The COVID Chronicles is a series of posts relating my experiences and observations during the pandemic. I hope that this will be the final post in the series. March 12, 2022. My wife Cora and I are having lunch at Caffe Sport in San Francisco’s North Beach, the City’s Little Italy. Caffe Sport is a …
The COVID Chronicles is a series of pieces that I began at the start of the pandemic. The series is a journal of one person’s experiences and impressions in an unprecedented time. The Church Of The Misconception is an odd congregation. As religions go it’s rather new, having shown up at the start of 2020. …
Early in 2020, when rumors of the coronavirus became reality I began a series of posts that I called The COVID Chronicles, a journal of my own personal experiences and feelings in the midst of a global pandemic. I thought I was done with the series. “You ready to put your mask back on?” he …
Quite some time has passed since the last edition of the COVID Chronicles. Does that mean that we’re almost over it? From where I’m sitting, here in carefree California, it’s almost like we’re ready to emerge from the deep, dark COVID woods. Some catching up and a little perspective might be in order. We’ve been …
“There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch.” Everything has a price. I’m not giving away anything really tangible here. Everything has a cost. In this case the cost is your time. I hope that it’s time well spent. The mission for this post was positivity and I grappled with that – mightily. There …
“I’ve got some bad news and I’ve got some good news. Nothing lasts forever.” ~ Kate McGahan, author. The “where were you when” conversations. You know the ones. Somebody asks, “So where were you when…? The when is always one those consequential events, usually an unpleasant one. Life’s moments that leave stains that won’t wash …
February wanes; the Year of the Rat is done. A foul rodent of a year, leering through sharp filthy teeth has passed and given way to the ox. In ordinary healthy times San Francisco’s Chinatown would now be winding down from the February festivities. February is when Chinatown typically dresses up in it’s finest, brightest …
Monday morning in America. Not just any Monday morning in America. The day after Super Bowl Sunday, Monday. The annual Monday when a good portion of America is recovering from some variety of hangover. Hungover from a full season of football now ended, looking at months of withdrawal until the next season begins, and the …
Late Friday afternoon and the week was winding down. Do COVID era weeks really wind up? Today it’s the day to day to day, Drudge. Monotony. Colorless repetition. CNN’s Erin Burnett was interviewing a couple of the big giant medical heads who’ve held sway on damn near every aspect of our daily lives. That’s not …
Some holiday traditions are forever. Take for instance, the big blue recycle bin; it’s overflowing with cardboard and there’s a pile of cardboard that won’t be binned until the trashman comes and empties the bin. There’s one prime rib bone left in the fridge, the tree is molting and is no longer being watered and …
Most of California is back on lockdown and, with the exception of take out or delivery, restaurants are once again shut down. Months ago, when the pandemic was still a novelty I applauded the complete restaurant closure and criticized the torch and pitchfork rabble that was protesting the closures. With the resumption of the restaurant …
bologna noun bo·lo·gna | \ bə-ˈlō-nē also -nyə, -nə \ : a large smoked sausage of beef, veal, and pork Point Pinole Regional Shoreline is 2400 acres of scenic liberation located on the San Pablo Bay shoreline just north of the City of Richmond. The park’s web of trails leads you through meadows, past wildflowers, …
The signs at the beaches here in Central California, caution people to be aware of sneaker waves; “Never turn your back on the water,” they warn, lest a rogue wave wash over you and carry you out to sea. Here in the Bay Area we know all about sneaker waves, those rare large waves that …
Come the beginning of October we’d reached a disheartening anniversary. A year had passed since Cora and I had taken a trip to anywhere besides Home Depot, the grocery store and a couple of al fresco lunches. October 2019, we spent a few days in Reno, Nevada. Reno isn’t exactly the flower in the garden. …
The San Francisco Bay Area is well known for its fog. Sometimes it’s a high overcast that shrouds the tops of San Francisco’s highrises. At other times it’s a low lying blanket that hugs the ground and the surface of the chill bay waters, a scene that makes for picturesque photos from the surrounding hills. …
Life goes on here in COVID central (aka The United States of America). Well, it goes on if you don’t become one of the rising number of statistics; THE statistic, death, that is. As of this writing we’re closing in on 200,000 and change. Change. Change is a term used to describe coins as opposed …
“I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign: seven angels with the seven last plagues—last, because with them God’s wrath is completed.” Revelation 15:1 At 7 in the morning the rec path along San Pablo Bay can be a busy place; hikers, dog walkers, runners and an occasional skater. Cyclists wiz by, more often …
A few months ago when the new normal predictions were all the rage and being tossed around by everyone from my personal friends to pundits, psychologists, CEOs and politicians, I threw the “bullshit flag.” Human nature is what it is I objected. As soon as the all clear sounds people will flock back to stadiums, …
Are we operating on the two nonsensical theories that the coronavirus respects borders or that people won’t get into their cars to go get services not available in their communities?
It’s been only months but it seems like decades since you could sit in a restaurant, see the unmasked smile on the server’s face, sit at a communal table or graze from a buffet.