WWW.WEDNESDAY

WWW. WEDNESDAY asks three questions to prompt you to speak bookishly. To participate, and to see how other book lovers responded, click here.

 

1. What are you currently reading? Profiles in Courage by John F. Kennedy. I'm using my shelter-at-home time to finally get to books I purchased but, for whatever reason, never touched. This little gem certainly qualifies. This Pulitzer Prize winner written in 1955 by the then-junior Senator from MA, and the edition I've got was copyrighted 1999.

Kennedy profiles eight Senators who took the hard stand, the position that would put them at odds with party and constituents, all because it was the right thing to do.


I just started, but so far it feels like the right book at the right time. I hope during this unprecedented crisis, all Senators will rise to the occasion.

As a lifelong Kennedy girl, I appreciate having JFK's voice in my head. His opinions and actions shaped much of my world view, and so I'm especially glad I picked this book up at a time when I could use a boost to my national pride.

2. What did you recently finish reading? Over My Dead Body by Rex Stout. The 7th book in the Nero Wolfe series was a delight! Set in 1939, on the precipice of the second World War with the first World War fresh in the national consciousness, Wolfe finds himself at the intersection of international intrigue, finance and murder.

The story starts when the lovely Carla shows up at Wolfe's brownstone. A recent immigrant who speaks with an accent and occasionally slips into Montenegrin, she tells Wolfe's right-hand man Archie that she needs help. She and her friend, Neya, also from the Balkans, have gotten into some trouble with the police and need the help of Nero Wolfe, the world-famous, well-connected and highly-successful detective. Oh yeah, and they can't pay Wolfe's fee.


Why on earth would Wolfe want to help them? She coolly responds that her friend Neya is Wolfe's long-lost daughter.

WHAT?

Wolfe always lived a very male-centric world and became unhappy and irascible in the presence of women. The very idea that he had a child -- a daughter! -- is preposterous. And yet, the man himself acknowledges that it's true.

From there the action escalates. Two men end up dead. The FBI and several embassies don't seem to want these murders solved. Archie and the police were confused. Wolfe, being a genius, can keep it all straight. It's exciting, complex and, at times, very funny. My favorite scenes revolved around the colorful, sexy couturier named Madame Zorca. Was she a suspect, a co-conspirator, or just an irritant who wears lingerie whenever possible? I won't give it away, but she did make me smile.

3. What will you read next? I don't know.

May Music Meme -- Day 20

A song that has many meanings to you. It's a break-up song that we enjoyed at the beginning of our relationship. It's a funny song about a sad moment. There's a lot going on here. (And yes, Garth joins Justin on stage.) Play along! Click here for prompts.)

Another bad dream

Any dream that features a Trump loyalist is, by definition, a nightmare. And I just had one with Rudy Giuliani in a starring role. For some reason, he was in a position of professional authority over me. In my dream, he didn't approve of the work I'd just done for my client. "We can do better. No, YOU can do better!" He just kept yelling and yelling at me.

This is my second nightmare in three days. My slumber is not usually disturbed like this. 

I discussed this with Patrick, who mentioned his dreams have been "weird," too. We compared notes, and agree that it's because both of our lives are changing.

I haven't been in the city since mid-March. I haven't gone this long without the sights of the Loop since Peter Frampton was on the charts. I miss it. I also haven't done any in-person socializing in two months. It's been an unreal existence, but I've eased into this unreality. It's become comfortable. And every day I receive another email from corporate:

•  How comfortable are you returning to the office on June 15?
•  How do you feel about taking public transportation?
•  Read the new procedures for cleaning and disinfecting the office. 

I know these messages are meant to make me feel more secure, but they don't. They remind me that I live in a county where nearly 60,000 have died of the corona virus. I am trying to keep things in perspective and remind myself that most people don't get virus and that most who do aren't hospitalized. But that 58,457 number is sobering.*

I appreciate how lucky I am to have a job in this economy, but I can't be unreservedly happy because there is something real to fear outside my front door.

Part of me is afraid to go back to work. Hence, the nightmares.

Patrick is  the maître d of a high-end restaurant in Portland, Maine. After Thanksgiving, when the weather gets rough, business drops off precipitously. They don't need a full-time maître d and he goes back to waiting tables. He doesn't make much money doing this and they really don't need another waiter, either. They just give Patrick that wintertime option because they appreciate how much he adds to the dining experience when they are busy, and they want to keep him happy.

Patrick has worked it out with his boss that he take six months off without pay. All they have to do is keep his job open for him when the busy summer season starts. He then moves down to Key West, moves in with Reg and Henry, and waits tables during South Florida's busy season. It's hard work, but it pays so much better than serving in a half-empty Portland eatery. Also, Reg likes having Patrick around. They have been friends for decades, and Reg appreciates Patrick's support as he deals with Henry's traumatic brain injury.

Well, Covid19 changed all Patrick's plans. He's been unemployed in Key West since mid-March. He has yet to receive payments from Florida's overburdened unemployment system. Yet he couldn't go back to Maine. While he's in terrific shape -- you can bounce a dime off Patrick's derriere -- he has serious health problems. He's HIV positive and he has a defibrillator implanted in his chest. Flying at the height of the pandemic was inadvisable. PLUS the restaurant in Portland closed because of the virus. He had no job there, either.

He wants to go home. He's eager to go home. Being locked in that house with Reg and Henry isn't conducive to good health. He wonders about his backyard in Portland. He worries a lot about money. He has a tenant and they need to talk -- face-to-face -- about finances, since his tenant is currently out of work. 

Restrictions are starting to loosen. His boss hopes to reopen the Portland restaurant in July, and says he's welcomed back if he quarantines himself at home for two weeks. He's booked his flight. He's going home (I think) June 1.

But he's scared to expose himself to all the other passengers as he navigates his way back to Portland. So he's been having weird dreams, too.

Restful sleep: one of the forgotten victims of the corona virus.

*As of 5/18/20.

May Music Meme -- Day 19

A song that makes you think about life. I'm 62 for a moment and the sun is getting high ... (Play along! Click here for prompts.)

May Music Meme -- Day 18

A song from the year you were born. The King dominated 1957. I bet some of his tones made their way to me in utero, accounting for my affinity for him. Also, this is just a magical movie moment. I think the tragedy of Elvis was how great he could be with the right material, and how seldom he was given the opportunity to rise to occasion. I believe he died as much of ennui as drugs. (Play along! Click here for prompts.)

What was Michael Douglas doing in Marquette County?

My traveling companion

I had a bad dream Saturday night. It woke me up with a start and left me terrified. And, like many nightmares, it sounds stupid in the retelling.

I Googled the resort my family traveled to every year when I was a kid, just because I was curious about it after all these years. (See Q.5 in Sunday Stealing.) The kitchens and bathrooms have been renovated in the intervening decades, but the cabins and bar/restaurant are all recognizable as the place I hated all those years ago.

In my dream, I was back there! As an adult, not a child or a teen. Apparently as the guest of Michael Douglas. Now why would Michael Douglas be at a tiny, rundown resort in Marquette County, WI? How did Michael and I know one another? If you going to be analytical, we'll never get anywhere in this dream.

You know who else was there? My friend Kathy and her crazy-lady friend. Kathy's friend doesn't -- to my immense relief -- exist in real life. Her friend tricked Kathy into leading her to Michael and me. This friend had a mass of dyed yellow blonde hair, wore flannel shirts and was convinced Michael Douglas would marry her if not for me. (I suspect Crazy Lady was kinda based on Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction, only shorter and pudgier and very likely related to the guy on the porch in Deliverance.)

I don't know where Kathy and Michael were, but Crazy Lady was chasing me between the cottages at night. I saw the orangey-red color of the clapboard. I felt the wet sand and stray grass and stones under my bare feet. Crazy Lady said she was going to kill me. I was desperate.

Kathy suddenly appeared and intervened. I woke up with my heart beating through my pajama top.

Come to think of it, I never saw Michael Douglas in my dream.

Dream logic says being chased in a dream tells me I am running from my emotions. OK, I'll buy that. I am a WASP, after all.

May Music Meme -- Day 17

A song you'd sing a karaoke duet. This is hard for me, because I'd never sing karaoke alone, much less in a duet. But this is the song I'd be likeliest to sing -- solo, duet, at all! -- because it really involves very little singing. (Play along! Click here for prompts.)

Sunday Stealing

QUESTIONS FROM TY AND LOGAN

1. Where did your name come from? My mother simply liked it. 

2. Where were you born? Sherman Hospital in Elgin, Illinois. When a new facility was completed in 2009, the building where I was born was closed and finally sold to a developer last year. MY Sherman Hospital was suddenly on the news again in March of this year, when the National Guard and Army Corps of Enginners arrived to get it ready to handle Covid19 patients.

3. What as your house like, growing up? It was a 3 BR ranch house, built by my grandparents in 1952. After about 8 summers of tending the big backyard and dealing with a leaky basement, my grandparents decided they wanted to try apartment living and sold the house to my mom and dad. I was still a toddler and my older sister a pre-schooler. In the mid-1960s, when my kid sister arrived, my parents added a bedroom and a half-bath. After my mom's death in 2014, the house was sold. I know she would have hated that. She seemed to think of it as Tara, where only her family had lived.

4. What was your childhood bedroom like? It was the smallest bedroom, but the only one with a view of the front yard. It was a mess, which is unsurprising because I am a messy clutterbug.


5. Did you travel as a child? Where? We did precious little traveling when I young. My mother loved this godforsaken resort in Wisconsin and insisted we go every year. Year after year. I hated it. Writing this makes me smile, though, because I realize anew I get my sentimentality from my mom. We were just sentimental about different things,

6. Write about your grandparents. I've been thinking about my grandparents -- my dad's folks -- a lot lately because of Covid19. My grandfather was a new immigrant and so very grateful to be an American when he married my grandma, who was then still in her teens. They spoke often about doing their duty by their country during WWII. Ration stamps, saving bacon grease and aluminum foil, tending a Victory Garden. etc. They felt it was a privilege to do without when your country asked you to. I can just imagine how shocked and disgusted they would be with whining REOPEN NOW crowd who believe that staying home to protect their neighbors and stop a virus is somehow "oppression."


7. Who taught you how to drive? Mr. Brown was a boy's PE teacher and a terrible drivers' ed instructor.


8. When did you first leave home? After high school I worked two jobs to afford 1) a trip to Europe and 2) my own apartment. It took me a little over two years, but I accomplished both!


via GIPHY

9. What did your parents do for work? My dad was an auto mechanic, my mom tended house.


10. Who inspired you as you matured? A desire to be independent.

11. What was the best part of your 20s? Meeting John, Gregory, Kathy and Mindy, all of whom are still in my life to this day.


12. What as the best part of your 30s? I began taking myself more seriously and concentrate on my career. To borrow from Amy Winehouse, I decided to "be own best friend and not fuck myself in the head with stupid men."


13. Where is the most fascinating place you’ve visited? Oh, golly, I don't know. I've enjoyed my solo vacations so much! There has been something wonderful about each place I've gone. I like places with ties to American history. Williamsburg, VA, Washington DC, Boston and Illinois' own Springfield with all the Lincoln sites. I'd love to revisit them all!

14. What is your favorite family story? As a family, we went to see Mary Poppins at one of the big movie palaces downtown. It was the first movie I'd ever seen in a theater (as opposed to the drive in) and it was fantastic! I will always remember sitting there in my plush seat in the dark, the big drapes opened, and I was transported to the rooftops of London. Magic!


15. What was your most memorable birthday? I love my birthday. They're all dear to me. I encourage my friends to celebrate it early and often!

16. What was your favorite food as a child? Other than sweets, it was a tie between fish sticks and ham sandwiches.

Farewell M'Lady

Astrid Kirchherr, who died this week, was more than a talented photographer. She was a Renaissance woman. Fashion, music, sculpture, philosophy ... she had her own unique take on it all. And in time the world became aware of her taste because of her influence on The Beatles. 

She met The Lads in Hamburg in 1960, before Ringo joined the band and four years before they conquered America and the world. She loved their music and their energy and photographed them extensively. They loved her visual sense and her intellect. She's credited not only with cutting their hair into bangs like her own, but with encouraging them to explore Sartre and Kierkegaard. These poor boys from the Liverpool docks had never before met a woman like Astrid. 

Her passionate, tragic love affair with bandmate Stu Sutcliffe had an impact on the band, as well. I've always suspected that John and Paul saw Astrid in the strong, artistic women they eventually married.

I feel bad for Paul McCartney. There are fewer and fewer people left who knew him "before." Ringo, Pete Best, Klaus Voormann, his brother Mike ... it must be lonely to watch your past evaporate. His twitter feed has been silent since Astrid died. Perhaps this one cuts too close to the bone for 280 characters to do it justice.

Saturday 9

Always Remember Us This Way (2018)

1) In this song, Lady Gaga sings about the Arizona sky and California gold. Have you visited many of our western states? I spent time in New Mexico when my cousin lived there. I've visited Las Vegas a handful of times. I've been to Disneyland and Hollywood. Decades ago I spent quite a bit of time in San Francisco. But that's about it.

2) She sings that she's overwhelmed and can't find the words to express herself. Do you find it easier to share your feelings verbally or in writing? Words are in my wheelhouse. I do better in writing, though. I don't know why, but I seldom have trouble finding a word when I'm at the word piano,* while at times I struggle in conversation.

3) Her real name is Stefani Germanotta. She took her stage name from the Queen song, Radio Gaga. Do you have a favorite Queen song? 


4) Her dad is Joe Germanotta, president of GuestWifi, a company that enables hotels and restaurants to offer high-speed wifi to their customers. Do you consider yourself tech savvy? Ha! No! It took me three hours to get my new phone loaded with my apps and contacts. I suspect it would have taken my Millennial nephew 30 minutes (if that).

5) Early in her career, Lady Gaga performed songs for a children's audio book called The Portal in the Park. Tell us about the last book you finished -- did you listen to an audiobook, or read a download to an electronic device or a bound book with pages? I just finished Over My Dead Body, a Nero Wolfe mystery I got decades ago. I listened to it on cassette. It was kind of neat to hear this again: "This book is continued on the other side of this cassette. Please reverse or turn the cassette over now."
 

6) She prefers dogs to cats and tea to coffee. Do you agree with her? I have never finished a cup of coffee. The smell is too strong and the taste too bitter. The cat vs. dog thing is, I believe, a false choice. Like Elly Mae, I just love critters. I adore being a cat mom. But if I could share my home with a dog, I would.
 

7) Back in 2015, she appeared at the Academy Awards, performing a medley to celebrate the 50th anniversary of The Sound of Music. The movie's star, Julie Andrews, graciously came onstage to thank Gaga for her showstopping performance. Whom did you most recently thank? The counter person who rang up my "to go" order and threw in extra napkins. With paper products still at a premium around here, I appreciated it. I've found everyone is just so much nicer during this pandemic, and I'm so grateful.


8) In 2018, when this song was first released, retailer Toys R Us closed all its stores and went out of business. What's the last toy you purchased? A jungle play set -- gorilla, lion and tiger -- for my niece. She and her fiance are in training to be foster parents, and I wanted her to have toys ready when the time comes.

9) Random question: How has social media made your life better? It's made it easier to keep up with people over the miles or from the past.

 

*Author Rex Stout's synonym for keyboard

May Music Meme -- Day 16

A song that's a classic favorite. I love this song by Streisand, too. It was written in 1928. Frank sang it about Doris in 1954's Young at Heart. This clip amazes me. Can you imagine having the opportunity to hear Sinatra sing Gershwin live and not listening? (Play along! Click here for prompts.)

May Music Meme -- Day 15

A song you like that's a cover by another artist. Did you know George is the only one of the lads who wasn't self taught? Rock on, George. This video is unusual in that it's one of the few I've seen where it was the boy Beatlemaniacs who wreaked havoc. (Play along! Click here for prompts.)

Settling in for my third cyber meeting of the day

This morning, my art director and I got together with the account team via Zoom to discuss our latest client project. It's going well. It feels good to be doing something to help move our clients' business forward, especially during the pandemic.

Then at 2:30, we had a big WebEx status meeting. It was boring. Of course, if we were in person at the office, it would have been boring, too. I appreciate the normalcy.

Right now, as my fingers fly across the keyboard, I'm watching a Zoom presentation by The Chicago Sun Times. Columnists Lynn Sweet and Laura Washington, plus reporter Tina Sfondeles, are talking about Governors Pritzker and Cuomo and their leadership.

Tomorrow I'm having lunch with historians at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library via Zoom. It's a perk of being a member of the library and I can't wait, because I love my Abe!

When the pandemic began, I was leery of Zoom and WebEx. But that was before I began attending church online and virtually meeting my movie group. Two months in, this is the new normal and part of my life.

I worry

This morning we had a violent spring storm. Thunder and lightening. Driving rain. My cat Connie was so scared it was pathetic. She was frozen in terror in the hallway, eyes wide and shining. I tried to soothe her with my voice, cooing her name as I told her she will always be dry and safe.

But then I got thinking about the homeless I used to see up close, and know are still out there.

The wheelchair-bound vet I used to see all the time in front of our local Chase branch. He served in Afghanistan shortly after 9/11. This year, he always greeted me as a I entered or exited the ATM area, collecting change in a Big Gulp cup. I haven't seen him in months. Where is he? Is he OK? 

The guy downtown with the tortoise shell cat. He used to panhandle for cash, then go to Starbucks to use the facilities. What's happened to him, now that no one is walking around downtown and Starbucks is closed? Is he eating? Is he staying clean? That girlcat has such a hold on his heart, and I hope they're still together.

Once I locked eyes with these people, they became real to me. I hope someone was able to help them stay dry and safe this morning.

When our President truly "had the best words"

When President Kennedy spoke those words at American University in June, 1963, he was concerned about nuclear war and the Soviet Union. Right now our foe is a virus. To pretend that it respects county lines, or whether our governor is "red" or "blue," is ridiculous. To deny that we share this planet with other countries is short-sighted and perhaps even fatal. Because we are all mortal.

I wonder if we all truly do cherish our children's futures. So many of those who bitch, moan and demand we REOPEN NOW claim to be "pro-life." Yet they are willing to accept a certain number of fatalities to end their own "oppression." If only they valued their neighbors -- whether they live next door or in the neighboring state -- as much as they claim to value the unborn.

May Music Meme -- Day 14

A song you'd love to be played at your wedding. Since the King had more than once factored into our courtship, I always thought this would be played at our wedding. (Play along! Click here for prompts.)

No one remembers this!

So far this week -- and I believe it's Wednesday* -- I've had to remind three people to use my landline. My coworker was upset that my cell went directly to voicemail when she knew I was there. That's why she should call my landline.

Patrick called and wanted to talk to me right away, but my cellphone was charging in the kitchen and I was in my bedroom. I didn't hear the ring, nor was I immediately aware of his urgent texts. That's why he should call my landline.

John complained about the quality of our connection. Um ... oh, hell, don't make me say it.

via GIFER

There's an extension in my living room and one in my bedroom. I cannot NOT hear it. The sound quality is almost always perfect. It's the same number I've had for freaking decades, so I know it's programmed into all their phones.

I will never be one of those people who carries her phone with her from room to room. I'll just lose it.† When we return to regular life, my cell phone will languish in my purse all day, because I have a perfectly serviceable landline on my office desk.

No, it doesn't accept texts or take photos. But it rings. It takes voicemail messages. It's the most dependable way to reach me when I'm at home. To borrow from Bruce Springsteen, "Use it, Rosie, that's what it's there for!"

 

*I lose track of the days while on shutdown.

†You have no idea how much time I waste looking for my glasses in this Covid19 days when it's unwise to wear my contacts.

When did we all get old?

My aunt is having surgery today. She has a heel spur that has been bedeviling her for almost a year now and, after a Covid-related rescheduling, she's getting it taken care of. It's not a complicated procedure. It requires only a local and she'll be home tomorrow morning. But naturally she's nervous about it. I had a gift box of chocolate raspberry cookies delivered to cheer her up. You know, a spoonful of sugar and all.

My cousin Rose had her master bathroom remodeled. This surprised me, since she hasn't lived in this house that long, and she never mentioned the bathroom one way or the other before. Not even when we discussed my own bathroom remodeling ad nauseum. Turns out her knee has been giving her grief and she just can't get in or out of the tub as easily as she used to. Not even with the grip bar. This doesn't sound like Rose! She's a traveler who recently traipsed all over Poland, checking out churches and cemeteries, looking up her ancestors. Now all of a sudden she needs a walk-in shower?

Both of these women have the unique capacity to get on my last nerve, as only family can. Yet I love them both. I hate that they are both in their 70s.

May Music Meme -- Day 13

A song you like from the 70s. Still one of my favorite lyrics: "Hold me in your hands like a bunch of flowers. Set me moving to your sweetest song. And I'll know what I think I've known all along: Loving you's the right thing to do." (Play along! Click here for prompts.)

May Music Meme -- Day 12

A song from your pre-teen years. My first concert! My oldest friend and I still talk and laugh about it. (Play along! Click here for prompts.)

May Music Meme -- Day 11

A song you never get tired of. (Play along! Click here for prompts.)

Yeah, I cried. So what?

There's a documentary about Natalie Wood on HBO that takes her from her birth to immigrant Russian parents to her death in Catalina. Produced by her daughter, Natasha Gregson-Wagner, it concentrates more on the period preceding her 1981 death, and that's fine with me. It's always bothered me that Natalie Wood is considered more a drowning victim than an actress.

There are many clips from her movies and interviews, but also excerpts of her unpublished autobiography, written for a woman's magazine. Wood seems like a smart, self-aware woman who wanted it all: family and career.

She never chose to be an actress. Her stage mother engineered her early career. But she came to derive satisfaction from it. She learned her craft and was aware of her worth to the producers. In the 60s and 70s, she was remarkable for her willingness to exercise her power and insist on being treated as equal to her male costars.

She chose to be a mother, worked hard at it, and her daughters love and miss her still. I was also touched that her step children -- Josh Donen and Katie Wagner -- felt welcome in Wood's extended family. If there was any tension between Wood and Robert Wagner's former wife (and it would be only natural if there was), she made sure the children never felt the effects.

Her friends and costars are interviewed. Mia Farrow, Mart Crowley, George Segal, Robert Redford and Robert Wagner are among those who share their memories. Next to her daughters, Redford and Wagner were toughest for me. Because they've grown old before my eyes (Redford is 83, Wagner is 90) and Natalie wasn't given that opportunity. She is forever frozen at 43. I miss seeing how a woman with her sensitivity and sensibility approached aging.

In honor of the day

I love this handwritten note from Evelyn Lincoln to her boss.

If you're lucky enough to still have your mom in your life, make like JFK and give her a call.

Sunday Stealing

BLACK FEATHERS

1. Do you prefer writing with black or blue pen? Blue. Although it's not really a preference. It's just that I have liberated more blue pens than black from the office and Chase Bank. This is not intentional either. I don't recall consciously stealing any of these pens. Blue pens just somehow make their way into my pencil cup.

2. Do you prefer living in the country or the city? City. Though during the shelter-at-home pandemic, I'm not sure it makes any difference.

3. How do you drink your tea or coffee? I don't drink coffee. I prefer my tea hot, and with two sugars.

4. Do you prefer bath or shower? Shower. Unless I'm shaving my legs.

5. Do you prefer reading paper or electronic books? Paper.

6. Would you ever want to be famous? I'd rather be rich. To put a finer point on it, here are the opening credits to a justifiably forgotten movie. I remember watching it as a high school student, doing my homework while babysitting.


 

7. Are you a restless sleeper? Yes.

8. What is the strangest thing you have ever eaten? Shark vera cruz.

9. Do you like cereal crunchy or soggy? Crunchy.

10. Do you like ice in your drinks? Water, yes. Mixed drinks, no.

11. Do you prefer swimming in pools or the ocean? Of these choices, pools. Though I like lakes. Fresh water is nice is better than sea salt or chlorine.

12. What can you hear right now? The TV

13. Where do you feel the safest? Right here at home.

14. What would you like your legacy to be? At this historic time, I want to do right by my faith and by my country. It may sound corny, but I'm doing the patriotic thing and the Christian thing by staying home as much as possible and wearing a mask every time I go out. I'm honored to do right by my country and my community.

15. Do you like spicy food? No.

 

May Music Meme -- Day 10

A song that makes you sad.  I dearly wish it had worked out. (Play along! Click here for prompts.)

Water seeks its own level

I'm so glad I live in this community! It was sunny, clear and cold for this time of year (45º). I had to pick up prescription cat food at the vet's office and I walked. It took about 30 minutes and it was lovely. The sidewalks were, of course, empty except for joggers and people walking their dogs. Yet I felt so connected to my neighbors.

Encouragement from a local house of worship

The sign says:
• Doctors  • Nurses • ER Staff  • Police • Firefighters • First Responders • Pharmacies • Teachers • Grocery Stores • USPS • UPS • FedEx • DHL • Amazon • Food Delivery • & More
THANK YOU! Family, Friends and Neighbors • Stay Safe • Stay Healthy.

Doesn't it make your heart happy to think of the fun this family had, making these positive and supportive decorations?

However, just as water reaches its own level, so does sewage. My vet tech and I caught up on life as she rung up my pet food. I hadn't been there since mid-March, something of a record for me! We were both in our masks. Mostly we talked about Reynaldo, but naturally the unusual protocol for picking up the food -- I had to ring the bell to be let in -- came up. I thanked her for wiping down the pen before I used it. She told me about her sister, who lives in downstate IL near the KY border. Sis was waiting in line to enter a grocery store. Everyone in line was wearing a mask except one woman, who had a Confederate flag bandana around her neck that she could easily have pulled up to cover her nose and mouth.

Sis asked the woman if she wouldn't mind putting on her mask. "Yes, I would! My body, my choice." It was obvious she was just waiting for someone to engage her so she could use that line.

A small, white haired woman asked her to "please, put on your mask to protect me." Can you guess what Ms. Confederate Flag said? "No. My body, my choice."

It's amusing that Ms. Confederate Flag was willing to wear her offensive bandana as a mask inside the store. She doesn't care enough about her "rights" to risk roughing it without toilet paper.

And by the way, it isn't her "right." As Americans have been saying since the 1880s, "Your liberty to swing your arm ends where my nose begins." Our neighbors have a right to feel safe, too. And oh, yeah, masks are the law here in IL. The Land of Lincoln. You know, the side that won the Civil War. The Confederate flag was purposely provocative, too.

Enough about the silly live-free-or-die, fight-the-tyranny, I-blame-Obama's-deep-state crowd. I'm glad I'm here. Where we care about each other and our country. Where I belong.

 

Saturday 9

Saturday 9: I'll Always Love My Mama (1973)

1) This week's featured artists, The Intruders, sing that they don't know how their mama made it through the week without ever getting a good night's sleep. How did you sleep last night? I slept OK, I suppose. I woke up with a headache, though. One of those where your head just feels stuffy. I think it's from dust and dirt and all the other airborne stuff kicked up by the freight trains that run just nearby. Part of why I chose this condo is the proximity to the tracks. Really, my commute couldn't be easier. But there's a downside to that convenience.

2) The Intruders performed this song on Soul Train, a syndicated show that ran for more than 3 decades. What show do you try never to miss? TCM's Noir Alley on Saturday nights. I love Eddie Mueller's introductions to these classics. He really knows his shit and I always end up learning a lot. I'm nowhere near caught up. My backlog of Noir Alley movies have contributed to those "space is limited!" warnings I get on my DVR.

3) On Soul Train, the Intruders wore solid black shirts beneath their brightly colored jackets. Black, white, khaki, navy and gray are considered neutral colors, because they go with everything. If we were to check your closet, which would we find you wear most often: black, white, khaki, navy or gray? Navy. Lots of navy! I wear so much blue that I even ordered my covid19 masks in blue.

4) Especially for Mother's Day: Access Hollywood named Carol Brady of The Brady Bunch TV's #1 mom. Who is your favorite TV mom? When it comes to TV, Lucy is almost always my favorite answer. I love the episode where Little Ricky has his tonsils out. In the cab (offscreen) Lucy comforts the toddler by assuring him that, when he wakes up in his hospital bed, she will be there. After he's admitted, the staff tells Lucy she cannot spend the night in his room. Oh yeah? Those starched hospital nurses don't know who they're dealing with! Lucy will not be deterred. As she keeps reminding everyone, "I promised!" In many (OK, most) situations, Lucy Ricardo may have been a child herself, but she was a good and loving mom.

Who says a mom can't spend the night in her baby's hospital room?

5) Mother Winters always gave Sam peppermint tea to calm her stomach. Do you have any tried-and-true home remedies to share? Limit yourself to saltines and ginger ale after tummy trouble. I learned that my own mom.
 
6) Sam's mother always tips 15% in restaurants. Sam has worked in food service and is more judgmental, tipping between 10% and 25%, depending on the quality of the service. What's your tipping policy? Are you more like Sam or her mother? How do you handle tips for carry out or delivery during this Covid-19 crisis? Under normal circumstances, I'm more like Mrs. Winters and tip between 15% and 20%. During the crisis, I'm more generous. I'm lucky to be working and I know my favorite small, local businesses are suffering.


7) When the tip of her shoelace becomes frayed, Sam's mother snips off the end and then paints the tip with clear nail polish. Good as new! Sam thinks that's crazy because you can just buy new laces for less than $2. Are you more frugal like mother or spendthrift like daughter? I'm terrible with money.

8) Mother Winters loves how french vanilla smells and burns her Yankee Candles all year around. Do you use scented candles or air fresheners? I have an Airwick Freshmatic that "automatically delivers a burst of freshness" near the cats' litter box.

9) Sam is celebrating Mother's Day with her mother's favorite, Hershey Bars. Would you prefer classic milk chocolate, dark chocolate or chocolate with almonds? Milk chocolate with almonds.

It can hit anyone. Even Gregory.

Friday I heard about Gregory. He's tall, slender and handsome. And sophisticated -- Gregory knows which wine to order and can explain the three grades of cashmere. And very depressed. The pandemic has thrown him for a loop.

He worked with John and me at the beginning of our careers, back in the long-ago 1980s. He and John have remained close. I see him occasionally, but dependably for our "orphans Thanksgiving" celebration in November.

Around 1990, Gregory decided advertising wasn't for him and switched careers. He became office manager for an established, family-owned real estate firm on the North Side. They were pleased by how organized he is and, frankly, how good he looked at the front desk. He was one of the few non-family employees, but they treated him well: health care, vacation time, retirement fund.

Then, after nearly 25 years, they made a change. "The old man" retired and the next generation decided that they no longer needed anyone at the front desk or to manage supplies, appointments and vacation schedules. The real estate agents could do Gregory's job themselves from their smart phones. He was let go. As he likes to say, "Being like family and being family are two different things."

So now here he is, retired. On their timeline, not his own. He's 67 or 68 years old. Healthy. Bored. He's spent the last couple years taking short trips to family and friends in Wisconsin, Indiana and Ohio. Now on a fixed income, this man who owns his own tux takes Megabus. It's been an adjustment. He's been making noises about signing on with a temp agency -- to augment his income and to feel useful again.

Enter Covid19. Gregory quit leaving his apartment altogether in mid-March. He has his groceries delivered. He monitors the media a little too closely and is concerned about the spike in deaths and lack of testing. Hell, we all are. We all wish Donald Trump had handled this situation more wisely. But we get on with life as best we can while observing the commonsense rules in place to protect us.

Not Gregory. He's filled with anxiety. He feels vulnerable. It took John days -- literally, several calls over several days -- to convince Gregory it was OK to meet outside and visit together on public benches. They chose a date (Tuesday) and time and then Gregory cancelled it, worried that it wasn't safe.

Finally, Thursday, the old friends got together. They wore masks. Each man had his own bench. They looked at the green leaves and felt sun on (at least part) of their faces. Gregory couldn't relax, and after less than 30 minutes, they each returned to their apartments.

But John is going to try again next week. He's a good friend. But I knew that.

What I didn't realize was how fragile anyone's mental health can be. I was aware of goofy conspiracy theories embraced by the silly live-free-or-die, fight-the-tyranny, I-blame-Obama's-deep-state crowd, and that's its own special brand of crazy. But Gregory is the first person in my circle to be so caught up in his own fears and concerns that he's nearly paralyzed. I must remind myself to be more sensitive to everyone I interact with. Some of us are suffering.

May Music Meme -- Day 9

A song that makes you happy. (Play along! Click here for prompts.)

May Music Meme -- Day 8

A song about drugs or alcohol. Give the piano player a drink because he's bringing me down.
(Play along! Click here for prompts.)

Working from home, spring 2020

From the New Yorker

May Music Meme -- Day 7

A song to drive to. OK, this one is tough because I don't drive. But I do recall one night, after a birthday dinner, when my friend Barb drove me to the train. This song came on the radio and she went nuts, singing along and slapping time on the ceiling of her jeep. It made me happy to see her so happy.  (Play along! Click here for prompts.)