I have no interest in the left or the right, in reviling the President or defending him, or arguing with the legions of ideologues trampling on our notions of freedom and civility humanity. Democracies are fragile, they depend on us caring for one another.

Sometimes, I feel that our country has lost its heart, and the refugee children and the Mansion residents are offering us an opportunity to find it, or, as in the case of the Tin Man, to recognize that we have had it all along.

The Tin Man has joined the Bedlam Farm lexicon, we are happy to have him. We keep looking out the window and wondering who is standing on our lawn. He stands for the heart, and I am happy to have him here. He was created by the farmer and artist Ed Gulley, who publishes the popular Bejosh Farm Journal along with his wife Carol.

The view from the farmhouse is different. The Tin Man is there to remind us that empathy is the foundation of our humanity, and when we lose our sense of empathy, our hearts turn to stone.