The Perfect Coronavirus Christmas Carol

12/18/2020•Health, music, pandemic

Weekly Prompts asked us if we were feeling Covid Crazy. Well, yes I am. And this melancholy carol tells it all. Christmas is my favorite holiday and I am not happy to be spending it without family. The message of this song, that the world is changing, is so true. Changing probably never to return.

Do I wear a mask? Yes. I spent the first six months of 2020 with one of my sisters who was immune compromised and undergoing surgery and treatment for cancer. There is absolutely no way I would not wear a mask. With hospitals in this country facing emergency conditions because of overwhelming number of covid patient cases, I think that covid health care rationing decisions should start with the questions: “Did you wear a mask?” “Did you socially distance and avoid large groups?” Did you question the disinformation being spread by the elected officials, church leaders, crazy doctors, and the My Pillow guy?” If the answer to any of the questions is no, the patient should go to the back of the line. Responsible individuals who put the public health needs of the community ahead of their individual wants and beliefs should take priority.

Will I take the vaccine? YES. Of course. I can’t believe taking the vaccine in the US has become a political issue.

Do I think the pandemic is over-hyped? Absolutely not. And I will never forgive those people responsible for all the death and misery that has resulted from their selfish disregard for the health of the American people they are supposed to be serving. That includes all the churches and synagogues that think that bodies in pews is more important than bodies in the body bags that are piling up. Forgiveness is supposed to be a Christian virtue; I guess I am glad I am not a Christian. If you can pray, you can pray anywhere. Find a nice pew in a forest and commune with your god surrounded by what he created. Churches, though, need those bodies in the pews to fill their collection plates. They really don’t give a damn about the individuals. The forests are free.

Will I Zoom my Christmas? Yes, when I can. My siblings are scattered across the country and I will try to be in touch. Their voices will fill me with good cheer.

Sigh. Now one of my favorite Christmas Carols

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Recognizing a Mark in the March in Time

11/23/2020•Family, life, memories

Its an anniversary of sorts. The day after Thanksgiving 40 years ago this week, I moved from Minnesota to Los Angeles, California. I had never been to California. I was heading to a job I had been offered two weeks previously, to which I had to report immediately, and about which I literally knew almost nothing. I had to pack everything up and put it in storage or give it away. Thankfully my mom and dad were in the area for Thanksgiving. Not that I had a lot of possessions in those days. I was working in retail and was just getting by.

I boarded an airplane with no place to live in Los Angeles, just a short term room rental in Hollywood I found in a Fodor’s travel guide. To say I was not an experienced traveler is an understatement. My plane landed in Las Vegas instead of LA because LAX was fogged in. There was no place to stay in Vegas because the MGM hotel had just had a massive fire. The airline finally bused us to LA when enough passengers made a fuss.

We arrived after dark. I took a taxi to where I was going to stay stay but the manager was nowhere to be found. A resident took pity on me and let me call a taxi. I went to a hotel near where I would be working. This was 1980 and I did not have a major credit card but they let me check in. I think I looked about ready to lose it. I was beat from dragging my luggage around for hours.

I survived that Thanksgiving and never regretted my journey. At the age of 26, I spent my first Christmas away from home, alone, in LA, and it was 95 degrees instead of the frigid temps of Minnesota.I went to Disneyland for the first time in March 1981. Over the years I moved up the fault line from LA to San Francisco, then to Seattle. A few months in Singapore and finally in the DC area. The pandemic is just one of the challenges I have encountered. It will not defeat me.

The next morning, it was Monday by now, I reported to work and was told I was being sent to San Francisco the next day for two weeks. Off I went with no place to come back to. The hotel they put us in in San Francisco was in the Tenderloin, not a nice area, and had plexiglass in front of the check-in desk. It is amazing we what we can deal with when we have to.

In many ways, I enjoy a Thanksgiving where I don’t go anywhere or do anything. Whether you are alone or in a bubble, be safe, stay healthy, wear a mask, and anticipate 2021.