I like this one.

I am a 90-year-old widow. This pandemic has me home writing, reflecting back on my life. During the Depression, I lived with my immigrant parents and sisters. We had little money, no car, phone or television. We needed “boarders” to help pay our rent. The government issued us food ration vouchers to purchase essentials. Periodically, food lines supplied free cheese and bread.

I married in 1950. Then, the Korean War! My husband served as a radio operator. We eventually had two children. Soon after, a tuberculosis epidemic hit our country. Many hospitals and clinics opened. I contracted “inactive tuberculosis.” I was not contagious, so I was treated at an out-patient clinic. My family was also treated with preventative medications. We had a visiting nurse at our home weekly, checking on our cleanliness.

I have lived through some tough times. I never had a bike to ride, but a friend gave me a stick of chalk to make a “Hop Scotch” game. It was drawn on my driveway where we played -- that is -- until it rained, and the game disappeared! But that’s OK, because it was time to enjoy dinner with my loving family.

Hopefully, this virus will also disappear soon!

Vicky Donofrio,

Brook Park