Pandemic, Week 85 (The Way the Wind Blows)

This week President Biden met with Pope Francis before heading to the G20 Summit in Rome and then to Glasgow to discuss the United Nations Framework on Climate Change. President Biden unveiled the Build Back Better bill that includes $555 billion for climate programs. Senate Democrats unveiled a plan to tax billionaires on assets they own to offset costs in the Presidents' social spending plan. Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, a state where no billionaires reside, voiced his opposition.  The Supreme Court agreed to review EPA's authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. An army led coup occurred in Sudan, where the new leaders have suspended internet and other communications, restricted movement of civilians and reportedly killed at least 10 protestors. The civil trial began related to the violence that occurred at the Unite the Right march in Charlottesville, VA in 2017. Facebook announced that it was changing its corporate name to Meta – CEO Mark Zuckerberg made the announcement while standing in front of a bookshelf with a bottle of Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce prominently displayed.

The world reached 247.0 million COVID-19 cases and 5.0 million deaths this week, of which the US accounted for 46.8 million cases and 766,000 deaths.  221 million Americans (67 percent) have received at least one dose of the vaccine with 192 million (58 percent) being fully vaccinated. The FDA cleared the Pfizer vaccine for children age 5-11, but the CDC still needs to make a formal decision before roll-out can begin.

This week started with some climbing (and ping-pong) for Allen and Owen, therapeutic massage for Elaine, and homework for Nora. Our friends Brandon & Anneke (and their kids) from Austin joined us for dinner on Wednesday, having intended to visit last month before an ill-timed COVID exposure thwarted the scheme. I hadn't seen them in years and had never met nine-year-old Olive; Allen hadn't seen them since March 2018. It was also spirit week at both Stuart and Duke, so the kids used alternative backpacks, dressed in decades long past, and wore administration approved costumes to school. We even swung by the Brown family's 25th Hottern' Hades Chili Cook-off/Sudds Halloween Party on Saturday (which in addition to costumes, chili and beer, included live music this year) before heading to Aunt Katherine's for homemade Chicago stye pizza, s'mores and tales of Katherine and Adrienne's latest ill-fated camping experience (think bomb cyclones and an empty gas tank...).

But the big event for us was seeing Hadestown at the Kennedy Center. It was our first live theater experience since January 2020 (if you don't count Owen's June 2020 performance of 10 Ways to Survive Quarantine or Nora's turn in the December 2020 performance of Virtually Ever After). It was also the show that we were supposed to see earlier in the month on Broadway with our friend who passed away. But as we keep reminding ourselves, joy and grief can co-exist. So we went, and enjoyed having a night of family and theater and watching a great show together. But we also cried a little bit, reminded, as they say in Hadestown,

To the world we dream about, and the one we live in now. 

(To see all of this week's pictures, click here.) 

Pandemic, Week 84 (Note - We Don't Really Have a Podcast)

This week Donald Trump filed suit in District court against the January 6th Select Committee and the National Archives to block release of White House records related to the insurrection.  Republican's used the filibuster to block the Freedom to Vote Act. The Supreme Court granted an expedited review of the Texas Abortion Law, but refused to block the law in the meantime, despite Justice Sotomayor's dissent. Seventeen members of a Christian aid group are being held hostage by a gang in Haiti that's demanding a ransom of $1 million per person. Netflix employees walked off the job on Wednesday in protest of its treatment of non-binary and trans employees related to the release of Dave Chappelle's new special, The Closer. Former Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff and Secretary of State Colin Powell died of complications from COVID-19.

The world reached 244.0 million COVID cases and 5.0 million deaths this week, of which the US accounted for 46.3 million cases and 756,000 deaths. 220 million Americans (66 percent) have received at least one COVID vaccine dose and 190 million (57 percent) are fully vaccinated. The FDA announced that the benefits outweigh the risks for the Pfizer vaccine in children age 5-11; the CDC will meet on November 2nd-3rd to make recommendations on how the shots should be administered to younger children.

We had a quiet week. The kids returned to their activities and school, including homework assignments which required some questionable assistance from their father. Allen and I had work (which for Allen involved meeting with China about climate and admiring the proofs of his new joint article in Science). We watched Dune (Part 1) with the Telfair-Chas and finally finished Thor: The Dark World at home. We started decorating for Halloween (and had fun with gourds), though are holding off on carving  jack-o-latterns for now lest the squirrels get them (Nora went rogue and carved one at a friends). Owen grilled porkchops for the first time, resulting in three generations of carnivores overseeing the cooking of protein over fire. And finally, after being thwarted by a sick postal employee in October 2019 and then the Pandemic, we submitted the paperwork for the kids' new passports in anticipation of a planned trip to Italy this summer which meant both kids were subjected to a portrait session with Allen which was fun for all.

(To see all of this week's pictures, click here.)

Pandemic, Week 83 ( )

This week, the House approved the temporary debt ceiling increase. The US announced that it will be reopening the borders for non-essential travel to Canada and Mexico next month (proof of vaccination will be required). 10,000 John Deere workers went on strike demanding larger shares of the company's recent record profits. William Shatner, aka Star Trek's Captain Kirk, completed a sub-orbital space trip on Amazon founder Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin rocket, making him, at 90, the oldest person to reach space. A British bakery is being forced to stop selling a number of treats that use American-made sprinkles which include a color that is  banned from sprinkle use in the UK; the baker has instituted a sprinkle strike in retaliation. 

The world reached a total of 241.1 million COVID cases and 4.9 million deaths this week of which the US accounted for 45.8 million cases and 744,000 deaths. 219 million Americans (66 percent) have received at least one dose of the vaccine and 189 million (57 percent) are fully vaccinated. Meanwhile, Texas Governor Greg Abbot banned all state entities, including private employers, from enforcing vaccine mandates.

We spent our week having a lot of family time – playing games, watching movies, admiring Owen's Dr. Who costume – as we prepared to say goodbye to our friend. She was a smart, funny, strong and beautiful 13-year-old that struggled with anxiety and depression during the Pandemic, and died by suicide two and half weeks ago. Her memorial service was held at our Meeting House on Friday, and as is the Quaker tradition, people spoke when moved to. Nora – who considered her a big sister and had been her sidekick on so many adventures and experiences – was one of the first. While the prior speakers focused on the loss and the grief that we have all been feeling, Nora instead talked about how mad they were that everyone was hanging their heads in sadness and focussing on the moment our friend took her life, rather than the amazing person she was. Nora went on to describe some of their favorite memories together – which included laughing and playing, but also talking about things they didn't want to share with anyone else, and somehow (I'm still not clear on this) also included flying turtle bats – and how much more she was than that one, fatal moment. I think for everyone at the Meeting, Nora's words helped remind us to focus on all the things we loved about our friend and all the things we would take away from having known her. Because knowing her was a gift.

Earlier in the week, I went to a session for the parents of the kids affected by her death, and how to help them in their grief. And the one thing that stayed with me most (aside from, hydrate), is that joy and grief co-exist. While there will be times when we miss our friend so much it hurts, there will also be times when we laugh and smile, either because it's something that would have made her laugh and smile too, or just because we need to. And that's how it should be.

So we spent a lot of time together as a family this week which involved a fair amount of laughing; and we spent a lot of time thinking about our friend this week, which involved some tears. And we're ok, but we still really miss our friend.

(To see this week's pictures, click here.)

If you or someone you know is thinking about ending their life, call 1-800-273-8255 or text SHARE to 741741 for free, 24/7 crisis counseling.

Pandemic, Week 82

This week, the Senate approved a temporary lifting of the debt ceiling, thereby avoiding default by the US government until December, which coincidently is when the continuing resolution for the budget expires. Facebook and its affiliated platforms of Instagram and WhatsAp all crashed on Monday for roughly six hours – Twitter meanwhile was fine. Whistle Blower Frances Haugen testified before Congress this week, detailing how Facebook knowingly harmed user by using algorithms the amplify insecurities, particularly those related to young people. The Pandora Paper were released, which expose an offshore system that allowed government leaders, billionaires and criminals to hide financial accounts. A pipeline leak off the coast of California caused more than 100,000 gallons of oil to spew into the Pacific Ocean. Washington National player Juan Soto flew out to LA to support former teammates Trea Turner and Max Scherzer in the NL Wildcard game.

The world reached 238.5 million COVID cases this week and 4.9 million deaths, of which the US accounted for 45.2 million cases and 733,000 deaths. 217 million people (65%) in the US have received at least one full dose of the vaccine and 187 million people (56%) are fully vaccinated. Pfizer requested emergency authorization for its COVID vaccine for children ages 5-11 which, if approved, could mean younger children could have their first dose before Halloween.

The kids were off of school for the latter half of the week due to the conferences (FYI: they're both doing well and their teachers love them), but we cancelled our planned trip to NYC in order to stay closer to home. Nora got a new viola and restarted in-person lessons; Owen ordered his full Dr. Who Halloween costume; and Allen submitted the draft Long Term Strategy to the White House for review. Other than that, we mostly spent the week being there for our friends and each other as we navigate the loss of our friend and loved one.

(To see this and last week's pictures, click here.)

Pandemic, Week 81

We lost someone incredibly special this week. She's been a big and important part of our whole family's life, and we're missing her dearly as we try to figure out how to help our friends and each other go on without her here.

We don't really have anything else to say, except to note that these are really hard time for everyone. Please take care of yourselves and those around you.