To everything (turn, turn, turn)There is a season (turn, turn, turn)And a time to every purpose, under heaven. A time to be born, a time to dieA time to plant, a time to reapA time to kill, a time to healA time to laugh, a time to weep … Lyrics excerpt from “Turn, Turn, Turn” by folk music icon Pete Seeger Weeding in the yard the other day, it occurred to me that more than likely the most useless thing I’ve ever bought was a 2020 planner. I should have listened to my gut and stuck with the iPhone calendar. But no, I required old-school backup. It’s no wonder they…
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WWJS?
My thoughts have turned inward over the past couple of weeks. Perhaps it’s coronavirus blues. Or COVID-19 overload. Maybe it’s “Zoom fatigue,” which is a thing now. More likely, it is because I am focused on the loss of my father, Jimmy John, who died May 20, 2009, already 11 years ago. I’ve decided to embrace my restless heart and see where it leads. Can’t hurt. Might help. (SCENE: The kitchen table at my parents’ condo, where we spent most visits sipping a glass of Fortissimo California full-bodied red from a gallon jug.) My father and I are having a conversation about the global pandemic. I’ve wondered how he’d react…
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Just OK
First off, I hope you’re all doing OK. Not necessarily well or fine. Just OK. Because being just OK is about as much as some of us can hope for during this unprecedented global pandemic. Unless you always fast-forward through taped TV shows like me, you’ve probably seen the AT&T commercial featuring a group meeting at a conference table called Just OK is not OK. It goes something like this: Boss: Tell him we’re flexible. Bearded guy: Don’t worry. My Dutch is OK. Boss: Just OK? Bearded guy: Uh-huh. This man is very bendy. Boss: Tell him we need this merger. Bearded guy: He says he needs a hug. Puzzled, the Dutch…
