It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like 2021

Los Angeles, California

As 2020 comes to a close there is much to reflect on. But, let's NOT. It was, plain and simple, an awful time. Not that some good hasn't come of it. But reflection would be a dismal exercise at this time.

But 2021 is looking good. First of all, despite the horror of the pandemic, it will start with the continued hilarity of that petulant, whiney bitch of a loser leaving the White House. And what have we learned from this transition? Well, it appears that the president can continue to create alternative facts by not conceding to his loss. In idle moments, I like to extrapolate that into other areas of life, starting with my friend, Lynnette, with whom I play games including our favorite Ticket to Ride board games. We're both pretty good sports, and fairly evenly matched in wins and losses. But maybe in the future, there will be no loser. Maybe if she wins, I can just declare that it was rigged. In fact, they can all be rigged, except the games where I win.

It's been years since I watched Jeopardy, but I seem to recall that someone wins, and the other two players come in second and third. No longer. They can just stay at their podiums and refuse to leave the studio until they are declared winners. If they brought their own people to the audience, they can rally and sign petitions. Once outside the studio, they can wave their guns around. Oh, no they can't. It's not Michigan. Nor Texas.

Speaking of California, I think if you don't have the winning numbers for the California Lottery each week, you should sue. And don't sue locally. Take it to the Supreme Court.

Lastly, and maybe most importantly, from now on, the Los Angeles Dodgers should refuse to accept any losses of games played. Against the Houston Astros? Well, we all know the fix is in on that one. But, what the hell? Why should they accept any losses at all? Other teams will be cheating and rigging the game, right? And the Dodgers shouldn't just win. They should have THE BIGGEST WIN IN THE HISTORY OF BASEBALL. Every game. It's a new world.

Uh... No it isn't. Despite my cynicism, I am counting on a healthy dose of reality, ethics, consciousness, character, and kindness in 2021. Let's be good sports, good friends, good neighbors, and good losers when losing occurs. It can be a better world out there. We can all be better. And, eventually there will be times spent with the people we care about, and time doing all the things we enjoy. And maybe someday in the not completely distant future, there will be hugs. Hugs for winners. Hugs for losers. Hugs for us all. Wasn't 2020 terrible? Look in the rear view mirror. Any minute now you will see it behind you. Happy New (and improved!) year. Wishing you the abundant joy of faith, friendship, and fun in 2021 (remember, 2021 rhymes with fun!).

It's a Wonderful Pandemic?

Los Angeles, California

One of the signals that the pandemic Christmas is affecting me is that I recently cried my way through the end of It's a Wonderful Life. I'm not talking about tears forming, I am talking about big, gulping sobs. I am sure I have wept at the ending before, say like forty years ago when I first saw it. In the fifty times, more or less, that I have watched it since, I have mostly found it humorous. It's got some great lines: George Bailey lassoes stork! And it is comforting in its familiarity. It's not my favorite Christmas movie. For the past decade or so as my family was unraveling, I came to love The Ref. If you watch it, and you see a battling family wearing lit St. Lucia wreaths on their heads, you will comprehend this.

A few days after watching It's a Wonderful Life, I decided to try Queen's Gambit. This series, more than any other, came at me from all different directions. A lot of my friends who tend not to agree on a whole lot of stuff including what they are watching, all recommended this series. To be totally redundant, I am not a series-watcher. There is something about the dull mesmerizing focus of sitting through multiple episodes that makes me balk at investing the time to do this. Currently, I can handle watching movies and also a series on PBS' Masterpiece, when not a mystery, viewing only one episode per week as they roll out. So, that's not to say that I never watch series TV. I just mostly stay away from the Reese Witherspoon/Nicole Kidmanesque ones. For me, those fell into the fool me once catagory, with Big, Little Lies. No thank you. And, I tend to find that British series are usually better than the shiny ones originating here. Despite the rough start, I loved Fleabag. I may be the only person on the planet who liked Run until the last episode when I wanted to throw something large and heavy at the TV.

So, I tried Queen's Gambit. The first episode was darker than I expected. A bit Dickensian in theme. But after a couple of episodes, I got hooked. And, unexpectedly, wept through most of the last episode. Here we go again. What is with all this weeping? I am usually pretty good at recognizing what I'm feeling, and why I'm feeling it. This is clearly tied to the isolation and the pandemic and Christmas. And maybe that's all it is: Feeling isolated during the pandemic at Christmas. Voila! And, maybe for added measure, it was knowing that the last episode of the series meant another ending. Loads of endings without the finish of the thing we all fervently want to end.

But another part of what was so moving in the last episode of Queen's Gambit was how her community stepped back in to support her. Even the ones who she hadn't been so good to throughout her struggle with her own issues. It reminded me of how much it has meant to me during this long hard year, to have the friends I have and how we have texted, emailed, and called to keep each other on an even keel. I have been isolated all year, but I have never felt alone.

It is a great series. I liked it a lot, and it kept me busy for a few weeks. Busyness is good occupation through all the time that is flowing by. Now approaching the nine-month mark, with the vaccine just beginning to be administered, it is sobering to think that we probably have about another six months of this. Joel and I speculate that we will be out dancing again around the time of his birthday in early July. So by next Christmas, perhaps I will be able to watch It's a Wonderful Life again, sans sobbing. And maybe even with an appreciation that in a post-pandemic world, it really is a wonderful life. After all, one can always hope. Hoping whatever holiday you celebrate this holiday season brings (has brought) you joy and hope. God bless us, everyone. ♥️

Offending the King

Los Angeles, California

In the Pulitzer Prize-winning Broadway musical, 1776, there is a scene where the delegates are going over the declaration penned by Thomas Jefferson, essentially adding and removing passages which are of interest to each individual colony represented. At one point, someone requests the removal of a portion of the declaration which he feels to be offensive to the King. In response, John Adams declares something to the effect of: It's a revolution, damnit. We're going to have to offend someone!

This popped into my head recently as the pandemic rages on and in Los Angeles in particular, the numbers and prognostications are dire. And yet. And yet, vast numbers of our population seem to feel that they should be able to engage in many, if not most, of their pre-pandemic activities. Which, by the way, is why the pandemic increasingly rages on.

Granted, the government guidance in our country, in our state and locally, has been spotty at best. And, given that the nature of the virus as well as the scope of the pandemic is novel, there was to be a certain amount of trial and error involved. On the subject of leading by example, California's governor attending a birthday dinner at The French Laundry would fall into the error category. And as far as national guidance? That will come into the category of tragedy plus time equals comedy. In this case a comedy of completely irrational inattention.

If we had gotten a more organized government response, say as was seen in New York or San Francisco in the beginning of the crisis, would we still be in this place? I think we probably would. And I think that is partly because we have a populace who feels entitled to not be kept from having a good time. Many have failed to heed the fact that, in following the reference to 1776: It's a pandemic, damnit. You're going to have to forego the fun!

Perhaps I'm bitter because I spent Thanksgiving with a bowl of macaroni and cheese. It was very good macaroni and cheese, but I would rather have shared the holiday with other humans. I don't have a pod, but I don't begrudge people celebrating the holidays within their family pods. There is attention in that. But my heart goes out to the hospital careworkers tending those dying of Covid, who travel to and from their work past restaurants and bars teeming with outdoor diners and revelers. It's not that I think all restaurants and other businesses should be shut down. Obviously, take-out dining is currently viable, and if you happen to be a restaurant-owner you certainly want to have patrons even if they are only picking up prepared food for home. But, come on, this is a pandemic. The disease is only spread through person-to-person contact. We had been warned that second and third waves were coming. But too many people chose to treat their pandemic fatigue rather than consciously adapting to all of the pandemic precautions. I expect young people to be that stupid (in another blogpost I might outline some of the ways in which I was ridiculously careless and moronic when I was young). But what surprises me is the people of a certain age who simply need to get out of their house and go to a restaurant. Huh? P.A.N.D.E.M.I.C.

The business that Tom and I started and ran for thirty-two years weathered a disasterous earthquake, two recessions including a great one, and a city edict that basically meant the product we sold could not be used by homeowners. The setback from these events lasted anywhere from months to many years. Being in business involves risk and preparation. You have to get prepared to support yourself in times when the business cannot. If you can't do that, then you shouldn't be in business. During better times you live within your means and squirrel away whatever surplus profit you can so you have back-up, because the one thing that is for sure is that worse times will come around. Do I think the government should be doing more to help businesses and employees? Absolutely. But I also think the number one responsibility of us all, after voting, is to follow the guidelines explicitly. Because it is a pandemic, damnit. And in any language that is going to mean hardship. When we're out of it, we can sort it all out. New business will rise out of failed businesses. Restaurants and shops will fill again. Maybe people will have retired earlier than anticipated. Not a bad thing. The bad thing is dying. The worse thing is your actions cause someone else to die. Someone who wanted a future with holiday celebrations, restaurant dining and all the other trappings of a hopefully normal, post-pandemic life. Someone who didn't have a choice, because they had to go to work at the hospital, care facility, warehouse or market. Those are essential service workers. Most of us have a choice. And we all need to do our part by keeping calm and carrying on. But let's do it at home, with the certainty of knowing that the life you save may be many. Thanks for reading my blog. And, yes, I was careless and moronic in my youth. No longer careless. Working on that other thing.