The peak of the virus may have been reached in New Jersey and New York, but it doesn’t look like we will return to “normal” anytime soon. For those of us lucky to be stayin’ alive, what are you doing to survive the required isolation and social distancing? Please share your recipe for sanity. Below I will share mine. It has worked so far, but this is a marathon, not a sprint. So no promises.
My list may not differ that much from yours. I have found the usual resources to be helpful-reading, binge-watching Netflix and Prime; listening to Spotify, Zoom Happy Hours with friends and family; and of course, lots of wine. It might be fun to compare where we differ. My choices in reading, music playlists and TV shows may differ from yours as widely as our wine selections.
I’m normally an avid reader, so it’s no surprise that I would use this period of isolation to peruse the written word in all its forms. So what have I been reading…?
At he beginning of the outbreak in this country I dusted off my copy of The Great Influenza by John Barry. I decided to re-read this classic to remind me of how bad this could all get. 50 million deaths world-wide. Ouch! Experts and the media have referred to the famous charts differentiating Philadelphia’s response to the virus and St. Louis’s response. It all came back to me, but this time it wasn’t just dust-covered history. It was real. Too real. I’m a little ADHD, so I am always reading several things at the same time. In this case it is helpful, since I needed to get away and wade into a few other things.
I found two recent magazine articles to be less depressing, though also relevant and definitely serious. The first was an article in the Atlantic by David Brooks called, “The Nuclear Family Was a Mistake.” He talks about how we are more isolated than ever before and at a time when we need connectedness more than ever.
A related article by Jill Lepore in the New Yorker is entitled, “The Isolation Ward: On Loneliness.” Lepore is one of my favorite historians. She wrote New York Burning, the best book about New York and one of my favorite books of non-fiction. I found this article to be timely and very informative, incorporating her usual wealth of relevant research into her beautiful style of prose. She quotes Social Psychologists and goes back to our Cave Dwelling days to discuss the origins of the fear of isolation: the fear of being killed by animals or other humans.
I am also reading a fascinating book by Ezra Klein called Why We’re Polarized. I stay away from politics on my posts here. This book doesn’t get at right or wrong, but rather how we got to be in our own camps. What happened to moderate Republicans and Democrats? Why can’t we talk to each other? As he admits the diagnosis is easier to declare than the solution to our current problem of polarization. Still, the historical perspective alone is worth the read. Compromise has become a dirty word instead of the goal. Ironically it appears that removing “earmarks” from legislation took away one of the means for accomplishing compromises. Earmarks were the allowing of “pork barrel” items for a state or congressional district in return for a vote for the other side.
Enough of the serious stuff. What do I read for laughs? I am a virtual laugh track for the New Yorker cartoons. I have never thought the Sunday comics or “Funnies” were very funny, but the New Yorker hits my funny bone with its off-beat quirky sense of humor.
As for longer sources of humor, pretty much anything written by Bill Bryson (and I own most of what he has written) makes me laugh. Quirky is his middle name. Plus you can learn a lot from his books-about nature, the human body, baseball, or even physics!
If this period of isolation lasts past the summer, it will call for desperate measures…
- Cleaning the garage and attic! (We’ve been avoiding these two like the plague-ok, poor choice of simile, but I’m sure you have a similar list of “to avoid”)
- Putting together 1,000 piece puzzles (I’m not really a jigsaw puzzle kinda guy)
- Reading a classic that I’ve managed to avoid reading since I bought it over 20 years ago: Marcel Proust’s Remembrances of Things Past (Volume 1)
For me, music has always been a great place to escape, reflect, vent and inspire. I love listening and I enjoy playing guitar. Both give me great satisfaction. My current playlist on Spotify is an eclectic mix, with a heavy emphasis on the music of John Prine. I always thought that I was a cult follower, limited to a small number of folks. Now that Prine has passed and the tributes are still rolling in, I realize that he has been loved by millions. Among the songs on my present playlist are: Prine’s “Let talk dirty in Hawaiian.” and “When I get to Heaven.” It’s great for whenever you are feeling low.
What have you been watching on TV? My wife and I have been binge-watching Silent Witness on Prime. There are 22 seasons of this long-running British mystery show, with more twists and turns than a roller coaster. It’s definitely worth the ride. We just finished watching the CNN special called “What’s Eating America?” It’s a terrific documentary about how the food gets on our table, highlighting the many unsung heroes that are all part of the chain.
Finally, I have found meditation to be very helpful in calming the mind and especially in downshifting the mind before heading for dreamland. Increasingly, I have been including a heavy dose of gratitude themes in these sessions. Mindfulness is another popular form of meditation, helping you “live in the moment.” If you don’t already practice meditation, I highly recommend you try it. You can start as simply as doing a Youtube version or downloading a free app, like Calm, to guide you through the process.
What have I been drinking? Nothing right now, unfortunately. But, for our Easter dinner we chose a local restaurant to support (I practice what I preach). The menu: leg of lamb, roasted asparagus and broccoli rabe and baked potatoes. I chose a bottle of Turis Etichetta D’Oro 2012 Nebbiolo. Dessert? My wife and I enjoyed a delicious piece of Ricotto Pie, with a glass of Unionville Vineyards Port Vat #19. The pie was a very thoughtful gift from our friends Jackie and Rob. Thanks! I am very grateful, indeed to have a meal like this in the middle of this crazy virus!
Cheers! Happy Belated Easter! Chag Pesach samech to my Jewish friends and readers.
