February 2021 has come to an end.....

The United States reached the staggering milestone on February 22 Birthday of George Washington, in a pandemic that has lasted almost a year. The nation’s total virus toll is higher than in any other country in the world, and it means that more Americans have died from Covid-19 than they did on the battlefields of World War I, World War II and the Vietnam War combined.

I am grateful to have received 2 doses of the Pfizer Covid vaccine as of February 25. I was very impressed with the efficiency, welcoming and helpful attitude of those directing and administering the vaccine at a converted shopping center in Spanish Fork, Utah. I hope all will be able and willing to get it and have such a positive experience. I know that some countries are still waiting, as are most younger people everywhere. There are some advantages to be counted among the "elderly!"

I am in a comfortable Airbnb near Day's Market, a hardware store, a post office, a park, and not far from Rock Canyon Park, Provo, Utah. Mount Timpanogos and other snowy peaks are almost close enough to touch. I found out that Provo is named after a mid-1800's French beaver (and other furs) trapper Etienne Proveau. His 300 pound bulk probably helped him escape attacks by the once peaceful Ute and Shoshone Indians, who became more warlike when the Spanish introduced horses and guns years earlier, threatened and took their land.

The house where I'm staying downstairs in the basement. The owners' 13 year old son Christian built a snowman. Paul and Sara Gilman brought me a brush, ice scraper and windshield cover for my car.

The house backs up on this park. Rock Canyon has lots of trails which I hope to discover when it warms up a little

Unfortunately the Provo Temple, normally the world's busiest (the missionary training center is across the street), is only open on a very limited basis during the pandemic. 

Palo Alto friend Sara Gilman and I walked to watch the sledding at Rock Canyon Park. The large bowl allows melting snow to drain out to prevent flooding. Mount Timpanogos (below) is spectacular and looks different in every light.

Sara sitting on the bench dedicated to the Hank and Colette Taylor Family. There is a drive-by 90th birthday celebration in Palo Alto for our dear friend Hank, today, February 27, even as I write this. I had dinner with the Gilmans after our walk. They're in the rental house below while they decide on one to buy or build here in Provo.

The snow didn't stay long...Rock Canyon Park this week.

Sadly, the BYU stadium and other sports venues are empty during Covid. 

        Timpview High School where 3 of my grandchildren attend in               person. Students have the option to attend online. Masks are                required everywhere but Utah feels more open, less restrictive.

View across the valley to the mountains on the west side of Lake Utah

My grand-daughter Ming Lu de S. comes over after school most days and we talk, study, do puzzles and play Bananagrams until her parents and little sister pick her up.

 

What a difference the blue skies make. Today (below) when I went for a walk it was very cold and obviously had been hailing, but from my basement I had no idea.

I'm very much in limbo, waiting for my Palo Alto home to sell (this next week I hope) so I can proceed with buying the new one. But I am grateful to have lots of time to read, listen to various programs, zoom with family, friends, students, church and other classes. It was brought sharply to my mind the desperate situation of so many in our world. So many children are starving, so malnourished that their mental and physical growth is stunted. I am so blessed and am determined to be more generous once I am not so wrapped up in my move. The following presentation about children in Madagascar, was by the Bountiful Children's Foundation. 

We are not in "The" Great Depression, but the Pandemic has hit much of the world very hard. Many cannot recover without help.

 I was moved by the following story, illustrating how life and the world around us are constantly changing and will inevitably change us as we grow from new experiences.

At the age of 40, Franz Kafka (1883-1924), who had never married and had no children, was walking through the park in Berlin, when he met a little girl who was crying because she had lost her favorite doll.

She and Kafka searched for the doll without success. Kafka told her to meet the next day to look for the doll together.

The next day, when the doll had not yet been found, Kafka gave the girl a "written" doll letter that said "please don't cry. I went on a journey to see the world. I will write to you about my adventures ".

Thus began a story that continued until the end of Kafka's life. During their meetings, Kafka read the doll's carefully written letters with adventures and conversations that the girl found adorable.

Finally, Kafka brought the doll (bought one) that had returned to Berlin.

"It doesn't look like my doll at all," the girl said. Kafka handed him another letter in which the doll wrote, "My travels have changed me." The girl hugged the new doll and happily took her home.

A year later, Kafka died. Many years later, the girl, now an adult, found a letter inside the doll. In the tiny letter signed by Kafka it was written: "Everything you love will probably be lost, but, in the end, love will return in a different way."

It is so important that we extend ourselves to others, even if just lending a sincere, empathetic listening ear.

 

         

Like everything these days, there is good news and bad news, depending sometimes on your point of view!

The big headline of February 13 is that Donald Trump has been acquitted in his impeachment trial. All 50 Democrats and 7 Republicans voted ‘guilty,’ falling 10 votes short of the two-thirds necessary for conviction. Mitch McConnell (Republican), Senate minority leader and perhaps the most powerful Republican in Washington, followed his own vote to acquit with a surprisingly harsh speech calling Trump ‘practically and morally responsible for provoking’ the Capitol riot. However you feel about the decision, I think we can agree that our Constitution is sacred, our Capitol building is the symbol of our democracy, and that it is up to all of us to protect and defend our nation from desecration and chaos by coming together, showing a little more kindness and mercy. We can be peacemakers.

This past week, February 7, 2021, we lost a former leader who spent his last years at Stanford University: George P. Schultz, who presided with a steady hand over the beginning of the end of the Cold War as President Ronald Reagan’s often embattled secretary of state, died on Saturday at his home in Stanford, Calif. He was 100. His death was announced by the Hoover Institution, where he was a distinguished fellow. He was also professor emeritus at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business.Mr. Schultz, who had served Republican presidents since Dwight D. Eisenhower, moved to California after leaving Washington in January 1989. He continued writing and speaking on issues ranging from nuclear weapons to climate change into his late 90s, expressing concern about America’s direction.

I finally was able to get my first Covid vaccination (Pfizer) and will have the second on February 25. Hooray!! I think we all have felt the isolation and loneliness of restricted interaction with friends and family and with all the limitations on our normal lives. I hope, though that we are still practicing safety and precaution, as much as we dislike wearing masks! I have wanted to give hugs, but have had to content myself with at least being in the same state as my kids and grand kids and seeing some of their activities. I have enjoyed hiking, walking, watching a grand-daughter in her school play (limited guests and well-distanced), another come in second-all-around in her gymnastics meet (less well distanced!), another spending time with me doing puzzles and playing games after school.(Ming Lu's high school is a few blocks from my Airbnb so she stops on her way home). With another I painted pottery.  With Peter, Cordelia and Rebecca, with whom I spent the first week. (below) With Marc and Evie in South Jordan. With Hannah at her gym meet. The snowy mountains (including Mt. Timpanogos, above) are breath-taking, the ice and snow on my car a little less appealing! I just hunker down and catch up on the reading I passed up in the process of moving. And I don't know my way around Provo, Utah yet, anyway. I'm grateful for zoom to stay connected to my Palo Alto church ward, writing class, English students, siblings, and children and grandchildren that I can't see in person right now; and to tune in to so many classes, talks, concerts, and lectures. I have a park behind my place, a Costco now far away, and family waiting to visit. I appreciate all the cards, messages, and love I feel from family and friends near and far. And for new people who have reached out to help me feel welcome as I wait patiently (?) the sale of my house so I can buy a new one. The park behind my basement lodgings is covered in slushy snow today! ***************************************************************** In our limited Pandemic shopping and interactions, Michelle Craig, a general young women's leader of our church, reminds us that we still need to open our eyes and reach out to others. I love the poignant story she related in a recent address: As I pray for the Lord to open my eyes to see things I might not normally see, I often ask myself two questions and pay attention to the impressions that come: “What am I doing that I should stop doing?” and “What am I not doing that I should start doing?”6 Months ago, I asked myself these questions and was surprised by the impression that came. “Stop looking at your phone when you are waiting in lines.” Looking at my phone in lines had become almost automatic; I found it a good time to multitask, catch up on email, look at headlines, or scroll through a social media feed. The next morning, I found myself waiting in a long line at the store. I pulled out my phone and then remembered the impression I had received. I put my phone away and looked around. I saw an elderly gentleman in line ahead of me. His cart was empty except for a few cans of cat food. I felt a little awkward but said something really clever like, “I can see you have a cat.” He said that a storm was coming, and he did not want to be caught without cat food. We visited briefly, and then he turned to me and said, “You know, I haven’t told anyone this, but today is my birthday.” My heart melted. I wished him a happy birthday and offered a silent prayer of thanks that I had not been on my phone and missed an opportunity to truly see and connect with another person who needed it. (I'm grateful for my phone and computer, but let's open our eyes to people around us!) Happy Valentine's Day! I would make you cookies or give you flowers, but I have no kitchen and am TOO far away. Thanks for your friendship! Love, Miriam