Saturday April 4
A fairly nice day today, warm in the sun. I cleared out some stalk and old vegetable rubbish cleaning in the garden, which is a minor triumph. Then I walked down to the pone, which is showing signs of life I think.
Jeremy phoned in his daily report. Today, unfortunately, the told that he’s overdrawn his bank account by some hundreds of dollars. So we went over his statement. It seems like he's been hacked, but he’s going to have to call his mother to check the statement in person, always a tricky thing.
Talked to Janice Brodowski who has volunteered her nursing skills. God I love nurses. Although lifelong Democrat, she was weirdly defending Trump and going after Cuomo, who is not loved upstate.
Finished researching Sina Baum, the uncle of Carol's friend. Found as much as I could.
Willie roasted a successful chicken. Too late for a movie. Michael dosed through and I watched the last Maisel episode
Sunday April 5
Talked too long with Jim Dolan, who pushes my Anti Tump button. I suspect he is a fan.
Made scrambled eggs tacos for breakfast. Now out of eggs and almost out of bread. Made grocery list for Michael, although it makes me nervous that he’ll be shopping. Gets scarier and scarier as the snake creeps closer.
Willie showed me a picture of Richard, his face all bashed up from falling down stairs while carrying fire wood in Connecticut. Talked to him and he said he was ok but he looked horrible. It’s like the vagina joke.
Talked to Jill on the phone for over an hour, which was great. Everyone there is ok Jill describes her book, which is amazing work, using her DNA and ancestry.com to drill down into her oral history. So clever.
Brought on pizza for dinner from Baba Louis and watched Crossing Delancey. Charming.
Monday April 6
Trying to figure out a way to get groceries that isn’t terrifying. Checked all the local supermarkets for pick-up time slots but none are available.
Beautiful day and I spent most of it working up lists of Columbia County food pantries, restaurants, and grocery stores with info on how each is dealing with the virus. I'm creating a new blog "Food in the Time of Corona". I'll set up the lists a promote them on various FB pages and local websits
Angela called in the afternoon. She’s a case manager for a hospital in Princeton, and said this was the worst experience she’d ever had. Five deaths this week, with younger healthy people among them. “You can’t predict it.” She said.
This time is changing us, but not sure how.
Made Greek meatballs with Willie. Substituted mayonnaise for eggs as a binder, which worked out fine. Too late to watch a Brando movie.
Tuesday April 7
Bad sleep night with full moon and twitchy legs. Michael and I up at 7:30 to go grocery shopping, hoping that the other seniors have left after their designated hour from six to seven and that the youngsters haven’t arrived yet. Michael did the shopping while I waited in the car, talking to him periodically on the phone if an item on my list needed clarifying. He wore a white Bandana around his long white beard and looked like an old western train robber. Slightly anxious when he told me that a lot of shoppers were inside.
Home to left over Greek meatballs.
Talked to Lee and Tom, who are using the quarantine enthusiastically, of course. They hosted a Zoom cocktail party with friends, went hiking, are writing their memoirs.
Was exhausted all day, took a nap, and didn’t work on the lists.
Guided Willie through acorn squash stuffed with sausage, ham, and pears. Pretty good. Willie doesn’t like mashed textures.
Watched the first in the Seven-up documentary series, which has traced several English people every seven years since 1964. We decided to watch it every night.
Wednesday April 8
These quarantine hours are so similar that this diary, although boring, is useful for remembering what day of the week it is. The virus may have plateaued in New York but the underlying worry only increases.
Spent much of the day doing my food availability lists and emailed Claire Ackerman, who's developing resources around the corona virus for the Columbia County Democratic Committee. She told me she doesn't need my lists, although I don't know why she can't use links to compiled and updated lists of food pantries, restaurants, and grocery stories in the county. I'm doing them anyway and I'll just promote them on my own.
Willie and I did some gaming this afternoon.
Liz called and we talked about meeting up at Taconic State Park soon. I’m getting weird about seeing people.
We made faux paella tonight. No soccarat but tasted pretty good.
Watched more 7up. The subjects are now 21 and you can get some ideas of how they’re maturing.
Super moon tonight. Ugh. More twitching legs
Thursday April 9
The super moon, Easter week, the corona virus, my upcoming scan and birthday, and Diana decided that it's ok to flop on my legs now that Killick is gone. Everything converges to keep me awake tonight.
Wrote an Easter sonnet in the middle of the night that depressed Willie when he read it.
Happening Now
Rage coats the earth and leaves no open space
For light. Within the racketing of crowds,
We suffocate and barely leave a trace
Of breath. Will silence be the final shroud?
We also mute our pain, suppress the rough
Deep edges of our flesh, or sensing loss
Those feelings that are angular or tough
We drug or pound into amorphous dross.
And even lust, that faithful sin, is lost
Within a gust of peevish aimless thought
That rattles this poor human drive to dust,
And in exchange, what happiness is bought?
Bleak times like this will end. And when we're free,
We'll sing old songs and swim the wine-dark sea.
Had a mild sloppy altercation with Claire about the redundant lists were both making. I finally wrote that I was going ahead and developing these food lists and posting them on the blog platform because I wanted to, that the process was distracting and pleasant. She was certainly free to link to any of the information from the CCDC website. So I sent her the food pantry list, the first one done, and then published it on Facebook. I then worked on the Hudson restaurant list. Doing these lists makes me feel at least somewhat connected to the social and economic harm from the virus. Food pantry and soup kitchen needs are going up. Talked to Darcy today: 58 lunches and 85 bags for the homeless. When I was cooking there, 30 lunches were a lot. The other pantries are also seeing an increase. Most of the restaurants are closed and soliciting money on Facebook to help their staff. Some are doing take out, with only a few set up for every night and most only once or twice a week. I miss going out. Restaurants are little oases, elevated homes of warm light and better food than you can cook, surrounded by chatty diners who feel the same way. Each closure is a loss,
Michael picked up food tonight from the Thai restaurant and I worried about his exposure. We scrubbed our hands after taking the food out of the bags. As time goes by the fear of the virus itself only intensifies.
Good Friday April 10
Unleashed by this quarantine, Michael is letting his beard grow untrained. I like beards, but his is getting too long and lends him an unpleasant archaic authority, like a Mormon or an Old Testament prophet who wields sticks and speaks sternly. Usually, Michael’s beard transforms him into Gandolf or Dumbledore, a kind wizard, I’m going to ask him to trim it.
Worked on the restaurant list. The ones still serving food, even if on the curb, are little lights in the dark. Got an email from Sarah Sterling, who is on the County Board of Supervisors, complaining about her own skirmish with Clair. Sarah is supposed to be contributing information to the CCDC from the County Government on how they are handling the virus. She recommended that Claire simply link to important information on the County government site from the CCDC website rather than republishing text that would require updating. Claire gave a weirdly righteous response opposing Sarah's practical suggestion. I don’t even understand Claire's position, which seems excessive and control freakish. Clair is a pale earnest young woman. She's super smart— as she talks and frowns you can see her mind whittling away. No idea what her life is outside the committee except that she occasionally talks about her “medical problems” that keeps her jobless and self quarantining for too many years.
Dave and Janet called to check in, commenting on the sameness of time and forgetting what day it is.
Watched Bishop Baron’s Good Friday service - the only day without a mass. For me, the mass seems critical for a full Catholic experience. So today, of all days, is like a play without a denouement. I’m resigned to an atavistic child’s romance with Jesus' life and death. Resurrection is spring. I will always be a pantheist.
Willie and I made lasagna, which was a little too bland, but like any lasagna very satisfying to create. Watched Better Call Saul with Michael. Willie off the screen until Easter.
No comments:
Post a Comment