November 2025 #2
This is what community looks like, she titled her picture.
All the others were in a similar vein. Of course, the lawyers for Mr. Mendoza lost their minds, but Sam explained that due to the presence of ICE in Chicago, that these issues would continue to occur.
He said, at a press conference two hours later, that “the good guys must be transparent in all areas so as not to be confused for those in the business of doing evil.” That didn’t go over so well at the federal level—though his boss stood up for him—but at the city and state level, he had unwavering support.
“Chicago,” Eli said in a statement to the press, “is continually putting on a master class in pushing back against ICE. Community involvement is key. It’s very impressive, and I’m proud to live here.
” All in all, Sam’s people looked pretty good in the coverage on all the news outlets and on late-night TV.
Now, some people have commented to me: Jory, we read your newsletter to find out about you and your family, not hear about politics or whatever else.
And that’s true, but it’s also very important to give the backdrop of what is happening around us in the world in which we currently live.
The same way I talked about us dealing with the first wave of Covid, I have to talk about what’s happening at the moment.
Plus, good, happy, uplifting stories are always welcome, at least in my humble opinion.
On to Halloween.
The kids had a party at our house because, for one, they always have, and for two, apparently in their building, there were very serious rules about parties. And while Kola, most of all, appreciated that, it made having a rager difficulty.
The kids dressed up as Lord of the Rings characters.
Jake was Gimli, Hannah was Galadriel, Finn was Legolas, Wick was éomer, Harper was Elrond, and Kola was Aragorn.
Furthermore, the invitation said whoever showed up had to be dressed as something from either Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit.
I was honestly surprised to see all the different inhabitants of Middle-earth represented in my backyard.
Apparently, a theme was not necessarily a bad thing.
I loved watching the kids stay in character.
Hannah didn’t get upset about things that normally would have had her foaming at the mouth.
Instead she channeled the Lady of the woods of Lothlórien and remained calm all night.
Finn performed a lot of parkour, Harper kept asking people if they knew when the ship was leaving for the Grey Havens, Kola said and reiterated, over and over, that they were staying at the party too long and should already be on their way to Mordor. I enjoyed it immensely.
An hour after the party started, Dane and Aja walked in, having left Gentry and Robert outside along with Portia, Robert’s girlfriend. Portia was éowyn, Robert was Faramir, and Gentry had insisted on being Thranduil because he liked the duality of the character. They all looked amazing.
“I hope they’re doing something after this,” I told Aja as I hugged her. “It would be sad to get that dressed up only to come to our house.”
Aja squinted at me before turning and hugging Sam.
“What?”
“Like all the food you put out and the treat bags Hannah makes along with her Samhain candles and the black gourds is not a big deal. And they get to dance, and everyone’s welcome.
Jory, please don’t think this is not a big deal for college students that are usually treated to packaged ramen and peanut butter and jelly.
Have you forgotten how poor we all were when we were going to school? ”
“I wasn’t poor,” Dane chimed in.
“Yes, dear, we know.”
“Thank you for that,” I told her.
Sam and I handed out candy and food staples that I’d gotten at Costco earlier in the day, and had just finished that up when Aaron and Duncan came walking in the back door.
“Hey,” Sam greeted them, his smile evidence of how pleased he was. “What’re you two doing here? I thought you were in Boston or something.”
Aaron smiled big at the two of us. “I was in Boston, you’re right, but since Duncan was here, and couldn’t get away to join me, as soon as my business concluded, I came home.”
Duncan cleared his throat softly, Aaron glanced at him, and I saw the smile fall away, but then he returned his attention to us, and with it came the creepy lobotomized smile.
“Jesus, what?” Sam grumbled at him.
Instantly, he huffed out a breath. “While I was walking through the airport, I saw your charming sister-in-law, Sandra, whose flight was delayed.”
“And?” Sam prodded him.
“I, of course, offered to bring her home with me, since we were traveling to the same destination. She was very appreciative.”
“As would I be,” I told him.
“You’re not saying something,” Sam asserted, squinting at him.
Aaron nearly squirmed.
“Oh no,” I said.
“Wait. Don’t tell me, I don’t wanna know,” Sam ordered.
“Excellent,” Aaron stated. “I do hate to ever be the bearer of––”
“What happened?” I demanded.
“Sandra went to Michael’s apartment to surprise him, and he had a woman there,” Duncan blurted out immediately.
“Duncan being the bearer of bad news I really don’t mind,” Aaron confessed.
“No, no, no,” Sam groaned, sitting down at the kitchen table. “There’s no way he’s that stupid. It’s inconceivable.”
“You keep using that word,” Hannah teased him as she came walking in, saw Aaron and changed course to reach him, going in for the hug. “Oh guess what,” she said, leaning back to look at me. “Guess who called off his wedding?”
“Oh no,” I said for the second time that night. “Your friend David Chan?”
She cackled. “As I suspected, he is not marrying the girl his mother hates. He owes me a bottle of my favorite moscato.”
“Hannah, you shouldn’t––”
“He made the bet. It’s his own fault.”
“But, love, you––”
“Oh, Pa, it’s, like, twenty bucks,” she said, waving a dismissive hand. “The fun part though will be him driving all over town to find it, because everywhere he normally shops won’t even carry it. I wish I could be there.”
“That’s terrible,” I passed judgment.
“Oh please, he was so snotty about the whole thing.”
“Yes, but––”
“More importantly, have you seen what Finn got Kola for his birthday?”
“Actually no,” I said, thinking that I’d never followed up on that mystery.
“I have,” Aaron told her.
She made a face at him, like of course he had.
“Why do you know and I don’t?”
“Think about it a second, and it’ll come to you,” Hannah said with a chuckle.
“Oh,” I announced. “It’s some kind of gadget that only gets made at Sutter.”
“Bingo,” Aaron told me.
“What is it?”
“A pen,” he announced like I should have been impressed.
“A pen?”
“Don’t sound so disappointed,” he warned me.
“A pen?” I repeated.
“I’m sure it’s fabulous,” Aja chimed in, playing peacemaker.
“Stop,” Dylan said.
“It’s a really good pen,” Aaron insisted.
“It doesn’t double as a flamethrower or something, does it?”
“No,” he said irritably. “But it lives on a special lanyard that saves whatever the person who owns the pen has written in a twenty-four-hour period. It has a built-in hard drive that can then be downloaded onto any chosen computer.”
“In Kola’s case, that doesn’t violate HIPAA or something?”
“He only uses it for his personal notes.”
“And it knows notes from charting or whatever because it’s magic?”
“You’re being very combative right now,” Aaron told me. “And snide.”
“I’m just asking a question.”
“You’re asking a question in a belligerent fashion,” he pointed out.
“I’m striving to understand,” I said, using my most soothing voice.
“Well, for your information, Kola just has to write the letter K first, before anything else, so the pen knows that’s personal.”
I couldn’t help smiling. “This sounds like something that will soon be very illegal to own.”
“It’s clearly experimental tech. We’ll see what happens.”
“But in the meantime, Kola has one?”
“It was the perfect thing, that of course, cost nothing, and Kola was over the moon,” Hannah informed me.
“Finn is very smart,” I commented to Hannah.
“Even smarter to ask me for one once he heard about it,” Aaron chimed in.
“Yes and no, depending on how this all turns out,” I said, playing devil’s advocate, “but now, I want to go back to Sandra.”
“Sandra who?” Hannah asked me. “Aunt Sandy?”
I nodded.
“What happened?”
“Apparently your uncle Aaron gave her a ride home from Boston on his plane.”
“Awww,” Hannah cooed, “that’s so nice.”
“She cried the whole way back,” Aaron said, exhaling sharply.
“Why?”
“Apparently she went to see your uncle, to surprise him, and when she arrived at his apartment, there was a woman there.”
“And?” Hannah prodded him.
“That’s all I know.”
“Which,” Aja began, “begs the question, who was she? Why was she there? So before you all tar and feather Michael, there needs to be some clarification on this person.”
“If Aunt Sandy was crying, she had to have found them doing something not great, don’t you think?” Hannah asked.
“Perhaps,” Aja granted. “Or conversely, that was only what it looked like. We need more information before we go about condemning him.”
“True,” Dane chimed in. “Maybe she was a junior associate, or his assistant. We don’t know. I’m surprised Sandy didn’t get to the bottom of what the relationship was.”
“Unless she didn’t need to ask any questions because of how she found them,” Hannah surmised. “That would be logical.”
“But again, we don’t know. Wait for your father to find out.”
All eyes on me.
“Why do I have to be the one?”
“Because you guys are buddies,” Sam grumbled. “Get it done.”
“Right now?”
“No, not right this second but…soon.”
“Yes, please,” Aja rushed out. “Perhaps tomorrow.”
I whimpered a bit. “I don’t wanna pry.”
“Tough,” Sam said. “When you’re the favorite, this is your lot in life.”
“Oh that’s so true,” Hannah agreed. “The nicest person is always the one with all the dirt.”
“Amen,” Aja concurred.