We find ourselves almost speechless as we watch the news and hear the heartless response of our president to the deaths of children on an airplane; to the deportation of immigrants; to the dismantling of programs meant to combat centuries of inequality; and to the dissolution of international alliances that protect our worldwide community.

One of us has a son who lives in Brooklyn with his wife and their three-year-old daughter who was diagnosed with Covid last week, along with the rest of her class. Say goodbye to day care for another few days as Mom and Dad struggle to work from home, barred from even using the elevator to go outside from their sixth floor co-op with their active toddler. Day care teachers kindly provided online circle time and projects for the little ones. Try leaving a three-year-old alone to make binoculars out of paper towel tubes. Papa to the rescue!

Last week, when the Nor’easter knocked out the power in many homes on the North Shore, a trip to Starbucks to take advantage of their free Wi-Fi and do some work seemed like a reasonable idea. What a surprise to find the local, usually busy, Starbucks closed with a sign that read something like, “Sorry for the inconvenience...

At the risk of being redundant, this week we are revisiting the subject of food insecurity on college campuses. As you know, we co-hosted a screening of the documentary, “Hungry to Learn,” at The Cabot in Beverly last Wednesday, followed by a discussion with Ann Ciaraldi, associate dean of student affairs at UMass Lowell, and Kathleen O’Neill, director of Single Stop at Bunker Hill Community College. Both women provide support at their colleges for students confronting food insecurity. The conversation expanded our knowledge and understanding of the problem and how we might take action to solve it.

Nearly a third of all food produced in the United States is wasted. While this number is startling, in light of the fact that one in six children goes to bed hungry, it is also significant because of the effect that food waste has on climate change. When zero waste is achieved, and no food is sent to landfills, methane emissions and our carbon footprint are significantly reduced.

As we look forward to giving thanks this week, albeit in altered venues with fewer people around our tables, we think about those in our land of plenty who are homeless, hungry, jobless, and without adequate health care. Administrators of nonprofit agencies advise that the best donations are financial rather than of goods, so that they may be used where most needed…

Trigger Warning: We may sound a little preachy this week.

If you are like us, you are feeling depleted, frustrated, exhausted, a little or a lot devoid of hope, aching to see — and, yes, hug — family and friends from afar, and wishing for a return to some kind of normalcy.