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Locked down but not out in Italy

Singing from the balconies! One nice thing about this crisis ... solidarity! “Guess you’re not living like a tourist anymore,” was the funny, truthful and somewhat gut-wrenching message of a friend the day the lockdown in Italy began. Today is day 6. My beloved Italia has been hit hard with the COVID19 epidemic. With the second largest elderly population in the world, the epidemic has meant a disproportionate amount of deaths in the country. So though I haven’t been worried about contracting it myself, this isn’t about me or someone like me who, if contracted it would probably have a sucky couple of weeks and then recover. It is about if someone like me contracted it and then spread it to a person with a complicated health history or an elderly person with a weakened immune system. Eerily orderly: Lines for the grocery store, each person one meter apart In a country with no concept (and no physical room really) for personal space, and in a city with reproachable hygie

Thanks Phil!

As readers, you know how much I love postcards and how much I love animals... so of course I have to let you all know about this opportunity to send an adorable greeting on today, Groundhog Day! I also want to thank Punxsutawney Phil for the encouragement that winter is almost over. Phil did not see his shadow, so according to traditional lore, Spring is on its way!

If you don't buy into the animal predicting the future thing, like Octopi guessing soccer finalists or groundhogs predicting seasonal changes, fair enough. However, you must at least give credit to the day for also inspiring a Bill Murray movie by the same name: a truly hysterical addition to the great film era of the '80s/early '90s.

If you want to take your devotion to Groundhog Day even further, (whether your motivation is loving animals, rejoicing that your S.A.D is nearing its end or revering Bill Murray), you can visit Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. This site gives you all the details you need to plan a good sojourn or to prepare for next year's big day!

Have any of you been to Punxsutawney to see Groundhog Phil?

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