The View from the Hermitage, Day 254

Let the official transition begin! Even as The Lame Duck continues to say that the results of the election will not stand, he is at least permitting formal transition to start to take place. I wonder if it was the sheer number of Republican officials saying he should step back or some particular Republican who has The Lame Duck's ear. It doesn't matter. Uncle Joe's transition is up and running; the official website is buildbackbetter.gov. No subtlety there at all, not one little bit. 

Word is that the Secret Service is looking for agents who don't mind moving to Florida. The trick is that with the sunshine and beaches will come protection for The Lame Duck and First Duckess (the best I could do without stopping typing). Renovations are supposedly in progress on living quarters for the Ducks at Mar-a-Lago. Back when The Lame Duck was not lame and transferred his residency from New York to Florida, I read an article that stated the agreement with local government to create Mar-a-Lago out of whoever's mansion it was before that included as one of the terms that no one would use it as a residence. I wonder if someone found a loophole or work-around or if The Lame Duck is doing as he usually does, looking out for number one and not giving a rip about law or decency. I did hear yesterday that to maintain residency in Florida, one must live there at least six months of the year. 

New York City is likely cheering silently or not that The Lame Duck appears not to be moving back to The Lame Duck Tower for good. Evidently the security required for it to be used as a principal residence would really louse up some of the streets around it. The Sons never argued for different or bigger bedrooms, plus they never had to share one, but they probably would have been jealous of Barron's having not a bedroom but a floor of the tower to call his. A floor! I cannot wrap my head around a tween then teen essentially having his own apartment. 

Typing that last statement reminded me of recent reading about Will and Jada Pinkettt Smith's kids and how they were raised. The parents did some real loose oversight, tending to let the kids do whatever and then learn from the consequences. Son Jaden told them when he was 15 that he was going to move out, and they let him. I assume that he had his own money in the bank from acting; I can't imagine they would fund that sort of choice. So maybe Barron isn't the only teenager who essentially has his own residence. 

On the coronavirus front, a third vaccine candidate has shown great promise just as I read that the speed with which the Stage 1-3 trials has been done means that it will not be clear right away whether the vaccine is blocking the actual infection or merely preventing the onset of the disease. Under the latter, vaccinated people could still contract the virus and pass it on to others but would not develop any aspect of the disease. Sounds kinda like a vaccine to make you have asymptomatic covid-19. And it's not clear any of this will matter if, as one poll showed, 40 percent of people refuse to be vaccinated. If you don't believe the disease exists, why worry about preventing it?

And Dolly Parton helped kick-start vaccine research at Vanderbilt University by making a million dollar donation on April 1, before it was clear just how bad things might get. Recovering in the Vanderbilt University Hospital from a car accident, she struck up a friendship with a doctor from Lebanon who immigrated to the US at the age of seven. As the virus was beginning to take up speed, she asked him if a donation would help. It would, and did, helping to get some of the foundational research done. Not bad, Dolly, not bad at all.

Pi Day may be March 14, but today was a pie day of sorts here. When Son #1 was looking for a realtor to help him look for a house, he asked around for suggestions. Several people recommended a specific realtor noting that he gave clients past and present pies right before Thanksgiving. The choice is between apple, pecan, or pumpkin; they're made by an excellent local bakery. Son #1 does not eat pie unless he is running or has just run an ultra-marathon, so we get the pie each year. The Professor loves apple, so apple pie it is. Son #1 brought it with him this morning, and The Professor and I had apple pie for breakfast. Interestingly, Son #2 says that the realtor they used in purchasing their land and cabin also gives an annual pie. Might be worth checking the next time you need to hire a real estate agent. 

We spoke with Son #2 and Daughter-in-law Equivalent last night and set everything up for Thursday. In the past, they come down and we're all in the kitchen chatting as we cook. Not gonna happen this year. They'll bring side dishes already cooked and let the dinner rolls rise in the car on the drive here. I'll do the bird and it's vegan cousin plus mashed potatoes and dressing. Tomorrow I'll make a pumpkin pie and a cheesecake with berry sauce with which we shall mark birthdays not celebrated in person this past year. Dinner will either be outside or with The Professor, Son #1, and I in the dining room with our two guests at a table in the living room. We'll set up fans and open windows so that the flow of air is from us to them then out the window rather than the reverse. Not as safe as a Zoom dinner, but as safe as we can make it.