You never know who you’ll run into at Schuyler’s in Lakewood on a Sunday morning. I sat at the counter with my husband and after our eggs were delivered by the best waitress this side of the Mississippi, County Executive PJ Wendel sat down next to me to order some coffee, read the paper and order breakfast. I introduced myself and he was probably thinking, “Well, there goes my morning.”

We had a nice chat. I asked him for a news scoop, he gave me a few ideas, and then we chatted about illegal immigration and the rise in ALS cases around the lake, and then, lucky for him, I let him eat his breakfast. He promised we would do a formal interview soon.

Speaking of ALS, new cases have come to light since my June Post-Journal article, and sadly, we lost Lakewood resident Carol Shillace to the disease two weeks ago. I had featured Carol in my article and had been so impressed by her willingness to speak frankly about day-to-day living with this very difficult neurological disease. Carol will be missed by friends, family and neighbors. She lived just 18 months past her diagnosis.

Did you ever hear of the time in 1921 when Henry Ford, Thomas Edison and Harvey Firestone went camping together in New Hampshire? They were separated from their entourage and ended up at an inn in a little New England town where they spent the night. When word got out the three iconic men were in town, people came from near and far to catch a glimpse of them holding court on the porch. In the time without television, seeing someone famous was a very rare thing.

I felt like one of those townspeople last week when I drove two hours to Butler, Pa to see Trump, J.D.Vance and Elon Musk together at the “Trump Returns” rally. I’m not afraid of Trump haters, so I don’t mind telling you it was a pretty amazing thing to sit with 100,000 other people who are sad to see what’s happening in our country. And while I’m not active enough in politics where I would go out of my way to participate in a campaign, it was pretty amazing to see these three famous men together in one place, especially in a town as insignificant to our country’s elites as Butler, Pa. It was especially moving since all of the rally’s speakers that day paid tribute to the man who lost his life at the Butler July 13th rally, as well as the other two men who were injured. Acclaimed tenor Christoper Macchio punctuated several poignant moments with his beautiful voice.

By the time this column is published, Hurricane Milton will be a few scattered clouds out to sea somewhere, but I’m here on the other side of it hoping friends and family will stay safe in what is certain to be a historic storm bearing down on Floridians who are still cleaning up after Helene.

We’re all tired of the constant chaos. But one thing that touched me was seeing hundreds of people taking to Facebook to offer people camping sites on their farms, even space for horses, dogs, mother-in-laws–you name it. Generous people with spare rooms, a few acres, a couch or a basement room, were offering their spaces to complete strangers fleeing Milton. This is the American spirit, and Milton has proven that it’s alive and well.

It felt so good to see, since so many people have decided to abandon their sense of goodness to give into political pressures and narratives. Since when did we cut short relationships in America because we didn’t like who someone was voting for? We’ve been a two-party system for hundreds of years, folks, and by now we should be used to the idea that not everyone shares our point of view. Get over it! Let your sister or uncle or neighbor vote for whomever they like, just as Americans have always done. Since when did it become a crime to vote for someone another person doesn’t like?

Thanksgiving is coming up. How wonderful would it be to see families reunited around the table again? With all the chaos surrounding us, we should be holding one another close no matter our political preferences, our vaccine status, or our conspiratorial tendencies. There’s a push in our society for the dissolution of the reliance on family systems, and that’s a mistake. Families are the backbone of civilization. They always have been. The holidays are fast approaching. It’s a great time to call Uncle Bob again.