The Lewin Family Virtual, Interactive Year-end Letter - 2020 ©
Back by little, if any, demand.........here is The
Lewin Family Virtual, Interactive
Year-end, Letter for 2020.
All
right, fess up, have you been hoarding toilet paper and other paper products in
fear of the coming apocalypse?
If
so, I recommend that you quickly invest in Procter & Gamble. I hear Charmin
touched a new bottom today.
Now
the latest item to fly off the shelves are antacids. Stress of this pandemic is
becoming over whelming.
And
speaking of politics…ah, er, never mind.
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Well, what can we
say, it has been an interesting year, staying close to home, staring at the TV,
the iPad, the computer screens, peering outside in hopes that something out of
the ordinary will go by. A new car on the street,
someone taking a walk, oh look there is a huge dog walking south, he is leaving
us a gift in the front. Perhaps someone is coming to visit, we can sit on the
back deck, socially distant and enjoy a meal and conversation. Sitting on the
back deck, we enjoy the bird feeder
and the freeloaders coming by. Earlier in the year, we had hooded orioles
stopping by to enjoy the grape jelly. They will be back next year; I am sure
our address and directions have been published in the Oriole Times-Picayune.
We were
entertained by a hawk and her
(his?) little hawks in a nearby tree. We watched as they grew and one even
enjoyed dining al fresco on the railing of our deck.
Every time we see
a car slowly driving by, we await for Michael Anthony on behalf of John Beresford
Tipton. No luck yet.
Not even a visit or drive-by from Publishers
Clearing House.
As a result of this pandemic (perhaps),
people are putting their money into their homes and construction in our
neighborhood has exploded. Across the street, almost the entire house is being
gutted and redone. Next door, when a 100-foot Torrey
Pine fell on their garage early one morning, they were finally able to rebuild
the garage and reroof the entire house. The old lady in the house behind sold
and the new owners have totally gutted the house and are in the s-l-o-w process
of rebuilding, from the walls inward. One Saturday we were treated to the
jack-hammering of the pool deck and its removal. The pool remains. And we
cannot wait for the empty lot across the street and a few lots down from here,
to be developed. There have been some heavy equipment working that property.
The first quarter of the year, I spent
working in near sub-zero temperatures in Springfield, Illinois. (Now I know why
all the old people move to Florida or Southern California). Anyway, took a few
weekends and visited all the places
of interest related to Abraham Lincoln. I was one of those that thought
that Lincoln was buried at/in the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. Not so, he is
resting comfortably in Springfield.
We have also become very adept at visits via
online platforms such as Zoom, (Microsoft) Teams and WebEx. Carol had no idea
cocktail parties could be so much fun.
Carol has been knitting up a storm, the
clicking of needles (and occasional bad words) is ever present. Out popped sweaters,
scarfs and the like, but nothing for me. Not even a lousy beanie.
But above all, above all the rest, above
everything else, we became grandparents. Finally. At long last.
He is a beautiful little boy, Archer Flynn
Lewin, growing up in Aspen. Archer looks like his father who looks like his
father. We Facetime almost daily so Archer is beginning to realize that his
grandparents are only two dimensional. His mother, Erin, takes wonderful
pictures and I grab them and post there here.
Keep watching that site, pictures added almost daily.
Just as this yearly effort goes to press, I
have learned that a childhood friend, Howard
Kline has passed. Despite knowing me since third grade, he had a stellar
career in the US Navy, graduating from Annapolis and then commanding several
ships including the USS Puget Sound and the USS Stein.
A happy and healthy 2021 from Southern
California and Aspen to all.
Oh, one last thing...if you forgot to
bookmark this wonderful epistle, you can always go to arnie.org and find your way back.
There is even a link to send an email.