On October 16, my beloved nephew Dylan passed away. He was 24. The times being what they are, I will say that it was not COVID related. Our entire family will forever be devastated. He was talented and generous and kind and beloved by all. We will never recover.

On November 12, my youngest brother, Geoffrey, was killed. He’d turned 52 just two days before, and all of us had been texting him that day with love and birthday wishes. Geoffrey was the extrovert among his siblings. He, too, was talented, generous, and kind. At this time, I cannot say more about what happened. We do not yet have all the facts. All of us were devastated yet again and now our grief is redoubled.

Two tragedies in such a short time is more than any of us can bear. It’s terrible that our family and all the people who loved them cannot safely be together to mourn our loss. We will when it is safe to do so.

To everyone who has offered their condolences, thank you. It helps. It really does.

I have several relatives who served in the military. My mother’s oldest and favorite brother, Vern, served in WWII in the South Pacific. According to my mother, after the war was over, he was discharged with the expectation that he would not survive six months.When he passed away in 1977, my mother was heartbroken. He was a wonderful, gentle, calm man and I remain grateful that I knew him. My son’s middle name is Vern. I wish he could have met his great uncle.

My cousin Jimmy was in the air force (like his father). He flew helicopters in Kuwait and worked at the Pentagon. My understanding is that he was there on 9/11. He passed away only a few years ago.

I am grateful to everyone who serves in the military and will always be grateful to them for their service and sacrifices.

I’ve been working hard at mentally refreshing myself after a tough several years. To that end, I’ve been watching movies and TV Series and here’s my thoughts on that. In no particular order

Locke and Key: (Kids discover keys with magical properties.) Enjoyed this series but there are plot holes you can drive a bus through. However, the antagonist is incredibly scary.

October Faction: (Teen twins discover their parents work for a demon slaying organization). I intensely disliked this at the start, particularly because the writers had no control over the backstory timeline and couldn’t be bothered to google basic facts. The story was driven by a chronologically impossible/unbelievable series of events and the parents were supposedly the same age but (predictably) the wife looked 20 years younger than her husband. So I was settling in to hate watch and about halfway through the whole premise turned upside down and took on some intensely serious themes about hatred and bias and by the end, I was on board.

The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina: (A take on Sabrina the teenage Witch) I really enjoyed the first two seasons. Excellent all around. Season 3 was an emotional let down. The first two seasons were full of amazing female characters and by season three they were all dead or stripped of their agency and moral character.

Van Helsing: (In a dystopian future where vampires rise to supremacy, a descendant of Van Helsing awakes from a coma and evinces strange powers against vampires.) I liked the first season but quickly had trouble with season 2 and 3 and I think I’ve bailed because of the focus on violent scenes for the sake of . . . violence. I am disappointed by the way Vanessa Van Helsing was so quickly stripped of heroic qualities.

Parasite: The South Korean film that won Best Picture at the Oscars. Fully deserving of the win. What a great movie.

Knives Out: I loved this movie. Loved it. It’s hilarious.

Late Night: Molly Patel (Mindy Kaling) gets a dream job as a writer for a female Late Night show host (Emma Thompson). Great movie. Made me laugh at the same time it tackles serious themes about racism and misogyny.

Sex Education: A British series centered around a nerdy, repressed high school student (male) with a sex therapist mother who teams up with the school’s gorgeous and brilliant slut-shamed girl to offer sex advice to students. There are so many characters to love here and the series delves into issues of class, sexual violence, race, and sexual identity.

The Stranger: Richard Armitage stars in this series based on a Harlan Coban novel where a mysterious woman divulges secret truths/blackmails to people with terrible consequences. Pretty gripping.