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The coronavirus pandemic is an extential disruption that has affected and infected every aspect of our lives. This includes our best laid summer travel plans. How do we get from point A to point B without worrying like Edvard Munch's The Scream, “Will I catch the virus if I take a train, plane or bus or use a public bathroom?” As a result, many of us opt to rent or buy an RV or camper that comes with its own bathroom, kitchen, sofa and bed.   For shorter treks or for those who can’t afford to rent or buy an...

When we got tired of work, reading, walking, baking and feeling sad about the world’s state of affairs, we tried to toss aside our COVID-19 fears, turn on the TV, not to news but to laughs, drama, romance and a little whodunit and generally avoid violence if we could. Here’s what we have most enjoyed during these last few months. Escapism is now needed more than ever. We’ve listed 10 series that have held our interest and are featured in no particular order.   Enlightened…When you need to laugh and remember that you’re fairly normal at a time when nothing...

“Living with a degenerative disease [a medical condition that causes a tissue or organ to deteriorate over time] is like living next door to a bully. You never know when he is going to come over and ring your bell and knock you on your keister,” says Karen Duffy, 57, in her just-released book, Backbone: An Inspirational Manual for Coping With Chronic Pain (Arcade Publishing, 2020.)  The author, a former actress and model, writes that it took seven years of chemo drugs and long hospital visits to get her disease to a manageable and chronic condition. She now lives with...

Most of us are in pain on some level and on edge at this moment in time. It might even be hyper-elevated now for many on an individual and collective basis, due to the pandemic and horrific murders of multiple black people. We’re also sharing our pain and stress more overtly such as talking it out to friends and family, writing about it, podcasting, making YouTube presentations, or protesting as a group both in person and virtually in our towns and cities.   This does not preclude other times we feel pain and anguish, maybe, because of our kids’ heartaches, elder...

As two social beings, we pride ourselves on our friendly, cheerful behavior, and our acute sensitivity to the rhythms and vibes of others’ lives. We relish getting together with family, friends, and acquaintances. Then Covid-19 came along and put the kibosh on that. We found, as have millions, that when human contact was eliminated, we needed to turn to our backup generator of technology. Initially, when socially quarantined, we felt trapped in our homes devoid of a social life and frankly were pissed. We longed to open our windows and shout out cheers to the front-line workers, followed by screams...