Coronavirus: Los Angeles #29

 

As always: many of us get too many emails already, even before this pandemic.  So, if you would like to be removed from this email list, please feel free to say so.  (No reason needed; and you won’t be the first to do so.)

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Monday, December 28:

OMG.  I have been hoping for rain since Thanksgiving, and did it finally arrive.  We were awoken a few minutes after midnight to the sound of rain pelting our windows.  Pouring rain, lightning strokes and thunder claps, and gusty heavy winds driving the rain drops against the window panes.  It was the rain that first woke us; after that it would have been the lightning flashes and thunder. The most violent storm I have been in for a least 30 years.

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Nadine and I are very traditional when it comes to reading.  We do not use electronic readers, for either the newspapers or for books.  We prefer to have the paper-and-ink originals in our hands.  Although the word "originals" probably is not appropriate here, since the newspapers seem to often release news articles earlier on their websites than in the print additions.  But you know what I mean. 

We get both the NYTimes and the LATimes delivered each day outside our apartment door, almost always arriving by 7AM.  They used to come wrapped separately, but are now much smaller than "before".  And now both come packaged together, except on Sunday.  Recently we got a Saturday delivery that included not just the newspapers, but also three separate real estate sections: one entitled "Your Crowning Achievement" by Sothebys, one entitled "VIEW"  with a slick cover by Coldwell Banker, and one for a lot of other RE firms.  These three sections, measured in depth of paper, where at least two to three times thicker than the two papers themselves.  But I guess that this advertising helps to fund the publication of the news.

Does anyone remember when Harry Shearer did a weekly Sunday morning "Le Show" from KCRW, Santa Monica, "Home of the Homeless".  One of his opening bits was to read, with a large dose of sarcasm in his voice, the lead article in the LATimes RE section, featuring an expensive local residential listing.  Somehow the descriptions of these very expensive homes seems especially tone deaf to the suffering that many Angelinos are going thru at this time.

What else are the locals up to?  A news article says that plastic surgeons are doing a booming business.  People are seeing a lot of their own faces on Zoom squares...and not liking what they see.  So it's off to get some "work done". 

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Little miracles are all around us: most years in the past, I have planted my winter garden from seedlings of cabbages and chard.  I got the seedlings from a seller at the Hollywood Farmers Market named Peter Lee. This year, for a variety of reasons, I did not get the seedlings from Peter.  Also, I have been delayed because the usual winter rains did not start at Thanksgiving this year, but just now.  I decided to grow seedlings in our apartment, and transplant them later to the garden.  I ordered the seeds from Burpee and got old egg cartons from Nadine, and put the seeds into the soil and watered them.  The chard seeds are the size of a grain of rice, but the cabbage seeds are tiny, the size of a small pepper grain.  Now, just a few days later, up they are coming.

This is the last of my "Coronavirus: Los Angeles" emails for 2020.  What a year!!  Nadine said that for her, January 20th will feel like the start of a new year.  I agree.

The pandemic is not over yet.  Wear your mask and keep your distance for some months more.  Hoping that 2021 and the 46th Presidency of the USA will be happier, healthier, safer and less anxiety provoking for all of us.

Coleman

Coronavirus: Los Angeles. #28

This email has nothing to do with COVID, and only partially with LA.

Today is "Boxing Day" in England and other "British Empire" countries.  Originally a day for gift giving, but now also a big shopping day.  In my last email, I related the chagrin my young sons had when they found out that Scotty Lipman, who lived across the street, got gifts on each of the eight consecutive nights of Chanukah.  So here are two more stories, from the memory of this senior citizen, about holidays, birthdays, and gifts.

Story #1: I was born on Christmas Eve, 1935.  (That's also Anthony Fauci's birthday, but he is younger than I by five years.)  Growing up, I had three aunts, all long gone now.  Often, each would give me one present at this season, and it would be marked "Happy Birthday & Merry Christmas".  Now, I was a bright enough kid, so, immediately, I was thinking that I should be getting two presents each; one for my birthday and another for Christmas.  I am being short-changed, I thought!

Like a lot of slights that faded with the passing years, this has not mattered since I was about 10.  Then, I converted to Judaism about 20 years ago, and no longer celebrate Christmas.  But I guess I'm now too old to benefit from the Chanukah tradition of one-gift-for-eight-nights-in-a-row.  Sad.

Story #2: We recently got reconnected with our former (2007-2012) next-door neighbors, Kim and Patrick.  We moved away, then they moved away, and we lost contact.  We just got an email from them, courtesy another former neighbor, Sean.  This reminded me of this encounter years ago.  Kim and Patrick have two sons, Grant and Cole.  One day when Grant was four, I ran into Grant and Kim on the sidewalk outside our apartments.  The following occurred:

Grant (addressing me): Today is my birthday.  Are you coming to my party?

Me (I had not been invited, so grasping for a response): Sorry, I can't make it, Grant, but I am sure it will be a lot of fun.

Grant: Are you going to give me a present anyway?

At this point, Kim intervened, and told Grant that that was not polite...he should not be asking people  for presents.  Kim then turned to me and apologized for Grant's behavior.  I was having trouble trying to suppress my laughter.  Grant appeared to be momentarily embarrassed, and looked down at the pavement for a second or two.  Then he recovered.

Grant (addressing me):  Well, are you? 

His mother gasped.  I said goodbye, have fun at your party. 

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It rained on Tuesday.  Not much, about 10 minutes, and not a downpour.  But we'll take it.  More in the forecast (50%) for this coming Monday.  I'll believe it when it comes.

Belated Merry Christmas to all.  Stay safe.

Coleman

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We have a lot of dogs in our neighborhood.  And many of them are outfitted with sweaters.  And this is the time when people trod out their Christmas sweaters.  So, this was bound to happen.  Meet the newest of Santa's elves.

 

Coronavirus: Los Angeles #27

 

As always: many of us get too many emails already, even before this pandemic.  So, if you would like to be removed from this email list, please feel free to say so.  (No reason needed; and you won’t be the first to do so.)

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I planned to send this email out three days ago, but "life" intervened, in the form of (1)a computer issue the took days to resolve, and (2)a crown on one of my ancient molars that reached the end of its useful life.

Monday, December 7:

Pearl Harbor Day.  Our usual late afternoon walk around the neighborhood.  It definitely feels like there are fewer people out now that the new lockdown rules have been issued.  Many of those who are out are dog walkers.  We stop to chat briefly with one, who has a very cute 3-month old King Charles spaniel; she (the woman) tells us that the wait lists for rescue dogs have gotten very long; now that people are home more, more of them want a dog for company. 

Wednesday, December 9:

Grocery day: Whole Foods, then Trader Joes.  Inane Christmas music at Whole Foods: "Oh, by gosh, by golly, it's time for mistletoe and holly...."  Give me instead the old standbys, please: Silent Night, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, Drummer Boy, etc.  

Then there's always that old holiday favorite: The Adam Sandler Chanukah Song (have not yet heard this in Trader Joe's, but you never know)

Thursday, December 10:

Tonight is the first night of Chanukah.  Here is a "first encounters with Judaism" story:  In the summer of 1967, my first wife Leslie and I moved to Eastbluff, a new housing development in Newport Beach, with our boys Phil and Elliott.  It was a great place for kids, with wide but quiet streets, and a lot of young families like ours.  Across the street lived the Lippmans, John and Joan, with their children Barbara and Scotty.  All was well until Chanukah came, and Phil and Elliott found out that Barbara and Scotty would be receiving a gift a night for each of the eight nights of Chanukah.  The boys complained about this injustice for some time.

Friday, December 11:

We are hardly going anywhere these days, so not driving our cars much.  I had not driven my trusty 2004 Honda Civic for several weeks and there are cobwebs on the driver's side rearview mirror.  The Civic has just 700 miles this year, and our CRV has 1,900.  We are taking the cars to the car wash more than to the gas station.

When I tried to start the Civic, the battery had enough juice to respond to the remote command to unlock the doors, but not enough to turn over the engine.  On that occasion, I took our other car, the Honda CRV.  Days later, I called the AutoClub, and the tech arrived in 25 minutes, and we got the engine started.  Then, Nadine and I drove around the city for about 30 minutes to charge up the battery.  That was about 10 days ago.  

A lot of other folks are not using their cars much either.  Since then I have seen the same AutoClub guy back around our building twice, getting other cars started.

That's it for now.  Stay well and wear your masks.  Vaccinations have begun, so help is starting to come.  But we are still faced with a long haul.

Happy Chanukah.  Light some candles against the dark. Still no rain in sight here is Los Angeles.

Coleman

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In my last email, I mentioned my mother's mother, Alice Coleman Lewis, who lived to 95, and my mother Dele who lived to 88.  Here they are, summer at the Jersey shore, circa 1915: my mother, her mother, and her older sister Norma.

Coronavirus: Los Angeles #26

As always: many of us get too many emails already, even before this pandemic.  So, if you would like to be removed from this email list, please feel free to say so.  (No reason needed; and you won’t be the first to do so.)

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Thursday, December 3:

Encouraged by our cousin Natalie, we watched Jake Tapper's 50-minute interview on CNN of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.  What a breath of fresh air to see two rather normal human beings who can talk and answer questions and laugh out loud, without a lot of blaming or pointing of fingers or maligning others.  The normality of it was almost startling after four years of Trump and his lap dog Pence, neither of whom ever laughed out loud that I recall.  America and the world still have many hurdles in front of us, but this felt like an hour of hope that America will soon have competent leaders moving in the right direction.

Friday, December 4:

Now that the first deliveries of COVID vaccines are approaching, much is appearing in the press about what groups will get what priority for the first batches that become available.  One group that I have not heard much about are prisoners (of which there are about 1.3 million) and prison staff.  I believe that these groups should be fairly high up on the list.  They live/work in crowded conditions that are known to have high transmission rates.  Prisoners have very limited abilities to alter their conditions in any meanful way; I can chose to stay home, or go out but with my mask on, or socialize not at all or somewhat.  But prisoners have little choice.  The AMA has come out in favor of putting the prison population high up on the list.  But the governor Polis of Colorado is quoted as saying: "There's no way it is going to go to prisoners before it goes to people who haven't committed any crime".

Saturday, December 5:

At Park La Brea, where Nadine and I have lived for the last 13 years, there is a community garden with about 40 plots.  As there are about 4,000 apartments in Park La Brea, that's about one plot per 100 apartments.  So, demand is high and the waiting time for tenants who want to join is about two years long.  As my contribution to this community activity, I administer the waiting list, and orient new members when a plot becomes available (a former plot holder leaves for whatever reason; often because they move out of Park La Brea.)

So today I went to the garden to initiate a new member, Simone.  Simone, born in Australia, has lived in Park La Brea for three years, and been on the waiting list since December 2018.  She is looking forward to growing veggies.  Part of the orientation includes giving me a check for member dues (a modest $6.00/month).  When I asked her to bring the check to our meeting, she said she would "go to the bank to get a check".

When we met, I asked Simone whether she had to go to the bank because she had run out of checks, or because she does not normally use checks.  She said it's the latter; she normally does not use checks at all, but a payment app like PayPal or Venmo (or in her case Zelle).  This is another one of those "technology generation divides"; Simone is approx two generations younger than I am.  Nadine and I still write about ten checks per month.

And speaking of the garden, when will our annual winter rains start?  My rule of thumb has always been that our SoCal rains start aboutThanksgiving and end about Passover/Easter.  I have cleared out all my summer plants, and am waiting for the first rain, to then plant my winter crops: cabbages, chard and potatoes.  But no rain so far, and none in the 10-day forecast on my iPhone. A friend with some inside knowledge from professional forecasters says it does not look good for this winter!

Coronavirus: Los Angeles #25

As always: many of us get too many emails already, even before this pandemic.  So, if you would like to be removed from this email list, please feel free to say so.  (No reason needed; and you won’t be the first to do so.)

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Monday, November 30: 

Only one more month to go in 2020; hang in there, folks

Los Angeles County has begun new public health orders as of today. These new orders will ban all gatherings with people from another household.  People are allowed to leave their homes to walk their dog or take walks with people they live with, buy groceries or pick up drugs, pick up or receive takeout food, travel to the emergency room or urgent care, or for other essential purposes.  These rules last for at least three weeks.

As far as I know, there will not be any active attempt by the police or other authorities to enforce these rules.  (In Paris, Ashley tells us you have to carry papers when you go out, and are subject to a fine of 150 Euros if caught violating the rules there!)Every morning one of the first things I do is to splash cold water on my face to wake up.  Then I dry off and glance in the mirror.  Sometimes what I see surprises me: a new wrinkle? a new spot? a sagging eyelid? etc.  And that's just on my face.  You usually can't see much more of my body, but, trust me, you don't want to; there are much more spots and sagging flesh there.  

I do make an effort to get some exercise every day: walking, walking in the lap pool, etc.  No treadmill or stationery bike at the gym, which is closed for now.  My grandmother, born about 1880, lived to be 95.  Her life as a homemaker, cooking, cleaning, sewing, washing, grocery shopping, and so forth, kept her very healthy.  My mother lived to be 88, and was going strong, living alone and driving, until the very end.  As far as I remember, neither of them ever saw any need to exercise or "work out".  I think I got a lot of my "health" DNA from them.

I'm not complaining about growing old.  So far, it's better than the alternative.  I'll turn 85 later this month, God willing.  This aging seems quite normal.  Over the years I have had a share of health and medical issues.  Recently, my urologist discovered bladder cancer by pure coincidence.  It's early stage T1, and should be very treatable.  I am fortunate that it was found at all, since these cancers usually do not show up on scans, until they have progressed very far.  So I count myself lucky on this one (as well as on my ancestors DNA).

Tuesday, December 1:

In past years, we have almost always seen all of our children and grandchildren at least twice in each year.  So far in 2020, we saw our daughter Ashley and husband Neil Hafer, their daughters Chelsea and Lindsay, and son Phil and wife Tracy at the Hafer's joint 50th birthday party in January.  A big fun party (and what luck on the timing for them).  We saw Danny in San Francisco in January also.  We saw Neil in the summer.  And we see Lindsay occasionally as she is back at UCLA.  But we have not seen any other children or grandchildren at all in 2020, and probably will not in December, based in part on the latest restrictions in LA County.  

So I think my on-going aging may surprise some of our children and grandchildren the next time we see them...whenever that will be.  

On my morning walk, I go thru Farmers Market.  The latest restrictions in LA County are in place until at least December 20.  All outdoor dining tables and chairs have been removed.  It feels so deserted there.  And I fear it may be the final blow for some of the restaurants there, who have struggled on as the pandemic has impacted their businesses. 

Wednesday, December 2:

Weekly grocery shopping morning.  Whole Foods senior hour at 7AM.  More Amazon "shoppers" than seniors, but not crowded except in produce.  No Christmas music yet.  Plenty of TP and paper towels, but no barley.  Only 4 Christmas trees left.  Trader Joe's senior hour at 8AM.  About a dozen shoppers in line when they open.  Music: Christmas songs, but not the oldies I remember.  Home by 9AM.  Speaking of exercise, got in over 3.500 steps on this short expedition.

Ashley and Neil have decided to cancel their planned trip to the States for the holidays.  If they came, their ability to interact with family and friends would be severely limited.  We will miss seeing them, but think it's the right decision on their part.

Stay safe, and wear your masks.

Coleman

Documentary recommendation (sent to us by Dan): "Trial 4" on Netflix.  A young Black man in Boston is convicted of murdering a Boston policeman, and serves over 20 years. A persistent and tough defense attorney.  If you liked "Making A Murderer", you will probably like this one.  8-episodes, about 1 hour each.