What did you do during the lockdown? Sophie drives. Almost daily she heads out onto the country roads that surround Gettysburg. She has no destination, no one to see, she just likes motoring down the roads. When I start the car the next morning, the radio blares. On a lucky day, it’s music, but usually … Continue reading ‘The role of cars during covid-19’ for the people of tomorrow
Parenting
Vampires
“I have to run into work for a sec. You want to ride along?” “Nah, I’m about to eat lunch.” “It’s 3:15!” Today’s latest evidence—my kids are becoming vampires. Me, channeling my mother: “Get out of bed, the day’s half over!” “Why?” I don’t have an answer. Why go to bed early? Why not sleep … Continue reading Vampires
Me Time
A few years ago, I managed an employee. The YWCA where I worked had a complex daily cash reconciliation process and a bazillion weekly bills. Unable to plow through the work on my own, I hired Ken for twenty hours per week. He made the deposits and kept on top of accounts payable. We were … Continue reading Me Time
Soylent Green is People
Judy wrote about cannibals. She usually writes poetry, and occasionally, exceptional creative nonfiction about her abusive childhood. Recently, she isn't writing anything at all, just linking videos, so she hasn’t heard from me in a while. I'll warn you up front, if you post a video, I'm not going to watch it. Thinking back, I … Continue reading Soylent Green is People
The American Virus
This is from Al Jazeera: (March 23) US President Donald Trump has defended repeatedly calling the coronavirus the "Chinese virus" during a news conference, ignoring criticism that it is racist. "It's not racist at all," Trump said, explaining his reasoning after a reporter told him many consider it racist. "It comes from China, that's why.” … Continue reading The American Virus
N95
It reminded me of a panic attack. A claustrophobic, closed-in feeling. Restricted breathing and obscured vision—except it lasted for forty minutes. I just shopped at Lowe’s wearing an N95 mask. Bear with me, lots to explain: Lowe’s – The other day, a blogger mentioned watching a TV show on ABC. Oh, interesting, I thought, they … Continue reading N95
Sorry, but now I must dash
I don’t pay attention to fashion. Truthfully, I don’t pay attention to anything—I’m the most unobservant person I know. But I really don’t pay attention to fashion. Clothes, hairstyles, makeup. Ask me about anyone outside of my family and I’ll draw a blank. You say “Kate’s pretty, but she wears too much makeup.” I say … Continue reading Sorry, but now I must dash
King Tut likes dystopian
And make sure you say I’ve been at it since January. Funny place to start. Pretty close to the end. Everyone’s writing about the virus. It’s the only game in town. Quarantines, fear, unemployment, death. Deep, personal, life changing topics. Today Sophie got in the game. “I’m supposed to write about how an incident affected … Continue reading King Tut likes dystopian
Social Distance
Spring Break 2020! Wooo! Accountants gone wild! I ran a longish route today. Longish? Long starts at seven miles, at least in my mind. I don’t know where I got that, but I’ve believed it since 1988, when I started running long-runs. Six is a run, seven’s a long-run. Just like that, inarguable. I’d love to … Continue reading Social Distance
Quarantine
Crap. Now I have it too. For five weeks, I’ve obsessed over the coronavirus. With my browser open to CNN’s COVID-19 Live Updates, every time they posted any new tidbit of information, I got an alert. I watched the charts and stats and calculated death rates, growth rates and recovery rates. I watched a slow-motion … Continue reading Quarantine
And Again
Back when we still paid for cable, I sat, mid-morning on my carpeted floor, back against the couch, a sandwich and chips by my side, and watched hurricane coverage. As the hurricane made landfall, I couldn’t pull myself away from the Weather Channel. I waited and waited for something, anything to happen. Never mind that … Continue reading And Again
Outside my Comfort Zone
Just like that, I’m a spin instructor again. Do you know about spin? It’s an exercise class. Stationary bikes semi-circled around a leader (that’s me). I select the music, choreograph the workout, think of motivating things to say. The part I like most about spin is that anyone—at any fitness level—can participate. A seventy-five-year-old can … Continue reading Outside my Comfort Zone
Cutting the Strings
Sophie drove the rental car. I don’t think it’s allowed. I told the agent we have three drivers; he didn’t mention any restrictions. He never asked her age, so I never told. Still, I doubt they want a seventeen-year-old driving their car. She leaves at 5:30, Tuesdays and Thursdays. “Text us when you get there, … Continue reading Cutting the Strings
300
How many blog posts is a lot? L. Stevens over at Everyday Strange does a daily quote. And poems, and a weekly calendar, and micro-fiction. I’ve been following her for years. She must have over a thousand posts. Same with Jo Hawk the Writer, she sometimes posts three times a day, how many times has … Continue reading 300
A Safe Ending
Sophie stayed out past curfew. Not the curfew Susan and I set—we didn’t set one—but the curfew set by the state of Pennsylvania: seventeen-year-old drivers are banned from the road by eleven. Sophie’s never had a parental curfew; she’s never stayed out unreasonably late, and she’s never done anything to make us doubt her judgement. … Continue reading A Safe Ending
MACH3 Turbo
How long does a razor blade last? Google this, but it’s hard to come up with an answer. First, I got dumped into a bunch of Reddit forums about a gaming computer called Razer Blade. It seems Razer Blades have a reputation for frequent breakdowns. After five minutes of reading about Razer Blade’s short shelf … Continue reading MACH3 Turbo
Happy Tourette Christmas
Hey! Chingedy ching, hee-haw, hee-haw It's Dominick the donkey. Chingedy ching, hee-haw, hee-haw The Italian Christmas donkey. Tourette Syndrome (TS) is a weird disorder. It makes you do things you don’t want to do. Yes, we’re all aware of the stereotyped guy who f-bombs in church, but he’s a pretty slim minority. Most of us … Continue reading Happy Tourette Christmas
The Call
The call came late. Later than usual anyway. Historically the phone rings at 5:30 a.m. on the dot. Today was 5:56. This new administration is sloppy. And seriously, a two-hour delay? There’s a quarter inch of snow on the street. “You don’t know what it’s like in the mountains, Dad. It might be really dangerous.” … Continue reading The Call
The Christmas Tree, 2019
Another year, another Christmas post. For a non-Christian, I spend a lot of time each December writing about Christmas. We picked up our tree today. For the fourth year in a row, we drove out through the dormant apple orchards to Showers’ Tree Farm. We used to go to Seven Springs Tree Farm, closer to … Continue reading The Christmas Tree, 2019
CJ’s Resolution Challenge
Now I’ve done it. I’ve signed up for a race—CJ’s Resolution Challenge. It supports mid-Pennsylvania autism related organizations. “How long is the race?” you might ask. Well, that depends on how fast I run. On January 4, I’m doing a timed run. For three hours, I’ll run laps around a 1.6 mile wooded loop in … Continue reading CJ’s Resolution Challenge
