One year ago today, WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic. I was at a conference in a pretty remote and isolated hotel in Buellton, CA, learning about important fire and life safety issues in California by day and eating and drinking at the Firestone Walker Brewpub by night—fearing that I’d either a) end up on a Dateline episode as I walked the desolate and creepy stretch (parallel to an interstate or some other such big busy road) between the hotel and the brewery or b) not be allowed to fly home on Friday as planned and be stranded in Cali for who knows how long. (Unfounded fears…I didn’t end up missing or dead in a ditch and made it home as planned. Phew.) When I took off for the West Coast the previous Sunday, COVID-19 was a “thing,” but obviously it was much more of a mystery then than now. The only precautions at the time were hand sanitizer and self-serve buffet bans, but during that week things escalated. Fast.
Speaking of fast, can you believe that a year has gone by? It’s been a real covfefe of a year, one of many firsts that hopefully are also lasts. It’s been a strange pace of fast and slow. Fast within slow. Slow within fast. Kind of but not quite like Madonna sings in “Like a Prayer,” “It’s like a dream…no end and no beginning…”
Anyway, let’s get to this Thursday’s stream of consciousness…
Is there anything worse than the unmistakable and untraceable smell of fruit/vegetable/leftover death in the refrigerator?
You can be annoyed by a knock on the door and not answer it because you’re not expecting anyone or anything or you can get up and see what’s going on…and it just might be worth it because you just might receive a combination St. Patty’s Day/congrats you’re 34% Irish/speedy recovery Drizly delivery gift of some Guinness. That’s what happened for me last Friday. Unexpected. Thoughtful. I’m fortunate. Blessed. So many good things. Sláinte!
Speaking of beer, last week four local breweries did a quasi-collaboration, each one doing their own riff on a theme in the form of a beer called Four the Shore. (“Collaboration over competition.”) Pre-order was available at three of the places but not the fourth, so scoring all four was nerve wracking…plus, small detail, I can’t drive (oh and even if I could my car needs to be inspected first)…but as luck and love would have it I was able to get three preorders in (luck) and then get chauffeured (love) all over kingdom come to pick up my four 4-packs…giving me a complete series to taste over the weekend (and I grabbed the beers I had pre-ordered at a fifth local brewery too). Needless to say, the beer fridge once again runneth over. (Reminder to self: pre-ordered beer is not free.) Cheers!
Oh, speaking of the fridge being stocked, you know who makes me want a drink? Andrew Cuomo. That’s who. Where to even start? Oink? I’m not sure if soap operas are still a thing but after his “apology” “speech” I feel like he’d be a perfect leading man to play triplets who came back from the dead or some other such ludicrous role…I mean, the dude can act, that’s for sure. And then when he said, essentially, “I kiss people, it’s what I do.” Uhhhh…this shouldn’t be a newsflash, but you don’t kiss strangers. Hello. Yeah, #himtoo. And who knows the real story about the COVID Nursing Home scandal/coverup? Here’s the thing…there are bad eggs everywhere, and when we make personal beliefs and behavior political bait, we do ourselves a major disservice. In my opinion we could benefit not just from holding ourselves and others accountable, but doing that in a very bipartisan way. Should Cuomo resign? Probably. What’s (alleged) to have happened speaks to (bad) judgment…and (good) judgment is part of (good) decision making and (strong) leadership. The repeated distraction also is a waste of resources (people, time, money) that we can’t afford to waste.
While the word “ludicrous” is being tossed around, how about the suggestion that Catholics try to avoid the J&J vaccine, because it’s derived from stem cells of fetuses aborted decades ago? Perhaps even more ludicrous is the suggestion that if you can’t avoid it, then you actually should get it. So on Fridays during Lent I’ll try to avoid a hamburger or a steak, but if I can’t avoid it I guess I just eat it? (The hypocrisy. Honestly.)
Speaking COVID, the other day I heard Charlie Baker bragging about how in a MA they’re “stretching” the dosage of the J&J vaccine from four per vial to five. This stopped me in my tracks. It’s a vial of a certain specific amount of vaccine, administered at a certain specific amount per inoculation. Either the vial holds four doses or five…I don’t get this claim that he’s stretching it. Unless someone is worried about reelection in 2022 and is trying to look like a hero. While I’m on the subject of elected officials and COVID and the J&J vaccine, I can’t even believe that the mayor of Detroit refused shipment of the J&J vaccine because the other vaccines are better. 🤦🏼♀️
So…J&J , I am really heartened by the J&J/Merck vaccine teamwork. If “collaboration over competition” works for the local craft beer industry I’m glad that two pharma giants can do the same to put production over profit…not only to save lives, but to allow us to start re-living ours in a way that energizes and fulfills us, setting the wheels of a functioning society in motion. Important to note: people power is the ultimate power; money is not.
I know people are entitled to their own opinions…but to the people who are both anti-mask and anti-vax, you’re welcome from the people who mask up and have gotten or plan to get the vaccine. There’s no way over, under, or around this virus…the only way is through it…so when and if you deny the virus and you and your loved ones manage to come out unscathed, make no mistake about it, it does not mean you were right, it means you got lucky…the masks and vaccines are the way, so thank the people who pulled you through.
Well, if we’re talking about the vaccine and eradicating things and holding people accountable, how about “cancel culture”? This pandemic sure has highlighted a general interest in lumping and labeling and grouping. Which is easy and convenient but is also lazy and causes more problems than it solves. For me it’s an important reminder not to put everything in the same basket. Remember the outrage when Hillary talked about a certain basket? (Hello? Deplorable?) Cries for change aren’t an attempt to erase or cancel, but are rather exhortations to overcome and to grow. It’s about accountability and ownership. Calling those things “cancel culture” masks the important things they set out to change. Plus is calling something “cancel culture” even a remotely accurate description of what it actually describes, people who decide they don’t want to perpetuate whatever age-old problem, given the wisdom they possess today? Consider Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben, Dr. Seuss. What was ok then isn’t ok now, so let’s move forward with the knowledge we’ve acquired and stop excusing bad behavior away. As “cancel culture” is being used most broadly, it’s a sad argument supporting the carrying of known harmful beliefs and representations into the future. It’s a perpetuation of racism and sexism and other -isms that people are afraid of or feel threatened by. But life isn’t a zero-sum game. Say your company hires a person of color—how does that negatively impact you? How people and businesses decide to adapt and act in the face of new information and/or understanding is up to them, and they have to live with the consequences, for better or for worse. Holding people accountable for things they say and do is a requirement for society to advance. In some cases this accountability “robs” people/groups/companies of everything, and that’s ok. That’s called “consequences.” And accountability and consequences force ownership and personal responsibility…that’s not “cancel culture.” It’s not something done TO someone. See “Andrew Cuomo” above. You can demand he resign but resigning doesn’t equal him being accountable any more than apologizing does. Punishment is one thing but is it the pain needed to change the behavior? If he resigned he’d be gubernatorially canceled, but if his mindset and behavior doesn’t change, nothing substantive changes—and substantive change is what is needed to drive the needed systemic change. We have to constantly challenge our own assumptions, and Ijeoma Oluo said it really well in So You Want to Talk About Race: “And this is important to remember, for all of us. No matter what our intentions, everything we say and do in the pursuit of justice will one day be outdated, ineffective, and yes, probably wrong. That is the way progress works.” (Emphasis is mine.)
Oprah and the Sussexes. This royal mess is the true (literal) definition of a royal mess. Do I care objectively? No. But since I mentioned soap operas earlier, let’s face it, a real life soap opera is hard to resist, and I watched The Interview—there are a number of important considerations in the rubble, namely: a) nothing is bigger or better or more important than individual (mental) health and well-being, b) racism is real and allegations of it should never be dismissed or deflected or defended, and c) money and status can’t buy friendship or love or happiness or family harmony (which is so sad because those are the things that make this life worth living). Whether or not they “had” to do this publicly is neither here nor there Memoirists air things publicly all the time, often to great fanfare. Royal hypocrisy (e.g., Prince Andrew/Jeffrey Epstein) is also neither here nor there. The bottom line is what matters: people don’t like talking about uncomfortable truths (like racism!), and this one big spectacle confirms that—and shows us what happens when people are bold enough to speak theirs. It also shows that try though you may, the truth will eventually come out and catch you. Change is going to keep coming.
Speaking of racism, the persistence of it manifests in so many places. The more I learn, the more surprised (and horrified and embarrassed) I become. The other day I saw a news segment about Crispr, gene editing, and the possibility of eventually creating “designer babies.” I wondered aloud how this biotech “progress” is celebrated yet when basic human decency comes up, it’s virtually ignored. The sad truth? As a society we are largely motivated and driven by money…most of those with power and influence are only interested if their wallet benefits from whatever. Such a sad commentary.
I did not watch the NBA All-Star game and with a final score was 170-150, I’m pretty sure no defense was played.
Spealing of defense, if you ask me, Derek Chauvin’s actions are indefensible. I’ll be following his trial with interest and trepidation.
“Do you believe in miracles?” Sad to read about the death of Mark Pavelich, whose assist on The Goal will always be part of one America’s greatest sports stories. Not sure how true this story is, but it’s moving, and telling, an inside look at the pieces of things that we don’t see amid pomp and circumstance, but that can never be hidden. Another sad reminder to dig deeper, look below the surface, and to lead with kindness. This one’s gotta hurt anyone who either lived through the 1980 Olympics or lived through the dramatized version in the form of the great movie Miracle. Not even miracles can save some people.
Speaking of the Olympics, so far in the Olympics of Jeopardy! guest hosts, my gold-silver-bronze order is Mike-Katie-Ken. That said I did grow a bit weary of Mike’s daily invocation of Alex’s wishes that we pitch in to build a kinder, gentler society—it was nice once, yes, but I’m not sure that we need a gentler society. I think society needs to be kinder, but it also needs some tough love. I’ve mentioned the need to confront uncomfortable truths, and I also think participation trophies should be outlawed. I think we need to stop using “I’m being kind/gentle” as an excuse for why we avoid the hard stuff.
Speaking of TV shows, I hate it when no chairs turn on The Voice, and especially so when the person’s back story is particularly touching or moving. But nothing was as emotionally jarring for me as on Monday night, when the legally blind performer finished his song and told the judges that didn’t know whether any chairs were turned. So Kelly had to break it to him that none were. Gut punch. Hopefully the powers that be at The Voice (and others in like situations) learn the important accessibility lesson here.
Last TV thing for today, thanks to my loathing of Al Roker, I shut the TV off at 9am every day and walk away from the 3rd hour of Today to move on to other more enriching pursuits. (Even his wife hates those ridiculous colored glasses he insists on wearing. Clown.)
One of the aforementioned enriching pursuits is walking…and when I press the button to light up the pedestrian crossing signal and a car going in one direction stops but you’re coming from the other direction and you don’t, I’m going to give you the finger and it’s going to be personal. Pay attention to pedestrians. Please.
Sunday morning we spring ahead and start daylight savings time. Change your clocks, and also test/change the batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide alarms (and make sure the units themselves don’t need replacing). Do the same for elderly relatives/friends/neighbors too.
Happy Friday Eve. Thanks for being here. And if you’re lucky enough to live in the Northeast, I hope you can get out and enjoy the potentially record-setting temps today. I have really high hopes of reading out back, and maybe even capping it off with a beer out there.
P.S. Last week’s bit resulted in a lot of fun side exchanges with some of you. Hearing from many of you that reading this makes you smile makes me smile.I’m all about optimizing life in my small sphere of influence…I like writing for fun and if it makes my friends smile, more the better. I’ve also had some people ask how I’ve been able to write these “long” pieces given my one handedness. I mean, I can’t work, so how do I manage this? I’ll tell you how I manage: it’s a process involving many multiple hours that happen in fits and starts all week long, whereas before I’d dedicate a few hours of focused writing time a night or two before my newsletter delivery date and bang it out, get it done. Now, when I walk or am home alone (come on I can’t be down here talking all day…Kerri is trying to work), I do “speech-to-text” with very limited success. Between my Boston accent and self-conscious mumbling, much of the time I can’t even figure out what I was trying to say when I read what was heard/transcribed. But most of the time, it’s me, my right index finger, and my iPad. Here’s an action shot of me working on a draft of this very entry the other day. On the couch, hand elevated, cozy in my Comfy. So, if you were wondering, wonder no more! And keep the engagement coming…comment here, text me, message me on FB or IG…whatever. I love it!