Dear Ellie, Gus, Zack and Colin,
I wanted to write you for a couple of reasons. First, I wanted to say that I love you and tell you how special you are to me. You are wonderful grandchildren and have great parents – they love you too.

 Secondly, I wanted to write because the election of Donald Trump as president has made me sad and has caused me to think about you so much ever since.  So here are some things I want to say to you now:

1. It’s going to be okay. There are some scary things about this election but it is going to be okay. Your parents and grandparents are going to keep working on this.

2. From all we have seen, Mr. Trump is not a very nice man. He has cheated people, told lots of lies and says things about people who are different that hurt them.  He thinks having lots of money makes him important but doesn’t use his money much to help others.

 Many years ago, long before you were born, I read a book called “All I Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.” It was a good book and a fun book to read. Here are some of the things that book talked about.

a. Be friendly and kind;

b. Share with others;

c. Don’t tell lies – tell the truth;

d. Don’t cheat;

e. Pay attention;

f. Learn to read and think about what you read;

g. Don’t push people down;

h. Treat others the way you want to be treated, and,

i. Laugh and have fun!

Maybe Mr. Trump didn’t graduate from kindergarten, or maybe he never learned these things if he did.  Maybe he once knew some of these things and has forgotten them now. He is an old man like me and he should know these things.  But in the way he lives, he doesn’t act like he ever learned them.

We don’t always win games, or prizes or elections. When we lose it hurts, but we keep trying. 

Just because bad people sometimes win doesn’t mean they are right. 

 And, sometimes bad people can change. Let’s hope Mr. Trump can change. But I am not going to let him trick me and I am going to watch him very closely so that he won’t trick me or others.

I am also going to work really hard to make sure other people who remember what they learned in kindergarten will be elected in the future and we get Mr. Trump out of our lives as soon as possible.

Who knows, one day one of you might be president. I already know this about you – you are smart and nice and will always remember what you learned in kindergarten.

I love you,

Papaw