Where is your “go-to” place? Do you have a special restaurant that you can go to for entertainment and peace at the same time? DeCarlos Restaurant has served the people of Spring Valley for 40 years. It is a charming dark and cozy place that has a staff of people who understand good service. It is easily accessible for those who have difficulty walking. There are no steps to the door to interfere with entry. There seems to be someone…
The text came in while I was sitting in my old bedroom in my mothers’ house in Washington DC. The phone rested in my hand. The hair stood up on the back of my neck. A snake hiding in my house in Charlottesville! I scrolled down to a photo of the little critter which my housekeeper sent. It really wasn’t very big. There it was stuck solidly to one of those horrible sticky rectangular mouse traps. Its whole body fits…
The world we live in is absolutely turned upside down. I do NOT understand why it is so hard for people to see this. But they have been systematically brainwashed with terror. They fear for their lives, literally. These people often feel that a diagnosis of Covid means a death sentence. I am sorry for them, but at a loss about how to help. Even Bill Mahr https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/bill-maher-democrats-misinformed-coronavirus was shocked at the political divide when it comes to ideas about…
One of my children asked about anti-body tests. Are they reliable? Some others talked about crazy stories they heard about people not being allowed to attend weddings of friends unless they had the shot. Some frightened friends of parents would not allow them to come into the house without a mask. The stigma against the people who have not had the shot is out of all proportion to the danger. If one did not know better, one would think that…
One of my children told me recently that they believe the government is their friend and there to help us through the current virus. This child thinks their mother (me) is selfish and stubborn because I do not believe that. It makes me feel somewhat frustrated and a little bit hopeless. There is so much fear of “the virus”. It is pathological. Truly scary, to me, is the idea that a lot of people believe that we as humans are…
Below is a wonderful but alarming article about the fact that those who question the government or the medical mandates are being seen as terrorists. This article was originally published on Intellectual Takeout. Please read it and think about whether this is the way we want our country to think of people like me. By Jeff Minick I’ve just learned I may be a terrorist. On Aug. 13, the Secretary of Homeland Security issued a…
Have you been ostracized from social events yet? Or are you one of those for whom it seems a good idea to ostracize the unvaccinated? Here is an example, part of an email invitation I received this week. “Please note that The Country Club requires all attendees to wear masks while not eating. Due to the nature of the event, which is centered around socializing for a large group, we can only take vaccinated guests. Please be prepared to show your…
Someone asked, “What can we do to help people with the virus?” So many people are so scared, they can’t think straight. But they know what you are talking about if you mention the word “Virus”. The one that has escaped (or maybe it was released on purpose) from Wuhan China.In answer to that question of what to do, a friend posted the following: Get a poster board, get a marker, and write:”Early use of hydroxychloroquine,Ivermectin, Zinc, Vitamin C, Vitamin…
Suddenly the hot day seemed to stall. The sun disappeared. Everything got quiet and very still. Looking up into the sky, I was shocked to see it suddenly dark. Storm clouds crowded where the brilliant blue had been only minutes before. The entire sky was suffused in charcoal and shades of grey. Such majesty in that infinite depth defied reason and shocked us with the change from light to dark. The sheer power of thunderclouds which seemed to crash against…
COVID-19 dominates the news. It feels like the end of the world. Surely we will all die if we don’t listen to the authorities. We are in such danger from each other that we need to avoid people. Be frightened of your grandchildren, and grandchildren be terrified of “killing” your grandparents. What a terrible idea that is. Family is so important we must not ignore its importance in the face of a threat that is way over-hyped. We are supposedly…
Can you imagine not knowing how to swim by the time you graduated from college? Helen Dow couldn’t swim. But her finance Dr. William J. Hale wanted her to learn. Reading my grandparents’ letters to each other has been enlightening.It is hard for us to realize that swimming was not something that a lot of people knew how to do in the first couple of decades of the 20th century. Helen Dow had never learned how to swim. But Billy…
It started with constant yelping. There are several types of barking styles employed by my dogs. This was an “I have him cornered!” bark, not an “it’s a snake!” bark or the squealing call which indicates running after a squirrel or a deer.My three dachshunds are very different from each other, though all are extremely lovable in that way that dachshunds alone seem to know how to be. Magnus is sweet-tempered and awfully patient until it is time for a…
Is this the straw that broke the camels back? Back a few summers ago, I narrowly missed attending a rally in Charlottesville to protest the planned removal of the Statue of Robert E Lee from Lee Park. I felt so strongly about this that I wanted to go downtown and protest. It would be fun to join with other people like myself who were upset by the idea of dislodging General Lee. As President Trump said, there were a lot…
All summer of 1916 Helen wrote Billy Hale every day except on the days when they saw each other. While he was absent she spent a lot of time painting china. He visited her in Midland, which was a company town, with little else to offer the visitor. She writes of longing to see him, to kiss him, but not too much. She is clearly passionate about him, but circumspect in her writing about this part. They were still chaste…
My grandmother Helen Dow Hale was smart and funny. She was one of six children, the oldest one in her family. She had loads of friends when she went to college. She was young and vibrant and full of hope and plans for the future. She graduated from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor in 1916. While there, along with studying and joining a sorority Theta of Alpha Phi and making new friends, she fell in love with her…
