Nancy's Notes

It’s quite likely that at some point in recent months during the COVID-19 pandemic, you have been included in a Zoom videoconference. Many people had never heard of it, let alone knew how to create a Zoom meeting, prior to March 2020. But since then, most of us have gained quite a bit of experience using this form of attending a meeting, hosting a virtual family gathering (sans the potluck!), singing in a choir, appearing in court, and so on. The possibilities are endless, as long as you are able to connect to the Internet. Zoom, of course, doesn’t mind one bit. The company enjoyed a 355% revenue growth in the second quarter over the same period a year ago. Third quarter figures should soon be available, and I would bet their growth will again be phenomenal. The happy CFO said subscriptions from new customers accounted for 81 percent of the second quarter revenue. At last check, they had 429 job openings, all around the world. Not bad for starting 2020 with 10 employees. Don’t you wish you had bought Zoom stock back in January?

Say what you will about Amazon, but here’s something that might make your impression a bit kinder. I recently received an email from Amazon.com stating that the Wounded Warrior Project had received a new donation of $247,204.12. If you buy from Amazon using their AmazonSmile browser, AmazonSmile will donate 0.5% of your eligible purchases to the charitable organization of your choice. You can choose from over one million organizations to support! AmazonSmile has given $5,517,656 to the Wounded Warrior Project, which is my current selected organization. To all the charities in the U.S., they have given $198,636,544; and $215,721,460 has been given to charities worldwide. You’re going to buy from Amazon anyway, you might as well have Amazon donate a portion of what you spend for a worthy cause. AmazonSmile is available at smile.amazon.com. It’s just a drop in the bucket for this monopoly, but hey, it’s a pretty big drop when this much splashes out for worthy causes!

Have you seen the reports of how vastly improved the air quality has been in the U.S. during the pandemic due to less travel? Researchers say the levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), known to cause health issues, including heart, lung and neurological problems, dropped more than 25% this spring compared to previous years. The decreases, they say, were likely the result of less traffic as more people worked from home and drove less. Looking for a silver lining in the pandemic? Coronavirus shutdowns have cut pollution, and that’s opened the door to a “giant, global environmental experiment” with potentially far-reaching consequences!

Our six-year-old grandson in Texas is learning the game of football this fall, playing in a flag-football league. This is all new turf for him, and he sure looks cute in that uniform and his helmet. At the end of one of the first practices early in September, the coach gathered the little guys together at the end of practice for a short team meeting. One thing the coach mentioned was that he could use some helpers, and if they knew of anyone who could help with the team in any way to let him know. Jackson, who is never afraid to speak his mind and always has a thought, raised his hand. Coach called on him, and Jackson said, “My grandpa could probably be the coach.” I’m not sure that scored many points with the coach who was looking at him, but it sure has given Grandpa and me a lot of laughs, every time we think about it!