There are twenty-one days until the 2024 election. Looking at the last seven days of our lives, four of them contained crying. Wait. Make that five.

This morning I received an email from my kid’s school. Inside was information about the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation which awards $20,000 to 150 U.S. high school students. I forwarded the website to my kid and told him to apply. Then I read through the bios of last year’s scholarship winners.

The bravest act I’ve ever witnessed was at a gas station off a highway in the middle of nowhere California.

For the past few weeks, while I’m driving back from dropping a kid at school or attending a final meeting, I find myself winding my way through the hills of Oak View and crying.