Pen-demic

  Jan 2022, Covid 19 Update by Dale Weir We are TIRED. OVERWHELMED. We just want it to either end or become the new annual flu with a yearly covid shot when we get our annual flu shot. The papers and news media no longer focus on COVID as they did at the start, 2 years ago. Now the media focuses on political battles instead: - A politician trying to get his name and face known, not caring if it’s because he is famous or infamous, costing the taxpayers’ money as he sues China, local governments, and school districts. At times, even putting himself in the position of suing those he was elected to defend and protect. - State legislators enacting laws that further disenfranchise many members of the communities they represent, but who don’t have the same ethnicity or racial background that they have - State legislators enacting laws that take away the right of women to control their own bodies. These and similar stories populate the news media reports, rather than updates on Covid 19. T...

  Bethlehem Steel While it might not be easy to think of positives that have come from the pandemic, I have one I’d like to share that may be useful to others. It was July of 2020 and we were tired of jigsaw puzzles, having the every 10-day trip to the grocery store be the highlight of the week, and frankly, each other’s exclusive company. But what could we do? The enforced inactivity was harder on Mitch, who thrives on travel. Rather than giving up, however, he started looking for interesting places we could safely drive to and explore, even if the actual destinations were still locked down. Through internet research, he found many relatively unknown, interesting and historical places within a half-day’s drive from our home. Needing something to which we could anchor time, and the traditional designation of “hump-day,” he chose Wednesday as the day for us to venture out. That’s how “Wandering Wednesday” was born. The first WW was a drive along Great Bay Boulevard, a little-used, s...

  “The best things in life are the people we love, the places we’ve been, and the memories we’ve made along the way.” – Auliq Ice As 2021 winds to a close, I’m grateful to be turning the page to a new year. In many ways, COVID has caused life to feel like a roller coaster this past year, filled with barrel rolls and corkscrews that make it hard to get my bearings. And yet, somewhere between the roller coaster inversions, I’ve been lucky enough to catch my breath and enjoy slower moments visiting new places, spending time with loved ones, and making memories. As my family can attest, I take a lot of pictures as we’re making memories. I am frequently behind the camera lens, but sometimes will force my family to do a group selfie, or even have my husband step behind the camera to take a pic of me with one or both of the kids. As my son edges closer to his teen years, I’m starting to receive eye rolls and snarky remarks. But simply reminding him that our family’s annual yearbook won’t ...