Do Something Quickly

Do something quickly 

Doesn’t matter if it’s rough 

Polish it later 

Fridge

I’ll take anything 

Sure! Whatever’s in the fridge 

I like applesauce

How Do We Explain This To Children?

How do we explain this to children?

How much will they understand?

You can’t go outside 

You can’t go to school 

You can’t go see 

Any of your friends 

Don’t touch your face 

Nothing is safe 

No, I’ve no idea 

When this all ends

Please wash your hands

I said don’t touch your face!

No we cannot go back 

To the store 

Try not to use 

All the toilet paper 

They might not have any more

Oh, please don’t cry! 

Daddy’s not gonna die 

Everything’s going to be fine 

We just have to be careful 

For a little while longer 

Then we’ll get to enjoy

The sunshine 

How do we explain this to children?

How do we find the right words

To calm and assure them 

That we’ll get through this okay 

And life will be normal one day?

Copyright © 2020 Daniel R. South 

All Rights Reserved

Heartache

Heartache doesn’t come wrapped in a considerate package. It’s shocking and maddening and painful and always ill-timed. It knocks us down and leaves us dazed and damaged, searching for answers and a way to get back on our feet.

We have no say in how or when bad things happen. All we can do is find some awkward way past them. We pick up the pieces and take tentative steps through frequent storms of sadness and numbness and rage, all while carrying a heavy burden of grief for what we have lost.

Closure

Closure is a luxury, a high card drawn from a bleak and unforgiving deck.

Hot Dream

I want to kiss you 

Want to hold you 

I want to make you come 

I want to stay inside you 

Until our urgency is done 

I want to kiss your body 

And lick you where it’s wet 

I want to make you breathless 

And as hot as you can get 

I want to kiss your curves 

I want to kiss your tongue 

I need to feel your passion 

Your excitement

And your fun 

I want to share these moments 

To love you in this way 

I want to lie beside you 

That’s where I want to stay 

Less Travelled?

Every person 

Likes to believe 

That they’ve followed 

‘The road less travelled’

Yet

With most of them home 

Watching Netflix 

I don’t really see 

A big difference 

Things That Don’t Matter

Bringing up things 

That don’t matter anymore 

Is like trying to come back home 

Through a dead-bolted door 

New Challenges

Life brings new challenges. We shall rise with new actions or fall with old excuses.

Where Do We Go From Here?

One month ago, on 26 February, President Trump made this remark about coronavirus patients in the United States:

”And again, when you have 15 people, and the 15 within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero, that’s a pretty good job we’ve done.”

In case you think that I am forwarding fake news, I took that quote from whitehouse,gov, their official website.

Today, one month later, there are nearly 85,000 known cases of coronavirus infection in the US. Clearly, Mr. Trump’s assessment of the problem was inaccurate.

More troubling, his failure to take the pandemic seriously has resulted in a dual catastrophe of the rapid spread of the disease and a hospital system that is tragically underprepared to handle the volume of patients requiring critical care. One hospital in Queens, New York had thirteen COVID-19 fatalities today. Thirteen fatalities in one day.

We cannot replay the tape. We can’t go back to January and start preparing for the outbreak as we should have. But we can avoid making decisions based on Mr. Trump’s fanciful foolishness. It is not advisable to relax social distancing restrictions. It is not feasible to send people back to their workplaces and send children back to schools. To do so would be to invite an even greater disaster than we are facing already.

Hospitals are already at capacity, and the number of cases keeps growing exponentially. The death and disaster that are going to occur in the coming weeks will be beyond comprehension even if we maintain tight restrictions. Loosening the guidelines will only make things worse.

Stay home. The economy will recover once the public health emergency is finally under control, and not a day sooner.

An Update From New York

Thanks to everyone for expressing concern during this challenging time. Your thoughtfulness is appreciated.

There is some good news to share. New Yorkers are taking social distancing very seriously. The streets aren’t completely empty, but there aren’t many people walking around. It’s easy to avoid other pedestrians when you’re walking around, and just about everyone makes a conscious effort to do so. 

The stores that are still open, drugstores and supermarkets, are relatively empty, as well. It’s not difficult to avoid fellow shoppers. 

The shortages aren’t as bad as they used to be. I went to the drugstore yesterday (a short walk away). They had toilet paper, paper towels, and bottled water on the shelves. Last week, you couldn’t find any of those items. You still will have a hard time finding hand sanitizer or liquid hand soap, but I expect that the supply chain will catch up with those items before too long.

I am very fortunate to be able to work from home. I don’t go out unless I absolutely have to. I have been going outside about once every two days to run an errand, but that’s it. I have considered going on late night jogs, but I’m not fully convinced that it’s worth the risk.

Despite the high numbers of infections reported in the city, I believe that the social distancing is working. We haven’t seen positive results yet, because it take the disease weeks to develop, but I saw report yesterday that indicated that a slowdown in new infections is on the horizon. Again, I can’t stress enough how diligently New Yorkers have committed to self-isolation. It’s an impressive collective effort.

Before I go, I would like to pay tribute to the brave and dedicated people who keep the city running through good times and bad. Obviously, we rely heavily on the services of our police officers, firefighters, and emergency medical technicians. Without them, the city would collapse into anarchy. I would like to thank also the garbage haulers for their tireless work at all hours in all types of weather.

Thank you to the people who keep our grocery stores and pharmacies running. These are mostly customer facing jobs, which at this time presents considerable risks. Thanks to the truckers and warehouse workers who keep those supply chains moving as smoothly as possible.

Thanks to the people who keep the power and water running, and who keep our internet and telephone connections active so we can work and communicate through isolation.

Finally, a huge thank you to the brave and overworked doctors, nurses, technicians, and hospital staff who are fighting this war on the front lines. I read yesterday that twenty-three of the deaths in Italy were doctors who caught the coronavirus while caring for patients. This is a deadly serious emergency. Our healthcare community is fighting the virus bravely with limited resources, and they are putting their lives at risk in the process. They deserve all of our support and gratitude, and all that they really want us to do is to stay home.

Dream - 20200321

I have been experiencing strange dreams during this stressful time.

Last night, I dreamt that an orchestra was performing music by Stravinsky a large, multi-level shopping mall. The music was rhythmic, like ‘Dance Of The Adolescents’ from ‘The Rite Of Spring’, but more tonal.

At one point, the conductor, a slender man in his fifties with glasses and a mop of gray hair, stepped away from the orchestra and started walking up one of the long staircases to the next level of the mall. As the music became more urgent, the conductor walked faster and faster. Eventually, he was running up toward the top level.

Once he reached the top, instead of walking or running down the stairs, the energetic conductor got a running start and slid down the railings of the staircases. The crowd that had gathered cheered loudly at this feat of daring.

Later in the dream, I tried to rent a car to take my parents to the airport. The rental agency was in a gas station where long lines of cars were queued up to buy gas, which seemed to be in short supply. The car that they tried to give me was too small. When I complained, the guy working there said that he was too busy pumping gas to deal with it.

While I waited for the gas station guy, I remembered that I needed to return a text message from an ex-girlfriend. Unfortunately, my phone wasn’t working properly; I couldn’t figure out how to access the text messages. I decided that I would need to buy a new phone.

Plain To See

Suddenly 

It’s plain to see 

Why we need 

A functioning 

Society 

And a healthy, vibrant planet 

New York Minute 176 - The New Normal

I took a short walk to the post office today. The air was cool and clear, the sun, warm and brilliant.

New York City is now raging with ten thousand confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus. Most of the businesses are closed. Restaurants are open for takeout or delivery only. 

The streets are sparsely populated, but not empty. People walk their dogs, go for jogs and bike rides, go back and forth from the store, and step out of their apartments to enjoy a smoke. I try to avoid to smokers; breathing the smoke that’s been in their lungs seems risky.

But New Yorkers are still New Yorkers. At one point during my walk, I saw a taxi cab inexplicably try to back out of a one way street onto the avenue. In the process, he nearly hit a young man who was out walking his dog. 

The young guy started yelling at the cab driver. “Hey, hey, hey! You can’t do that!”

Their conversation continued, but I didn’t follow it as I walked out of earshot. New Yorkers are irrepressible.

Copyright © 2020 Daniel R. South 

All Rights Reserved

The Truth

I always told you the truth 

Even when you didn’t want to hear it 

Because I respect you 

And because I respect myself 

What Can I Do?

What could I do or say to make you smile today?

Stupid Opinions

I was more tolerant of stupid opinions before the viral apocalypse.

Word Poetry

Word Poetry

I did a challenge on Instagram asking people to provide me with three words, and using those words, I would compose a short poem.

Hope Humour Human

Count on love and hope and humour 

When survival seems precarious 

Human life confirms the rumour 

That absurdity’s hilarious 

Light Pizza Happy

When I see amazing light 

Falling on the subject 

When I feel the moment’s right 

I take my shot 

And I am happy

Happier than if I’d won 

Free pizza for a year 

There’s no way to share 

The joy of pepperoni 

On Instagram 

Cats Cake Camera

Look, here comes the Wedding Cake!

Get your cameras ready 

The cats in the band 

Slow jam from their stand 

While Jane smears cake on Eddie 

Blob Lubricate Illuminati 

Is this blob of dust on my sensor 

A cruel plot by the Illuminati 

It looks like enough grease to lubricate 

A classic Maserati 

The Dark Time

Receive this dark time 

As an unexpected gift 

An opportunity 

To catch up on important things 

Think of isolation 

Not as a prison 

But a sacred sanctuary 

For healing and reflection 

Refresh yourself 

Rekindle you’re dreams 

Breathe, love, and grow stronger 

Luck Of The Irish

On this day 

In an enlightening way 

A beautiful person 

Came into my life 

Now and forever 

I’ll always believe 

In love 

And the luck of the Irish

Reality 2020

The entire world is shutting down because one person wanted to eat a bat. Reality 2020.

Historical Perspective

Our grandparents lived through World War I, The Spanish Flu, Polio, Prohibition, The Dust Bowl, The Great Depression, World War II, The Arms Race, The Space Race, and The Cold War.

I think we can handle a virus.

Helping Each Other

The coronavirus pandemic is dangerous and terrifying, and measures that are being taken to control the spread of the virus are massively disruptive. 

If you are feeling anxious or overwhelmed in these difficult times, what you are feeling is reasonable and natural, and you are not alone.

If it feels as though the stress is becoming too much for you to handle, talk to someone. We are all feeling the strain of this new reality. There is no reason to suffer in silence; we can help each other to get through bad days.

If you suspect that someone you know is having a hard time, reach out to them. Express your concern gently and be willing to listen. There is nothing more reassuring in a time of crisis than knowing that someone cares about your well-being.

It will be important to find ways to keep ourselves occupied, connected, and positively engaged in the coming weeks and months. We won’t be able to do everything that we are used to doing or that we want to do. There will be times when we will feel isolated and frustrated, but life does not have to grind to a halt. Find fun and productive ways to spend your time, and keep in regular contact with friends and relatives. We are all in this together. We can get through it if we help each other.

What We Are Facing

The US has 3,000 reported cases of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 as of this writing. The number has been doubling every two days. If the virus continues to spread at this rate, in two weeks, the number of reported cases in the US will reach 400,000. That’s five times the reported number of cases in China.

China slowed the spread of the virus with massive action. They built an entire functioning hospital in seven days. They checked temperatures door to door. When they found a person with an elevated temperature, they took them to staging areas in stadiums and conference centers where they went through multiple tests. The US does not have similar infrastructure in place, nor is there any possibility of developing it quickly.

Social distancing is the primary tool that the US available at this point. It is critically important to keep people separated for the next few months in order to limit the number of infections that occur at any given time. While this approach should have a positive effect on public health, the economic impacts will be devastating.

Airlines, cruise lines, and hotel chains will receive government bailouts. These industries are in for some rough times, but the stronger players will survive. 

Small businesses with limited cash flow will face much more sever challenges. The bill that the House of Representatives passed on Friday is designed to help small businesses, but it’s unclear how promptly this can be implemented.

The real crisis is going to hit workers in the service economy. When stores and restaurants close, when hotels no longer need people to cook and clean because no one is traveling, when the demand for ride sharing and food delivery dries up, millions of workers are going to find themselves without income. These folks do not have financial reserves; they were barely getting by when they had two or three jobs to go to. If they are still expected to come up with monthly payments for rent, insurance, auto loans, and credit care payments, they are going to be desperate to say the least. 

How will the social order be maintained when millions of citizens suddenly become desperate for money? Will they band into gangs of thieves who hijack shoppers in grocery store parking lots? The House bill attempts to provide relief for hourly workers, but the administration of this relief is going to be a massive challenge, and it can’t last indefinitely.

It’s likely that society will not return to normal for at least a year, when vaccines and treatments finally become available. Expect massive amounts of chaos and suffering in the interim.

Coronavirus

March Madness cancelled

NBA, NHL, MLS seasons suspended

Major League Baseball delayed

Broadway to go dark for one month

Operas and concerts cancelled

Gatherings of move than 500 people banned in NY State

Disneyland closed

Difficult Times

In difficult times, joy is priceless, and love is what matters most.

10 Tips For Writers And Creatives

10 Tips For Writers And Creatives

1. Say exactly what you mean. Directness beats politeness.

2. Say it as clearly as possible. Clarity outranks fluff.

3. Write about things that appeal to you. Let someone else write about the boring stuff.

4. Let your ideas dictate the form (long, short, prose, poetry). Rivers don’t flow in straight lines; they follow the terrain.

5. Dialog should sound like real people speaking not grammar snobs showing off.

6. Write only what’s necessary, then trim it down a bit.

7. Read your work out loud and polish the rough parts. There are always rough parts.

8. Find time every day to work on your writing. If you have five minutes, you can accomplish something.

9. If you’re not having fun, you’ve chosen the wrong subject. Choose a better one and start over.

10. Never hesitate. Jot down some words, and things will start to happen.

These ideas can be adapted to any creative pursuit, and to business and academic writing as well. Whether you are a composer or a choreographer, a playwright or photographer, a painter or a pastry chef, the principles of creativity are universal. Focus on what you really want to express and find some time to work on it.

Copyright © 2020 Daniel R. South 

All Rights Reserved

That Part Of The Bible

Do you remember the part of the Bible where the people were living under a horrible leader and God sent a plague?

That Hideous Election

The debates were horrible. The questions were little more than bait for a dog fight for cheap ratings. The sparring between candidates was appalling. The whole process was a national embarrassment, and we already have one of those living in the White House?

Graveyard Shift

Historians call Russia the graveyard of empires. South Carolina is the graveyard of political campaigns.

The Weight Of Anger

Anger is heavy 

A stagnant receipt 

Carved in cold stone 

From some past transaction 

Where expectations

Weren’t met  

Or communication 

Broke down

That menacing weight 

Pulls us down 

As we drag it around 

Hoping that one day 

We’ll trade it in 

At some unscheduled deal 

Where we’ll unload this chip 

And our needs will be met 

Or someone 

Will have to pay  

And so we trudge on 

Carrying it stubbornly 

Lugging it laboriously 

Struggling to move forward 

As the weight grinds us down 

Until we realize 

Finally 

That the best deal of all 

Is to let go 

Just let it go 

Just put the damned thing down 

And move on 

Let go of the past 

Whatever the matter 

Let go of the infuriating 

Inner chatter 

Let go 

Set it down 

And don’t pick it up again 

Forgive and forget 

And the weight of the rage 

Will be gone

Copyright © 2020 Daniel R. South 

All Rights Reserved

It’s Your Life

Forget about what other people are doing. It has no bearing on you. 

This is YOUR life. Live by your own plan. Pursue your own ideas. Tell your own story. Express your unique vision.