Roy’s Sunday Letter for December 7, 2025
Tamales, Heroes, and The Holiday Season
Beth and I made homemade Tamales on Saturday…masa, chicken and vegetarian fillings. We began the tradition in Santa Fe with our dear neighbors Kim and Joe. Making tamales is a time to come together and to do something good. So, who wants to join us on our second batch of New Mexico goodness?
- Our Ft. Worth Buddhist Monks and dog, continue their Walk for Peace of 2,300 miles to DC. Day walkers join the stream of robes with more than a few selfies. Cold temperatures, rain, blue-skies, sun and blistered feet are all a part of these beautiful, no ego, monks’ journey. Their quest is a reminder of true values and to strive to be our better selves.
Steve Hartman is a hero for showing and telling the unknown and untold stories. Netflix has posted his “All the Empty Rooms.” In this documentary, Steve traveled to the homes of children who died in a school shooting. These families have kept the child’s bedroom as it was on the day of their death. This intimate documentary shows life, after tragedy, to us with sensitivity to the child, parents and siblings who remain. Parents shared that maintaining the bedroom was one way the family could keep their connection with their child. Find the 35 minutes to witness images and stories both unique and special.
- Truth can be found even though long ago lost. Between the pages of a once read print book, I found a 1989 newspaper clipping of a Chinese man standing in front of and blocking four tanks on the way to Tiananmen Square. Hundreds of protestors were killed and many more injured in their pro-democracy demonstrations. This man, on his way home, showed courage to us all. For younger SL readers do a Google search and see being brave come alive.
The Holiday Season can bring many of us together with families, congregations and community. The weeks of the Season bring music, movies and the push to shop and find the right gift. Smile your way into the welcoming of those you know and others you may not. Maybe we can do this in the spirit, as if, it was the first manger, infant and shepherds. The Holiday Season, these special weeks, make them all you will remember and create new memories important to friends and family.
Roy, somewhere between tanks and manger
Good morning Roy and thanks for the letter.. A dozen tamales please , I’ll pay double and shipping!!
My granddad passed away when I was 21, my dad just 2 years later. I inherited all their tools and man nick knacks. These items traveled with me and would be part of my ” work bench/shop”, Texas to San Diego and back, twice, and now finally resting in Oregon. This traveling display has helped keep the memory of these two good men alive for me as I’ve aged and the memories fade. The numbers remaining have dwindled. However, just yesterday used a pair of pliers with Pap-pa’s initials etched on the handle..
Thanks for the story recommendation. Roy. will keep an eye out for those tamales!! Happy Sunday.
The making of the tamale is the fun part.
The prep work, as with many good events, is in the prep of chopping, peeling, and more.
Death of these 2 men came into your life far too early.
Your young world must have felt unsafe, unprotected, shaping you for your future marriage and family.
Betty is a sad ending of a good life, not an easy life but a good one.
Suffering not needed but our healthcare model has never honored death,
Hang in and appreciation for you in so many ways.
Roy
Thank you for sharing the information about Steve Hartman’s iNetflix has posted his “All the Empty Rooms.” In this documentary, Steve traveled to the homes of children who died in a school shooting. I will try to get my hands on a copy. Sounds like something I should see.
The holly of the Holiday season can make All The Empty Rooms difficult for many,
Maurine’s Comments no doubt speak for many.
For parents on the video keeping the bedroom is their touch point with their son or daughter.
YouTube has Hartman pieces as well.
We always think the best of you two.
I will keep writing,,,,and you keep reading. Good for us both.
roy
Tamales are a labor of love. The time to make them is a bonding exercise for the people involved. I was invited to make them once with one of my students families. It was a joyful experience with several generations involved in a small kitchen with ingredients scattered everywhere. It is something I will never forget. I will be unable to watch “ All The Empty Rooms” to relive their loss is more than I can handle. Sometimes during the holidays the loss of loved ones hits me very hard as I am sure it does others. Thinking of tamales and lasting friendships..
Yes, the “holidays” are not always holly for many.
You are feeling what is right for you, health, balance and wellness.
The prep of all the parts of a tamale is the hard work.
Actually making the tamale is the fun part.’
If and when we gear up for batch #2 you will be at the table with us,
Roy
For the short time I lived with in San Angelo I was treated by a staff member in my group to cabrito burritos on the eve of Christmas each year. Delivered hot by Olga and her son in the evening they quickly became a favorite food that I looked forward to.
Cooking – of anything, tamales (yum), my grandmother’s Swedish rye bread, a Polish borscht, and and any wonderful thing you remember – is an art form. Wishing each of you well and happy. And yummy blessings.
And yum to you both as well
Yes, the kitchen invites our memories and rewards us with today’s favorites.
Tamale mixtures and the cooking a full day……you were missed at the table.
Roy
A gathering to create a Mexican Feast sounds like an intriguing adventure. As a child at Christmas, my father would create a traditional Norwegian smorgasbord of Christmas breads and deserts with a variety of imported Norwegian cheeses. And my mother of course created many delicious dishes of her own. Recreating family childhood holiday food experiences in the kitchen can be a fun way to share our own history with others. Roy, thank you for your most creative skills in publishing this most intersting news letter.
You will be invited to batch #2 tamale making.
More stories to tell and be heard from good folk as yourself….Roy