Editor’s note: The following letter is a response to a postcard received by the letter writer, the contents of which she describes in the letter.

Dear Anonymous Friend,

In the absence of an identity, I’ll take the liberty of assuming friendship. I got your lovely post card of the Oregon Coast, so thanks for that.

I’m a little perplexed by the situation you present me with. You apparently were moved enough to save a clipping of my letter to the editor from (checking records more than a year old) January of 2021. Wow! Not sure if that is good or bad — have you been seething with indignant outrage all this time? Or have you been waiting for just the right moment to really let me have it with your succinct but withering “How’s that working?” question in reply to the Scotch-taped clipping titled “I plan to enjoy the Biden presidency”?

Yeah, that stings all right. Good one. In any case, I’m a little sad that with all the effort you took to first hang on to the paper clipping for a year-plus, then use your internet spy craft to track down my address, put stamp to postcard, engage the U.S. Postal Service, and yet provide no signature, phone number, or return address where I could reply and begin our pen-pal relationship.

My father used to say that anonymity is the last refuge of cowards. He was a strong believer in the thought that if it’s worth having a belief or an opinion, it’s worth putting your name to it. Minds can and should get changed based on further information or discussion. I’m not my father. The world we live in lends itself more to the anonymous airing of grievance (and worse) than the world he grew up in. I don’t necessarily consider you a coward, just someone whose mind is possibly made up and closed to discussion. Bearing that in mind, I feel compelled to answer your question. 

As to your “how’s that working?” question, I can say in all honesty, it’s working pretty well — nobody’s perfect, and President Biden is no exception. It’s a complicated world and he’s working with a divided Congress and population. When I think about where we might be right now if a free and fair election had been overturned due to strong pressure and antidemocratic efforts by the former president, I’m positively, enthusiastically just tickled pink. I shudder to think of the consequences for the Ukraine and the world if that had happened. If you’d like a more in-depth discussion of where I think he’s done well vs. areas where I’ve been disappointed, I’m happy to have that discussion — pen pal or over coffee.

The first step would be for you to send me your address. You know where I am. Hope to hear from you.

Mary Chlopek

Lostine