Pat Taub
First Day of Spring
With COVID-19 grabbing all the headlines, the first day of spring arrived without the usual fanfare. But if we take time to welcome spring with fresh flowers from the market or thanking the sun for its presence, our virus obsession becomes a little less crazy-making. Here’s a photo of boastful tulips gracing a table in my living room window.
A Positive Virus Occurrence
Venice, Italy is reporting the return of fish and oceanic birds in the absence of motorboats and cruise ships, which are no longer free to pollute the waters. Venice citizens are amazed to see clear waters for the first time in decades. As the virus curtails land, water and air travel across the globe, we may see more signs of climate renewal, which, if we’re lucky will lead to a wake-up call to address our climate emergency.
Newly clear waters in Venice which are seeing the return of fish and water fowl.
A Bizarre Shopping Experience
Whole Foods in Portland, Maine has instituted early morning hours for seniors where they can shop from 7 am to 8 am before the store opens. I set my alarm for 6:30 and made it to Whole Foods a little after 7:00. The parking lot was very full but I went inside anyway. The store was crammed with shoppers. Now wanting to risk exposure, I bought just a few items and hightailed it out of there. Many of the well-heeled customers were wearing surgical gloves, while the checkout crew was gloveless. I questioned their lack of gloves and was told they didn’t have enough for everyone. No more Whole Foods for me, no more money for nasty Jeff Bezos.
Jeff Bezos, the richest man in the world can’t afford gloves for his employees or paid sick leave!
Hibernating with Books and Films
I’m about half way through Isabel Allende’s latest novel, A Long Petal of the Sea. It’s a very moving account of Spaniards who resisted Franco during the Spanish Civil War. With their lives in danger many escaped to France only to end up in horrible concentration camps. Allende’s story focuses on the lucky few who made it onto a Chilean-bound ocean liner financed by the poet Pablo Neruda.
Continuing with my war theme, I’ve been fully absorbed by The Man in the High Castle, a series on Amazon Prime. It takes place fifteen years after World War II, where Hitler and Japan won the war and now exert totalitarian rule over the US. There seems to be pattern in my COVID-19 choices. Am I choosing war entertainment themes because it feels like we’re in a virus war?
