I sent in my absentee ballot Tuesday, Oct. 13, by Fed-Ex to the Greene County Board of Elections. In other words, I voted. Some on the side I voted against might say I was playing with fire, but I didn't have a real choice in the matter. I didn't have to wait in a horrendous line to vote, but it cost me about $50 to mail in the ballot from Vietnam to Ohio, a price I'll gladly pay to vote for a change that is so desperately needed in the United States. There were some minor issues along the way, but like I've said before, the lady I've worked with at the Greene County Board of Elections is fantastic. Hopefully, my ballot arrives and the paperwork is in order and most importantly, my vote counts. I'm a little worried this election could drag on and end up being decided by the Supreme Court. But I have no understanding of presidential or executive law, obviously, so we'll just see what happens. Actually, I wanted to come to the U.S. to vote, renew my driver's license and get my eyes checked. But with Covid, I would have real difficulties getting back into Vietnam to be with my wife and two children. And the situation in the U.S. is far from optimal when it comes to fighting Covid. Some folks don't wear masks, like the President of the United States, for example. Social distancing is a sometimes occurrence. I'm embarrassed to say I was almost starting to feel sorry for the president when he got coronavirus. But the man lacks any humility regarding the virus now that he has "immunity" and he most definitely shows no empathy for the more than 215,000 Americans who have died from the virus. The president was dancing to "YMCA" at one of his rallies, and CNN's Don Lemon said after airing the dancing video that the president was dancing on the graves of 215,000 dead Americans.
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The virus is almost an afterthought here in Bien Hoa, -- out of sight, out of mind, I guess -- and the cases in Da Nang appear to have been contained. Nonetheless, most people still wear masks, myself included. Sometimes I'll forget, but many coffee shops and other businesses have extra masks for those in need. I will say this: If a case is diagnosed, the affected go into quarantine immediately for 14 days and the contact tracing is thorough and extensive. I grimace when I hear people in the U.S. resisting masks, social distancing, quarantines and lockdowns. I recently heard a doctor on CNN say that even in the Middle Ages people had quarantines.
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We're in the midst of an intense rainy season bolstered by an ongoing series of typhoons moving west from the Pacific Ocean. Central Vietnam has been especially hit hard with flooding and dozens of deaths reported. We've had daily rain, which is a little unusual in October, but the temperatures have been down due to overcast skies, even if the humidity has been up. With all the traffic and industry here, the air seems even worse and masks may be beneficial, virus or no virus.
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Digger World is in full force here, with drilling and pounding at the hotel behind us. It looks like they're gutting the building. And the guy across the street pounds metal much of the day since he had to quit working for health reasons. That's what they do in digger world. Build things up and knock 'em down, and pound metal. I'm on the go so much with our kids Joanna and Elijah that the noise isn't a huge issue. The guy across the street is a nice man, and told us he does the work because he's bored. No worries.
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Joanna keeps a running tally of the snails, butterflies, bees, lizards, and centipedes that we see on the walk to school each day. The 7-minute trip to school has become a 20-minute nature walk. Love it. Elijah rolled from belly to back for the first time on Wednesday, and he's starting to flirt with crawling, getting a knee up to test his limits. He's not left-handed like Joanna, but he delivers a mean right hand ... still. He knocked off my glasses again, popping out one of the lenses. He smiled afterwards. Even when teething, he smiles. He's a happy guy, and that makes us happy.
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