My mother’s 90th birthday celebration on Zoom which I first described last week, was a huge success. . . .
Author: Paul Knight
How Will RBG’s Death Effect the Election?
My friend Marty wrote me this morning saying he was trying to puzzle out the implications of Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s death for the presidential election. Will Democrats be more motivated to vote? Will it boost or diminish Republican turnout? . . .
Getting Outdoors While the Getting Is Good
Yesterday was the last day of summer and it felt like autumn. Today is the first day of autumn and it feels like summer. The rest of the week should be even more summer-like, with a high each day near 80. I don’t know how many more days like this we’re going to have this year, so Jennifer and I are filling up our social calendar this week with outdoor get-togethers. . . .
More on Learning to Fly
I’ve 80% decided that I’m going to make a self-study project this winter of doing my ground school training in preparation for taking actual flying lessons once the pandemic is over. . . .
Zoom Cocktails
Jennifer and I hosted a little get-together on Zoom last night with two other couples whom we like and who know each other. It was fun, and convinced me that this is something we should do more of. . . .
More Postcards, and Now Letters, to Voters
I wrote previously about writing postcards to voters on behalf of Reclaim Our Vote, which supports volunteers who want to send appeals to registered Democrats, especially voters of color, urging them to take advantage of early voting in the upcoming election. I’ve since found two more organizations that do something similar. . . .
Celebrating a Milestone Birthday on Zoom
My mother is celebrating her 90th birthday next Wednesday. In ordinary times we would have had a big family dinner out or even a party, but of course these are not ordinary times. . . .
Fallout, by Lesley M.M. Blume
Some extensively researched histories are overwritten. You can feel as if you’re wading through a slough of extraneous details. Fallout is not one of those. . . . Blume keeps her story moving.
Safety vs. Expediency
Today’s post is a transcription of a hand-written letter that I mailed to my gastroenterologist this morning.
Dear Dr. B_____,
I had an appointment with you this morning in advance of scheduling an endoscopy. When I arrived at your office the receptionist collected my insurance cards and ID and asked me to take a seat in the waiting room. Since there were several other patients already there I told her I would prefer to wait outside. She replied, “Well, we don’t call people so I don’t know what to tell you.” . . .
Losing Weight During the Pandemic
I’ve long wanted to lose a few pounds, but my Achilles’ heel has always been social evenings out. I did fine with restricting what I ate except when it came to going to someone’s house for dinner or out to a restaurant. Those occasions were inevitably diet-busters. When the governor announced a shutdown to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus, I realized that it presented an opportunity. . . .