November 6^th 1603 today/11040 total words

Trump still making incorrect statements about the election, but looks like a win for Biden. The news in Scotland is about the effects of Covid-19 on how people are living in the UK. I am reminded of how life for people in Punjab had changed following the Spanish flu pandemic. My mother was born around 1926, and the effects of the epidemic were still being felt in society. People thought it so quaint that their parents were over-zealous about the cleanliness of their kitchens, keeping apart and not allowing the sharing of food or drink. People forgot where these ‘old wives’ tales came from. I can see a correlation in how life is changing for us now. We are becoming scrupulous about personal and home hygiene. Will my great-grandchildren think their parents are odd when they continue these habits over the rest of their lives? My mother-in-law would never have tolerated meat dishes being cooked in her kitchen. She didn’t eat from a communal plate, and towards the end of her life, younger members of the family thought her odd. I know of a couple living in England who have two kitchens in their house because the wife is a strict vegan, and the husband wants to cook meat. I am reminded that my family never hugged. My brothers and I didn’t see our parents in a hug, they didn’t hug us once we passed the toddler stage. I believe that this stems from the pandemic of 1918-20 when members of our family died and left children orphaned. It is a form of social distancing. We didn’t think we were a strange family until we saw others being more touchy-feely. Perhaps the changes, to cope with Covid-19 in our times, will be more far-reaching than we think.