Now this new year, 2024, is a leap year occurring every 4 years, when Feb. has 29 days, not the usual 28. Admittedly, 2023 was not a particularly good year for me and my family. So I’m glad it’s finally over. First, there was the massive bank account fraud, never fully compensated. That was followed by Covid, which my daughter Stephanie and I came down with, despite both being fully vaccinated, and she also had had Covid before vaccines. While 2023 was not quite the worst year our family has ever experienced, we look forward to starting out fresh again in 2024.My visiting daughter Stephanie fell ill first, with gradually worsening symptoms, part of the much predicted “winter wave.” When I started feeling unwell myself, we both began quarantining in my home after she had delayed her flight back to Hawaii, though her husband, who had tested negative, returned there to receive his family members arriving for a surfing vacation. I began taking an anti-viral medication, which if taken early, is supposed to reduce symptoms. At my age, any illness could have serious consequences.
Wash. Post, Another covid wave hits U.S. as JN.1 becomes dominant variant
This may be the variant that my daughter and I had, overriding our vaccines and her previous bout with Covid before vaccines had ever been developed.
Below is a photo my son in W Va. just sent us to cheer
us up, from daughter Stephanie’s visit there earlier in Dec. before her bout
with Covid and before the light snowfall of Jan. 6, 2024 below.
Below, older daughter Melanie with 16-year-old grandson
De’Andre on Christmas morning in Florida. Below that, granddaughter Natasha,
De’Andre’s mother, embraces him while they wear matching pajamas.
Our odd last name, Joe, shared with my kids, grandkids, and beyond, lives on. The name originated with Tom Joe, my late former husband of 24 years, with whom I shared 4 children. He remarried and died in 1999 at age 64, after not speaking with me for more than a decade. His obituary, released to the press by his second wife, failed to mention his marriage to me, though our children’s names were all listed. I was not invited to his funeral nor was my name ever spoken during the ceremony which highlighted several milestones in his life, including his second marriage. Funeral visitors would not have known that I married him at age 21 against my parents’ wishes, then facilitated his rise from being a blind college student who had never held a paying job to the winner of a MacArthur Genius award. I never doubted his potential and willingly weathered rejection by my family by marrying him, a ceremony no member of my family actually attended. His second wife married him amid much fanfare after he had achieved national success with my persistent help. (A similar trajectory has applied to other women divorced by even more well-known men.) When I left the church at my ex’s funeral with a friend, his widow seemed shocked to see me as I had not been invited. Life often has such odd twists and turns. This is only one from my own rather unconventional life. I may look like an ordinary little old lady of European descent, not so different from my neighbors, but I’ve had an unusual personal history. My marriage and divorce represent only one facet of a rather uncommon American life, not over quite yet, so stay tuned (and also see my books for more details).
Israel’s leadership under Netanyahu has issued some bizarre plans and ideas for the future, but apparently President Biden doesn’t yet dare to directly contract them or threaten to withdraw aid.
Before returning to Gaza, a nativity scene from México celebrates the season.
Below, a harbor view from Puerto Vallarta in Mexico.
AP, Police say there has been a shooting at a high school
in Perry, Iowa; extent of injuries unclear
Guardian, Virginia senator Tim Kaine condemns Biden’s arms transfer to Israel
There
were no Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem this year. American citizens were desperately
trying to leave the area. In Gaza, Israel has continued to wage one of the most
lethal and destructive wars of the 21st century as measured by actual
deaths over a very short period, also by the deliberate and total obliteration
of housing, historic buildings, and infrastructure. Israel is on a rampage and needs
to be forced to halt its onslaught by immediately cutting off US aid, despite the
possible merit of any of Israel’s goals. Israel’s stated plan to “totally eliminate
Hamas” has eerie echoes of the Final Solution.
South Africa has accused Israel of genocide, which is not too strong language.
Many Americans (including me) would much rather pay taxes to support positive projects, such as keeping all Americans housed, rather than to keep on enabling Israel’s destructive killing machine. I voted for Joe Biden so now would beg and implore him to immediately stop giving any more money or weapons to Israel and to use any and all other leverage to put a halt to the ongoing destruction in Gaza and vicinity to stop to inflicting death and injury on the unfortunate people still living there. Mr. Biden, we did not vote for you to become an accessory to genocide.
DPA, Report: Egypt proposes deal to end Gaza war
This first step would not exactly be a ceasefire, but is being
described as a 2-week “truce”.
Wash. Post, Israel is struggling to destroy Hamas, but it’s destroying Gaza
NY Times, The U.S. and Israel: An Embrace Shows Signs of Strain After Oct. 7
NYTimes, U.N. Security Council Resolution
Is Criticized as Insufficient Aid workers say
they cannot address Gaza’s needs because of intense Israeli airstrikes and
fighting on the ground.
USA Today, How $750 a month changed the lives of a group of
homeless people in California
This
money had allowed many folks to cease being homeless, bolstering arguments for
establishing a national guaranteed income.
Despite having come down with Covid, I’m looking
forward to a few more years of life. As an 85-year-old American female, my current
life expectancy (as per national averages) is 7 years, which would then put my
death at 92, exactly how long my mother lived. (Father lived to 82.)
Confederate statues shouldn’t be destroyed, in my
opinion, but moved away from prominent sites to special parks to be viewed as
part of our collective history. The time will come when they might be cherished
once again but only as historical artifacts.
Wash. Post, Fentanyl super labs in Canada pose new threat for U.S. opioid epidemic Presumably, such labs also pose a threat in Canada.
Below, a look back at the past, where my granddaughter Natasha appears with son Jon who would have been about 15 or 16 then, as he is almost 50 now.
No apologizes for the quirks of this posting, as you know I always try to do my best and so much is beyond my control, especially as I am still recovering from Covid.
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