two lovely posts from azz and surfermom welcome back both of you

What a joy it is to read this thread, and how much I have missed you all. Mea culpa for being so unforgivably overdue in posting.

Strangely. my absence has been due to guilt after belittling the impact of the Corona virus thread, right here on this forum in February or early March. I brushed the virus off as nothing more than a round of flu. That unforgivable response hung so heavy on my heart that I tried to make up for it by joining and then coordinating efforts to deliver food and medications to seniors in my local town. I still feel terrible about being so apathetic about a virus that would affect so many - so deeply.

As for the question at hand, it appears that I joined in 2017 when circumstances related to adopting a very needy dog and helping my daughter recover from a brain disease left me stranded at home without friends and family. The bright and good OFF members kept my mind and heart afloat when I might otherwise have found myself in isolation.

So, hello again , and I hope this finds each of you safe and well . What a privilege it is to be here and to know such good-hearted and interesting people.

Oh, and don't let us Americans into your country quite yet . The spread of the virus is rampant this summer, and no one seems to think that they could be the cause of the spread.

Well I joined in 2015, I was on holiday at the time, I’d just found out that our company had just been bought out, so I came on here looking for words of wisdom and comfort from people who were far more experienced in life than I


You lot were no help btw....

I've been here just short of five years. It seems longer.