I woke up this morning to the very sad, but not completely unexpected news that Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died at age 87 after suffering from cancer. She was an incredible, tenacious, brilliant woman. There’s not a lot I could write about her that hasn’t already been written. She truly was a phenomenal person with true grit, and I know she hung on for as long as she possibly could.

Of course, since she has passed away, a new Supreme Court position is now suddenly open, and Trump and Mr. Turtlehead Mitch McConnell are going to do their best to fill it before the election in November. I can only hope and pray that people get out and vote blue. I know a lot of people are just as for Trump as I am against him, but I am truly very concerned about the future if he wins another election. I may just give up if he wins.

In other news, yesterday my aunt wrote to everyone in the family to let them know that our annual Thanksgiving shindig is canceled. I really can’t blame her for canceling. She has suffered from cancer since the 1980s and is up there in years. We also have a number of other elderly relatives who shouldn’t be hanging around large groups of people, spreading germs.

Bill and I weren’t planning to go to Thanksgiving anyway, since we’re in Europe. There was a time when I really loved the annual family gathering, but I haven’t felt welcome among most of my family members in many years. And, to be honest, I have no desire to take a long plane trip anywhere, especially now.

Depending on what happens in a few weeks, the gathering would have either been extremely obnoxious because Trump won or very somber because he lost. My family members are mostly dogged Trump supporters, which is a main reason why I don’t feel comfortable with them anymore. They’re also the type of people who can’t have a rational conversation about politics.

Last night, Bill and I were talking about what we’re going to do in the coming weeks. We are due to pick up our new canine family member in just a couple of weeks, but we’re warily eyeing the borders due to the COVID-19 situation, which is getting worse here. To be honest, I won’t be surprised if the trip has to be postponed. I am looking forward to having a new dog, though… it will be a bright light after many tough months… though I fully admit my months haven’t been nearly as tough as many other people’s have.

Take, for instance, my cousin, who has been a professional musician in Nashville for the past several years. Because of COVID-19, he pretty much lost his ability to work. He’s also a big Trump supporter. Last night, he posted about how angry he is because the mayor of Nashville has shut down the music scene. Or… that is what I gather, based on my cousin’s rantings and wishes that the country would “get back to normal”. He thinks the COVID-19 numbers are “inflated” for political reasons.

I truly feel for my cousin. I know how much he loves what he does. He’s super talented and really has the perfect disposition for being an entertainer. It does concern me, though, that he thinks that COVID-19 numbers are being artificially inflated and that things aren’t as serious as they are. It seems to me that he has a very America centric perspective. If COVID-19 were just a thing in the United States, maybe I could get on board with his complaints. But COVID-19 has been a bitch all over the world and a lot of people have died or become seriously disabled due to this virus. And it SUCKS for everyone. Indeed, his mom even canceled Thanksgiving because of COVID-19. She doesn’t want to turn our annual family gathering into a superspreader event. I can’t blame her. But I do empathize with my cousin. I know he wants to get back to work.

I know I would like to get back to traveling normally and being able to write in my travel blog about my adventures. Speaking of which, I haven’t decided if I will go to Slovenia with Bill yet. There are some worries we have about how to integrate our “family”– to include our sweet Arran, who has been a real comfort since we lost Zane last year and throughout this COVID-19 mess. I want him to like his new bro. I worry about how they’ll be in the car together, as well as crossing borders to get to Slovenia. I am also worried about how his rescuer is going to get him out of Kosovo, but she knows a lot more about this stuff than I do. I assume she has a plan.

Well, it’s time for breakfast, so I’m going to close for now. I may be back later with a book review. I am itching to write one about my latest reading material… it may be epic. It may not. We’ll see.