In the Time of Covid

If it wasn’t happening world wide I would definitely think Covid-19 was an elaborate misdirection designed to distract us from that thing in November. Joe who?  Today we donned our light blue face masks and ventured downtown. It was too cold for bikes, so we drove, crossing the Lower West Seattle bridge because the upper bridge is broken. This is not allowed, and on weekdays t here are no fewer than FOUR police officers handing out tickets on the lower West Seattle Bridge.  But this is Saturday, and we are Bonnie and Clyde.  Parking downtown is free and limitless during a pandemic. These feel like insincere apologies for a situation that is not the fault of the city. Like when you tell someone you didn't sleep well and they say "I'm sorry."  The waterfront is typically teeming with tourists and today it was surprisingly empty. I worry about the hotdog vendor and I buy a cider and a cookie. This cider is the type you get at the mechanic for free while they ch...

Today I sang this song in my head  (to the tune of Neil Sedaka's "Happy Birthday, Sweet 16"): "If I should cry/ In great despair It's cause it's nice outside, and I can't go out there./ This is the worst beginning of spring I've ever seen!/ Happy Easter, Quarantine!" I do not enjoy the holiday of Easter. It bothers me that the miraculous resurrection of the Messiah has been reduced to candy filled eggs and matching Easter ensembles. Let's be real, most people who feign devastation about missing church this Easter Sunday were regularly and voluntarily missing church before the pandemic. Tangentially, I find the symbol of the cross to be tacky, because that was not the point. He suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane, bleeding from every pore for the sins of mankind. He allowed Himself to be crucified on Calvary. And He was resurrected ; the reunion of body and spirit never again to be divided. Which of these is the most important?...

. . .  The other day I wrote to my local radio station: “While I appreciate your fervent coverage of the Corona-virus, I feel that we’ve all become like new parents who used to have myriad interests, and now we only talk about our baby. Baby Covid.” I was quite pleased when my brief correspondence was chosen as “Letter of the Day” and Tom Tangney said, “that’s perfect.”  Baby Covid has indeed consumed my thoughts, conversations, and even my dreams. (Last night I dreamt I was getting married. I wore a plastic gown and a mask. None of my friends could attend because they were quarantined. Right before the ceremony I stole away to the Trader Joe’s directly across the hall from the venue, where I asked the employee if I could skip the social distancing line because “I’m getting married in 5 minutes and I just really need a snack.”) In the time of Covid, even the most chill humans become obsessive and the thought-stuck. This is familiar territory for me. In the   regu...

Of all the places I could go, Caldwell, ID usually tops my list. I grew up visiting my Grandparents in Caldwell. Mom moved here a few years ago to help Gramma, and the place became even more of a refuge for me. "WOW I could go to Switzerland for $749 round trip!" Or, for that same price you could go see Mom 7 times! "Or there’s always NYC . . . I miss my friends . . . " OR you could go to Mom’s and sit on the couch and eat snacks.  "Or maybe Lake Tahoe, I should visit my sister . . ."  GOLDEN. GIRLS. WITH. GRANDMA.  Lately I find myself thinking terrible things that I wouldn’t say out loud.  Everyone was so concerned about ‘aging America’ and Baby Boomers bankrupting social security, but I guess Covid kind of solves that problem. ... Maybe all the people who don’t believe in science will keep going out, contract the virus, and die.   ... Really, this is expected. It is Darwinian . . . Survival of the fittest in a world where “th...