I have read your article about the “Friendship Trail” in St. Adolphe and I really wanted to see it for myself. I have lived in St. Adolphe my whole life, more specifically near the dike which leads to the Pierre Delorme Bridge. There has always been somewhat of a trail in that area, but for the couple to transform it into a beautiful walkway is great for the town.

As our healthcare and political leaders cast doubts on the chances of people holding holiday gatherings this year, public morale appears to be wearing thin. Symptoms of our collective exhaustion include: the ubiquitous conflicts on social media, vitriolic comments on news stories about the pandemic, and anti-mask protests.

There’s an old saying that warns, “The cure is worse than the disease.” The implication is that the solution for a problem causes more harm than good.

As students return from what is arguably the longest spring break any of them have ever experienced, they are re-entering a world profoundly different from when they last left.

I am sitting here writing this letter at 10:00 p.m., utterly exhausted. However, despite how tired I am, I can’t help but feel grateful—grateful that my community has some pretty amazing people in it, including a Hutterite colony just south of us.

All over Facebook, you’ll see these posts by well-meaning, health-conscious people: an inspirational photo, perhaps a river, or a forest, or a sunset—something peaceful. It catches your eye as you scroll through your feed, not just because of the image but because of the words, superimposed overtop, something like “Nature is the best antidepressant.”