What I Heard This Week! 04-09-2020
Some families have game night or watch special TV together. It just so happens that the kids and I love to shop for food, cook food and then eat the food. Needless to say, this virus thing has put a damper on some of our fun. We haven’t had a lot of groceries, including milk, for the past three days and as I forage through cabinets and frig, I find cooking is now incorporating a lot of cut-and-paste, you know, taking something intended for something else and using it for another dish. But believe me, my cabinets were full when this started, and we are far from starving. We just don’t always have the perfect ingredients. I tried to explain to my daughter a few minutes ago that I thought we could go one more day without grocery shopping. We have a package of ground chicken, leftover pinto beans that I cooked the day before and a cabbage from the garden…we will make tacos. Done. One more meal accomplished by using what we have available. Less exposure. She looked up at me and whined pathetically, “But I’ve got to have some orange juice. I think I’m getting the scurvy.” Oh, my. I explained that we had only been out of orange juice for less than 24 hours and it takes much longer than that for the scurvy, plus you’re not a pirate or you would be asking for rum, not orange juice.” I’m still laughing. The rest of our conversation by text went like this.
Me: I did more research on the scurvy and was wondering if you have spots or lesions on your legs and thighs?
Reply: Mother, I am absolutely bespeckled.
Me: Are you lethargic? Nose bleeds? Weak gums?
Reply: Unfortunately, I lost two teeth already today.
Me: Are you limping yet? (thinking I could offer her a peg leg and an eye patch)
Reply: There was no response for quite a while then came, “All my fingers have fallen off too, so it took a while to type with my nose.
Me: Yes, it sounds like you have all the symptoms. I think you’ll be needing rum tonight.
Additional note: Then I donned my gloves, mask and drove to Aldi, picking up food and orange juice. No child of mine shall go to bed thirsty…hope this brings a smile to your face. It certainly helped my day.
As you are aware, medical workers are in desperate need of personal protective equipment including masks and gowns to protect themselves. Disney has donated 150,000 rain ponchos that normally help Disney theme park guests enjoy their visit on a rainy day. Disney Parks wrote, “The idea was inspired by nurses across the country who inventively found that rain ponchos can be an excellent way to protect their clothing and prolong the use of PPE, while also freeing up gowns when needed.” Disney also donated more than 100,000 N95 masks to the states of NY, California and Florida. Go, Disney.
After isolation two women are talking. One says, “Where’s your husband?” Her friend answers, “In the garden.” The first woman says, “I didn’t see him.” Her friend replies, “Well, you may need to dig a little.” Hope your isolation is going well.
Dallas police were looking for an 18-year-old woman who claimed on social media that she tested positive for COVID-19 and was “willfully spreading it.” They found her and she will be charged with terroristic threat, Texas Penal Code 22.07. Bond is set at $20,000 and she will have to quarantine for 21 days after her release from custody. She says she does not have COIVD-19 and police have no proof to suggest that she tested positive. I say…well, you know what I say.
Since the city of LJ had to cancel their egg hunts, they have 15,000 candy-filled eggs. Thursday April 9th from 10am – 2pm, you will need to get in line in front of the Rec Center and they will be handing out bags of 50 eggs to the first 300 cars so you can have an Easter egg hunt in the privacy of your own yard. Do not get out of your car. Their staff will have gloves and masks and will hand you a bag. The eggs were divided by their staff while wearing gloves & masks…
RECENT BIRTHDAYS: Former US Secretary of State Colin Powell is 83. Sportscaster Bob Costas is 68. Country singer Tommy Cash is 80. Younger brother of Johnny Cash. I didn’t know he had a younger brother. Singer Agnetha Faltskog is 70. ABBA. Actor William Smith is 87. Anthony Falconetti in the 70’s TV mini-series Rich Man, Poor Man. Fashion and costume designer Bob Mackie is 81. Fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger is 69. Actress Kelly LeBrock is 60. The Woman in Red with Gene Wilder.
Actor Robert Downey Jr. is 55. Recording Executive Clive Davis is 88. He brought fame to Tony Orlando, Janis Joplin, Santana, Bruce Springsteen, Chicago, Billy Joel, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Loggins & Messina, Aerosmith, Pink Floyd, Whitney Houston, and Barry Manilow. Author Kitty Kelley is 78. Her claim to fame was ‘unauthorized’ biographies of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Sinatra, Nancy Reagan, the British Royal Family, the Bush family, & Oprah Winfrey.
Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber is 72. Best known for Phantom of the Opera, Jesus Christ Superstar and Cats. He is now sharing one of his musicals each week for free on YouTube. First up was Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat with Donny Osmond, but we missed it. On April 10th, he will add Jesus Christ Superstar, with plenty more coming. Broadway for free.
Bill Withers, 81, died of heart complications. Back in the 70’s, he was always one of my favorites, described as simple, yet profound in the poetry of his songwriting. Withers overcame a childhood stutter, joined the Navy at 17 and spent nine years installing toilets. After his discharge, he moved to LA and bought a guitar at a pawn shop. In 1971, he put out his first album, Just as I Am. It had the hits Grandma’s Hands and Ain’t No Sunshine, which was inspired by the Jack Lemmon film, Days of Wine and Roses. He was photographed on the cover, smiling and holding his lunch pail. Ain’t No Sunshine and Lean on Me are among Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. His “Live at Carnegie Hall” in ‘73 made Rolling Stone’s 50 Greatest Live Albums of All Time. Questlove told Rolling Stone, “Bill Withers is the closest thing black people have to a Bruce Springsteen.” So many people have drawn inspiration from his music during the coronavirus pandemic, with health care workers, choirs, artists and more posting their own renditions of Lean on Me to help get us through this difficult time.
Julie Bennett died at 88. She was best known for her voice work of Cindy Bear on The Yogi Bear Show. Ellis Marsalis, Jr. died at 85, of complications of COVID-19. He was a New Orleans jazz piano legend with a huge musical family including Branford and Wynton Marsalis. Dr. James Jude, the surgeon who helped pioneer key CPR techniques, died at 87. In the late 50’s, he and two electrical engineers did research which led to the development of chest compression in ’60, which was later combined with artificial respiration to become CPR. Honor Blackman, the actress known for playing Bond girl Pussy Galore in Goldfinger, died at 94. She also played judo expert sidekick Cathy Gale, in The Avengers TV-series. James Drury, star of The Virginian, died at 85. He also starred in Love Me Tender, Gunsmoke, The Rifleman, Rawhide, and Wagon Train. He said, “The old westerns were morality plays that showed the triumph of good over evil, and I think that’s important for young people to see onscreen these days because it will inspire them to live their lives that way.”
Isolation: I guess I finally got grounded for all the things I never got caught for in my teens.
Remember to get your hummingbird feeders ready to put outside. It’s time. A CEO wrote his second wife a check for $974,790,317.77 (that’s in millions) to settle divorce proceedings after a 25-year marriage. She first rejected the check, saying it wasn’t enough since he is worth about $8 billion. She has now cashed the check. Change of heart, I guess.
Remember Jim & Tammy Faye Bakker? You remember the two that stole millions from honest, desperate people in the name of their prosperity gospel, adding to their already enormous income. Tammy died in 2007, but there’s a movie in the works starring Jessica Chastain as Tammy and Andrew Garfield as Jim. Expected release was 2020, but I bet things have now changed. Jim was convicted and sent to prison, but he’s at it again. I know your first thoughts are snake oil. Well, you are close. The state of Missouri has filed a lawsuit against him for selling a fake treatment for COVID-19 for $80 a 4oz. bottle.
Everyone in this office has been removing their shoes at the front door. It saves us from tracking in cooties. A repairperson arrived last week with booties. Yeah! That was absolutely an A-plus in his favor because he had stood us up several times, saying that he couldn’t get us on the phone or he ran out of time, etc. But that day, he wore his booties outside to get something out of his truck and then came back into the office. Twice. Doesn’t that really defeat the purpose of wearing booties? Or was he just protecting himself from our cooties? Hmmm.
According to Unacast, Brazoria County is receiving a C-minus grade on social distancing. Government officials and health experts have said it takes reducing social activity by 90 percent to slow the spread of the virus, so hospitals are not overwhelmed. Go to: unacast.com/covid19/social-distancing-scoreboard.
Thank you to my friend and neighbor, Lisa Lampe, for the beautiful masks that she made for me and Anne-Elisabeth. They’re lovely, fit so nice with the wire you inserted, washable and almost like having nothing on…she is so clever. Sweet friend, Debby, sent me a ‘thinking of you’ card, today. That was sooo nice. Thank you. Which brings me to…the post office desperately needs our business right now. They are in crisis mode and believe without help, they may have to close their doors as early as June. NO! I’ve sent cards to all my high school friends and others I haven’t seen in 35 years. Perfect opportunity for you to do the same. It doesn’t have to be a Hallmark moment card – just a single piece of paper – you have time and it just might make the day for the person that receives it. Don’t forget the elderly. They’re already lonesome, sometimes forgotten and now this…I may even send out Christmas cards. Wouldn’t that be fun. I’ll just call them Corona cards. When life gives you lemons, make some lemonade…
Liquor stores are doing well right now. Online alcohol sales are up 243% and U.S. alcohol sales are up 55%. Everclear is in high demand. (Yikes. I remember stories of bathtub punch made with it.) I did find five reasons that liquor stores are beneficial to society right now. 1. Some people depend on alcohol for relaxing since it is considered a depressant. Withdrawals could happen and there’s no room at the hospitals. 2. Taxes on alcohol provide a TON of money for all government. 3. Many liquor stores sell food and therefore, essential. 4. Grocery stores don’t carry a selection of expensive liquor therefore even more tax money (see #2.) 5. So many people love alcohol for celebration, relaxation and when times get tough. Times are more than tough now, and no one wants to take on an uprising. “A toast to social distancing.”
As we go through these uncertain times, please follow the guidelines and recommendations from community leaders and the CDC. If you must go out in public, such as grocery stores, pharmacies, or work, they are asking that everyone follow the recommended 6 ft. apart, gloves and facemasks. The Source Weekly does not endorse garage sales or a public sale of any kind at this time, but we also understand that this may be helping put food on someone’s table. Remember: Be respectful. Be diligent. Be safe. Apply social distancing to your everyday routine. Let’s be part of the solution, not part of the problem.
It’s a different kind of Easter this year, without church visits and sunrise services, no big fancy dinner with the whole family, and no Easter frills. But let’s face it, Easter is about hope and we just happen to be in this crazy ugly world ‘together’ right now, every single one of us, with so much hope. May we safely gather together with our friends and family in the near future – and appreciate it more than we ever have in the past. Happy Easter.
Lisa
