As we look back in U.S. history, “the Immigration Act of 1924 is passed and sharply cuts the number of immigrants allowed into the United States. Ellis Island changes from being an entry point into the country to being a detention and deportation point for illegal aliens and those who violated terms of admittance. It starts to go into disuse.” Ninety-eight years later it’s still a humanity issue that divides America.

On a lighter note, we did see two movies yesterday, including a matinee showing of Sing 2 at the theater and an evening performance of Paul is the Walrus at our neighborhood community center. First of all, it’s hard to believe that our annual Regal movie passes have yet to expire after nearly two years. It is very generous on the part of Regal to have extended our purchase long beyond their Covid shut-down period, or they have simply forgotten about us! We’ve gone to a free movie nearly every week since we arrived in Florida 10-months ago. It’s not as convenient as it was in downtown Portland when we could walk to a movie.

The evening theater performance was produced by one of our neighbors and was a sing-a-long play about the rumored death of the Beatles’ Paul McCartney, started back in the late sixties. Mysterious clues were exposed on album covers and by playing recordings backwards. Did he really die in a car crash and was replaced by a double? It was a fun way to engage with all our neighbors before our next get together in early February. Photos and voice recognition before and after the supposed crash loosely validate the conspiracy theory. 

Steam was rolling off the heated pool surface this morning with the temperature in the mid-forties. It was the coolest morning we’ve experienced since the move, so a hat, jacket, and gloves were part of my morning 5k run. We’re headed south about an hour this afternoon to visit friends for the night. It might be a few degrees warmer, but far too nippy for beach yoga as planned.

I had an odd childhood memory this morning when I saw a Juan Marichal baseball card on a Facebook post. It was if I could see myself as a youngster opening a fresh pack of cards with the distinct smell of bubblegum and finding this missing player from my collection. The familiar smell from all those years back was what made this moment a special kind of  flashback.