A Man in a Uniform (“Country” 12)

Dad, preschool, in a sailor outfit, in Germany, about 1928.

The COVID-19 pandemic is whipping around for another slap against American “can do” beliefs as I write this, in July 2020. Here in Vermont we’ve been so much safer than many people; there are arguments about what’s needed to maintain that safety, and how we’ll all handle education for the kids this autumn. But in general, even though the contractor came today to frame an added “three-quarter” bathroom for this house (long overdue) and brought his son-in-law, we all managed to keep more than six feet between us easily, and when I wiped the doorknobs after the guys left, it was relaxing, not stressful.

My work’s continued through these frightening months of a disease out of control in the nation, and in the world. So I haven’t been able to indulge in extra research into family history, the way some others have filled their newly “un-working” hours. Still, I did a lot over the past few years, and connected virtually with some of my second cousins that I didn’t grow up knowing about. At all.

That, I should note, is Dad’s side of the family, the immigrant side. Mom’s side is New England all the way, which ought to mean I know more of those cousins, but actually … well, that goes in a separate story.