We had the peaceful day we hoped for. We went out once to drive to an ice cream stand 10 or 12 miles away. The ice cream was great.

Maria did some gardening and lots of reading. We trimmed Zinnia’s nails.

I made a simple, almost plain pizza with good stuff from our garden – kale and several herbs.

This afternoon, I sat outside and read William Bratton’s new book: The Profession: A Memoir of Community, Race and the Arc of Policing in America.

Bratton is a fierce advocate for change when it comes to policing. He does not favor defunding, but he does look at policing in a radically different and highly effective way.

Over a 50-year career, he has presided over four of the biggest big-city police departments in America: The Boston PD, the New  York City Transit Police,  The Los Angeles Police Department, and New York City (NYPD) Police department.

A rare centrist in a nation of growing extremes, Bratton has always believed in his argument that when there is disagreement, “both sides can be right.”

That is a fading belief in America. Bratton stands out. The book wanders from time to time but is compelling and valuable. He has many insights into the police and what they need to do to regain trust and protect their own well-being.

The book is an almost shockingly candid  (and self-promotional) account of his journey through the world of policing during its most turbulent years.

Bratton has almost always been successful and sharply reducing crime, increasing police morale, modernizing police operations, and developing strong relationships with black and Latino community leaders.

Everywhere he went, he sharply reduced crime and tensions between the police and the communities they are supposed to serve.

It’s a good book.

Tonight, I’ll finish it, and tomorrow,  I’ll take up a novel by Francine Prose — The Vixen — about a shy newcomer to publishing (whose mother was a friend of Ethel Rosenberg).

The book’s subject is a crazed and controversial writer who has just written a book about a character closely resembling Rosenberg, who was famously executed in the early 1950s along with her husband Julus for allegedly giving secrets about the country’s nuclear program to the Russians.

An inventive and often funny book.

It was lovely to sit out in a rocking chair overlooking the pasture with Zinnia sitting faithfully by my side, as she always does.

This dog has been an amazing gift to me; she is always right next to me. She is the Queen of Sweet.