..... whaa'pn Barack ...
.... no doubt there's always an overflowing inbox when you return from those Hawaiian holidays the unreasonable would deny you ... so I'll spare you the heavy stuff to start off this new decade ... I know you must've enjoyed the sun, sea, sand and "sno-bamas" ... a respite from suits and ties and Salahis ... not to mention the gargantuan tasks-of-management you find yourself engaged by ... still, you must travel with your work as it's part of your job description ... I appreciate you doing that even though I do not reside in the U.S. of A. ....... the wide world is a smaller, more complex place these days ... and as the song says, "... it's hard to get by just upon a smile ," ... yours is a particularly radiant smile, it betrays a disarming honesty which comes across as approachability ... it can be described as "down-to-earth" (as good a place as any I suppose) ... many of us watching as you navigate uncharted routes onward take that smile at face value, even though we have all seen leaders-of-men practiced in the art of deception ... they too often come with winning smiles ...
... as a man who knows the joys of a well struck ball I hope you lined a few sweet fairway shots when you hit the links and didn't have to diplomat your way through too much Tiger Woods susu-susu in between holes (no joke intended) ... unless of course that's what you wanted ... seems Tiger is fair game, grist for the mill at the moment ... if you did the vacation up right there would've been a little workout and some kicking back with a cold one to wind down the day, a romp with Sasha and Malia, and a how-was-your-day wrap up debriefing with Michelle (joke intended ... your smile tells me you're cool with that too) ...
... I'm writing this from several time zones away but we've both inhaled a lot of invigorating sea breeze ... yours Pacific, mine Caribbean, and for the first time in my life I find myself marginally older than a POTUS ... it's from this perspective that I feel safely justified in my observations of you ... though it's early days yet I'd say you're doing fine career-wise ... a B+ is a win in my book and your mother would be proud ... persona-wise I'd award a higher mark based on your ability to connect with a broader variety of global aspirations than your predecessors ...
... well before the Nobel honour it was not overstatement to posit your life-story as allegory ... not only in a political sense, but in a poetic-justice sense ... a politician glibly making much of babies on the way to election is almost a joke ... definitely a cliche ... but you have already been elected ... and, I have it on good authority there was nothing glib or cliche when you held my new niece on New Years Eve ... my birthday ... the photo instantly flew around the world to me as a gift ... you're in the family now brotherman, stay strong and true ... 'til Shiloh ...
... Jah guide ...
... thanks for the response Labrish ... isn't she lovely? .... Stevie's wonder for real!
ReplyDeleteGreat letter. I adore President Obama and feel like he's doing such a good work in the world, not just the US. I think sometimes Americans take his global work as a local rejection but I appreciate it very much. Your neice is too cute for words.
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