I am not sure if any of you remember the old seinfeld episode where elaine faced the reality of choosing who was "sponge worthy" ( https://youtu.be/kUkZdWnBTt0 ), But I had the same dilemma today. I got 100 disposable gloves the other day. so now i always take a pair with me when i walk.You know just in case i see a cigarette butt laying on the ground and start weighing the options
of picking it up to throw it away.....or smoke it?
Anyway I am walking downtown gulfport and observing the 6 ft rule...actually 10 ft rule because there are few walkers early today. I have to pee so i go to the public bathroom by the beach. i dont have to go to the beach so i am not violating any rules. just heading to the bathroom by the sidewalk. When i get there i see the door is shut. The decision is: do i put on my glove and see it the door is locked or not. I think about it a couple of minutes.i weigh my need to pee with the value of the glove. i decide not to waste a glove on checking to see if the door is locked. i walk down the street and there is another bathroom. same deal. hmmmmm to use a glove or not? i gauge my need to pee with the distance from home vs the value of a disposable glove. ( I am thinking about The Stand by Stephen King and how values changed when disasters strike) these are all new calculations that i have never weighed before. I think about an ECON 202 class at UCCS and something about value choices vs cost , probability , and outcome options. Of course this does not help me make a decision, hell i barely understood the ECON class 10 years ago, much less now. Anyway I decide to walk home and not waste a glove. These are the kind of decisions we all are now forced to make in these times.
Tuesday, March 24, 2020
Speaking of Dreams
I write poetry on the side (infrequently). It has always helped me connect to the world around me. It feels like weaving emotional presence with physical reality. For a few days I've been meaning to write about what's going on in the world with Covid-19 to better realize where it's taken me emotionally. I am by no means a poet, but I'd like to post in case anyone can relate and to thank everyone for coming together in such a surreal, historic time. PS: Not my best work, but it was very cathartic.
(su)Real Covid-19 Dream
I am living in a dream
as we're all called to stay home.
The kids are out of school in March,
and we're told to leave the park alone.
It's been a hundred years
since this term was tossed about;
We are living a Pandemic,
there's no question, there's no doubt.
All around the world,
people are sick and some are dead.
Coronavirus they call it, specifically
COVID-19 a name to dread.
It's been ten days since we've
seen our co-workers and our friends.
But virtual connectivity
has exploded to no end.
Online we come together
through Insta, Face and Zoom.
Jiu-Jitsu, play dates, happy hours
help dim the healthcare doom.
Thank you to our nurses, doctors,
and grocery checkout friends.
And lastly but not least
our service-gals and servicemen.
While everyone else isolates,
they stand to heal, protect, defend.
We're all in this together
in hopes it soon will end.
The first cases were reported
in a Chinese city called Wuhan.
Four months later 335,000 ill and 15k
deceased since the deadly flu began.
Despite the family close-quarters,
quarantines and quarrels,
it all has been a lesson
in family love and civic morals.
We dine together as a family now,
morning, noon and night.
And despite the ceaseless dishes
it is truly a delight.
A mandated stay-cation
with our babies to love and hold.
We are charged now to be parents,
workers, teachers-
no small task to behold.
We hold out hope for all infected.
Especially the elderly, homeless,
compromised, dejected.
It's incredible how our tunnel vision day-to-day
has expanded to a global view.
The infidels and pious both,
do in their own ways for this World pray.
Monday, March 23, 2020
Dreams during a Pandemic
Over the past couple of nights, I have dreamt some wild dreams. The night before last, I dreamt I lost my daughter's friend, Etta, in a costume store, but in the end, her parents forgave me, and her dad shook my hand (which, as you can imagine, was terrifying). Last night, I dreamt I decided to delve into the fine art of making homemade yogurt while drinking vodka with a splash of pomegranate juice. The yogurt, I decided, would be a fitting going away gift for some friends of mine who had announced, only in my dream, that they were getting the hell out of town, leaving this popsicle stand. This video for your viewing pleasure:
Sunday, March 22, 2020
Monday, January 28, 2019
Saturday, June 17, 2017
Sunday, April 19, 2015
Friday, August 8, 2014
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