A Letter, A Letter, I Got A Letter!!!

Posted on by under Political commentary, Personal, Free Press Issues, Election 2022

On Friday, I received a letter.  Looking at the envelope, I was puzzled.  The return address was:

United States Senate

Washington, D.C.  20510

Official Business

My name and address were handwritten, not typed or computer-generated.  Upon opening it, this is the letter I found inside …

From the Democratic Senator in my state, Senator Sherrod Brown.  Luckily, I was sitting down, but my jaw still dropped to the floor.  I read it a few times, asked granddaughter Natasha to read it, and she burst into a big smile and said, “Way to go, Grannie!!!”

The really strange part of it is that I did not think the Cincinnati Enquirer had printed my last letter regarding then-candidate for the U.S. Senate, J.D. Vance.  I received a call from an editor who said in the voice mail she left that she thought I was a spammer and I’d have to call her back with some pertinent information.  Because of my hearing loss, I generally don’t talk on the phone, but I did try to call her back.  My call went straight to voice mail, I left a message, and then got a “Sorry, this voicemail box is full”, followed by a click.  So, I gave up and said to hell with it, and stopped submitting letters to the paper.  That was on October 25th.  Senator Brown’s letter to me was dated 11/1, just a week later (for some reason, it was not postmarked until 11/30 — perhaps the Senate mailroom is overwhelmed?), so apparently they DID publish my letter, but I cannot find it now, for they only show the most recent letters and neither Keith nor I could find an archive.

But, back to Senator Brown’s letter to me.  I have received canned responses via email from numerous members of Congress after I took the time to write and let them know my thoughts on one topic or another, but I have never received a hand-written letter via postal mail, and never one that actually thanked me for speaking out.  And his final sentence, “We all have much to do to fix our country” made me … thankful to have him as my senator.

This, my friends, is how government officials should act.  Sure, I know they cannot possibly respond personally to every letter to the editor or to every email they receive, but to take time to let their constituents know that we have value to them beyond just our vote, to let us know that they notice when we take a stand, means so much.

I’m seriously thinking of framing this letter!  Thank you, Senator Sherrod Brown!!!  You made one old lady very happy!

57 thoughts on “A Letter, A Letter, I Got A Letter!!!”

  1. That’s amazing Jill. I think you have a wonderful Senator. I’ve heard him speak on several occasions through the years. I can’t help but wonder if he was a doctor in a past life with that awful handwriting. LOL 🙂 xxx

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  2. In my younger days, I taught English 101, which was, basically, showing high school students how to write college-level essays. One of the things I had to cover was the persuasive essay. What I did was assigned my students to write a letter to the editor. They were required to turn in two copies, one of which would be graded and the other would be sent to the newspaper of their choice. I made it clear that publication of those letters would have nothing to do with how they were graded. Out of 52 students in two classes, over thirty of them got printed in the two major newspapers in our city. It taught my students two things: that the people who spoke up were the ones who counted, and that everyone could find a voice. Some of the letters that didn’t get published got an ‘A’ grade, and some that did get published got ‘C’ or worse. It also taught my students that whatever they wrote would probably get edited.

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    • That is a great assignment with real-world lessons! I have trouble writing letters to the editor for I tend to write longer pieces than the 100 or so words they will accept. It’s a lesson in self-discipline to fine tune it to get the point across while doing so with minimal verbiage!

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  7. We Buckeyes have a great senator in Sherrod Brown and could have had another one if Tim Ryan has been elected in the last election instead of J. D. Vance. I’m seeing red because Ohio voters were blind to Vance’s political stances (but at least he’s no Herschel Walker, so thank God for small favors, as they say).

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    • I didn’t realize you lived in Ohio! He’s the silent sort, you don’t hear a lot about or from him apart from his weekly newsletter, but that tells me he’s busy working rather than out trying to get media attention. I like that! I was rooting for Tim Ryan, but apparently too many in this state have partaken of the Trump Kool-Aid and just because the man wrote a trashy novel that sold well, they think that somehow qualifies him for a seat in the Senate!

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  9. How wonderful, Jill. You do a lot to raise awareness and to be civically involved. I’m glad you got such a nice personalized letter in recognition for your efforts!

    Liked by 1 person

  10. Jill, well done. Do you have a copy of what you sent the Cincinnati Enquirer? When I look, it shows only two days worth of letters, but you have to be an online subscriber to see more. Keith

    Liked by 1 person

    • I too want to see the letter you wrote, so I hope you saved a copy.
      What is especially nice about this is the letter was to the newspaper, not directly to Mr. Brown, but still he took the time to ackniwledge it.

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      • I’ll look for it, but as I told Keith, these past few months I’m trying to break the habit of keeping every single thing for my hard drive is getting full of worthless ‘stuff’, and I was disgusted when I thought they weren’t going to print it, so I may have trashed it. Yes, that’s what surprised me the most — he obviously read my letter to the editor and then took the time to handwrite a note.

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    • I don’t think so … for the past few months I have been trying to break myself of the habit of saving every single thing I write, and this one was probably deleted in disgust when I couldn’t even get in touch with them to prove I wasn’t a spammer. But, I’ll double check. I am a paid online subscriber and did the “see more” thing, but it still only went back a week or so. I’m thinking about contacting … or trying to contact … them tomorrow to ask for a date it was published, any responses to it, and a copy of the letter. Fingers crossed.

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  11. I had just finished replying when I thought … Sherrod Brown, I remember voting for him years ago. LOL I lived in his district. Great memories of living there. Arabica on Coventry & the Arcade downtown & the West Side Market & working at Mama Santa’s in Little Italy. Seems like a lifetime ago. I keep saying I’m going back for a visit but it’s been twenty-five years now. Where has the time gone? LOL

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  16. My computer won’t let me add any more likes to this, but good job! I don’t use the phone much any more, not only because of my poor hearing but also I don’t know how to use the new cell phone I purchased, thinking I was just getting a nice flip cell phone minus gadgets. I hope– and would pray if I believed–that the maga don’t get him next time he’s up for vote. He’s possibly the only non-stinker in our state–and Tim Ryan, if he’s in Ohio….What is this crap below my response?….Sorry, I don’t know how pingb acvks work.

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    • Most likely it wouldn’t let you ‘like’ because you aren’t signed in to your Word Press account, which is also why your comment showed up as “Anonymous”. I’ve had that problem several times of late. Next time, try just clicking on the WordPress logo in the comment box, which will automatically log you in so that you can comment and like. I hear you about the newfangled cell phones! I periodically have to ask my granddaughter to help me figure out something on mine! Yes, Tim Ryan lost to J.D. Vance here in Ohio, which is a damn shame. J.D. Vance has no experience and is a maga tool. Sigh. I don’t see anything below your comment, but it was probably the three icons giving you ways to log in, such as your email address, or log in via WordPress. This is a recent thing … about the last month or so.

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    • I was … and am … excited! It somewhat restored my faith that at least some of our elected leaders remember why they are sitting in the Capitol and to whom they owe their allegiance. I, too, wish there were many more like him … and perhaps there are more than we realize. I hope so, anyway.

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