New Shoes in the Rain

Happy New Year's Eve, everyone!  We're almost there, ready to bid farewell to 2020. Seemed like we would never be through with this year, as this year has not ever indicated a willingness to be through with us! But most of us are still here, still trying to do the right thing, still trying to overcome all that isn't right with our world, whether right in our neighborhoods or at a higher level. I remain grateful that my family and I have all remained healthy throughout the months of the coronavirus pandemic.  I'm looking forward to the time when all of the adults in our immediate family can receive one of the vaccines that are now being circulated to frontline healthcare workers and others who need and deserve it.  Although I find it disappointing that there are people who are finding ways to game the system and move to the head of the line.  All of you know who you are.  Please use some common sense and wait for your turn to come, because it will. And in the midst of th

The big day is almost upon us, so I wanted to spread a little holiday cheer in this space before that happens.  I am very appreciative of all who visit here to read what's on my mind on a given day, so thank you and I sincerely hope that you have a Merry Christmas! I titled today's post as I did because, well, there are an awful lot of people who have not been so fortunate that they and their loved ones will have such a nice holiday.  I'm among the lucky people whose employer values the function of which I am part, and pivoted to allow me and several associates to change our working habits and continue to contribute.  I have had to take a few mandatory PTO days here and there, but I didn't technically lose a cent of my pay throughout. I also have to say that I only have a couple of friends whose livelihood has been affected by the pandemic, one being an enterpreneur who receives fees for regularly scheduled services.  His schedule was altered so his income was as well.

Looks like we may finally have some sense of resolution to the presidential election.  Most of us already felt that way, of course, but for a certain segment of the population, it wasn’t yet settled.  Perhaps now everyone can move on with their lives.   This whole sad affair has gotten me thinking about that most American of traditions—the sore loser.  The United States appears to have a longer and richer history of people who didn’t necessarily accept the outright results of a political contest where there was real or implied.  Or sports fans who believe their team was the rightful winner of a Super Bowl where the outcome was influenced by a controversial call by an official.  Or a baseball game that was going one way, then the other after a pitcher became incensed by the umpire’s strike zone and then allowed several runs.  And so on.   I think it’s safe to say that when you lose an election by over 70 electoral votes or by seven MILLION actual votes that you’ve lost.  Or at least it

Happy early December, everyone.  Or, as we like to say around here, "crunch time" for those of us who have loved ones to whom we ship gifts this time of year.  Every year, my wife and I plan our holiday shopping around completing the process for our daughter and her family, as they live two time zones away in Colorado. And this year, it's even dicier, what with all of the deliberate alteration to the process of collecting and distributing mail around the country.  There are many stories floating around about how long things have taken to reach their destination.  At the height of the public outcry about slowed mail deliver last summer, when it became clear that most states would add mailed ballots to the more traditional forms of voting, a couple of TV talking heads mentioned letters and cards they had sent.  One noted that he sent a birthday card to someone from one part of the greater Los Angeles area to another and it took fully nine days to make the trip.  Others sent