My Cardboard Balcony

Week 1 of Social Distancing: I've been running weekday conference calls for my students. My sophomores have been reading Macbeth, and my freshmen have been working on journalistic reports. I've been pleasantly surprised by how many have shown up to my Zoom calls. Also, I've been drinking an exorbitant amount of tea. Managed to get two long walks in this week as well. The first walk was a whopping two and a half hours - my wife and I walked to Benicia Community Park, and I think it was worth it. Quiet, but beautiful. We then went to the Benicia State Recreation area today - shorter stroll by an hour. Gorgeous view of the Carquinez Strait, and we kept six feet away from people as much as we could. I have played online Cards Against Humanity with my sister, my brother-in-law, and sometimes a couple of friends almost every evening so far. Even though my sister and bro-in-law won't be able to travel to California, seeing them even just online is a blessing. I miss them...

A Poem About Sunglasses by Belinda Roddie Oops! Looks like someone forgot their shades at home when we went on our ninety minute stroll. See, she squints as we crescendo into hills like musical notes in search of impact. Meanwhile, my sunglasses are oddly rose-tinted - literally, not metaphorically. Still, I can't help feeling nostalgic for a past in which restaurants and bars were open, and no one was dying of a brand new spanking disease. My love was tired, but I was thrilled to bask in fresh air and blue skies for a change, out in the park where I stayed six feet away from passerby to avoid winding up being buried six feet under, yet mentally, I felt like I rose six miles under the ground and into the view. And I kept my sunglasses on through all of it, so the reddish tint could hint at sunset - perhaps a quiet end to the chaos within a few weeks (or God forbid, a few months), as it drinks lots of fluid, gets proper hospital care, and sleeps soundly.

Nomming Spree by Belinda Roddie I ordered some delicious sushi to support a local restaurant!