Life goes on.

Here it is, Monday afternoon, and we are coping with this new reality: we both have COVID. First of all, I think we are both doing ok. Ellen says she feels better today. My "cold" symptoms have settled into my chest. I talked with Dr. van Dyke, and she is prescribing Paxlovid. She feels that with my previous issues with breathing, this is wise. Paxlovid has good results in preventing more serious illness, hospitalization and death. It also can result in "Covid rebound," but I guess that is an inconvenience, not life-threatening. If it happens, it just entails an additional five days of quarantine. I'll be here at home for a while, in any case. John will pick up the prescription for me. He has aleady done some shopping for us at Hanneford. Thank you, John! ************** I will not be going to Maine for Deborah McKean's memorial service this coming Saturday. And I think Ellen is going to have to give up the Common Ground Fair, which will be a disappointment, I'm sure. I will send what I was going to say at Deborah's service to Tom McKean, my god-son, who has graciously offered to read it. John and Cynthia may be able to go to the service - they have an invitation to stay with a couple at a cabin near Thomaston next weekend - at Morse Mountain - and if they decide to do that, they can attend the service. I hope our family can be represented. So, life goes on, whatever happens. I think it is always good to be reminded that we are not indispensable.************ Yesterday, we attended church at Guilford via Zoom - how convenient! A lot of people don't know we are sick. Maybe that is just as well. And last evening we watched the first episode of The Holocaust and the United States which is Ken Burns' newest documentary. Already in the first episode, it has brought to light a lot of things I was unaware of - I suspect that is generally true. It is easy to point the finger at Roosevelt or Cordell Hull and say, "You should have done more," but there was widespread popular sentiment against immigration, and in particular against Jewish immigrants. This was not just the failure of some politicians; pretty much the whole country was complicit. It makes me curious what my parents were aware of, and what they thought. The whole story takes place right at the time I was born, and the weeks, months and years following.