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Are you in touch with family or friends in other parts of the country, or other parts of the world? If so, talk about how the pandemic has been affecting them.

<strong> I have a close (American) friend who lives part of the time in Switzerland and part of the time in France</strong>. She shared a written "lockdown journal" when living in France in spring 2020.<strong> As she later said</strong> to a hyper-individualistic conspiracy jockey acquaintance of mine (she did not know his views as she spoke) - <strong>"I live in France, where they have a strong national government, and they're not afraid to use it." She was speaking favorably</strong>, and my acquaintance heard it as a negative comment. Hilarious! <strong> It is largely from her experiences that I've learned first-hand what is a possible - and sensible - response to a severe (sometimes deathly), airborne, contagious, asymptomatically transmitted disease.</strong> Since she trusts her government (which she should not do, but that's another story), she has not paid much attention to SARS-CoV-2 news. And<strong> she is a nurse. She simply abides by the frequently changing edicts</strong> regarding masks, attestations, testing via nasal swabs, transit and travel, vaccines... She has adapted seamlessly to living with the virus, because<strong> the vast majority of her compatriots similarly are law-abiding. They seem to "get it" - that circumstances require everyone to do their part,</strong> to avoid getting and giving sickness or worse.<strong> Meanwhile, in the USA, I spent the first 10 months of the pandemic watching my nation fall apart.</strong>