Kokkari!

Tim, Olivia and I celebrated my recent birthday with dinner at Kokkari, a Greek restaurant in San Francisco’s financial district. (Mateo was out of town.) Delish! How do I feel now that I’ve reached the Age of Medicare? Deeply grateful to have made it this far, with an increasing urgency to make every day count. Sending hugs!

Guatemalan election

For anyone who follows Guatemalan politics, Sunday’s presidential run-off between Bernardo Arévalo–the intellectual son of a revered former president who is called “the most progressive candidate to get this far since 1985”–and Sandra Torres–former first lady who is considered a standard-bearer for conservative business-as-usual–promises to be riveting. You can catch up quickly on the race by reading this NY Times article: “In ‘Land of Sharks,’ Anticorruption Crusader is on Cusp of Presidency.“ NB: “Land of Sharks” is the descriptor given to Guatemala by Luis von Ahn, the Guatemalan founder of the language-learning app Duolingo. Von Ahn is one Arévalo’s major supporters, philosophically and financially. I also love the Times’s subhead: “Can an intellectual on an anti-graft crusade win the presidency in a nation sliding toward authoritarianism? Guatemala is about to find out.” Guatemala’s Anti Corruption Crusader is on Cusp of Presidency – The New York Times (nytimes.com)

“The Faithful” essay

I read today that the San Francisco Catholic Archdiocese “very likely” plans to file for bankruptcy due to a recent “onslaught” of child abuse cases filed against its priests and other employees over decades. Seventeen years ago, the SF Chronicle Magazine published my essay “The Faithful” about my Irish Catholic father’s response to the first wave of allegations in the early 2000s. The piece feels as relevent now as it did when first published. The repercussions from abuse never end. The Faithful (sfgate.com) by Jessica O’Dwyer

Solola Guatemala

A few final photos from Sololá Guatemala. A women’s cooperative where artisans make beautiful ponchos and scarves. (I may have bought a few.) The municipal market. More handsome morrals. And Lake Atitlan, always.

The Guatemalan morral

I fell in love with the traditional woven satchel or tote bag known as a “morral” the first time I spotted one in Guatemala when Olivia was a baby. Designs vary according to theme, town, and weaver. Each is striking and beautiful in its own way. But my favorite morral is the one carried by men in Sololá—complex, bold, and colorful—and this year, at the municipal market, I finally bought myself one. I don’t plan to carry it, though. This work of art will hang on my wall.