One of my favorite activities is back.  Thursday Morning Talks, a series of talks by outstanding academics, writers, and more, was on Zoom for two years.  Last Thursday, 200 gathering-deprived-individuals met in a Cambridge church to listen to Robert Putnam, a distinguished Harvard political scientist give a talk based on his latest book, The Upswing.

Almost everyone was masked, but we were there together.  And that was lovely.  The highlight was the talk, of course, but an additional plus for me was when a woman from the neighborhood we left five years ago reported to me that my former fig tree is thriving in her living room.

Professor Putnam reminded us that our generation has lived in good times. And that more good times can lie ahead.