times. Full stop. Period. In my view, they are the worst in my 76 years, which span the fight for Civil Rights, efforts to end the Vietnam War, and Watergate.

A friend in Arizona wrote to me yesterday in horror to tell me that “30 to 50 ICE agents,” armed with assault rifles, had surrounded a car just blocks from her house in broad daylight to arrest someone. This was on the same day that ICE and police in South Burlington, Vt., engaged in a full-day standoff with protesters before arresting three adults in a house there. And it came two days after a federal judge ordered the release of a 14-year-old girl he said was detained under “questionable circumstances” in Marlborough, Mass., and quickly deported out of state.

Minneapolis is not over. It has spread nationally.

These times also are the worst in my lifetime because the unending and mounting violations of law and due process are actively sanctioned and encouraged by the president of the United States, the yes men and women around him, and nearly all in his governing party

The No Kings rallies will take place as massive, armed conflict spreads violently across the globe; as Donald Trump’s government moves aggressively to buy land to build gargantuan detention centers to incarcerate immigrants; as his oligarch buddies siphon billions from our Treasury; as decades worth of advances in Civil Rights are eviscerated; and as hard-working Americans struggle mightily to eat, buy gas, and pay their rent, utilities and medical bills.

It is time for us all to speak out. Standing up to autocracy and for our Constitution can be hard and exhausting work. It can be frustrating if we succumb to the sense there’s nothing we can do. It can be intimidating. And it can be easy to leave to others.
Yet serious scholarly research suggests each of us does matter. Scholars such as Harvard University’s Erica Chenoweth have found that only after 3.5 percent of a country’s population sustains non-violent resistance over time is a tipping point reached where the odds of toppling an undemocratic regime is more likely to succeed than not. In the United States, a start in that direction would mean drawing nearly 12 million people to city halls, town parks, village greens, intersections and other gathering points on March 28. Collectively, we can and must raise our voices to demand adherence to the rule of law; insist on accountability for those killing our fellow citizens; condemn those grifting taxpayer dollars; fight for affordable rents, medical care and utilities.

Granted. Turning out 12 million will be daunting. It would be millions more than have participated in prior massive No Kings protests. But it is doable. To get there, more of you who object to what’s happening in this country but haven’t turned out yet need to do so where ever you choose March 28. It’s simple math.

For inspiration, remember Dr. Seuss’ well-known children’s book, “Horton Hears a Who.” It tells the story of a lovable elephant named Horton, who is as kind as he is large. He becomes obsessed by a speck of dirt on a dandelion because he hears the collective voices of a microscopic village living on it – Whoville. The trouble is none of the other jungle creatures believes him. They set out both to destroy the speck of dirt and punish Horton.

At long last, after enormous trials and tribulations, the mayor of Whoville and Horton, working together, get every last resident of the microscopic village to yell, scream and bang drums. The mean jungle animals, who have tied up Horton and are prepared to destroy Whoville, hear them and relent. Whoville is spared. Horton, too.

Let’s consider every hamlet and village across the United States to be Whoville on March 28. To protect our neighbors, ourselves and our Constitution, we need to raise our collective voices, reaffirm the founding principles and practices of American democracy, ensure fair elections.

If the citizenry standing together could save Whoville, I’ll bet they can save our country, too.

My cousin — I’ll call him Charlie — is one smart guy. He graduated from Harvard University, started and runs his own business analyzing big data to help medical providers, and plays a mean piano. He’s certainly no Trumpie. But I think he — and his mother and aunt — have lost their way when it comes to confronting the reality of contemporary politics.

They consider protesting a waste of time and believe the next election likely will start to resolve the problems that ail this country. They seem, despite mounting, daily evidence, to be oblivious to what I see as a clear and present threat to that very election and to our democracy itself.

We had a spirited conversation last weekend at a birthday party for Charlie’s younger daughter. I was urging them all to participate March 28 in the third No Kings protests, which will likely be held in a few thousand locations across all 50 states. Unfortunately, I don’t think I made a lot of headway.

Let me try again with you (I’ll forward the column to them, too).
These are dangerous times. Full stop. Period. In my view, they are the worst in my 76 years, which span the fight for Civil Rights, efforts to end the Vietnam War, and Watergate.

A friend in Arizona wrote to me yesterday in horror to tell me that “30 to 50 ICE agents,” armed with assault rifles, had surrounded a car blocks from her house in broad daylight to arrest someone. This was on the same day that ICE and police in South Burlington, Vt., engaged in a full-day standoff with protesters before arresting three adults in a house there. And it came two days after a federal judge ordered the release of a 14-year-old girl he said was detained under “questionable circumstances” in Marlborough, Mass., and quickly deported out of state.

Minneapolis is not over. It has spread nationally.

These times also are the worst in my lifetime because the unending and mounting violations of law and due process are actively sanctioned and encouraged by the president of the United States, the yes men and women around him, and nearly all in his governing party.

The No Kings rallies will take place as massive, armed conflict spreads violently across the globe; as Donald Trump’s government moves aggressively to buy land to build gargantuan detention centers to incarcerate immigrants; as his oligarch buddies siphon billions from our Treasury; as decades worth of advances in Civil Rights are eviscerated; and as hard-working Americans struggle mightily to eat, buy gas, and pay their rent, utilities and medical bills.

It is time for us all to speak out. Standing up to autocracy and for our Constitution can be hard and exhausting work. It can be frustrating if we succumb to the sense there’s nothing we can do. It can be intimidating. And it can be easy to leave to others.
Yet serious scholarly research suggests each of us does matter. Scholars such as Harvard University’s Erica Chenoweth have found that only after 3.5 percent of a country’s population sustains non-violent resistance over time is a tipping point reached where the odds of toppling an undemocratic regime is more likely to succeed than not. In the United States, a start in that direction would mean drawing nearly 12 million people to city halls, town parks, village greens, intersections and other gathering points on March 28. Collectively, we can and must raise our voices to demand adherence to the rule of law; insist on accountability for those killing our fellow citizens; condemn those grifting taxpayer dollars; fight for affordable rents, medical care and utilities.

Granted. Turning out 12 million will be daunting. It would be millions more than have participated in prior massive No Kings protests. But it is doable. To get there, more of you who object to what’s happening in this country but haven’t turned out yet need to do so where ever you choose March 28. It’s simple math.

For inspiration, remember Dr. Seuss’ well-known children’s book, “Horton Hears a Who.” It tells the story of a lovable elephant named Horton, who is as kind as he is large. He becomes obsessed by a speck of dirt on a dandelion because he hears the collective voices of a microscopic village living on it – Whoville. The trouble is none of the other jungle creatures believes him. They set out both to destroy the speck of dirt and punish Horton.

At long last, after enormous trials and tribulations, the mayor of Whoville and Horton, working together, get every last resident of the microscopic village to yell, scream and bang drums. The mean jungle animals, who have tied up Horton and are prepared to destroy Whoville, hear them and relent. Whoville is spared. Horton, too.

Let’s consider every hamlet and village across the United States to be Whoville on March 28. To protect our neighbors, ourselves and our Constitution, we need to raise our collective voices, reaffirm the founding principles and practices of American democracy, ensure fair elections.

If the citizenry standing together could save Whoville, I’ll bet they can save our country, too.

2026 Life Logs, Day 70: Fabulous All Bands Night
Date: Wednesday, March 11, 2026
Weather: Mostly Sunny and Warm; High Temp 60, Low 45 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA

It is not time to put away the winter coat yet, but today was definitely a no coat day and evening. I had an Encore Board Meeting this morning, an Indivisible Zoom Call at noon, and then All Bands Night tonight.

All Bands Night in Falmouth is when the 5th grade band, the 6th grade band, the middle school band, and the high school band, plus the jazz band from each, fill the high school gym floor showcasing their musical talents. I say the same thing every year, but it is true. It is one of my favorite evenings of the year. Each band plays two songs in a round robin fashion starting with the 5th graders and on to the high school, then starting over again. Then the jazz bands do the same thing. Then there is grand finale when they all play one song together. I am always amazed at how the band directors pull this off with only 30 minutes of practice together. But every year they do it.

Ollie plays saxophone in the middle school band, and Jonah plays trombone in the recently award winning high school jazz band. They won gold in the regionals and will be competing at the state level this weekend. On this night, I am not only a proud grandmother. I feel pride for every student and band director down on that floor and so proud of all the parents who support them. It is just a feel good night!

2026 Life Logs, Day 69: Chasing My Tail
Date: Tuesday, March 10, 2026
Weather: Beautiful Day; High Temp 54, Low 36 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA

Somedays I feel like a squirrel chasing its tail. And today was one of those days … trying to catch up on things I needed to do for Encore, for Indivisible, and for the Board of Library Trustees. I call this a catch up day, and it ended with a Library Board meeting.

The news today from Heather and Jed. They have a solar panel that has stopped working and when someone came to check on it yesterday, they reported that a racoon was living under the panel and had chewed through the wires. I found out today that when the animal control came, they said it was actually a squirrel’s nest that the racoon was using. But the racoon was nowhere to be found. The solar company will repair the damage and put an animal guard around the panels. Hopefully, there is not too much damage to the roof.

The news today from Justin and Jo. They have a new album that came out yesterday. I watched the video today promoting the album and loved it. They are playing music outside amongst the jungle of vegetation and animals on their little farm, Finca Maravilla. You get to meet Hopi, their horse, Clarence, their female goat, their pet pig named Rabbit, and a few chickens, while listening to Justin and Jo making music. The video really shows the beauty of living in Puerto Rico. The name of the album is The Gathering. You can listen to on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVZ8puHgwW4. But I don’t know how to post the video on this blog. I did post it on my Facebook page, so you can see it there.

2026 Life Logs, Day 68: Meeting, Meeting, Meeting, Meeting
Date: Monday, March 9, 2026
Weather: Beautiful Day; High Temp 56, Low 30 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA

Yes. It was another one of those meeting days. A 10 am meeting was cancelled at the last minute, which gave me more time to prepare for the 11:30 meeting. Then at I pm I got on a Zoom call with the Encore Nominating Committee. That ended at about 2:15 which gave me 20 minutes before I had to leave to pick up Ollie. So, I dove into developing a PowerPoint slide show of photos for tonight’s Indivisible meeting. I was just about finished when I heard my phone ding. It was Ollie asking if I was picking him up. Uh-Oh! I was so absorbed in developing the PowerPoint that I forgot to watch the time. He had already called Heather to come get him before I could call him to say I was on my way. Heather let me know later that when she picked hin up, Ollie said, in his Ollie Lama way, that since I am trying to save the world it was okay if I forgot to pick him up!

Then it was time to hustle to get the handouts organized for the Indivisible Falmouth meeting and get to the library to set things up. Whew! It was a busy day, but we had a good Indivisible meeting. Then I was off the Select Board to support a letter sent to the Select Board members from Falmouth Immigrant Rights Coalition and Indivisible. We are asking them to take actionable steps to make our community more resilient against ICE. Saving the world is exhausting. ? ? ?

2026 Life Logs, Day 67: Spring Has Sprung in My Neighborhood
Date: Sunday, March 8, 2026
Weather: Overcast; High Temp 43, Low 39 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA

The ground is still covered with snow, but there are patches of ground showing here and there. And if you look closely, you see daffodils pushing upward and snowdrops in bloom. And around the corner from my house, there is a forsythia bush in full bloom. The forsythia in my yard are not in bloom, but I can see hope right around the corner.

I spent my entire day preparing for two upcoming Indivisible Falmouth trainings coming up in the next two weeks and preparing an a nonviolent noncooperation activity for tomorrow night’s Indivisible Falmouth monthly meeting. That’s my world today.

2026 Life Logs, Day 66: Stand Up for Science
Date: Saturday, March 7, 2026
Weather: Overcast, Misty, Foggy, Windy, Chilly Day; High Temp 44, Low 41 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA

The temperature is deceiving. The high temp today was 44 degrees F, but it felt at least 10 degrees colder because of the wind and the moisture laden air. So for today’s Stand Up for Science on the Green, I wore my long underwear!

Today was the second annual national Stand Up for Science day of protest. Last year at this time it we were in the middle of the slash and burn science movement being conducted by the Trump regime. This year we are in the realization stage, hearing from our speakers today about the irreparable damage that has been done to science research and the lives of scientists. But there was also reporting today of how scientists around the world are working together to try and save as much as possible. There was even mention of rebuilding. We are not there yet, but we have to be planning for that. Heather was the first speaker this afternoon. She never ceases to amaze me with her ability to get her message across in dynamic style and today was no exception. She started out as a research scientist, but clearly her path to becoming a science communicator, helping us all understand science, was the right choice for her and for us.

This afternoon, after the protest, I spent my time preparing training sessions for Indivisible Falmouth and starting to working on a jigsaw puzzle for the first time in a year! While I did that, Heather and Jed walked around their yard assessing the tree damage from the storm. They found 12 cedar trees with the main trunk snapped with way more limb loss, 3 willow trees snapped off, and one of their big, beautiful rhododendrons with the trunk broken. And the list went on. Heather also pointed out that there was more damage on this property than I had noticed. I thought the only major damage was the 12-foot top section of a huge juniper that broke off. What I hadn’t noticed was that the trunk of the holly tree behind that juniper was broken in half. With snow melting, the tree damage all around us is becoming more evident. It is going to take a long while to clean up after this one.

2026 Life Logs, Day 65: Another Birthday Celebration
Date: Friday, March 6, 2026
Weather: Another Rainy, Chilly Day; High Temp 38, Low 33 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA

Another chilly, rainy day with another birthday celebration to brighten my day! Tonight, I had dinner with the Goldstones. Heather cooked the traditional Martin (my maiden name) meal—salmon cakes with kale and mashed potatoes. To be the true tradition, it would have been creasy greens, not kale. But creasy greens are definitely a southern thing, not found easily in New England. My gifts were a book with the title TROUBLE MAKER, but they assured me it was about ‘good trouble’! And since I haven’t had time to work a puzzle all winter, I got a puzzle that I can’t resist. It is 32 dog stamps, one of which is a little black doodle that looks just like Shadow. Thank you, Heather, Jed, Jonah, and Ollie.