Open Border

Air travel to Canada from the US opened in August, when I already had an October reservation for Toronto. My sister was planning shoulder surgery and I was to be the post-procedure helper. In the end, the surgery did not happen but all reservations had been made, so I stuck with my plans.

The instructions for travelers were somewhat confusing and cumbersome, but I was fully vaccinated with a booster, and figured out how to time the required COVID 19 test. My "enhanced driver's license" was not the passport replacement I had expected, as a passport was required for several of the many phases of preparation and execution of travel plans.

Everything went off without a hitch at Terminal 1, Minneapolis-St. Paul. Check-in, TSA check, boarding and service during flight were very efficient. I sailed through Customs & Immigration in Toronto, not noticing right away that I had been selected for an additional COVID test. The test required creating an account with switchhealth.ca, an easy enough task if only my glasses hadn't kept fogging up above the required mask. That added at least 30 minutes to my arrival ritual. Fortunately, the Stratford Airporter picked me up earlier than my scheduled 3:30 time, so I was at my sister's before I had expected to leave Toronto.

Then began the job of scheduling and paying for a COVID test to re-enter the United States on November 1. Shoppers Drug Mart webite was the front end for a LifeLabs COVID test registration. I opted for the more sensitive PCR test because I didn't want to risk the possibility of a false positive result that would delay my eligibility to return to the US, and also put me into quarantine. The first time I tried to pay the hefty charge, the payment engine failed and I had to start over, which I didn't do until the next day. The next day, scheduling and payment were easy, but the required print job (yes, I had to print paper to take with me to the test) wouldn't display right away. In the end, after an inordinate number of hours, I had everything I need for a Friday test three days before departure.

Yesterday, Air Canada sent me an email warning me to arrive at the airport at least three hours before departure. Out went my plan to take the train to Toronto from Stratford and spend a couple of hours with my brother and sister-in-law, whom I haven't seen for 3-1/2 years. I made another pricey reservation on the Stratford Airporter, cancelled my ViaRail reservation, and am now good to go --- I think.

This has been a moderately frustrating experience. Before the two countries are ready for an easy, routine crossing of the "longest undefended border in the world", rules and procedures need to be clarified,simplified, communicated and put into practice.

Remembering 9/11

Everyone old enough to remember that terrible September day has a story. Mine is not the still raw grief-stricken account of those who lost family or friends, nor does it have the immediacy of stories told by eyewitnesses in New York, Washington or Shanksville. Still, the events of that day are seared into my brain.

It was a stunning morning in St. Paul, Minnesota, the kind of day that qualifies as a "top ten weather day". I was off work, and I was looking forward to spending time outdoors after dropping off my son and a classmate at St. Agnes School, where both were freshmen. I arrived a Nativity Church a little early for 8 AM  Mass. The pastor, Father (now Bishop) Peter Christensen was talking with  someone outside the church, but I couldn't resist announcing  I'd followed advice from his Sunday homily -- something like "have the confidence to try new things", and that morning I had parallel-parked my Dodge Grand Caravan in a tight space -- a new experience for me, as I usually chose a drive-in spot large enough to park a bus. Father Peter seemed preoccupied and I apologized for interrupting his conversation.

At Mass, Father Tom Margevicius announced from the pulpit that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. I turned on the radio for the short ride home, where my husband was watching coverage of the disaster on TV. We spent much of the day in stunned silence, following the tragedy in real time. My son reported later that he had seen the news on TV in the waiting room at his dental appointment.

I have little recollection of work the next day. I know I told a colleague at the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission that I had had "become an American" the day before. A dual citizen of the United States and Canada, I had taken the oath of citizenship 15 years earlier, but had always considered my primary citizenship to be Canadian. On September 11, a glance at the clear blue sky told me that I was as American as any of my neighbors.

Since then, I've been fairly diligent in trying to learn and understand US history and culture. Always a political junkie, I'm now a student of all levels of government, with a particular interest in  the separation of powers. On this twentieth anniversary of 9/11, I mourn the divisions in our country but was encouraged as I listened to former President George W. Bush speak uplifting, hopeful words in Shanksville, Pennsylvania: "... Whenever we need hope and inspiration, we can look to the skies and remember." A perfect azure sky no longer fills me with pre-9/11 unrestrained joy, but I remember with gratitude and sadness that day and those whose lives ended in such horror.  

The Turn

Today is my 71st birthday, one that I never imagined I would reach, but here I am, very much alive, in relatively good health.  As always on this August morning, I am reflecting on "the turn".

When I was a little girl, on summer evenings my mother would take my sister, brother and me to the playground at the end of Elm Street in our hometown of Temiscaming, Québec. We'd walk up the lane and down the little hill, sometimes "swim" in the small rectangular wading pool and always play on the monkey bars or the big wooden swings. Around the time of my birthday, darkness would fall suddenly, seemingly much earlier than only a few days earlier. I began to think of my birthday as "the turn" ... the day summer faded a little and fall stared us in the face. After August 10, evenings and mornings cooled. Lake water temperatures declined and school supplies made their appearance, welcome to some kids but not to me or my siblings. We all dreaded the day after Labor Day and the beginning of another interminable school year.

For a few years when I was a young teenager, I celebrated my birthday at John Island Camp near Spanish, Ontario. There, "the turn" was even more apparent. Birch leaves were yellowing and the wind blowing off Lake Huron gave presaged winter blizzards in that beautiful, primitive location. Later, when I worked at the Temiscaming waterfront, I noticed that kids left for home earlier in the afternoon and were less inclined to return for an evening swim, when the shadows of rocks and trees darkened the water way before sunset.

This is my second birthday in the "new" house, and I'm pleased with the house, grass and patio, a small space that is gradually coming together. The sun is rising later and I turn on the light when I get up at my usual 5:00 a.m. In a summer of drought, we're grateful for rain, and I'd be happy to see a shower on this usually perfectly sunny and hot August day. Not much chance we'll actually have any more rain than the couple of inches that fell over the weekend.

Over the years, I've sometimes talked about the"turn" phenomenon and fear I've ruined the otherwise perfect month of August for those who took note. In Minnesota, winter never seems to be more than a weather forecast or two away, but today I'm pushing "the turn" out of my mind and enjoying this great summer morning.

Jon Rahm: a $1.674 Million Decision

 A recent article in Golf Magazine discusses Jon Rahm's withdrawal from the Memorial Tournament due to a positive COVID-19 test. I watched Rahm's walk off the course on Sunday, not long before he would have almost certainly won $1.674 million as a first-place finisher.

For some reason, about 50% of golfers on the PGA Tour are vaccinated. Rahm declined to discuss his vaccination status, but if he'd been fully vaccinated, daily testing after known exposure to COVID-19 would not have been required.

Over 600,000 Americans have died from COVID. Many more hav been infected; most have recovered. It's too early to estimate the number and severity of long-term side effects. The economic impact is expected to be staggering -- a recent search yielded an estimate of $16 trillion. Some of these costs will touch ordinary people, including people I know and love.

The politicization of the COVID-19 vaccination issue does a grave disservice to many who are now adament about not getting the vaccine. The arguments are many and mostly easy to refute. The vaccine was developed quickly but the preliminary research was completed over a period of over a decade, and testing was not sshort-cutted. It will not make anyone sterile, a falsehood repeatedly debunked and reported. And yet, the lies persist.

This international catastrophe touches us all.

Back to the Pool!

After several years of swimming at least every other day, I felt bereft when gyms and pools closed late last winter. After the Y re-opened with strict mask regulations and other COVID protocols, I still felt uncomfortable with the idea of returning to a pool.

Even after full vaccination, I hesitated ... until Monday. I made a reservation at the Woodbury Y for a session in the "leisure pool", since lane reservations were full. When I got to the Y, my glasses fogged up in the warm air and I had to navigate as well as I could to the unfamiliar lockers. Fortunately, the sign for POOL is in upper case letters, so I had no problem getting to the pool deck.

The leisure pool was, of course, inadequate for a lap swimmer, but at least I got to see that I am certainly good enough to swim laps in this environment. Only one younger guy was a very good swimmer, so I figured I'd manage well enough for a 50-minute session, if I could get a reservation. About half-way through my little swim in the leisure pool, the lifeguard told me that the lady in the far lane usually leaves early and promised to let me know when I could have the lane. And she did.

I swarm 16 laps reasonably well for someone who hadn't been in the water for over a year. When I got home, I felt exhilarated and immediately made a reservation for a session today. I'm so happy!

Sunny Days Ahead

The last year has been arduous: the COVID-19 pandemic isolated us and sickened many, killed about 570,000 in the United States, over 3 million world wide; unrest in Washington, including the tragic events of January 6; police involved killings and a shocking murder trial in Minneapolis, ending in the conviction of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin; a long winter with no cheerful short trips or our usual month of March in Florida.

There have been many moments of joy too. At the very top,  I count the birth of our youngest grandchild early New Year's Day. John Robert Hennessey was the first baby born in the Twin Cities in 2021, the son of Chris and Melissa and latest sibling for Lena, Everett, Eloise and Aggie. I enjoyed lovely walks on the paths in the neighborhood, with many photo ops. Bob and I explored Washington County on pleasant drives as we watched summer burst into a colorful fall before winter snow covered the landscape. Most recently, we've been waiting for spring to finally take over, perhaps this weekend when temperatures may reach 70F.

Another major highlight was getting the Pfizer vaccine. Bob was fully vaccinated in February and I in March, and many family members and friends are now vaccinated as well. Restrictions on contact are gradually being lifted across the country and, most relevant to us, in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

We've actually planned a family getaway for Memorial Day weekend. Looking forward to a happy, healthy summer!