Life is good, especially with that mid-week recalibration. Still challenges, as there will always be, even B.C. (Before Coronavirus), but I am working at backing off, as opposed to confronting something head-on. I am in the most Zen-like ever stage of my life, very difficult for a control freak Leo, but am finding it more than a bit liberating.
Had a lovely day at the beach yesterday with friends SusanP (who lives on A1A) and Nancy. Spent almost four hours enjoying the sand, the surf (it was rough, so I only went in up to my knees!), the sun, and the serenity. We of course did the obligatory social distancing, and it felt great to be in the open air, with conversation and cocktails (I brought wine and flavored seltzers, to make spritzers), and also bought us these cool tumblers: Infoxicated; Oh, for fox sake; zero fox given; don't fox with me... :-)
Had a family get-together shortly thereafter. Caught up on jobs, unemployment payments, grocery shopping... all while watching Colin run around with a jumbo stick of chalk in each hand. Lovely!
Then home to watch the beautifully-done John Prine tribute (you can view the whole thing here), with amazing artists like Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires, Todd Snider, Brandi Carlile, Bonnie Raitt, etc., interspersed with heartfelt words from Brene Brown, Bill Murray (who called JP "a unicorn among nags"... :-), Billy Bob Thornton, and of course John's wife Fiona. "Start with a blank piece of paper, and don't write what shouldn't be there", said Prine about songwriting. When I wasn't crying, I was laughing uproariously. And we were treated to a new song, previously-unreleased (today's subject title). I donated to Alive, and I bought a T-shirt... 💖
So, it is indeed Feel Good Friday. As is tradition, five items below of beauty, interest, and humor to brighten your day/weekend/week. Enjoy!
~ Despite efforts to quash them, Black Lives Matter protests lead to change in Miami-Dade: The baseline ill, racism in policing, remains with us. But despite efforts to quash Black Lives Matter protests in South Florida, the demonstrations of outrage over George Floyd’s murder — and the community activism that has risen around them — have already led to some positive change.
~ Sellers of Sex Toys Capitalized on All That Alone Time: As the pandemic approached its peak, online retailers saw sales spike.
~ Former Green Beret, who advised Colin Kaepernick to kneel, talks about others taking a knee in solidarity: NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has issued an apology saying the league was wrong in the way it handled its response to player protests in the past against police brutality and racial injustice.
~ With a Turn of the Can Opener, Make Sorbet: An almost 25-year-old hack lets you use a food processor and canned fruit to create frozen treats.
~ We are witnessing the birth of a movement — and the downfall of a president: We've reached a turning point in the Trump era. The 2020 campaign is in the streets and he's losing
SONG: I Remember Everything by John Prine
BOOK: Stitches: A Handbook on Meaning, Hope and Repair by Anne Lamott
POEM: Study Electricity, Etc. by David Kirby
Third item on Jay Gatsby’s self-improvement schedule after “Rise from bed” and “Dumbbell exercise and wall scaling.”
You did that already—not electricity,
but the et cetera part. Et cetera means
“and the rest,” and you’ve mastered that.
You work from home, as we do these days,
but you put on a nice top and a dab of makeup
and combed your hair. When the children
need help with their homework, you make
time, and when your husband says he wants
to give them two more math problems
and some vocabulary, you say fine. The four
of you have lunch together, and when he takes
the kids out to play with the dog, you manage
a quick nap. Then tea, then you wrap up
your work and make notes for tomorrow.
Scrambled eggs, toast, and fruit cup
for the children. Let them watch Frozen
for the hundredth time—how could it hurt?
Now you and your husband can have dinner
on the deck: goat cheese, shrimp with
mushrooms, a bottle of Sancerre so cold
you think your teeth might crack. You walk
around the block, making room as others
approach. Bath time. PJs. Their books, yours.
When you were walking, you waved to other
families on their porches. They waved back.
[David Kirby: “Low-effort thinkers make headlines every day by reacting angrily and even dangerously to the guidelines we have to follow if we’re going to heal our world. To prepare for his future, young Jay Gatsby resolves to ‘study electricity, etc.’ For years I’ve wondered what that ‘etc.’ is, but COVID-19 has given me my answer: it’s the hundred unrecorded daily ways in which we care for ourselves and others with patience and love.”]
QUOTE: “Wherever you are, at any moment, try and find something beautiful. A face, a line out of a poem, the clouds out of a window, some graffiti, a wind farm. Beauty cleans the mind.” ~ Matt Haig
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