Dear Michelle,

I read your book, I’m pen pals with Barack and I miss you.  I would love to have you over for dinner.  I feel like I know you, like you are a good friend, a kindred spirit.  I’m so proud of you.

But who I’m I?

Some kind of backwoods stalker?

No.

Well, maybe.

But in a good way.

I loved your book.  What a wonderful story and so transparent, no filters.  Oh sure; I caught the quick reference to a little pot smoking in the car with a boyfriend.  Or sleeping at your boyfriend’s place since you lived in an upstairs apartment in your parents house.  I appreciate the full disclosure.  It makes you even more real and authentic.  Qualities I admire most.   I received your book as a Christmas present from my daughter, she bought two, one for me and one for her boyfriend’s mother.  My mom was reading it at the same time.  My best friend was reading it as the same time.  My other friend, who I promised to give my copy to, couldn’t wait and downloaded it on her kindle.  I may donate my copy to our local library.  I live in a  conservative county located in a red state that is slowly turning purplish;  I believe; or hope.  It will be nice to see you displayed on the “new” bookshelf right when you walk in the door of the library.

Yes,  it’s true.  Not sure if Barack has told you, but we have corresponded by mail.  He can come to dinner too.  I wrote a letter to him as one of my blog posts and decided I might as well print it and mail it to him.  Several months later, my work phone rang, I answered, and it was someone from the office of the President of the United States.

“Hi, is this the Lisa Poe who wrote a letter to President Obama?”

“Um, well, yes….I did write a letter to the President.”

“Great.  The President receives thousand of letters a day and selects ten to read each night.  He hand writes replies to some of them and has written to you; we need  an address to send it to.”

Who writes to the President of the United States and doesn’t include contact information?

Me! Apparently.  I gave my information to the person on the other end of the line.  She emailed me a copy as well.

I was so excited.  I shared the email with my family, my co-workers and even included it in my next blog post.

Clearly, I’m the one to drop the ball as I have not written back to him.

And yes,  I miss you.  I miss you so much and Barack.  I so enjoyed the part in the book where you tried to be as gracious and eloquent in your transition with the new first family as George and Laura Bush had been to you.  I’m not sure how you pulled that off.  I’m not sure how you didn’t call in sick that day.  Is someone still looking after the garden?  Or was that turned back into a fertilized green lawn?

I work in a school and was part of the optimistic drive to see the new school foods policies you implemented enforced in an atmosphere full of fear in the changes.  Lunch ladies across the state fighting to give our kids more chicken nuggets and white bread so  they would be full.  Our school  received a Farm to School Grant and hired someone to over see the program.  The lunch ladies were happy that we hired a local graduate from our school.  A neighbor. As they told this new young hire; “We were afraid they’d hire one of Lisa’s flower smelling hippie friends”.  I don’t believe they meant this as a complement.

Thank you for sharing your life with us.  Your thoughts.  Your past.  Even intimate details. I made your book one of my book picks in my blog “Wild About Books”.  Which is a great resource for book lovers in case you find yourself without a book.  If you’re like me, that is one of my biggest fears.

In conclusion, we need to pick a book for this post.  This past year Montana Public Radio participated in the Great Montana Read in search of Montana’s best-loved novel.  Thirty-one books were potentials and the winner is our new book selection.  “Perma Red” by Debra Magpie Earling takes place in the 1940’s on the Flathead Indian Reservation.  The author’s writing makes the reader feel as if they are in a dream or in a spirit world.  Guided by something bigger or a belief in something bigger to get through the suppression; shame; “Wash the Indian out of you”.  Why do we do this to people?

This book will be part of my live book club.  Where people actually get together after having read a great book and share a pot luck meal while discussing how the book affected them.  Friday April 5th at 6:00 at my house.  Dinner theme to be determined.  So far in the book, there is a lot of fry bread and beer, we can start with that.   Please let me know if you will be coming.  If Michelle comes, we might have to rent the clubhouse, no worries.  Oh, and Michelle I’ll have my daughter pick you up at the airport on her way.  Hope you don’t mind being labeled as one of my flower smelling hippie friends.

See you soon.

Lisa