Letters to the Moon....

The times they are a changing. I'm sure you've noticed it too. News of a racial reckoning has come from the most innocuous of places of late-streaming media. The Disney company made headlines when it launched episodes of “The Muppet Show” on its Disney Plus service. The controversy: eighteen episodes now have a disclaimer about racially offensive content. The disclaimer reads, in part: "This program includes negative depictions of/and or mistreatment of people and cultures. These stereotypes were wrong then, and they are wrong now. Rather than remove this content, we want to acknowledge its harmful impact, learn from it and spark conversation to create a more inclusive future together." https://www.vulture.com/2021/02/18-muppet-show-episodes-have-a-content-warning-on-disney-plus.html When I first heard this story, I was shocked. I could not imagine anything offensive about the show. “The Muppet Show” was a staple of my childhood, as it was for millions of children who...

Covid 19, one year later. It's hard to believe it has been a year since the first case of Covid-19 was found in the U.S. Since then we've lost over half a million people to the disease.  I have two friends who have had Covid, with symptoms that were barely noticeable. I also know two people who have lost family members to the disease. Thankfully, all of my family has been healthy and safe and Covid free. *   Looking back to last year, I remember when my library shut down for the epidemic; my last shift was on Friday, March 13, 2020. New York City was the epicenter of the virus in the U.S. at that time; the talk then was about shutting down restaurants in NYC. The next day, I went to my favorite pizza place and ordered an extra-large 16 inch pizza.  I knew that if it could happen in NYC, it could happen in my city, which it eventually did. We remained in lock down for nine weeks, through March, April, and most of May. We began offering curbside service in June. We ...