Dear Joanie,

    What a two weeks it's been since I've written. I do wonder what history will say about this presidential race when you're taking your history classes. I also wonder what your schooling will look like.

    COVID-19 is still very much with us in the United States. The U.S. now leads in the number of cases and deaths Your home state of New York has pretty much taken control. The State of Colorado is doing pretty well, but we're still under mask-wearing in public places and social distancing orders from our governor, which is fine with me. Boulder still reports new cases daily, but the deaths have slowed down significantly. That's hopeful in a way, but we know that there are long-lasting effects to COVID-19, so even with deaths being down, we do understand that getting the virus is much, much worse than the worse case of the flu.  Yet--can you believe this?--people are protesting the mask mandates and yammering on about their personal freedoms and how they can't be told what to do with their bodies. When you read this, I hope you find it laughable because lawmakers have been telling women what they can and cannot do with their bodies since lawmaking began, say, back in Old Testament times.  Truly, the situation in the United States is shameful. As fall begins, many schools are doing remote learning, e.g., you're at home in front of your computer hooking up with your class on an app called Zoom.  The schools that have reopened are reporting a rise in cases.  Sports teams have canceled their seasons. And I miss meeting my best friend for coffee, and, also, I really miss Scotland, where we were to go in June. Right now, not many countries will let citizens of the U.S  enter, since our numbers are so high.

    But this week has been historic one other way as well. The Democratic nominee for President Joe Biden announced that he has chosen Sen. Kamala Harris as his vice-presidential running mate. Our presidential election will occur (I hope) in the first week of November, which really is not that far away. Sen. Harris is of Jamaican (father) and Indian (mother) descent. She is a brilliant lawmaker, stunning in appearance and in speech.  I support both of these candidates with all my heart. I fear our country is on the verge of collapse. I fear that Donald Trump intends to make himself a dictator, and frankly, hardly anyone in his party will call him on the treacherous acts and vulgarities that have become commonplace for him. He is a bully and worse, a crook who should be jailed. 

    Right now we are dealing with a postal service crisis. Trump does not want a vote by mail approach to voting, and he has even suggested that the election be postponed because of COVID. Thankfully, Congress does recognize the he does not have the authority to do that.  But he has refused to authorize more money for the postal service in order for it to carry out the tasks of vote by mail. He scares all of his followers to death by claiming that fraud runs rampant, even though he himself votes by mail. Perhaps he's speaking from experience?

    Enough of politics. I care deeply because I've always been a political creature. I first voted for John F. Kennedy, who won that election over Richard Nixon. That was such a magic time, with the Kennedys in the White House--the glamour and intelligence and "ask not what your country can do for you...."  I care even more deeply because of you. Your whole life stretches out before you. I'm not exactly in the sunset years, but the sun gets closer to the horizon at my age.

    This week your grandmother Catherine took care of you while your mother got some rest. I had a Zoom call with her, and so got to see you as well. Your parents and your relatives post pictures of you almost daily, so I am watching you develop into a sharp-eyed, smiling, baby girl--your smile carries the sense that you know something the rest of us don't, which might very well be true. I think you look a lot like your mother.

 

    Stay tuned. It's not all politics, but you will sooner or later want to know about the year in which you were born and beyond, either because we have emerged with a new sense of integrity and humanity in November or else the nation has come close to the collapse of a democracy that has been held in high regard throughout the ages. Perhaps we've never deserved that.

    Sending my love. Have no idea when we will meet face to face.

 

        Great Grandmother Katie

Dearest Joanie,

    Today is August 4, 2020, a hot day in the mountains above Colorado, but cool in my little studio that used to be our garage.

    Here is what my typical day looks like when we are experiencing COVID-19. In other words, this is what I've done so far today:

• At 7:30am, Shelby Poodle and I left for doggy day care. I wrap my face mask around my wrist, so I'll be sure to remember it. When I pull up at day care, Shelby barks, I put my mask on, and Shannon, with her mask on, comes out the open door to take Shelby. Shannon and I wave to one another. I do not go in the facility, nor do I touch the door. Shelby dashes in with doggy joy.

• At 8am I pull up in the Target parking lot. From 8am to 9am, Target allows only older and at-risk people to shop. There is a person stationed by the door to turn away those young whippersnappers who try to get in. We are required to wear face masks in Target as we are in all Boulder stores. At the entrance is a disinfectant spray, and a worker is spraying all the carts. Although I feel safe enough,  I keep disinfectant in my car as well and use it when I'm through shopping.
  

• I return home by 9am, in time for my dance class. Of course, it is not an in-person class. I run to my studio and connect to my class through Zoom on my computer. There are 30 people in the class, from all over the world. So, I dance alone in my studio, but also with 29 other people.  I have been a dancer all my life, so I'm happy that I can continue it. I just don't know when I'll be able to join others in a real dance studio in person.
  

• After dance, I make myself some coffee and toast and sit outside. My flower garden is loaded with cosmos and Flanders Field poppies. I find doing this is refreshing.
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• Then, I do the chores of the day, work in the studio, do my paint by numbers beach chairs. Your great grandfather Doug will pick up Shelby, and when they return, I'll make dinner. We'll eat outside, and Shelby will hunt chipmunks on the hill above our house. We'll watch something on TV at night.

    Between you and me, I'm really tired of fixing dinner every night and having to come up with ideas. I would LOVE to go to a restaurant and eat a meal out. But we dare not do that. It's seemingly safe enough; waiters and all staff wear masks, and tables are placed 6 feet apart, which, we are told, is a safe distance (no closer), but we still don't have this virus under control, and there is no vaccine in the near future.

    On the political scene, we are waiting to hear who Joe Biden's pick for Vice-President will be.  Your great-grandfather and I are life-long Democrats. We do have a presidential election coming in  November, and if the current president wins that election, I may be writing to you from another country, preferably Canada. I'm serious.

    Here is a brief note about my sister, your great great Aunt Patsy. Patsy died a month before you were born. I'm so sorry that you won't get to know her. She was my older sister. She taught me to read; she sewed all my clothes, she wrote letters to me practically every week, and her heart was filled with kindness. The saddest part of living during COVID-19 is that we could not travel to see her before she died, nor could we attend her service. We could only watch a video of it. I don't know when I'll ever be able to visit her grave. 

Your Great-Aunt Patsy and Charles

    Traveling now is very risky, and there are many countries that won't allow US citizens into their country because our infection rate is so high, and we do not seem to have the virus under control. Frankly, it's really shameful. There are people who refuse to wear masks because they say doing so is an invasion of their personal freedom. I'm so embarrassed about the willful ignorance that so many people embody.

    I'll sign off for now and update you soon on how we're living now. I'll also introduce you to some of your relatives past and present.

                With much love,

                    G. Katie