Tag Archives: COVID-19

Aug 28 2021
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Dispatch from the Hideout: Pod Squad 2.0

“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” — James Baldwin

Last weekend, on Friday, I spent time with friends, celebrating a birthday on a pontoon boat on Lake Mendota in Madison, WI on a hot, beautiful, late summer day. The next morning, I had brunch outdoors with three Pod Squad members (some of my quarantine bubble of friends and family), and continued the birthday celebration of one of our members. On Sunday, I setup and staffed the OutReach Magic Pride Festival outdoors at Olin Turville Park. We watched the entertainment program and speakers on a Jumbotron screen while people picnicked.

When the weekend was over, I realized I spent more time with people than I have in over 18 months, many who I didn’t know if they were vaccinated or not, including Pod Squad members, friends, and members of my LGBTQ+ community, unmasked outdoors. There was no guarantee during the latter event that everyone was vaccinated. Continue reading →

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Jul 31 2021
Posts

Dispatch from the Hideout: Two Steps Back

“It is necessary sometimes to take one step backward to take two steps forward.” — Vladimir Lenin

“Captain, May I take two steps forward?” — Childhood backyard game

Yesterday, I traveled to Racine, Wisconsin to visit my 91-year-old father who gratefully remains independent, vaccinated, and healthy as he continues to live alone. Since I live 100 miles away, I can’t just drop-in for a quick visit and check-in on him. Prior to the pandemic, we scheduled a weekly phone date every Sunday, and I’d visit him in-person at least once a month The COVID-19 pandemic changed all that. Continue reading →

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Jul 11 2021
Posts

Safety/Danger

“The good we secure for ourselves is precarious and uncertain until it is secured for all of us and incorporated into our common life.” ― Jane Addams 

Today’s essay takes a look at safety/danger as gun violence, mass shootings, hate crimes, and domestic terrorism are on the rise. Add climate change, infrastructure neglect, ransomware cyber attacks, and the continued spread of new COVID-19 variants and our safety and security are threatened. Safety and security are two of our most basic human needs, part of the foundation of the physiological requirements as described by Herbert Maslow in his paper in 1943, A Theory of Human Motivation and illustrated in his Hierarchy of Needs. Continue reading →

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May 31 2021
Posts

Dispatch from the Hideout: My Post-Pandemic Life

“As a writer, I like words, their origin and meanings. Memory: Something remembered from the past; a recollection. Memorial: Something designed to preserve the memory of a person, event, as a monument or a holiday.” — from Mixed Metaphors, Oh My! With a Little Help from My Friends

First, the Memorial Day Holiday is a time to acknowledge and honor the men and women who have served our country in war and peace, and more importantly to work for peace in the world. It’s also a time I remember loved ones, friends, and colleagues who have died.

This year it’s also a return to some version of our pre-pandemic lives — a new normal — a post- pandemic life for those of us who’ve been fully vaccinated. Continue reading →

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May 02 2021
Posts

Dispatch from the Hideout: Exit Strategy

“In the rush to return to normal, use this time to consider which parts of normal are worth rushing back to.” — Dave Hollis

As I write, it’s the day after May Day, this year the first Saturday in May, the traditional running of The Kentucky Derby. Attendance was, according to the Courier-Journal, “51,838 — a far cry from the usual 150,000-plus fans the race draws in a normal year, but one of the largest crowds at any event since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.” Many people who attended did not wear their required face masks, except around their neck, though they dressed up for the occasion donning their derby hats and costumes while sipping mint juleps and placing their bets. Continue reading →

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Apr 21 2021
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Posts

A Filmgoer’s Guide to the Best Films of 2020

“A good movie can take you out of your dull funk and the hopelessness that so often goes with slipping into a theatre; a good movie can make you feel alive again. Good movies make you care, make you believe in possibilities again.” — Pauline Kael, For Keeps: 30 Years at the Movies

Sadly, I haven’t seen a movie in a theater for over a year, though as Kael describes, the experience of watching a film can make us feel alive again and find hope. This past year — filmgoing was replaced by film-viewing in my home —and yes — the experience for the most part fulfilled many needs. Streaming content in my home distracted from the deadly pandemic, entertained and informed, invited people and adventures virtually and safely into my home, and told stories about the past, present, and an imagined future. Movies gave me hope that some semblance of life, as we knew it, would eventually return. Continue reading →

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Mar 26 2021
Posts

Travel Musings

“You don’t have to go far to travel.” — Me

“If you lived here, you’d be home by now!” — Firesign Theater

I often introduce reminiscences and musings with a quote or two. The same is true today as I muse about travel, or the lack of it. The first quote, I attribute to myself, “You don’t have to go far to travel.”  The second to a favorite radio and improv comedy troupe from my hippie days, Firesign Theater, when we traveled in our own imaginations with help from mind-altering substances, “If you lived here, you’d be home by now!” Continue reading →

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Mar 13 2021
Posts

Dispatch from the Hideout: A Shot in the Arm

A Shot in the Arm: A stimulus or booster, something vitalizing or encouraging — Dictionary.com

Like many anniversaries, the date you choose to celebrate, or mark a year, depends on how you count and what date you choose. For romantic relationships, some people will choose the date they met, their first kiss, or when they made love the first time, sometimes it’s when someone declares, “I love you.”

The anniversary of the COVID-19 Pandemic is similar in that there are a number of dates to choose from, depending on what country you live in, the degree of truth or disinformation delivered by the leaders, the weight and influence given to the medical and science community, and the impact of commerce over health concerns. Continue reading →

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Jan 18 2021
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Posts

Mouse Turd Cake & Other Birthday Memories

“Auntie Linda, it’s okay that you’re old. It means you’re not dead!” — Four-year-old niece, Gemma

The Backstory: When Gemma was four years old, I was bending over her car seat buckling her in, she saw my face up close, let’s be precise, the wrinkles of my face up close. In that observational, yet nonjudgmental matter-of-fact manner that children possess, she commented, “Auntie Linda, you’re old!!!” My old, wrinkled face couldn’t hide my hurt feelings. My niece Gemma loves me wholeheartedly and clearly didn’t want me to feel bad, so she replied in a cheery voice with a smile on her face, “Auntie Linda, it’s okay that you’re old, it means you’re not dead!”  And you know, she’s right, I’m not dead, and I’m grateful for that. Gemma is now 16-years-old and I remain older and above ground. Continue reading →

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Dec 31 2020
Posts

Dispatch from the Hideout: The End Is Here!

“There are certain life lessons that you can only learn in the struggle.” ― Idowu Koyenikan

“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” ― C.S. Lewis

It’s the eve of New Year’s Eve as I write and take a look back at 2020 and look ahead to 2021, wondering what the new year will bring.

There’s a blanket of fresh snow outside. Yesterday, I went grocery shopping to ensure I was prepared to be snowed in as I shelter-in-place between the holidays and before I return to work next week at my part-time-job. I only venture out for work and essential services, including a New Year’s Eve dentist appointment and a haircut next week. I have a mammogram scheduled the day before my January birthday. During 2020, we had to assess the risk vs. benefit in every venture outside our homes. Continue reading →

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