I receive so few handwritten letters anymore, probably because nobody has time to write them. I can text or email so why bother with pen and paper and who even sell stamps? My mom-in-law does it weekly which makes me appreciate the fact I am watching a dying art form from a front-row seat. Now I said I receive “few” letters so when I do get one it is a real treat! At this point in my life there are only two people that send them, my mom and Eileen. Eileen is an aunt I discovered through a DNA match. I never met or even knew who my father was until I was 60. Technology had arrived at the same time my anger had finally evolved into curiosity. Through this I connected with my blood uncle (the only one I ever met) Charles and his wife Eileen. Sadly, Charles passed away before we met in person but Eileen, who’s health had been poor as well, rebounded, and we met in person November 2018. The visit was extraordinary in so many ways, mostly because if offered a glimse into a family I never knew existed. Eileen has been more diligent than me in keeping this relationship going which I am grateful for. Because of this when she writes me with a request, I need, no I want to comply. Her request was for a recent photo of Lisa and I. We had taken many during our visit, but she has moved into a care facility and many things were displaced, including pictures. Like most everyone else, I have thousands of pictures scattered through a variety of clouds but a hard copy of a recent photo, nope. I thought it would be fun to find a Photo Booth and take a picture but they are only available as a novelty for big parties and weddings and with COVID-forget it! I decided to try an online source and landed on Shutterfly. Apparently, when I tried to set up an account I was informed I already had one. I wonder how long ago that was? There were no pictures in my account so I have no idea. It is a decent looking site, but Amazon shames it. I wanted to order 1 each of 2 pictures, simple enough right? Unfortunately even after revising it multiple times it won and sent 2 each of one picture. Oh well, the pictures are being sent directly (I hope). I also sent a hand-written letter to her; printing rather than cursive so she could read it.

Lisa and I talked about spending Valentines Day in Key West, Florida. It would be nice to spend time there, especially when it is cold and snowy here in Salt Lake City. As I looked at booking lodging I was reminded of the times we live in. I had never really thought much about cancelation policies in the past, but realize we are into the pandemic 5 months with no clear bright spot on the horizon so what makes me think it will be any better 5 month from now, especially since Florida is currently one of the worst hotspots. We’ll see how things progress.

The company I work for announced they are removing pay cuts implemented because of COVID. Business in this sector has rebounded enough to bring employee pay back to pre-COVID levels which is great news for my peers. Unfortunately for me my pay is still off 46% because my customers haven’t enjoyed the same business rebound. I’m still lucky though; anyone in hospitality is still reeling with no change in sight. I see all the money being spent by our various government bodies in the name of safety and I wonder how we will pay for all this. What new rules and habits will win out and what previous realities will become the answer to a trivia question? Only time and a vaccine will answer that.