Have you sent a postcard lately? With so many of us isolated, maybe it’s time to revive this old-fashioned means of communication. I remember how excited my mother used to be to get a postcard in the mail. Every week Grandma would fill every inch of that card in her little spidery handwriting

The fall headlines proclaim it. COVID-19 cases are rising worldwide. But not everywhere. Why are some countries able to keep their numbers down? What are the success stories?

Have you ever noticed how counting to something is more fun than counting from something? Anticipation builds as the time gets closer for a homecoming, a wedding, a holiday. We know it’s 76 days until Christmas and 83 days to New Year’s Eve. But how do you count the days until something will end?

As I scanned the headlines this morning, I was struck by two colorful images. There was that familiar gray and red coronavirus which we see all the time, and just below it was Hurricane Delta in vivid shades of magenta and scarlet bordered in yellow and green. Both are examples of “false colors,” the science (and art) of assigning colors to photographs of objects

As we enter the fourth quarter one thing becomes clear. 2020 will be remembered as our COVID year. Even the Christmas card companies have caught on to it. Displays at Shutterfly, Zazzle, and Personalization Mall led off with themes like “the twelve days of corona,” “Good Riddance 2020,” and what a “Ruff year” (with a sad dog picture). None at Hallmark, though. I even looked through the “funny” ones.

I’m not always happy with Zoom. Like last Friday when I kept a group of patient listeners waiting while I struggled to start my PowerPoint presentation. But when it did work, it was beautiful and people in Honolulu, Palo Alto, Carlsbad, and Indiana were able to chat and learn about 10th-century alchemy together. On Zoom.

This is a “stop the presses” moment for me. Last night I noticed some stories in the headlines, and they had nothing to do with the election. The long-term effects of COVID-19, which have been documented for months, are now widespread in the news. “Long haulers” are being reported worldwide. I don’t think they’ll have trouble getting people to believe them any more.

Eighteen months, I figure. Based on the four influenza and two coronavirus pandemics of the past 100 years, it seems like a reasonable length of time to achieve a measure of stability. What’s more, we can build on that six months of experience as we go forward. Time to restock, manage expectations, and prepare for the winter to come. I’ve made some decisions, some preparations, and a few changes.