Breaking Up: My Last Letter to Elon

June 27, 2025June 27, 2025 Lucy Moore

June 25, 2025

Dear Elon

Several weeks have passed since you left me to go back to selling cars, and as is often the case with a soured relationship, I now see clearly what the problem was. I am a thoughtful, moral, caring, compassionate human and you are not. What a pity that you have so much power and I do not. But here’s the thing. There are a lot of us, more than there are of you, and we are clever, patient, and committed to the constitution which warns us about the likes of you and your orange crony.

So, I am not writing postcards to you anymore. You’re not worth the postage stamp. But I am continuing to do at least 5 things each week in your honor. These are specifically chosen because you would hate them, which includes just about everything I would want to do anyway.

Here is a sample… you better reach for your blood pressure medicine:

My invitation to Sec Burgum

I was one of over 2,000 who protested a meeting of Western Governors, keynoted by Secretary of Interior Doug Burgum. We focused on stopping the effort to put our public lands up for sale, something Mr. Burgum favors. The crowd was diverse (love that word as much as you hate it!) and signs were creative. There were local Indigenous people drumming and chanting in front of the venue, and when we all joined in, apparently we could be heard in the meeting rooms. This may sound pointless to you, but it felt great, and that’s critical. When was the last time you really felt great, surrounded by thousands of strangers who agreed and supported you? Probably not since… ever?

I sent money again to World Central Kitchen to help them feed people in Gaza. They are amazing, aren’t they? So efficient, so energetic, so unstoppable. I marvel at people who look at a desperate situation that seems overwhelming and do the impossible. They move fast and fix things – a little different from your motto: move fast and break things.

Hmmm, let’s see what else would you hate? I rode in a friend’s new Toyota hybrid plug-in electric car. It’s a great car. She loves it. And out on the highway she stepped on the gas (or volts?) and we shot past what appeared to be a collection of cookie sheets randomly stuck together. But, wait — was that a Tesla logo? We were going so fast it was all a blur.

I have a friend with a trans daughter. It has been a real struggle and she is now 17 and off to college. I spent some time with her, giving her decades-old, out-of-date advice about roommates, choosing classes, staying healthy, bringing your own pillow, getting a good desk chair with back support. Oh, I had no end of useless advice. She was so gracious and straightened me out on a few points. And we laughed a lot and I told her since I would be closer to her than her mother would be, she should consider me a foster-mom. Given the LGBTQ+ climate in this country, I wanted her to know that she had a defender close by. A fierce mama bear is never out of date.

And my final good deed is to make our break-up final with this letter. I will always appreciate your mandate to do five things each week, but just about everything else about you repulses me.

Have a nice day… on second thought, don’t,

Lucy

stormy weather, with hope

Happy Flag Day

June 16, 2025June 16, 2025 Lucy Moore

crowd floods the street on way to plaza

Santa Fe, New Mexico, has a population of about 85,000. Yesterday, an estimated 5,000 (almost 6%) came out to celebrate the double holiday — No Kings Day and Flag Day. It also happened to be Trump’s birthday, and a few creative signs did wish him a very unhappy birthday.

There were several remarkable things about the rally, but what blew me away was the fact that there was zero conflict reported among participants or with law enforcement. The crowd was twice what was expected, and the “stay-on-the-sidewalk” march from the state capitol to the downtown plaza broke the rules and flooded the streets. There were citizen security guards who stopped the human flow at intersections every few minutes for traffic to cross. No matter how excited and empowered the crowd was, they obeyed, and so did the cars, waiting for their turn, many honking in support. State police in clusters of 3 or 4 were relaxed and non-threatening. They diverted traffic as needed, and called an ambulance for two people with heat stroke.

Once they reached the plaza the crowd even stayed off the grass. A very law abiding bunch!

This smooth handling of the unexpected speaks to superior organization and coordination led by Indivisible Santa Fe. The program included live music and speakers, including our congressional representative Teresa Leger Fernandez and other officials and community leaders. In addition, anyone from the community who wanted to speak could arrive early and sign up for time at the microphone. These included a 61-year old vet from the Gulf War, a young Hispana born here and wanting to speak for friends and family afraid to speak out, and a young man pleading for understanding across all differences. It was an awesome day. I will let the signs speak for themselves. Thanks to Nancy Dahl for photos.

I love this sign coupled with the face of its maker — captures the spirit of the Santa Fe march. You can be out of your mind with anger and still smile and enjoy the day.

Such creativity and wit!