Did you hear that Rite Aid is closing? The chain has declared bankruptcy. The Rite Aid near me closed a year or two ago. That little store meant something to me, actually, especially during the pandemic. I begin with this topic in my Impromptus column today. After a number of other subjects, I end with shots of Cleveland — not at Cleveland, which is typical, but of Cleveland. I am speaking of pictures.
Earlier this week, I had a piece titled “Mitt Romney in the Senate: A personal appreciation.” A reader writes,
I guess there are at least three of us — my wife, you, and me. Also, I find myself bewildered by our current political environment, so oddly like the 1960s, yet inverted.
In my article, I wrote about the flight from Salt Lake City to Washington, D.C., on January 5, 2021. Romney was on it, returning to work. So were many other Republicans, traveling to the capital to participate in President Trump’s rally the next day. On the plane, they shouted at Romney, “Traitor! Traitor! Traitor!” Said Trump on the Mall, “I wonder if he enjoyed his flight in last night.”
A reader writes,
I share with you an admiration of Mitt Romney. I actually wrote him a “fan” letter after that awful flight, commending his sense of honor and decency, and telling him I wish there were more like him in government service.
Our nation is a poorer place because he was not elected president in 2012.
Let’s have a couple of pictures. The first is from our Molly Powell, who took it at her New England home a month ago. A Monarch chrysalis — full of promise, yet beautiful in itself, I think:
This one is from our Dale Brott — Ohio in autumn:
