If you want to understand the world we occupy – the challenges we face, but more important, the failures we endure – forget for a moment that this is a day in late December 2021. Think instead that it is October 1943.
Dear Doctors: My chorus has started meeting again – outdoors and vaccinated – to practice and sing. We've had a year off, and I'm upset that my voice is getting to be hoarse, and even cracking on low notes. I'm 67 years old and have always been a good singer. Is this happening from disuse?
DEAR HARRIETTE: I have been working on a project for several years. It paused for two years because of COVID-19, but it started up again last month. I noticed that one of the key freelancers with whom I had worked on this project was nowhere to be found. When I asked about him, I got the cold shoulder. I am grateful that I was invited back, but I find it odd that he is the only one who was left out. I want to reach out to him to see how he's doing. I talked to him a couple of times during lockdown, which was nice. I feel uncomfortable now, though. I don't want to tell him that everybody is back on the job except for him. On the other hand, it would be terrible if he found out and I hadn't given him the heads-up. I consider him to be a friend. Should I tell him? – Excluded
DEAR HARRIETTE: I have two siblings. I'm close to one, and things are awkward with the other. Over the years, I have tried to keep a bond going with my sibling, but now I'm tired. Depending on her mood when I call, she can be friendly or terse. I never know what I'm going to get, and she is never accommodating of my feelings. I always have to kowtow to her. I am tired of it. My parents made us promise that we would stay connected after they passed. I think my mother knew there was a good chance that we would drift apart. But now I don't want to put in any more work. I'm tired of getting my feelings hurt and being dissed or dismissed based on her whims. Can I walk away now even though she is my flesh and blood? – Estranged
My Uncle Andy recently turned 90, and it was hard to imagine what a guy would like for his 90th birthday.
This battle is not over," President Biden vowed “ at South Carolina State University.
Christmas is a time to reflect and look forward to what the future holds.
Dear Doctors: My uncle has Alzheimer's disease. He goes through these awful phases where he's agitated and afraid. We've noticed that music calms him down, especially when it's something from when he was young. Why would that be? Maybe music should be part of Alzheimer's therapy.
DEAR HARRIETTE: I'm excited to visit my family this year for the holidays, especially since last year's quarantine prevented us from being together. My problem is that the only affordable flight I could get lands me at home on Christmas Day. My family has a ritual on Christmas Eve where the adults wrap gifts together, and the kids get to open one gift the night before. I so want to be there for that, but I couldn't make it work. Am I wrong to ask the family to delay that until Christmas afternoon when I arrive? – Nostalgic
Martinez is the new Martinelli. That's another way of making a critical political point: Hispanic voters increasingly resemble other immigrant groups, like Italians.