My dear extended family....
People around this amazing planet all are in a village, our village! The village consists of all ages, sizes, mentalities and health conditions of mankind/womankind. Billionaires and the poor are all equal now in this pandemic.
Today I ventured out to pick-up my thirty copies of my biography that Kay Peterson, our founder told me to write. Been so long since I walked the streets of downtown Santa Cruz, California with my service dog, Maria. To witness Pacific Garden Mall almost empty of humans was scary. As I past a lady I noticed fear in her face despite our fifteen feet apart. Then I thought about a film I was shown as a new cop in the District of Columbia. (1964) Depicted was a fellow getting ready for work angry. Got into his car & backed-up fast almost hitting another vehicle as he entered the road. That driver swerved and was now angry. Those two individuals almost caused other accidents! Then there was eight angry persons on the road.

A smile is as contagious as that first guy that drove his car in anger! A smile is as contagious as this "Pandemic". In fact, this Coronavirus has a beginning, middle and end. Each of us have an opportunity. We can have fear & buy fifty-rolls of toilet paper or we can see this for what it is. Model the reality of the situation. Follow our health professionals advice. Do what our governors say. Smile as we pass people on the street at a distance. Reassure our children, modeling for them. Sure, teach them what we have learned to stay safe. Reassuringly. We will remember this time forever. How we remember this will make you feel wonderful about yourself by helping others. It is a gift that makes us proud of ourself. Yes, a simple smile. Courage comes from gratitude. (A close relative.) What we are now experiencing is trying. As I search daily of ways to pass time I remember Ms Anne Frank in hiding with her family for over seven-hundred & fifty days before being taken away by the Nazi's. Comparing our plight isn't comparable! Gratitude makes me smile. Beauty of this place gives me gratitude. As I awake in the morning, alive, I can only feel uplifting and amazing. Both gratitude and luck that at age 78 & all sixteen near death experiences behind me. I am alive. Thriving. Able to share this with you. My extended family.
Love, Al