Experiencing That “Vujà De” Feeling** (Hat tip: George Carlin)
Zoom call with extended family set up for Thursday afternoon?
“Check.”
Basement prepped for newly-quarantining, back-from-California college son?
“Check.”
Grocery store run — including mask, hand sanitizer, and socially distanced wait line in front — successfully completed?
“Check.”
Fall leaves all raked?
Umm . . . .
Such is the post-Trump, pre-Biden, very much in-the-thick-of-the-pandemic Thanksgiving 2020.
Rejoining the Kaplan Family Bubble
The skyrocketing infection rates and cold(er) weather are prompting many families — including mine — to revert to our Spring-time, “Defcon 5” alert level.
So, returning college son #1 is quarantining in the basement until he receives the results from his Covid-19 test (scheduled this Saturday).
Meanwhile, with fewer outings and (much) more at at-home time on tap the next few months, the rest of us once again seem to be inhabiting four, one Bedroom apartments with shared common areas (Kitchen and TV Room), rather than a four bedroom house.
Giving Thanks
Thankfully, even with all the difficulties, there are still many things to be thankful for — as individuals, families, and as a nation.
That includes everyone in my immediate family being together; all of us being healthy (so far as we know — see, “Saturday Covid test”); my extended family also being healthy, if chafing at the ongoing confinement and physical separation; the successful and now resolved 2020 Presidential election; and the prospect of multiple, effective vaccines just over the horizon.
In particular, I’m thankful to, in the words of NYT columnist (and fellow St. Louis Park native and Echo editor) Thomas Friedman: “all the civil servants, elected officials and judges who did their jobs and protected democracy.”
2020 Heroes
Friedman acknowledges some of the most admirable such individuals in today’s column, “Happy Thanksgiving to All Those Who Told the Truth in This Election.”
My personal favorite: Georgia Secretary of State Brad (“numbers don’t lie”) Raffensperger, who faithfully did his constitutional duty in the face of intense opposition from his fellow Republicans.
As Friedman notes, unlike most of the country’s senior Republicans, state and local election officials chose fidelity to the Constitution over President Trump when it mattered most . . .
P.S.: I highly recommend that you read Friedman’s piece (now that you’re done reading mine 🙂).
**Defined as, “the feeling that you’ve never quite experienced something similar before.”
