Sunday morning, and a chill breeze  removes some leaves from our maple tree.  Red and orange colors begin to illuminate the tree. 

Little seems changed in the last twenty four hours according to the NYT Weekend Briefing received this morning.  The president continues to be hospitalized with covid-19.  Reports of his condition are uncertain.  How sick is he?  With the unpredictability of covid-19 I suppose his doctors do not know.  The passage of time will prove decisive, as it is in most things.

We celebrated a birthday party for one of our daughters yesterday.  At her request the featured main course on the menu was hot dogs cooked over an open fire.  The grandkids loved the experience.  The 6 year old commented how delicious were hot dogs roasted over a fire.  The children enjoyed themselves and we adults spent time visiting and conversing about whatever came to mind. 

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Without question life is tenacious, organized to replicate, to survive in inhospitable conditions.  Recently I wondered by what means we will repair the frayed, ripped social fabric of our nation.  How deep are the wounds of division?  What can be done to reach across the divide, to reestablish common ground, the basic humanity that is between us?  Is there a point of no return?  These questions will be answered by actions, by appropriate leadership, by innumerable small acts of kindness, even forgiveness when and if the post-election future affords us the opportunity for reconciliation. 

This image captured by a NY Times photographer was included in the Weekend Briefing.  I examined the photo and wondered what I’d say to this worker should I have an opportunity?  I think that I’d ask him about his grandchildren, and his children.  I’d ask how they were doing, if he had seen them recently.