Blogs
A SECOND OPINION: Biden Elected US President; Trump Grumps »
The spirit of compromise underlay Joe Biden’s victory speech this past weekend, as he won the 270 electoral votes necessary to become the 46th President of the United States come 20 January 2021. He said he had sought the nation’s highest office “to rebuild the soul of America, to rebuild the backbone of this nation, the middle class, and to make America respected around the world again.” Meanwhile, Donald Trump has filed several lawsuits, alleging voter fraud.
A SECOND OPINION: Trump Better, Campaigning Hard »
Donald Trump says he feels better than ever and is ready to resume the campaign trail. If I were Trump, I would have crawled into bed until the election was over, but Trump’s a fighting man and doesn’t want to appear weak in front of his constituents. He took experimental drugs to get over the virus faster and fought his doctors tooth and nail every step of the way.
A SECOND OPINION: Trump and Melania Fight the Coronavirus »
He wouldn’t wear a mask unless forced to; he was lax about “social distancing” at his meetings and rallies. He disputed with the experts about the pandemic. And now he’s been hospitalized at the Walter Reed Military Hospital for a “mild” case of the covid-19 virus. His wife Melania is also suffering from the virus and is in isolation at the White House.
A Second Opinion: August Lulls and Summer Reading »
Sitting under the shade of the trees in the pleasant summer weather, I find watching the squirrels and bluejays getting a drink and a bath in the birdbath sometimes just as fascinating as reading about Meditation, but still I am learning something new and improving my attitude in this locked-down world. If anything we have been given time to spend doing things at home we don’t normally do—Like READ!
A SECOND OPINION: Students preparing to have ‘virtual classes” in the Fall »
I say open the schools to learning and be done with it. We just have to go on with our lives.
FINDING DON QUIXOTE »
I had given up finding my favorite Street Performer Don Quixote. I was afraid he had gone the way of the many other performers, not to be found again. But to my surprise, on one of my last days in Madrid I rounded the corner and there he was. Tall, handsome, and lance in hand, waiting for people to take his picture. I have always loved finding him.
A Stateside Story: Police Killing Spreads Protests Across America »
Vandalism, violence, arson and destruction characterized protests in various US cities, promulgated by the death of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis police. Many of the protestors were wearing masks to prevent infection from the Covid-19 virus, but nothing seemed to prevent the demonstrations from turning violent and destructive.
GUIDEPOST LOVES GOOD NEWS: MADRID’S LOVELY PARKS ARE OPEN AGAIN AS THE REGION MAKES IT TO PHASE ONE OF THE DESESCALADA »
After trying twice, Madrid has finally made it to Phase I of the three-phase easing (desescalada) of Spain’s rigorous COVID-19 lockdown. Three months of almost unrelenting confinement! Then, unbelievably, this Monday, 25 May 2020, Madrid folk are able to savor Spring in their favorite park, the Parque del Buen Retiro. At last! See the Retiro through the eyes of Catherine Petit, Guidepost’s writer from California, who couldn’t love Madrid more if she were a native Madrileña!
A Second Opinion: A Trip to Remember »
If we had heeded the admonition to Stay Home and Save Lives we wouldn’t have had such a lovely picnic at the coast. A little bit of freedom goes a long way.
THE DESESCALADA: WE HAVE A FRACTION OF OUR FREEDOM BACK! »
On 2 May, the Government of Spain has given us back a small fraction of our pre-COVID19 freedom. We were let out of our homes for a few hours. It was the beginning of the desescalada. The beginning of something that we don’t know for sure what. But it’s something that feels precious because somehow it smacks of rebirth. In the middle of all the uncertainty, there was one thing unequivocal: a deep sense of gratitude. We wouldn’t be here now, out on our first true taste of sunshine and the soft breeze of spring, without the healthcare workers who have put their own lives on the line so we could live. Their heroism is breathtaking. We’ve lived by the rules so that we all could live even though some of us hadn’t been able to make it. And we grieve for them.
