Dear family and friends, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair." Charles Dickens in "A Tale of Two Cities" was describing the disruptive state of affairs in 18th century England and France, but in a different way these sentences also seem to describe with vivid accuracy the pandemic year of 2020. In a very real but painful manner, COVID-19 disrupted our "normal" lives. Initially, many activities were canceled, including Chinese New Year parties (of which we were in the midst of intense preparations for two such parties), musical concerts, choir rehearsals, and travel. In a more intimate sense, even in-person school, work, and church were basically canceled and transformed into a virtual reality of Zoom and...