Summer visits to NE PA

Yesterday I had a day off from work, scheduled because it was supposed to be Rob's last day off from school at Wyoming Area due to "COVID 19 break".  The break is being extended at least though April 6th.  So, to help us escape from the house and give Rob some driving time, we went on a trek to the Tunkhannock area.  Rob, you drove out Rt. 92, across the Falls bridge and on to Tunkhannock.  (It must be mentioned that as we went through Harding you asked whether we were driving past Lake Scranton; this was not quite right, as in fact it's the Susquehanna River.)  Then went into town and on the Rt. 6 bypass as we attempted to locate Tunkhannock's riverside park - never did find it.  We switched drivers and continued on our expedition.

Rob, I had started telling you about summer vacations in Mehoopany, where my family stayed at least two summers during the mid '70's.  My earliest memories go back to the late 1960's, when we visited from Allentown going north on the turnpike to Wilkes-Barre through the Lehigh "tuntel", as I pronounced it.  (The tunnel was put through in 1957 to create an efficient route past Blue Mountain.  Below is a picture of the tunnel from 1989, as construction of a second tube was in progress.)

So here's what sticks out in mind about summer visits to the greater Wilkes-Barre area.....

South Franklin St, Wilkes-Barre:  I remember the rectory immediately next to the St Stephen's church (where my Grandad was the minister from @ 1948 - 1972) being a beautiful home, with handsome woodwork and including a stair lift that could be used for rides or sending luggage up/down.   This was directly across from the Boston Store, now Boscov's.  It had a large kitchen, a lovely shady backyard (adjacent to the Westmoreland Club side entrance/parking area), and I got to sleep in a four poster bed.  I also remember pushing myself on a ride-on toy train engine down the concrete walkway next to the church.  Aunt Julie and I were taken on outings to the River Common a couple blocks away, where I remember playing Ring Around the Rosie* and London Bridge is Falling Down.  We also had visits to The Boston Store across the street, which had a coin operated carousel kiddie ride in the basement (as older girls, I remember how much Aunt Julie and I liked the escalators - and getting a stern talking-to by the store clerks after going the "wrong way" by running up the Down escalator).  Yes, we could be quite bad.  We also had many visits with Aunt Mary and Uncle Bob, a couple blocks away at their home on S. Franklin Street next to the Wilkes campus (as little girls, I remember getting "horsey" rides on the backs of cousin Bruce while Julie rode on cousin Brian).  Here is what the rectory looks like a recent photo of the rectory, which is now the Luzerne County Historical Society library, and of a stair lift complete with kitty.

Mehoopany:   As you noticed yesterday, this town is up Rt. 6 then past a huge Proctor & Gamble plant that I remember being called the Charmin plant.  I believe the cabin was available to us due to the kindness of the Weatherly family (my impression is that Mr. Weatherly was also a minister).  It was very close to a dairy farm, with an enclosed area for the cows on our side of the barn.  Here we got a first-hand view of what must be done if Mama cow needs a bit of help from a farmer (or was it a vet?) delivering Baby calf.  It was also smelled rather unpleasant depending on which direction the wind blew.  I remember staying up almost all night reading a book I found on a cabin book shelf, The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe - what a great book!  We swam in the Susquehanna River, at a nearby "beach" which was actually just rocks similar to the river front by the bridges in West Pittston - this necessitates wearing sneakers.  Also, Grammie had Aunt Julie and me swim across the river with her (and back), I assume to prove that we had perfected our swimming skills.  You asked me yesterday Rob, did you wear a life jacket?  Of course not!  After dark one night, Grandad took the kids on a snipe hunt up the road, which involved taking brown paper grocery bags and flashlights.  We wandered around in the woods for a while, needless to say no snipes were caught.  In downtown Tunkhannock we got treats at Gable's bakery and went to the Dietrich theater, where I remember seeing Herbie the Love Bug.  As an evening activity, we sometimes drove over through Tunkhannock to watch local bears eating garbage at the dump.  The dump (which was on Rt. 92) has been covered over and is now a sports complex that I pointed out to you yesterday, Rob.  Here's a fairly recent photo of the town of Mehoopany including the bridge.  Our cabin was on the left side, up the river.  Based on what we saw yesterday, it appears it's been remodeled/expanded to become a year-round home and is part of the farm property.

As an aside, do you remember when a bear took a snooze in West Pittston in a tree on Exeter Ave?  It was just a couple years ago, you can read about it here:  Bear Visit to WP

Beaumont:  Well, my grandparents had lived in the rectories of churches where my Grandad served (in New Haven, CT; Johnson City, NY: and finally at St Stephens).  When thinking ahead to retirement and to give themselves needed time away from work/home obligations, they bought land from Dr. Farley who was the president of Wilkes College at the time. It was the lower portion of his property in Beaumont - about 15 minutes outside of Dallas.  Rob, yesterday we turned off Rt. 309 at the Nulton/Kopca Funeral Home and drove up Butternut Hill Rd and then partway down to see the house.  Without foliage, we could see the garage, the side and front of the house with picture windows looking out over a beautiful valley.  It's a split-level home with a flat roof, which I believe was a Frank Lloyd Wright design.  Here are some memories from this home....   When Aunt Julie and I visited, one of the highlights was breakfast when Grandad often had a fried egg.  Julie and I would watch carefully as the meal progressed, since Grandad would eat the egg white first and then would eat the entire yolk in one bite.  I'm sure he took his time and made this somewhat of a production, knowing that we were fascinated with the fork being carefully aligned under the yolk, which he then then raised slowly and neatly up to his mouth.  On hot days Nana took us to a swimming hole a few times, down the hill then right on to Buckwheat Hollow Road - the swimming hole was to the left on South Run.  We would hike up the hill to the Farley's property and into the woods where there was a large rock to picnic on.  There were family dinners on the patio; I remember the dinner we had there after Grandad's funeral, when Nana said it was a lovely get-together but there was one person missing.  Nana lived there for a few years after Grandad passed in 1979, though it was isolated and quite difficult for her in the winters (which were colder and much snowier then).  It was hard to say goodbye to their dream home, but in the early 80's she sold it and moved into a small home in Dallas. It was on Lehman Ave, near Davenport St where Aunt Pam lives.  Dad and I helped her with packing and getting ready to move toward the end of my high school years.  I then lived with Nana on Lehman Ave while going to King's College.

Harvey's Lake:  Harvey's Lake was and still is a great spot for summer fun.  As a young girl, I remember stopping at a nearby farm to watch very large and menacing-looking bulls on the other side of a substantial fence.  We also swam at Sandy Bottom Beach, which was a public beach though 1984.  It had a food stand, where I remember Grandad getting french fries with vinegar.  I found a nice photo - see below.

The best thing about Harvey's Lake, though, was Hanson's.  Our family did not have much extra money, and as a special treat we could ride the rides at Hanson's Amusement Park once a year.  We kids would be SO excited to do this - as I imagine you were for rides on the Boardwalk at Ocean City MD, at the New York State Fair and at local carnivals & fairs.  This was long after the Park's heyday, and the place was in some disrepair (it closed in 1984).  But we didn't really care.  Aunt Julie and I rode the wooden roller coaster many times, and I also enjoyed the small kiddie roller coaster and especially the Merry-go-Round (which I still enjoy very much).  I found this fascinating in-depth story that you might enjoy:  History of Hanson's Amusement Park  Also, here are three pictures from the glory days of the Park and a roller coaster photo which seems to be a later one.

Not too far away....  in Shavertown, we also had swimming and picnics at the Valley Tennis & Swim Club with Aunt Mary and Uncle Bob, who were members.  They were good tennis players, I remember watching some of their matches.  When you took tennis lessons at Wyoming Valley Indoor Tennis a few years ago, I recognized it and realized Aunt Mary had brought me there with her as well.

Camp Lackawanna:  St. Stephens Church sponsored a camp for many years, Camp Sterrett located west of Tunkannock near Vosburg.  Next door was a sister camp, a YMCA Camp.  The Presbytery of  Lackawanna acquired the properties and established Camp Lackawanna in 1962.  There was a cooperative arrangement by which kids connected with St. Stephens were included in camp programs.  This led to Aunt Julie and me going to Camp Lackawanna over summers for a week at a time when I was in 5th-7th grade.  I remember being very homesick the first year, then afterwards it was fine.  We had a good time - with bible study in the mornings, crafts, hiking, swimming at the pool, canoeing on the Susquehanna etc.  It is truly wonderful to be out on the river.

Our first year, Cindy Clauser from Slatington was in our cabin.  She and I became pen pals, and have stayed friends ever since.  She married Dennis Reitz, and as you know they live in Palmerton and have two kids older than you are - Mike and Becky.  Rob, yesterday we took Sugar Hollow Road to the top of Doll Mountain on the opposite site of the river - if we had a clear view would have seen this, the Vosburg Neck where camp is located.

Red Rock:  After the Mehoopany cabin days, we switched over to tent camping near Ricketts Glenn State Park.  We stayed at Goods Camp Ground, which is at the bottom of the mountain.  From there, we could head over to visit Nana & Grandad and get together with the Kerr family.  I will say that camping was not my fave thing to do - I was not so fond of outhouses, the possibility of sleeping on top of rocks & tree roots, or rainy weather then camping (for multiple reasons).  I distinctly remember being encouraged to make toast using a stick held over the campfire, which was spectacularly unsuccessful - the bread ended up limp and smokey.  But there are some interesting and memorable things to mention.  Grandad liked to fish, so we would sometimes go out on a boat with him at the lake next to the campground - it had plenty of stumps, and I called it Mosquito Lake (an on-line search has just revealed that its actual name is Beaver Pond).  We did shopping and laundry most often in Benton.  We went for drives at twilight to see deer along the edges of open fields.  We hiked the falls trails (up and down) at Ricketts Glen.  And best of all we spent many wonderful days at Lake Jean, in the park at the top of Red Rock mountain which has boating, a great beach for swimming, bath house with hot showers, and a snack bar.  You will remember this from a couple summer picnics we had at the beach and from winter walks when we are staying at the Ricketts Glen family cabins which are near the beach parking lot.  Here is the Goods Campground sign, looking relatively better than I remember it.  And a nice picture of the Lake Jean beach.  

* Ring-Around the Rosie has pretty gruesome origins involving symptoms of the plague.  Seems a little ironic to think of it now, while there's another epidemic.  We sang it this way (of course, at the end you collapse on the ground):

"Ring around the Rosie

A pocket full of posies
Ashes, ashes
We all fall down"

On What Was Lost (and What Was Not)

Every so often I think about what was lost as our nuclear family and households on Monument Ave and Seventh Street broke up.  Besides the grief and emotional fallout of losing our relationships with Dad, some "things" that were important to me are lost .  And I know there were lost "things" that were very important to you too.  A few items that come to mind are a doll I believe I got in Ventnor (the only early childhood item I had, as Grammie is a cleaner-outer), my high school diploma and yearbook, and all my memorabilia from being pregnant, your births and earliest years.  Also, I had put aside your favorite toys from baby/toddler/pre-school days, stuffed animals, blankets, a bottle or two, etc.  I am truly sad for your things that were lost.  I did start saving again, mostly from our days on Sharpe St, so there are some toys and many books.  During those years, I also made very difficult decisions including the decision to divorce your Dad.  I remember telling you about that decision Alex, as we drove along the Back Road in West Wyoming one day - it was so hard.  I told myself that I never want to disappoint you like that again.

I remind myself about what as Not lost, and at least one gain.  I believe we are all more empathetic for other people, and much more aware of realities of mental illness (and that our society does not have enough of a safety net for people who suffer).  Our country, community, schools, libraries, hospitals, etc. are in-tact, which is not true for places of war, political turmoil and natural disasters.  Some people can never "go home".  I have my job, which is a source of tremendous stability for all of us.  We have our family (with one glaring exception), friends and local activities.  I have the very sweetest memories of your infant and younger days living at Monument Ave, along with so many pictures.  It was incredibly fortunate that when making final visits to the 7th Street house, we found all the photo albums I had put together over the years starting in the mid 80's.  Steve also found 2 sets of Grandpa's dog tags, and I recovered my wedding dress & MBA diploma from Wilkes.  And while I won't be passing along to you all the "stuff" I had once planned on, you will have this blog (a true "gift", along with effort, care and love that is integral when trying to be a good parent).

Mostly, we have each other.  And a new life we had to build for ourselves.  Aunt Pam is your most loving and enthusiastic booster.  The unexpected, extra bonus is your stepfather.  Steve's commitment to being a caring parent to his girls as well as you boys, thoughtfulness, energy and financial resources combined with mine have allowed us to have this lovely, comfortable home on Montgomery Ave. and given me a solid foundation to support you both through college and beyond.  What we are doing now is looking forward with hope and excitement for the future.

Here's a pic of you guys looking pretty happy, after Thanksgiving Dinner in 2017.

COVID-19 Update

Another week has gone by.  Around the world, everything is changing.  Fundamental things in our daily lives are different - other than driving around a bit for a change of scenery, walks around town and getting groceries & some takeout food we are staying home.  It occurred to me this morning that we all like our houses, which is truly a blessing....  we are happy at home, a line that sticks in my mind from the Queen song "You're My Best Friend".

Government leaders are making critical decisions that will affect lives, including potentially lives of our family members (although we have a first world healthcare system, the US was not effective in pandemic planning and is struggling to respond cohesively).  It seems like we have some tough choices, but the best way forward is to shut things down as much as possible NOW to reduce infections.  One fantastic thing is that it appears that Steve and I will keep our jobs (working at home), which unfortunately many other people are losing. It's a scary time.  The stock market is incredibly volatile, we are almost certainly headed for a recession, and there is a glut of oil on the market (unheard of in my lifetime), but not surprising with travel restrictions, flight & cruise cancellations and drop in commercial/industrial demand as the economy weakens.

After a long and tiring week of work juggling my normal job responsibilities & business continuation, listening to the news I am feeling a little emotional today.  Alex, while Gerrity's seems to be doing an especially good job with meeting needs of our community, I'm worried about you being exposed at work.  I'm worried about Grammie and Grandad, who have been doing their own shopping - a very bad idea, in particular because Montgomery County has the most cases in Pennsylvania.  I worry about Steve, since he has asthma.  Not so much about you, Rob, as I have you home & know you are sticking close.  What if any of us get sick or our friends, kids/teachers at school or co-workers get sick?

So what to do now?  Try to keep washing hands, using hand sanitizer and not touching your face.  Aunt Pam is giving video lessons, which her kids enjoy plus they are practicing a lot (!)  She is also recording hymns/music which is being included with services that Pastor Jen Baer at Trinity is recording and posting on-line, since church services are suspended.  Alex, you are working hard between on-line classes at Misericordia U and stocking produce.  And (finally, after a few months) you are getting a hair cut tomorrow with Kim at A Little Off the Top!  Rob, you have been doing school assignments, playing on-line games and driving with me.  Steve is keeping busy with Olympia Chimney work, watching "scam the scammer" videos and doing some yard clean-up (though it's still cold).  Alex, I've been doing Prudential work in your room which is quite comfortable - and the kitties don't seem to mind sharing their space.  I'm also trying to do cleaning projects, plus baked banana bread this morning (with loaves for Daisy Ct and Davenport St).  It is comforting to do simple things like watch videos on You Tube.  So here's one that makes me smile, a wonderful choir competition performance from the TV show Glee:

2020 Pandemic COVID-19

It became official this week, as you can read in this NPR article:  WHO Announcement.  The coronavirus respiratory illness spreading around the world is now considered a pandemic.  It seems to have crossed from animals to humans at a market selling live animals in Wuhan, China.  Here is a very interesting article about the city, at the confluence of the Yangtzee and Han rivers: City of Wuhan.  (Makes me think about studying World History in 9th grade.)  I think we all read a lot of news - and coverage of the epidemic started with a few articles and has expanded steadily.  Now when I look at CNN, NPR and USA Today news feeds, most of the articles are related to the spread of what's now called COVID-19.

I wonder what you will remember from this time.  Hopefully, it will be just that things became inconvenient.  But.... it's scary, as there have already been thousands of deaths around the world (especially in China and Italy).  While spending time at the Wyoming Cemetery helping Dad when he was the caretaker, visiting graves or listening to the Memorial Day program have you looked at the grave markers closely?  There are a number of deaths of young women from 1917-18, during the last major epidemic which was fatal to many pregnant women.  Your great grandfather Joseph Zeller's first wife died during this influenza while expecting their first baby.  He later married your great grandmother Mary Lee Rowe (they had 3 daughters - our Aunts Mary and Margaret, and your grandmother Elizabeth).

Steve and I have both been responsible for "Business Continuation Planning" at work, in my case for about 10 years.  In larger companies, it's generally expected that a Plan exists for business interruptions such as buildings being inaccessible, system failures and employees being unable to get to work.  Prudential established a pandemic plan years ago, which included creating scenarios and having team "exercises" to talk about & plan for how they would handle situations when employees & their family members are sick.  The scenarios would often include 2 waves of infections, separated over several months (an alarming thought).  One main feature of the Plan is for employees to avoid working in close physical proximity where germs could be spread - and preferably, to work from home.

Due at least partially to having limited testing capabilities, infections are spreading in the U.S.  Two hot spots are in & around Seattle, WA and New Rochelle, NY (right outside NYC).  This week there's been significant escalation in efforts to mitigate the spread of the virus.  The rate of serious complications like pneumonia and death is much higher for those over 60 years old and with pre-existing health conditions.  However, it seems like others especially young people can have mild cases - but can still spread the infection through coughing/sneezing, even before they have symptoms (and perhaps it is spreading from people that have no symptoms at all).  This is a very serious development.

So what's going on now?  On Friday, Governor Wolf announced that public schools would close for at least two weeks.  Earlier in the week, colleges and universities began announcing plans to discontinue in-person classes and (attempt to) switch to on-line classes.  Alex, yours at Misericordia will start on Wednesday.  Over the past week, the NBA cancelled the rest of its season, MLB is delaying the start of its season, and conferences & meetings of all kinds are being called off.  Understandably but to Rob's disappointment, the 2020 Key Club District Convention (D-Con) scheduled in State College this weekend was cancelled.  Some churches have wisely cancelled services, like the West Pittston Methodist Church down our street. Nursing homes are limiting visitors.  (I hate to think about what could happen in prisons.)  Prudential where I work imposed travel restrictions and starting next week is having as many employees as possible transition to working at home.

What have we done about it?  Realizing this could be a very serious situation, about a month ago Steve and I replaced our deep freezer that's in the basement (the previous one stopped working in January, which was especially unfortunate because a large batch of tagliarini that I made for Alex's birthday was lost - Next time, Alex, you must take home your home-made birthday presents on the night of your party!).  We then shopped at Sam's Club, Walmart, Gerrity's and Price Chopper to get enough food etc. for about 2 weeks.  And got more over-the-counter medicines.  Alex, you texted me a few days ago that you & Taylor got extra stuff.  Here's one of Steve's purchases:

What else is going on?  Yesterday, I got a new office chair at Staples to use for working in your old room, Alex.  Everyone who didn't plan ahead has been shopping-crazy over the past few days.  The items that are gone or hard-to-keep-on-the-shelves seem to be hand sanitizer, bottled water (Why???  Tap water is usually fine and shouldn't be affected), toilet paper, paper towel, meats, bread, tomato sauce/pasta, canned goods and in some places produce.  There are limits to the number of certain items that can be purchased.  At Gerrity's in West Pittston, all the checkout lanes have been open for several days.

What are we doing differently?  Washing hands frequently, using hand sanitizer after going out, using napkins to open doors in public places, and thinking at least twice about going to restaurants (Agolino's has put away its salt & pepper shakers and condiment bottles in favor of individual size packets, and we heard is now steaming its laminated menus).

What hasn't changed?  Rob is still closely following politics, including the Democratic debates (last night Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders had a debate without a live audience).  And today Rob and I had learner's permit driving time, going around in the green Altima for the first time - out Wyoming Ave, over into Luzerne, then home on the Back Road.  Yes, it has leather seats and a sun roof (though not crank windows)!  Income tax filings are being prepared.  Steve still says "Shedlocks!!" on any evening or weekend when someone else's car is parked in front of our house.  Aunt Julie and Mark are taking care of their new puppies (who they bravely took with them for a week of vacation in Florida) - Blue aka "Pumpkin" and Leila.  Spring is arriving - including mourning doves, robins, and daffodil shoots.  And Rambo and Jean Luc are in their usual routines, as indicated below.  We're happy that, after a visit to the Plains Animal Hospital, Chloe recovered from a nasty UTI a couple weeks ago.

We will all be very careful - hopefully careful enough - and keep encouraging our family & friends to be careful too.

Did you know I was a Science Experiment?

Well, to be more accurate, did you know that my teeth were a science experiment?   Rob, you're sure I am overly fixated on your teeth - as in avoiding cavities by brushing well, trying to keep your teeth bright by using mouth rinse and wearing your retainer now that you've had braces.  (I recently called it the "gift" of having straight teeth - which you disagreed with, since you say you never wanted braces and don't think attractive teeth are at all important.)  After discussing your teeth many times, let me explain a bit about my teeth.

Grammie's had more than her share of teeth issues, so was determined that us kids would have minimal cavities.  I remember taking pink fluoride pills.  Deserts were infrequent.  Candy was an occasional treat at holidays, although Julie and I did buy it with our allowance at Mom & Pop's store and 2nd and Christian Streets (such as "nomenators" which I later realized were actually called "Now & Later's).  A couple times a year, Julie and I got to pick out sugar cereals as a special treat - otherwise we got cheerios and other such healthy cereal.  So my teeth were strong, but certainly not straight.  In fact, my teeth were very crowded and crooked - I think mostly because I have a small mouth.  Well, so I was a good candidate to be a science experiment.....  at the University of Pennsylvania dental school (which I assume offered a nice discount to families, particularly those that offered up their first born children).  Here's a picture of me that gives you the general idea:

I distinctly remember my first orthodontic evaluation, probably when I was 12.  I believe I was in a room with several dental chairs, when along came an orthodontics instructor and several students.  There was a discussion about my "diagnosis" and what could be done about my disastrous mouthful and overbite.  Then the fun began....  so, in short order:

• I had four canines (eye teeth) removed.  I'm not sure if this was done in 1 visit or 2 visits, but know I had local anesthetic.  I don't remember this being a problem.
• Once they healed up, back I went to have little plastic spacers shoved between many of my teeth.  Felt wonderful!  Not long after that, I had a long appointment to have bands shoved on, and connected to a wire with rubber bands.  It was a lot of metal - I had bands around every tooth (rather than brackets glued to the front of the teeth).
• From there on, for 2-3 years I went back regularly to have the wires tightened (my mouth was sore for a few days after each appointment), got occasional stabbing wounds from wires, used various combinations of rubber bands connected from top to bottom teeth, and for a time a head brace that connected to my braces (I remember a wide blue strap that went behind my head) prescribed for wear when I was home.  
• Many visits involved taking the bus by myself after school, from McCall Elementary School in center city out to west Philly where the school was located.  This was a bit frightening for a while, though I got used to it.
• Eventually, I graduated to getting my braces off (although strangely, I later missed feeling them in my mouth) and got a retainer.  I remember walking out of the building without my braces - freedom!!

Then, when I was 16 or so, my wisdom teeth partially arrived.  Not surprisingly, given my small mouth, they didn't come in all the way - they were mostly impacted.  So what to do?  Back to being a science experiment, but his time for the oral surgeon students.  I was evaluated, and they declared that the extraction would be done with local anesthetic.  Well, I did dread going for my Friday appointment, when I found out that they give you laughing gas which I think is supposed to relax you, instead it induces tears, and then they commence with sticking you under a dental student's elbow (metaphorically) while he exerts great pressure to crack the molars then pick all their pieces out of your jaw.  You go home with a swollen face to recuperate over the weekend with ice packs and (a silver lining) some ice cream.  However, unfortunately you have to go back AGAIN the next Friday because they do only one side at a time with local anesthetic.  The second time around, I managed to get along without crying, but the extractions and recuperation were just as bad.  Luckily, I didn't have to take the bus - Grammie actually gave me a ride back and forth for the surgeries....  yeahhhh!  Here is a picture of the building I got to frequent on 40th street.

I'm glad to say that your dental care has been less traumatic, generally.  And we do have some sweets in the house, including sugar cereals. You both had some memorable letters from the tooth fairy (aka Dad) and money under your pillows when you lost baby teeth.  Alex, your wisdom teeth were removed in one fell swoop while under general anesthetic.  And hopefully you have come to realize that spending time on brushing, flossing & rinsing really does matter to keep your mouth (and heart) healthy, avoid uncomfortable dentist visits and keep your wallets intact.  

Things Really HAVE Changed

The presidential primaries are underway, and are a topic of daily discussion - for Steve, Rob and me as either actual or prospective Democrats (at least I think you'll be a Democrat, Rob - you've been a Bernie supporter since the 2016 election).  It has been so interesting to see the progression from twenty plus Democratic candidates to about 5 serious candidates by the end of February.  Now Joe Biden, Michael Bloomberg and Bernie Sanders are the major ones remaining.

Last weekend, Pete Buttigieg, former Mayor of South Bend Indiana, dropped out of the race.  I have been fascinated with is candidacy - he does not have experience with state or federal government and he's just 38, which held him back.  But he is a very accomplished man and has been the first very successful gay candidate for president.  It is FANTASTIC that he ran, supported by his husband Chasten.  I was a little overwhelmed when I read this article:  "Yin to Pete's Yang", and thought about Chasten's teenage years.  He is  30 years old, not so very much older that you Alex.  Sadly, like many kids who don't "fit in" to their family's expectations, he was homeless for a while though ultimately things with his parents did work out.  

It is so painful to think about what young gay people and adults can go through, and that in our society is is only in the last 20 years or so that gay (and more recently transgender) people are more accepted.  And I'm sure you realize that LBGT people are at risk not just for bullying, but also for assaults, murder, and suicide.  Growing up, I think you have known that some kids are different and that's ok.  When I was a kid and into my 30's, I would say that gay people were mostly not accepted and transgender people were almost completely marginalized (or worse, as I already alluded to).  While many things are wrong and a bit frightening (like economic circumstances for lower/middle classes in the US, climate change and now the COVID-19 virus), this change is phenomenally significant especially including gay marriage.  I am so very glad you seem to accept LBGT people.  It is a sign of hope for the world.

You know how I love to find music videos on YouTube.  I have truly enjoyed videos from the TV show "Glee" that ran from 2009-15, and in particular one of the actors/singers Chris Colfer.  Here is a very sweet video that I listen to from time to time.  I enjoy it for a few reasons - daydreaming is important (be sure to indulge now and then, like I did as a young girl wandering around the Old Swedes church yard), I have fond memories of watching re-runs of "The Monkees" TV series when I first heard this song, and this cover features my 2 favorite gay characters from Glee.