There is a lot of coping going on. Exactly who is coping with what is hard to say. The coronavirus may be novel, but the novelty wore off long ago. Everyone wants this over with, of course, but no one can really imagine a virus-stable future. So like billions of people, I stumble forward daily. Which means there are lots of discoveries. One of them is that I don't particularly like watching films or even television dramas. I would rather read. Actually, I would even rather watch the lettuce grow Read more [...]

Of course there will be one. Won't there? One appreciates the little things, of course. And the one that comes to mind is my regular trips to Cup, the small café at the bottom of the hill and slightly beyond. In fact, it is oddly placed on a thoroughfare rather devoid of shops and provided with a pleasant vista thanks to the slope that falls away toward a motorway and the nondescript Excelsior neighborhood beyond. On a good day, when the weather permits and the windows have been cleaned, Mount Read more [...]

I have a daily project, which is to revise a book. Which is a splendid thing, unless the Book of Life is being revised for you, minute by minute.  We all need routine. The sense of things happening, tasks being executed, responsibilities fulfilled on a regular basis…is a fine one. But these days I have to let go of routine. Abandon expectations. Give up on getting anything done. Lives are done, so many of them every day. The Pandemic of 2020 is what's happening. And nothing will ever be Read more [...]