I had to get out of the house and I put on my hiking boots and at the end of my neighborhood I ducked into a wooded area on top of the ridge above our rail trail. The landscape was gray and brown, like the rest of the day and my spirit. We really are in a reality show, just like the president wanted when he ran for office. Only he’s the villain in this story, not the hero. He’s a...
Two weeks into social distancing I remain in my bunker with spouse and two college-age children. Despite the horror of the coronavirus and the misfortune of many who are suffering, at this point I feel so fortunate to have my family. We’re doing well together.But I also have a helpless feeling — meaning it’s hard to find ways to help if we’re supposed to stay home. The...
It’s been one week since I’ve been practicing social distancing. Mostly I’ve mostly stayed home, which is what I usually do anyway, since I’m a writer that works from home. So in some ways my usual routine is intact. In other ways, not. Both college-age offspring are living again home. I’m pleased. Spouse now working from home. We’re a family that’s together. But now we’re four adults and that...
I once gave a poem I wrote as a wedding present, slipping the envelope into the basket among all the other envelopes which I’m sure contained money and not poems. It was years ago, when I lived in Santa Cruz. I remembered this now because I’ve been hunkered down at home against the coronavirus and have found time to go through some old journals. The poem I wrote was for Maz and...
Everything is getting cancelled: opera, plays, sports, travel, school, campaign rallies. Canned goods and staples are getting plucked from grocery shelves. We decided to postpone a small dinner party we had scheduled for this week, all in the name of social distancing. Was that a necessary action? I don’t know. But we’re all responsible for the potential spread of the coronavirus and...
