Editors Note: Bob Hartwig was Colorado/Wyoming District Governor during the 2013-14 Optimist year and a frequent visitor to MSOC. He and his wife Carolyn have since moved to Texas.
From Dr. Bob Finkelmeier: George, yesterday in the mail was a Christmas Card from Bob & Carolyn Hartwig. It wasn’t delayed by the Post Office since it was mailed from Boerne, TX on February 19th. I guess they just got to mailing them out. 😊 I have attached here. They are now planning to move to Sant Fe – you might want to share this in GUMS as an attachment. I am sure several other might be interested as well. I did invite Bob to join us on a Zoom call, so we might have a guest in the near future.
December, 2020 Boerne, Texas
Needless to say: 2O2O was a very HARD year for most people. Bumping along to an easy start in January, amid a few rumors of a virus coming from Wuhan, it exploded as
COVID-19 mid-March. Quarantines, closures, uncertainty-.. A pandemic the likes we've not seen in 100 years. Despite having lived thru a scarlet fever quarantine and the polio epidemic of the '50's, this CVOID is unlike anything ever experienced. Fortunately, a vaccine(s) is on its way, but it's likely to be next fall ('21) before an 80%+ vaccination level is reached {herd immunity). And somewhere along the way another "new normal" will bring significant changes to the "good old days" of social contact and interaction'
The shutdowns and self-quarantining have not been totally unacceptable to Carolyn and me because:
1. Somewhere along the way of our journey, we decided we'd like to live in Santa Fe, a town we've visited many times and really like. So, in a spirit of adventure, we found a soup kitchen we could work in for our Thanksgiving effort and wandered about the town. Always checking out real estate, we found a home we liked in Rancho Viejo (to the south of the city) and bought it. Managed to get a mortgage, but not without considerable stress- The conforming loan process has become absurd, is not easy to navigate and incredibly stressful- Never again' Finally, it got done.
2. Back in Texas, way too hot in the 5-6 month summers. We spent 3-4 months of the lockdown completing some 14 projects that were pending; finishing and upgrading that house. Got those completed and took a 26' UHaul of boxes & other household goods to Santa Fe. This enabled us to get the TX house on the market, which mostly died due to CV. Only a few showings; little feedback and activity' Schools closed, the summer heat came and went, the slim RE market came and went again, schools tried to re-open, a few more showings, nothing.
3.) Meanwhile, the CV waves came and went. The party conventions came and went. Biden and Trump were nominated and a modicum of normalcy happened' Then, the bizarre events started. Biden got more votes (both popular and electoral) and Trump went nuts. Not a civil transition between administrations. And the crazy stuff isn't over yet. So, fasten your seat belts for the coming historic events. Weird!
4.) Good news: a vaccine is now here; being shipped out- But a 3rd wave of CV is now overtaking our country and the world. And a very big shout out and THANKS to the caregivers and those who staff the front lines. Yes, many people are dying, but thanks to the medical community and first responders who have stepped up to control the virus. While others have regressed by saying its not a big deal and doing little. But, it REALLY IS A BIG DEAL AND SERIOUS.
5. Our personal response has been to stay home, hunker down, only go out for groceries (thanks to HEB), a few medical appointments, and only recently have restarted going to church. lt does seem strange to be mostly shut-ins (even though we did go to SFe in September and early December-quarantining along the way), but are much better off than most seniors, especially those in assisted care. So here we are once again. Two houses, can't sell one, so we can move and pondering hauling our stuff back to Texas and/or further downsizing (desperately needed). We'll see what happens.
Oscar 
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