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HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY! On special days, I never know what to expect from Louie -- famous for wearing his heart on his sleeve. I call it a blessing and a curse. A blessing because I am married to the most honest person on earth. And a curse because he tells me EVERYTHING he’s thinking. Like the dozen roses he bought for me yesterday. He had gone to see a client (yes, he masked up and social distanced) and on the way back he stopped by Cardenas, a wonderful Mexican grocer, to pick up carne asada to barbecue for dinner. Every other Mexican had the same idea because the meat had already sold out for the holiday. When he arrived home, I met him at the car. As soon as he opened the door, he pulled out the most perfect bunch of long-stemmed red roses. “Happy Mother’s Day! I only paid $9.99 for them!” I immediately put them to my nose to smell the fragrance. “Imagine,” Louie said, “…the best roses are at the Mexican market. They would cost much more anywhere else!” I looked at the roses this morning and the flawless buds are now opening. So, in place of carne asada, Louie bought costillas, sliced marinated bone-in beef. He created his own recipe that included wine and baked the costillas in the oven for a few hours. The kitchen smelled heavenly and the meat was tender as can be. Then as I was putting water in the percolator for my morning coffee, Louie walked over to the water cooler and confessed that he didn’t have a Mother’s Day card for me. “Mexican markets don’t sell greeting cards – remember what George Lopez said?” I laughed remembering Lopez’s stand-up routine about the lack of greeting cards in Spanish. A card is the last thing I ever worry about, I reassured Louie. I also assured him that “I’m the luckiest Mom in the world because your love comes through in every beautiful meal you make!” Again, to the world’s nurturing Moms – past, present, and future – Happy, Happy Mother’s Day. PREVIOUS ENTRY NEXT ENTRY

The other night the full moon shined so brightly I didn’t need artificial light to find my way around the yard. It felt magical standing face to face with “la Luna.” I quickly ran back into the house and grabbed my Pixel to capture the moment. So, I received an email this morning from AARP with the subject line, “10 Things the Pandemic Has Changed for Good.” Oh no. I’ll read this later. But then I took a peek. Just as I thought, the usual suspects: Working from home, Seeing your doctor, Shopping for groceries, Staying in touch, Wearing face masks, Going to movies, Traveling by air, Riding public transportation, Protecting your privacy, and Washing your hands. It was realistic commentary, like it or not. But the one about “Staying in touch” stood out. Indeed, in the Covid age of social distancing, connecting with family, friends and colleagues via Zoom and other videoconferencing tools, is a real godsend. But to say that “Plain phone calls now feel sort of shallow” is, sorry, but quite off the mark. For me, a phone call is intimate because there are no visual distractions. How rare it is these days to place a spontaneous call. I have looked forward recently to sitting on the front porch with a glass of wine or cozying up with a cup of coffee on a patio chair, “dialing” the phone and listening only to the voice of my sister, sister-in-law or brother on the other end. Then I’m surprised to hear that they are surprised to learn that I called…just because. PREVIOUS ENTRY NEXT ENTRY

My daily power walks have been along the same uphill route. I like the pitch of the uphill climb, which gets tougher as the elevation rises. I take short steps as opposed to long strides. “Shorter steps save energy”, a wise mountaineer once advised when he guided me on a strenuous mountain hike in the Swiss Alps. When I reached the top of the street, I greeted a friendly gardener. He smiled and said, “You were moving very fast!” On that walk I spotted a sweet three-tiered library box in front of a house inviting passersby to take a literary break. Built with lots of TLC, it has an embossed tin roof and each of its three bookshelves is protected with a hinged glass door complete with a glass knob to access the books. On the other side of the sidewalk a park bench underneath a tree offers a shady spot to read. And in this time of the coronavirus, the thoughtful library box maker didn’t miss a beat: A sign ensures that the box is regularly sanitized. Jacqueline and I took a drive into the canyon five minutes away to check out some of Sierra Madre’s original stone walls. The winding rustic roads are so tight, it was hard to find a spot to park. So, we drove slowly along capturing some wonderful stone wall images, including the dry riverbed. Little by little, I will search out more wonderful stonework to post in my diary. And while the federal government has decided to unmethodically reopen the nation’s businesses, I am comforted to see that California Governor Newsom is taking a responsible and careful approach by allowing only certain businesses to open – testing the waters, so to speak. Rather than taking the plunge blindly, we will dip into an unpredictable future one toe at a time. If this move proves to be unsafe and Covid-19 cases spike, we will be forced to return to sheltering again. If that translates to saving lives, I’m all in. https://www.desertsun.com/story/news/health/2020/05/07/california-governor-allows-some-retail-reopening-limits/3088430001/ For dinner last night, Chef Louie looked into the fridge to make side dishes for the nice salmon pieces I picked up at the local market. He made a refreshing slaw with chopped purple and green cabbage and halved cherry tomatoes mixed with red wine vinegar, salt, and pepper. Then he found a box of button mushrooms and some garlic, sliced them up and sautéed the bunch in olive oil, butter and red wine, seasoned with salt and pepper. My contribution? A perfect pot of steamed jasmine rice. PREVIOUS ENTRY NEXT ENTRY

I might sound like a broken record, but it touches me to no end seeing our neighbors each night come out of their homes for the Cheer. They don’t have to do this. Last night at exactly 7:00 p.m. when Louie and I walked out our back door, neighbors were already outside, including Allen and Karen who walk down from their home around the corner. Our neighbor’s boys couldn’t wait to start clapping with contagious enthusiasm. Seeing this nightly gesture of kindness says so much about their human character. A recent headline caught my eye: “What do Countries with the Best Coronavirus Responses Have in Common? Women Leaders.” Call it motherly instinct, downright smarts – or both, leaders in Germany, Taiwan, New Zealand, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Iceland acted with decisiveness, innovation and compassion. No longer is the saying, “Women are the power behind the throne.” They are in the throne. https://www.forbes.com/sites/avivahwittenbergcox/2020/04/13/what-do-countries-with-the-best-coronavirus-reponses-have-in-common-women-leaders/ And German Chancellor Angela Merkel, one of those leaders, is the epitome of the expression, “Look out for the quiet ones.” She rarely delivers big addresses to her nation. But when Covid-19 made its presence, so did she. There’s been relative calm in her country – thanks to her quintessential calmness that transferred to a populous looking to its leader to lead in this crisis (she’s the daughter of a pastor and holds a doctorate in quantum chemistry). Merkel’s early action, including aggressive coronavirus testing, has resulted in relatively low case and death numbers – and has caught the attention of other world leaders. On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, I learned that the UFC, the Ultimate Fighting Championship, will proceed in Jacksonville, Florida, this month on three separate dates (including flying in competitors from around the world). In light of the pandemic, organizers say that fight nights will be closed to the public (but televised), being mindful of social distancing – that is, until the gladiators duke it out in the ring. But the real winner, just might be Covid-19 – because it shows up anywhere and there’s no protection against it. PREVIOUS ENTRY NEXT ENTRY

Today is the first day of National Nurses Week (May 6-12). Give them everything they want, I say, because they are deserving of anything! And 2020 was designated “Year of the Nurse and Midwife” by the World Health Organization honoring the 200th birthday of Florence Nightingale, a social activist, and the trailblazing “Godmother” of modern nursing. She came from a wealthy British family and was born in Florence, Italy. She always felt that nursing was her calling. She was known as “The Lady with the Lamp” as she made nightly rounds of wounded soldiers during the Crimean War (1853-1856). Funny, I remember choosing to write about Ms. Nightingale for a grade school report. International Nurses Day is celebrated on her birthday, May 12. The pandemic has indeed elevated medical professionals to another level. Yesterday I was surprised to receive a nice email from a worker at Ralphs Market. I had met her while writing at the Starbucks café there. She would stop to get her coffee before starting her shift. A lovely young college student, she was studying criminal science. I had eventually given her my business card. I’ve been “missing in action” at the store, so she decided to check in with me. I certainly miss my community of friends there. At my local market the other day, I ran into two friends. Standing at the front door, I greeted both. They didn’t know each other, so I introduced Sharon to Terry and vice versa. It was a humorous scene because we all wore masks and only our eyes smiled in acknowledgement. When this pandemic is behind us, Sharon and Terry may never recognize each other again. By then, they won’t be wearing masks. And by then, hair salons will be back in business performing magic on graying locks. PREVIOUS ENTRY NEXT ENTRY

My walk yesterday was a reminder of the fantastic river rock walls around my foothill town, which was founded in 1881. Smooth rounded rocks of various sizes and colors from the local canyon riverbeds adorn just about every block in the city that’s only two square miles in size. I shall explore this captivating history more! The other day I came across a news photo of blue waves splashing onto the shores of a Southern California beach. It was a fantastic night scene. I was just “passing through” news headlines, so I did not read the full story. My first thought was that someone had a great idea to light up the water blue – in the spirit of New York City’s Empire State Building that lights up blue each night to honor our essential workers (blue is the color of medical scrubs). In fact, the glowing blue waves between Los Angeles and San Diego is a natural phenomenon caused by a huge algae bloom. The bioluminescent glow, or bloom, happens when the algae is agitated by splashing waves. Called a “red tide,” its occurrence is unpredictable – and it doesn’t always light up. It may be a natural wonder, but to me, it’s eerily symbolic. And in the spirit of world unity, leaders from around the globe gathered at a summit to collectively work together to find treatments and vaccines in the fight against Covid-19. Country after country donated a total of $8 billion towards the cause. Sadly, the U.S. did not participate; however, $100 million was pledged by Melinda Gates, co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. PREVIOUS ENTRY NEXT ENTRY

We learned a few days ago that our neighbor’s younger brother in Las Vegas (a hospital worker in his mid-50s) had contracted Covid-19 and was placed in ICU. Thankfully, he was strong enough to be released from the hospital last week. Lucky for him because he has a chronic respiratory condition. But he is far from being out of the woods as he continues to fight the devastating effects of the virus. And as the virus continues to creep around out there, it’s hard to fathom that states around the country have begun lifting stay-at-home restrictions. Beaches and parks are opening as well as some businesses – hair salons, malls, and restaurants. I hope people’s brains will remind them that the desire to return to life-as-normal is not realistic. Just because they haven’t been taken down by the bug, they could very well be carriers and can pass it along to the person next to them. No matter how much I miss stints at my favorite coffee shops, my brain tells me to stay close to home as much as possible, thank you very much. DJ Jazzy Jeff (Jeffrey Allen Townes), record producer, actor and comedian recently recovered from a severe case of the virus. After performing at an event in Idaho, he returned home ill with symptoms of Covid-19. It was reported that more than 100 guests at the same party had become ill, too. His words of advice: “Keep your social distancing. Stay in the house!” https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/hip-hop/9358649/dj-jazzy-jeff-coronavirus-interviews PREVIOUS ENTRY NEXT ENTRY

I’m sitting at my desk sorting out which topic(s) to touch upon in today’s entry: The rapid rise of coronavirus cases and deaths in Russia; angry protesters in America demanding the lifting of mandates and return to normal life; worst case news that a vaccine for Covid-19 may never be found; or unemployed chefs, waitresses and engineers in Britain are taking jobs at farms. I could feel tension building up around my neck and shoulders. Then I hear Louie calling my name from the living room. “Athena, you’ve got to see this!” Oh no. I drag myself down the hallway, stand in the dining room and fold my arms. “What is it?” He points to the television. There on the screen was my favorite romantic comedy, “Something’s Gotta Give,” starring Diane Keaton, Jack Nicholson, and Keanu Reeves. Suddenly, I was sitting on the couch getting lost in my favorite scenes. Louie looked at me and said, “You’re even wearing a white turtleneck!” (Diane Keaton’s character, playwright Erica Barry, favors turtlenecks.) It took all I had to return to my office. Then, The Dalai Lama, Tibetan spiritual leader, and former President George W. Bush came to my rescue. They summed up the need to put this crisis into perspective: The Dalai Lama: Looking down on earth from space, no boundary lines exist. People need to focus on “what unites us as members of one human family. As human beings we are all the same. We experience the same fears, the same hopes, the same uncertainties, yet we are also united by a desire for happiness. Only by coming together in a coordinated, global response, we will meet the unprecedented magnitude of the challenges we face.” George W. Bush: “We are not partisan combatants. We’re human beings, equally vulnerable and equally wonderful in the sight of God.” “Let us remember that empathy and simple kindness are essential, powerful tools of national recovery.” And as I watch road work on my street taking place in front of my house, every crack in the road has been patched up before being covered with a new layer of asphalt. When it is done, we will feel a welcome freshness – like a new start. If only we can smooth out the fissures of humankind. PREVIOUS ENTRY NEXT ENTRY

Often while scooping coffee grounds for my morning brew, I think about my coffee shop routine pre-Covid-19. It’s sad that I wasn’t able to bid a temporary farewell to the dear friends I’ve made at my hangouts. I wonder how they are doing. Especially my homeless friend, John -- late 60s or so, White, around six feet tall and a sturdy guy with a bushy white mustache and beard. I never saw him without his knitted cap that covered his white hair except for the straggly ends that poked out. He parked a shopping cart filled to the brim with his personal items in front of the market. When I first realized he was a “regular,” I would sip my coffee and work quietly at the table behind him in the small space of the cafe. I could hear him chatting by himself. He was neither loud nor obnoxious. He never bothered me, although sometimes he would turn towards me and mutter something. I would just continue working and he’d turned back around. I also noticed he read the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and different books. Through time, he would share with me memories from his past. He would talk about historical and current events, sports and politics with awesome detail and accuracy. That caught my attention and I wondered about the life John had lived before. But then he would return to mumbling to himself. He was quite kind, too. He complimented me on my “fashionable” clothing and said white was my color. “Louie is a lucky guy!” he would say. “Thank you, John…” I replied. He loved to laugh. When he did, I could hear a little wheeze. And every now and then he’d tell me a joke. But he knew right away if he was “overextending his stay” at my table. “Oh, I should let you write!” And there was one thing John always did that other customers often did not: He cleaned his table and straightened his chair before leaving. I hope John is safe and well. PREVIOUS ENTRY NEXT ENTRY

Yesterday before the 7pm Cheer, a woman saw me at my fence and came by to thank me for organizing the nightly gesture of appreciation. Unbeknownst to me, she lives a few blocks down the street. She said she took a photo of the Cheer sign on my fence. “I sent the photo to my family members who are nurses,” she told me. Then she talked about the sadness she has for her sister who works in the Covid-19 unit and is unable to hug her three children when she comes home from work. I took a deep breath as my eyes teared up. “That’s why we do the Cheer,” I said to her. PREVIOUS ENTRY NEXT ENTRY

My salt of the earth neighbor, Mika, is using her stay-at-home time to build a vegetable garden in her front yard. It helps me cope, she says. Her landlord is the luckiest one around to have a tenant who finds pure joy in planting flowers, potting trees -- and now her edible garden. With the help of her husband Ryan, trellises have been erected. Other plantings line the raised wall above the sidewalk. Vegetables will hang over the wall, she explained to us. “Please… feel free to pick anything you would like!” A true heart of gold. In another act of kindness, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer just announced that she would like to see the state’s essential workers rewarded when this war against the virus is behind us. In the spirit of the GI Bill that supported soldiers who served during World War II, the program, called “Futures for Frontliners,” would reward tuition-free higher education to frontline workers without college degrees – be it a bachelor’s degree, associate degree or technical certificate. My forever motto is, “Good things happen to good people.” https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/29/us/michigan-tuition-free-educational-program-essential-workers-trnd/index.html And at opposite ends of the country, two takes on stay-at-home mandates are happening: In an effort to continue fending off spread of Covid-19 with all-important social distancing (that is making a positive difference), California Governor Newsom intends to continue this trend with the closure of all state beaches and parks to avoid dangerous overcrowding. In Florida, Governor DeSantis has announced lifting of stay-at-home orders throughout the state (except Dade, Palm Beach and Broward counties) despite 350 new cases and almost 50 new deaths. In a crisis as severe as what we are facing, I would err on the side of caution – especially in the words of Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984, who essentially said: A little paranoia is good. Time will determine the better decision. PREVIOUS ENTRY NEXT ENTRY

Wow, after almost a month and a half of sheltering at home, California has begun a four-stage process to restore public life around the state. But social distancing will still be the mantra for a while. A quick peek: The current Stage 1 is creating safe working environments for essential workers, and stay-at-home is still mandated except for necessary outings; Stage 2 might involve reopening schools in late July or August, as well as the opening of lower-risk businesses; Stage 3 is months away, but will allow for the reopening of spas, gyms, nail salons, hair salons and barbershops; Stage 4 – only if a vaccine or widespread immunity exists -- we will be able to enjoy concerts, sporting events and other large group activities. I’m good with this slow roll-out that will demand a lot of patience. I hope the rest of California’s “citizenry” is, too. With a crisis of this magnitude, we just can’t restore the country overnight. https://www.kcra.com/article/californias-reopening-will-come-in-4-phases-what-you-need-to-know/32310955 I took a break before finishing this entry because the weather’s getting hotter by the minute. We’re having a heat wave this week, so I hit the streets for an early power walk to beat the heat. And with each walk I notice details that I used to overlook. Like the cutest pink mailbox that I had never paid attention to before. Then I stopped for a closer look at the huge coniferous tree trunk that’s been sitting like a giant park bench in front of a woodsy house for years. “Did this tree used to be part of this property?” I asked a man wearing a cowboy hat as he worked in the shrubbery. “I think so…,” I barely heard him say. PREVIOUS ENTRY NEXT ENTRY

Last night’s 7:00 pm Cheer was lovely – as each night is. Even though we are settling into our evening routines of finishing or starting dinner, watching the evening news or just chilling, most everyone –- at exactly 7pm – steps outside ringing bells and chimes and faithfully clapping to honor our Essential Workers. One neighbor pops his head out the door and waves. Louie’s selected tune was “Chiquitita,” ABBA’s song of encouragement and hope. I was also touched by the number of people taking walks and joining us in the Cheer as they passed Victoria Lane clapping their hands. I will never forget the words of Jacqueline’s kindergarten teacher who would always remind the children, “Use your brain.” Powerful words. So, why weren’t people using their brains when they embarked on Southern California beaches over the weekend? Aggressive Covid-19 will only be controlled if everyone continues social distancing and staying at home – a small sacrifice if it means stopping the spread and saving lives. “Safer at home” should not be dreaded. I’m embracing this time of nowhere to go as a forced opportunity to enrich my brain. Shakespeare’s monologue “To be or not to be” was the opening of the third episode of Cocktails with a Curator at the Frick. And it was easy to feel swept away as if on a personal tour with Curator Xavier Salomon as he appeared in a tile in the lower right corner of the screen sipping his gin cocktail and revealing the story behind Anthony Van Dyck’s portrait of Sir John Suckling. Suckling survived the plague in Sicily, but when he died young, he might well have been the victim of a future plague. https://www.frick.org/interact/miniseries/cocktails_curator/cocktails_curator_van_dycks_sir_john_suckling PREVIOUS ENTRY NEXT ENTRY

Why are people flocking to the beaches? Yes, the weather is gorgeous – but we’re in the middle of a pandemic! PREVIOUS ENTRY NEXT ENTRY

Louie has definitely been putting all of his swimming energy into cooking. Yesterday he thawed beautiful pieces of frozen Atlantic cod. My favorite cooking style for fish is stove top in a skillet with butter and lemon. Easy breezy. But the more steps in a recipe, the more Louie likes it. So, he checked YouTube and made gorgeous, flaky baked cod with lemon slices, cherry tomatoes, garlic, rosemary, bay leaves, and salt. Then he upped the ante and just had to make his own tartar sauce – but he had to buy the necessary ingredients first. In the end, it was a beautiful dinner. Never mind that we did not eat until 9:30 p.m. The World Health Organization has determined that even though a person has recovered from Covid-19, it is still possible that he or she can contract it again. That’s not comforting at all. This is a reminder that we can’t let down our guard. In the words of Dr. Sanjay Gupta, the novel coronavirus is different from the flu because “…it is both very contagious…and it appears to be more lethal than the flu.” And it doesn’t hurt to be reminded how long the virus survives on various surfaces. According to Dr. Gupta: up to three days on stainless steel and plastic; 24 hours on cardboard and likely the same for clothing because like cardboard, clothing is absorbent. He added that the virus does not “stick well” on surfaces that move. And because of the way viruses move the through the air, “They don’t want to necessarily land on objects.” So, if you’re moving, it’s unlikely the virus will stick to your clothes. This is why I’m grateful for the balancing act, “Cocktails with a Curator” at the Frick. Before the 7pm Cheer, I was finishing up the second installment, Rembrandt’s “Polish Rider.” Considered one of the great poems of the world, it was just as captivating as “St. Francis in the Desert.” But I was maybe more intrigued with the recommended cocktail: “Szarlotka,” a typically Polish drink with Polish vodka made with bison grass (grown in a primeval forest in Europe) mixed with a little cinnamon and chilled. The mocktail (no alcohol): Chilled apple cider with cinnamon. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NotIFQRPnjo I had neither of the main ingredients, so fresh coffee it was for me. PREVIOUS ENTRY NEXT ENTRY