Posted on by David Uncle

Namaste (And this time I mean it.)

Living high on the corn dog in Chicago.

After a nice, long, well-fed, questionably-earned rest in Chicago, I attended a wedding in California. In fact, I walked my niece, Jennifer, down the aisle!

An unexpected honor for someone with two boys and zero girls.

Then I flew up the coast to see my other dear little sister, Mary, and nephew, Hank, in Portland. (Which was still intact, contrary to the sensational, fiery images broadcast all summer.)  

As the sun sets slowly in the west, we look east at the rosy wildfire smoke.
My sister lives in that big yellow houseboat there.
I stayed in her little yellow houseboat here.

My most excellent brother, Erik John, drove down from Seattle to pick me up and take me home where his wonderful wife, Darla, fed me and fed me and fed me. Especially Kavala, a Scandinavian meat and potatoes dish my family has been handing down from generation to generation. (Two generations.) 

Brother John & Man’s Second Best Friend.
Seattle boy returns home. His faithful volcano comes bounding into view, wagging its tail, happy to see him again.

The many enthusiastic summer rioters left Seattle standing as well – although the district I lived in during college announced that they were seceding from the union. Protest-weary city fathers just shrugged and said “Okay”. (No police, no government, just glass-breaking fun and chaos which drew plenty of nervous laughter from looted shopkeepers and terrorized home owners.) The rebels soon grew bored and let the police trickle back in. Despite law and order being restored, a few shop and homeowners could still be heard laughing nervously and hammering in For Sale signs. 

Capitol Hill quietly returns to the United States of America.
My brother’s a pilot, so na na-na booby on you.

From there, I flew to Minneapolis on a flight that was surprisingly jam-packed – middle seats and all.

Yeehaw Airways. “We’re the cheapest ‘cuz we’re not real careful.”

I stayed with my friends John and Kay and set a personal best for peaceful contemplation and whirlwind socializing – 34 pals in 16 days! (A record, if in nothing but cheeseburgers consumed). 

Safe-distancing with workpals John and Tom and their kids and Steve.
Cheeseburger #60. Every bit as good as the first 59.

Then back to Chicago for a covid-consciously small Thanksgiving. The dinner was classic: turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes with marshmallows and a Triple Berry pie I stole from Baker’s Square. (Police agreed to look the other way. Long, peculiar story.) 

Thankfully, in spite of all that galavanting, I tested negative for covid three times. 

Tested negative for lots of other viruses, too.

But nobody cares about them anymore. Only covid. It’s the new Big C. 

Good news!  As I write this, our own dear Big Pharma has just come up with two vaccines that could save hundreds of millions of lives. They’re certain to save a few million from covid and, if successful, could save the rest of the world from economic suicide. 

Bad news!  Nobody wants to be the first to take them – except President Trump (and apparently, he doesn’t count). 

He’s ready, though!

So it looks like the world may be standing on the ledge awhile longer. 

In the meantime, I’ll be spending Christmas with Joe, Dan, Jenny, Jenna and my grandkids, Addie, Thomas and Joyce.

[Christmas 2020 picture goes here.} Till then, here’s an old one…wait! Where’s little Joyce?! (Oh yeah, she wasn’t born yet.)

Sad news for me. This will be my last Retire to India post till I can retire back to India and get a picture of something that’s there. That may not be as soon as I’d like. India needs to make sure beloved foreigners, like myself, aren’t stamping about coughing and wheezing all over their beloved citizenry. Play it safe, India.

Finally, to all my Valued Readers who’ve made my humble travel blog such a phenomenal success, Merry Christmas 2020!

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