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FRIENDS WRITE IN:
From our friend John, in the community garden here in Park La Brea, re the "Spanish flu":
"Thank you so much for this email. It was shocking at first, since my grandmother's mother died in the flu pandemic of 1918-1919, when she was just 10 years old. Her siblings were placed in an orphanage, but my grandmother was sent to live with relatives in Canada. They treated her like Cinderella, more a servant than member of the family.”
(As a teenager, she put on all the clothes that she owned, and alone, fled back to the United States.)
From Ashley, our daughter, in Paris:
"The Champ de Mars and banks of the Seine are closed now, but the windows of the apartments around us are flung wide open at 8 pm to clap and cheer for our healthcare providers here in France. Louder each nite…"
From our friend Rick Nave, in The Valley, on ordering on-line, home-delivery from Whole Foods:
"Speaking of Whole Foods, I too tried to order on line, After going through the entire shopping process, surprised as the minimal selection, I got to the check out and was told there were no deliveries available for the next two days. Why only two day out and not more to choose one is strange. I keep trying until finally there was a delivery slot. So I went for it, but when I reviewed my order the only item that was being delivered was one avocado, one! And to add insult to injury, given that the order was minimal I was charged a $14.95 delivery fee. That avocado, which is to be delivered this afternoon better not be over ripe!! But I preserved and placed another "normal" order which is also to be delivered today.”
SUNDAY, MARCH 22:
We also ordered four items from Yummy.com, which delivers from all the stalls in Farmers Market. Got all four, and within about one hour. Not sure that Yummy is available in most areas.
Today started sunny and clear and warm and lovely. Took our 2nd walk outside about 4PM. Took an umbrella, and it was sprinkling most of the way. Past the community pool, which is now closed; drops of rain making circles of ripples on the still water After we got home, started to rain in earnest, and has been raining steadily for about five hours. I sit in our front room, and hear the rain drops hitting the palm tree fronds just outside our window. Then the water runs down the fronds, and drips off the ends.
Good that it is raining. Our SoCal rain season is typically Thanksgiving thru Passover/Easter. This year we got a lot of rain in December, but virtually none in January and February, so we only have a few weeks at best for any more rain for this season.
MONDAY, MARCH 23:
Monday is our laundry day, so we decided to keep it that way (some sense of regularity). The laundry room is in the basement of our building, four floors down. Nadine is wary of using the elevator, so we walked our load down four flights, and put it into the washers. Then four flights back up. Thirty minutes later, walk down again, and put the laundry into the dryers, then back up. Forty minutes later, down again, retriever our laundry all clean and warm, and walk back up. By this time, my iPhone had reported over 2,000 steps and 8 flights of stairs. (should have been 12)
Speaking of the elevators, residents are being very observant. If more than one person is waiting in the lobby, they usually will let the first person ride up alone, and then take the next car.
Timing is everything, or so they say. A popular local cafe, Fiddlers, closed about a year ago, to the dismay of many of us in our neighborhood. Another cafe opened in the location, but lasted less than a year. We walked by a few days ago, and found that a third restaurant business had “opened”, named “@TITUDE”. The hand-drawn sign in the window read: “Grand Opening-ToGo-PickUp-323-297-3275”. I hope they are able to survive.
TUESDAY, MARCH 24:
Morning walk. In the parks, all the play equipment and the benches are cordoned off. The lines at Whole Foods, CVS, and Trader Joes are not too long, about ten persons each. From afar, the lines appear to be longer, because people are spacing themselves out, approx 6 feet apart.
We are alone in our apartment, and have all that we need. Food, utilities, Netflix, PBS, NPR, etc. Not much we have to do, at least for our physical needs.
I keep thinking of all those who are “out there”, keeping things running, in many cases not really having the option to stay at home.
First, of course, all the medical workers, many of them are at increased risk now.
All the workers in our food chain, from the fields to the grocery stores. All the delivery persons, from our mail carrier Deborah, to Fedex and UPS. Our trash men David and Daniel. Our building maintenance worker Dora. All the emergency workers (police, fire, EMTs). All the utility workers who keep our water, power, gas, cell phones, and internet working. Keep them in your thoughts and prayers.
“Zoom” is the technology du jour. Our daughter-in-law Nadia is using something akin to teach her 11th and 12th grade English classes. Nadine’s book club is considering for their upcoming meeting in about a week (“Olive Again”, by Elizabeth Strout).
POLITICAL COMMENT:
I am heartened that the Dems appear to not be rolling over and accepting (at least so far) the McConnell give-away package for large corporations.
Stay safe, wash your hands, keep your 6-foot distance, and love one another.
Coleman
A little humor, in case you have not seen it already, courtesy of our son Matt.
Zoom in the bathroom:
Near our building is a ground-floor apartment; family with two kids, a girl and a boy.
From time to time, each child makes a simple poster and displays it on their front door, which we see as we walk by.
Photo of their current posters below.
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