Everything Changed

It is now the end of May and there has been no school since Friday the 13th of March. Today I went to mass at church and received the Eucharist for the first time since March 14th. Life has went on by social distancing and wearing face masks at stores. School is online and having zoom meetings with the Elmwood staff at 2:30 on Mondays since April the 13th. Thanks to Waverly and the CARES Act I am still getting paid because I was a permanent substitute and did not qualify for unemployment because of my GM pension and SS. We have not been able to go to Valpo so we've been doing zoom meetings with the boys once a week. Life changed and we have stayed healthy by being apart from church and school family and most businesses limiting capacity so I've mostly done my grocery trips after taking Simon to work when it is not busy and stores most clean. Only essential businesses have been open until recently with no eating at restaurants or public events held. Over these past 2 months Meijer, Kroger and Aldi have been my contact with the world. When I left school in March I was sure we would be back by May and the same for church. The world has become such a mess and our president has only shown his lack of leadership through the pandemic,economic and social crisis. Since Monday May 25 when George Floyd was knelled by neck to death by police officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis rioting and protests have spread nationwide as the president tweets fear and anger instead of calming solutions. The far right and left exploit hatred and evil while the true majority seek and want justice for a united America.  No one should be proud of what our country is today and we all need to start correcting the lost path we're headed on! America is not great nor is the president! Our only salvation will be the good people to stand tall against division and work honestly on rebuilding the values that this country is supposed to stand for! The spring has been cool and rainy with our back 40 flooding May 18th after over 2" of rain. This week we had 3 days over over 80 degree weather leading us to put in the air conditioner. 2020 a year never to be forgotten and the changes it has brought will forever make life not to be taken for granted. Jane had her 67th birthday with dinner at home and flowers for the planters.  Worldwide there are 6.1 million cases and 371,000 deaths, 1.8 million cases in the USA with 106,000 deaths and 57,400 cases and 5,500 deaths in Michigan.

Coronavirus COVID-19

    Friday March 13 was a half day of school and the last day that I have worked due to social isolation. Saturday the 14th was the last time we were able to attend mass at St. Gerard as it is now online Sundays at 9:00. In February we heard about the virus causing China to shut down Wuhan but never thought a month later it would shut down most of our economy and cause our freedom to be limited to try to stop a pandemic from spreading. It was good I got the Equinox's oil changed and my haircut and new coat at Penney's before these things became part of the quarantine. Now only grocery stores are open with limited hours and with 6 foot restrictions and due to hoarding some items difficult to find or limited. Gas is cheap but nowhere to go even though there is an abundance time. Life is strange but we are surviving and healthy so far. The president has called this a war on an unseen enemy and there are very real parallels. Unfortunately trump has done a poor job of leading this war contradicting, misinforming, talking in circles, taking no responsibility while blaming others, giving uneven direction to a nation confused by this new way of living. He has been a babbling, bumbling, buffoon during daily briefings which really should be like Roosevelt's fireside chats during the Depression that reassured people. Thank God for Dr. Anthony Fauci of NIAID for being the source of truth during this trying time that would be a disaster if trump had his way which is concentrated on the health of the economy and his legacy. Globally there are 1,360,000 cases and 76,000 deaths; in the USA 368,500 cases and 10,000 deaths and in Michigan 17,221 cases and 727 deaths. I did celebrate my 69 years with carrot cake and chicken enchiladas made by my beautiful wife and we try to go for walks now that it is warming up. Sadly on March 9th Lukas crashed the front end of the Malibu on his way to work and it was his fault and that Friday turned out to be his last day of work at Delta Dental as they let go of all their temp employees as they could not work from home. He had to pay $125 for the ticket and $500 to the lady he ran into for her deductible. Jesus Christ is Lord and will see US through this!

Valpo Valentine

   This weekend we went to Valpo leaving Friday after work and getting there just after dark to spend St. Valentines with the grandchildren. The boys were happy to see us and they are growing and changing making for a great visit. Unfortunately on the ride home I felt a little queasy and when we passed Kalamazoo I threw up while driving and we pulled off I-94 and I had to change my pants and clean up at McDonalds. But as we approached Charlotte I felt it coming on again and Jane grabbed a bag and again left it on the exit ramp. I also had one more episode at home and liquid farts making the sickest I'd been in 25 years. Maybe just the 24 hour flu from school or Iowa or Indiana? Today I am better and did my taxes as there is no school for President's Day and I needed that extra rest. Aunt Peg broke her ankle and we have went to see her out at Dobie Rd. Rehab the prior 2 weekends.  It has been cold enough for snow cover but overall a mild winter a prelude to the storm that will be the rest of 2020.

2020 Vision

   We spent Christmas with Silas and Paul getting there at 11:00 on the 24th and leaving Jane there to come back by train and bus on Friday. We were able to go to the Y during my 2 weeks off and so far Jane says the class hasn't gotten too crowded with the state workers in January except for a couple of days. Jane got new glasses at Americas Best to improve her perception for the new decade. I only have to go to Colt and Winans for the IEP's now. For all of December we had 3.4" of snow and on the 18th of January we had 6.8" of snow and most other days have been near 30 degrees and cloudy with a 12" snow total for January. We did a mortgage reduction loan from LAFCU that ended the home equity loan from 5/3 Bank. Life just goes on like trump and his winning which is our losing. The House impeached him but the Senate conducted their predetermined conclusion hearing blindly saying he is guilty of an unimpeachable offense. Division, depression, deception, disgust and discrimination make a 5D 2020 vision.

Peach or Impeach Me

   It is now winter with the longest night and shortest day due to the tilt of the Earth putting the sun below the North Pole horizon.  I am on a 2 week break from school and will not have to go back the the Middle School next year after contacting HR about their IEP schedule that was not working well and the lack of a review after the 2 month pilot. Last week Jane and I went to Valpo to see Silas at his Hopewell Christmas show that had us go down Tuesday and come home Wednesday. We will all return this Tuesday for Christmas in Valpo. Phillip is with Stef in Ohio and will do his Christmas in Erie with her family. They have been living apart as Phil is in Louisiana and Stef just got a job that will start in February so she will put her house up for sale in Ohio as Phil just has in Texas and they will be reunited in their new home in Praireville LA.  We had Thanksgiving the Friday after in Valpo and had been there 2 weeks before also to visit. Lukas got a job at Delta Dental the first of December as an eligibility coordinator and has liked it so far. We have had 2 Arctic vortexes so far but the Great Lakes protected us from the extreme cold even though November has been colder than normal. In early November I broke my right front tooth and had Dr. Rashid fill it the next day and hopefully it will hold for a long time. On December 18th the House approved 2 articles of impeachment against trump for abusing his presidential power and obstructing  Congress which is a sad day for the USA.  Eat a Peach by the Allman Brothers would have been so much better for our country to hear but instead all of this is now heading for a Senate trial in January. All is not great in our republic and democracy is facing a serious challenge!

Phil & Stef's Wedding

    On Saturday October 5th in Erie PA at 2:00pm we gained another daughter-in-law. We traveled 6 hours to Erie on the 4th and checked into the Courtyard Marriot Bayfront. It was cold and cloudy and we headed to St. Jude's church for the rehearsal and then to the Erie Yacht Club for the dinner. Stef's dad was very friendly and welcoming and I paid for the evening meal. The next morning Jane got her hair done with the wedding party and we prepared for pictures outside the hotel and then off to the wedding. Silas was the ring bearer and the ceremony was  well done with bubbles greeting the couple after the church cleared out. The reception was in Riley NY about 30 miles away at Quincy Cellars Winery on a sunny warm day. We all had a great time and danced, enjoyed the cookie table and sparkler sendoff. The following morning we had a farewell send off breakfast at the Sheraton where we had to cross the sky walk to get there before we left for home at noon. Phil's job has now moved him to Louisiana and he and Stef are getting back from their over the weekend honeymoon in Cancun. Two weeks before the wedding I attended my 50 class reunion. On Friday night there was a get together at the Crown Plaza and then the Grand Ledge Country Club Saturday. I talked to people I really never knew in High School and reconnected with some good friends and had a good time reminiscing.  On the Thursday I met up with Gabor and we went out to Cheddars as he was staying at an Airbnb on Nugget  which was 3 houses from where our senior class float was built. The school year has been going on with the new required scheduled visits to Winans, Colt, and the Middle School for IEP's. I don't mind going over to Winans but am not in favor of this as it does not have a practical value for as many times as they want to do it and I hate going to the MS.  Heather Foster's husband Mark died the end of August and Jane and I went to his funeral at Riley Funeral Home and then Cadgewith Farms for a dinner afterward. Impeachment is in the air and seems more deserving each dumb thing the stable genius does and says!

Staying Busy

   Lukas turned 31 and had lunch at Sushi Moto and then dinner at DeLuca's. Starting the end of July we'll have Gramma stay with us Wednesday through Friday afternoon. It has worked well so far and Jane took her to visit her friend Eva today. Both cars had their oil changed this month and I had the serpentine belt and exhaust pipe from the engine replaced on the Malibu that now has 100,222 miles. Brandon and Taylor got married in Cedarville on August 3rd and we spent the night there and stopped in St. Ignace, Mackinaw City, Gaylord and Hartwick Pines on the way home. They had a nice wedding and reception despite Betty's rudeness and rewriting history about settling the estate and Frank's kids being excluded by them. The U P is truly God's creation and so peacefully different. I did my last week at the Y as we went to Grand Haven from the 10th until the 22nd for vacation. Phil and Steffi were there from the 11th to 18th and Jon Sharon and the grand kids the 16th and 17th. We had WIFI this year so I only went to the Library once but went swimming 5 times and Jane bought a suit and got in the water 3 times. A busy summer is over as school begins Monday after a record hottest July global temperature in the 140 years of being recorded. Wildfires rage in Alaska, the Amazon, the Canary Island and the Arctic all with some correlation to global warming. Smoky hazy sunsets may be pretty but are not good for our lungs or other living creatures on the Dirty Boulevard.