Super Tuesday is over and now our attention is focused on the November elections. The dye is firmly cast and the race will all but surely be between former president Donald Trump and current President Joe Biden. Polls show the race as close; pundits are floating various theories about the outcome.

We have good news and bad news.

Bad news first.

While I was walking through a beautiful flower garden last week with my five-year-old granddaughter (in a land far away from New England), she asked to pick one of the pink blooms. Just one, she insisted. I, of course, gave the standard line about how if everyone picked even just one, soon there would be none for people to see and enjoy.

On Sunday, March 3rd, Leading Ladies will have our first appearance at a brewery. We will be at Night Shift in Everett with a table full of materials designed to encourage the young patrons to register to vote and show up at the polls. We of gray and white hair are bringing along some younger souls to give us added credibility.

Remember the chain letters of the 1980s and 1990s that promised money or recipes galore? All you had to do was forward letters, sometimes with cash or a recipe included, to a list of recipients and you would be significantly rewarded. The recipe chains often worked; the cash chains always seemed to break down somewhere along the line. What was appealing about both was the opportunity to get something with little effort and to connect with other people from near and far.

We’d suggest finishing your Black History Month film odyssey with American Symphony, a documentary that explores the amazing genius of musician/composer/performer/singer/dancer/conductor Jon Batiste. Prepare to be wowed. (Netflix)

Admit it. What are the first images that come to mind when you hear the words affordable housing? The very first thoughts, before your politically correct filter edits your response? Unkempt backyards? Crowded apartments? Lowered property values? Deteriorating schools?

We tried. We really tried to take a break from the news during the holidays. We limited watching MSNBC, listening to NPR, reading the Globe and the New York Times. One of our phones even reported screen time down almost 30 percent.

As we know, many among us have little to be merry about. Charles Dickens long ago gave us a poignant and memorable look at the less fortunate during the holidays with A Christmas Carol, his heart-wrenching tale from the mid-19th century of the overworked and underpaid, those who had little but could still find joy in their friendships and family.

Nonpartisan, according to Merriam Webster Dictionary, means “not partisan, especially: free from party affiliation, bias, or designation.” Disinterested, dispassionate, equitable, impartial and indifferent are a few of the suggested synonyms. Leading Ladies was founded with the promise that we would be nonpartisan by not endorsing any candidate or political party. We would take a stance on issues, however, and those positions might sometimes, and even often, ally with particular candidates, and even one party, more than another.

Everyone has an opinion about statistics. There are those who stake their lives on them and those who ignore them summarily. Mark Twain is famous for reputedly saying, “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics,” though he attributed the words to British Premier Minister Benjamin Disraeli.

None of us was the mother of gifted athletes. Nonetheless, our kids played sports from a very young age, not because we were in search of an athletic scholarship or a spot in the majors, but because it was the thing to do. Our towns all offered soccer and tee ball, then Little League and Pop Warner football. With the right coaches promoting good sportsmanship and mutual respect, and parents on the sidelines doing the same, sports for our kids were a fine way to spend a Saturday morning or weekday afternoon.

Last week was a busy one in the news. The war in Gaza and Israel. The war in Ukraine. Election Day. The Republican debate. The Trump civil fraud trial in New York. The aftermath of the recent horrific mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine.

“The reality is that people with mental illness account for a very small proportion of perpetrators of mass shootings in the U.S., says Ragy Girgis, MD, associate professor of clinical psychiatry in the Columbia University Department of Psychiatry and the New York State Psychiatric Institute, in a recent issue of the Columbia Psychiatry News.

At least a handful of mobile phones lit up last Wednesday night with news of an in-progress mass shooting in Maine while our audience at The Cabot listened to a panel of experts speak about the US gun violence crisis. As if on cue, and as if we all needed a reminder of how frequent and devastating mass shootings are, a lone shooter was killing at least 18 people with a semi-automatic rifle (AR-15 style) in a bar and a bowling alley less than three hours north of us.

We (Therese and Judy) went out to dinner last Wednesday night. Our fashionably late reservations were for 8 pm so we left the North Shore at 7, heading to the Merrimack Valley. As we pulled into our dinner venue, the last bus pulled out of the terminal on Common Street in Lawrence. Why is this relevant? Because our dinner destination was the Buckley Transportation Center where folding tables are set up family style every Wednesday in the bus parking spaces to provide a warm meal and more for the homeless population of Lawrence.

This week, it is difficult to think or write about anything other than the war in the Middle East. 

Tracy Kidder doesn't walk by homeless people on the street anymore. He doesn’t act as if they are invisible. He makes eye contact. He speaks to them. And he usually gives them money.

We are excited to invite you to an evening with leading activists committed to stopping gun violence on our streets, in our schools, and inside our homes. If you have ever felt frustrated, discouraged, or confused about the gun law debate, join us on Wednesday, October 25 at 7 pm at The Cabot in Beverly to learn what we all can do to effect change and help protect people of all ages and walks of life.

We think the issue described below raises some ethical and philosophical questions worth chewing on. We hope you will share your ideas with us.