Several of our members reported on how they have been coping during the pandemic and here are their stories for your reading pleasure. Thanks everyone for sharing and hopefully those who were not at the meeting will find some encouragement in how we have been coping with the pandemic. I am sure many of us can relate to what has been said.
Tom Carlson -- Tom said that they have not gone any place. They have a son in Des Moines, IA (a doctor who has had his shots and doing fine), and a daughter in Chicago. They have been talking to them via phone. Tom mentioned that is wife, Margo, has done a good job shopping so they mostly stay home.
Lille Larsen -- Lillie reported she has done a lot of ZOOM meetings with their three sons and friends. Lillie and her husband, Max, have done somethings they use to do with their sons and families -- like building a snowmen in the front yard and taking a photo to show on a ZOOM meeting. Max and her have already purchased airline tickets to fly to New York in June and spend Thanksgiving in Vermont in 2021.
Dean Douglas -- Dean said they have been coping quite well. Usually they go to South Texas for the winter, but in December they cancelled their trip. Sometimes they order their groceries and pick them up and other times get them in person wearing their masks. When they ordered their Thanksgiving food items from Walmart to be picked up by them, they didn't have everything, so they had a HyVee Thanksgiving dinner.
Al Burdick -- Al has had a house full for three weeks when their son and family came to visit, but everything is quiet now. Their daughter and grandchildren will be arriving soon driving from California for a week's visit. The daughter's two oldest will be driving on to Tennessee where they attend college, and the rest will fly back to California. Their daughter is in a small community and somewhat isolated, so they have been fortunate not to get the virus.
Lyle Schoen -- Lyle and his wife are staying healthy and being a bit "young" and will need to wait for the vaccine. They always enjoyed eating out and going to the movies. They still go out to eat and was able to celebrate their anniversary at the Texas Roadhouse. Lyle has been able to get tickets to the Marcus theatre so they can enjoy a movie. Lyle mentioned that if his parents were alive today, they probably would not have survived. He has been taken lots of photos and using them as background on his ZOOM meetings.
Clay Elhers -- (Lincoln South Club and AG for District 5650). Clay told us that it has been a remarkable year and he has grown closer to his family since they have basically stayed home. He stays connected via ZOOM and through videos. He has actually called his grandmother more often. He has learned to fly fish and did make a trip to Minnesota to try some fly fishing. His teenage daughter has learned many important lessons through this pandemic and has been able to stay safe.
Gordon Bair -- Gordon and Joann have basically stayed home. They even ordered their Thanksgiving dinner through HyVee. What he missed most was having a large family gathering which included his father-in-law. He has done a lot of ZOOM meetings with family and friends. His father-in-law, former member of Lincoln East Rotary, Howard Wiegers (105 years old) is at Eastmont, and they usually picked him up for those large family gatherings and this year they could not. They do keep in touch with Howard through the telephone. They can't wait until the first of February when they get their vaccinations.
Mike & Andrea Ahrens -- Mike said they are doing good. He has been able to continue to work with his construction company. Andrea has been working from home. Just recently their one child contacted the virus so they are currently quarantined until the 17th of January. The rest of the family tested negative. They plant to drive to California for Andrea's sisters wedding and visit for a short time. They did have to miss Andrea's brothers wedding.
Dennis Duckworth -- Everyone in his family was able to get together for Christmas. They did to visit his father, who is in a nursing home, but found it difficult to communicate through a window. His one granddaughter cried because she couldn't visit great-grandpa in person. His daughter decided that they would raise some funds and purchase gifts for the residents and staff at the nursing home. They were able to get 115 gifts for the residents and staff and get them delivered. Right now no plans to travel, but am sure they will be able to soon.
Paul Horton -- Staying close to home. Paul has been working on organizing lots of photos that his parents took over the years. His daughter and family came Saturday for Christmas. His one granddaughter plays volleyball for the University of Missouri at Kansas City. He hopes they might be able to attend a game or two. His son and twin granddaughters came from Pennsylvania to visit earlier. The granddaughters had all their classes virtually, so their day put Wi-Fi in the truck so the girls didn't miss any class work, and then they traveled to Minnesota after leaving Nebraska. It was a good time and the girls had fun besides doing their homework. He said they are looking forward to getting their vaccination.
Dennis Schmidt -- Dennis said he still has a few clients and did a lot of their work remotely, but some was done in-person. He continues to work on his education through Nebraska Wesleyan. He has been helping Bonnie at least three times a week. He will soon be getting hsi vaccination through the Medical Reserve Corps.
John Duling -- Found great strength through a men's group on ZOOM. Another member of our club, Barry Stelk, is also a member of this men's group. John and his wife has learned to work in the kitchen and use leftovers to make different kinds of soup in their Instant Pot. He has enjoyed fellowship through several spiritual groups via ZOOM. Looking forward to getting their vaccinations.
Minnie Stephens -- Minnie has been busy keeping the shelves stocked at their church food pantry. She recently started working on a Queen size quilt, doing lots of reading and playing her Hammond organ and autoharp. She went back in November to Bryan to volunteer and was able to get her first vaccination for the virus through them. She has kept busy too, working on the LERC newsletter, attending lots of ZOOM meetings for church, Rotary and keep in touch with friends.
Darrel Huenergardt -- Darrel said he has been coping with the virus in different stages. In September and November they went to Estes Park, CO for two weeks each time. He still does some law work, especially with the American Seventh-Day Adventist Corporation, which is a large project and it takes him maybe three hours per week each time. he has done a lot of ZOOM meetings. Attends a lot of ZOOM Bible Studies and using ZOOM to stay connected with friends and family, as well as, using Facebook to stay connected with others. Darrel has been visiting with a Black Seventh-Day Adventist church here in Lincoln to discuss about the situations that black people encounter each day and how they might be able to develop plans on how to help solve some of these problems. He does this twice a month. They have been driving to different places around town just to get out of the house.
Chuck Erickson -- Chuck has been practicing his trombone. He communicates with several people in Zambia about the ongoing projects via ZOOM. He is also able to use ZOOM for a 4:00 pm "Happy Hour" with a group of friends and attends a Coffee group via ZOOM too. His church has used ZOOM for discussions on things happening at his church. Chuck said they have been unable to travel to visit family and friends.
Jason Smith -- Jason has been busing spending time trying to figure out how to do Camp. Wondering what type of platform they need to use to keep people safe. He has been using videos and even art projects. ZOOM has help keep him connected with friends. Recently he purchased heavy clothing so that he could do some things in his backyard and has learned how to do woodworking and other crafts. He hasn't sold any of his woodworking or craft projects yet.