Going the Distance

Local writers offer strength, hope, and solidarity in a time of social distancing

Appearing in the print edition of the Benicia Herald, April 5, 2020

Orchestra

White ivory fingers tap dry rhythms
trumpets blare sour notes
out of tune cellos squeal
violins and violas whine
flute-stops fill with spit,
no sound escapes, hands stuffed
in French horns, blare discord
triangles without hammers,
bells lacking clappers,
pianos with covers shut
gather dust, keys silent,
harps with broken strings,
stretched beyond endurance
we long for harmony,
a return to a daily symphony,
we wait for a conductor
who knows the score.

Louise Moises

The Last Banana

Today I bought the last banana at Raley’s, somebody left it, not on the wire hanging rack, but above it, undersize as it was, on the small display shelf, a token offering of benevolence perhaps in the “Shelter in place” chaos that currently infects our planet. I don’t understand the communist state whose occupants must eat bats, living upside down in infected caves or doorways, is this the measure of superlative governance? Are these Chinese-FDA regulated and inspected bats? Range-free? Gluten-free? No MSG? Or are they the scrub of edibles, Coronavirus-infected, overlooked for millennia by the non-existence of an imposter Donald Trump-equivalent, closing down the Chinese EPA (if it ever existed) or are they Tariff-complicated, proving something to somebody in the aftermath of who delayed public disclosure the most, or the longest for whose political expedience? Who will win the Tariff Wars  or lose the most innocent, hapless residents in deaths to this first pandemic of this generation? Bananas and bats and Banana Republics, the countries continue, shelter in place.

Peter Bray

The Question

I look askance, paste on a smile;
Heart produces a flutter.
My brain flits to a different place,
one I had never known before.
Questions cluster around the heart…next?
I ask.
Not today. Tomorrow?
The uncertainty creeps deeper and I only have passed one walker.

Jan Radesky

Going the Distance

Local writers offer strength, hope, and solidarity in a time of social distancing

Appearing in the print edition of the Benicia Herald, April 3, 2020

Tuesdays with Helen

Helen is my closest friend of fifty years. We raised our kids in tandem sharing many heartbreaks and happy moments. The Covid-19 virus is invading our lifelong friendship. Helen lives in Walnut Creek. She can’t really see very well anymore and she can’t drive. She was my Tuesday date. I would go to Walnut Creek, take her to doctor’s appointments and shopping; we’d get pedicures, and go to the movies. Before coronavirus.

Now everything is closed except the grocery stores. Because of physical limitations we can’t walk far; sitting outside is not a great option either. The cold makes us stiff; we both have arthritis. Symptoms that often plague me at non-virus times, happening now, raise the question of whether my aching joints, sinus headaches, red itchy eyes, or lack of energy are a threat to friends. These are the kind of symptoms seniors tend to get with Covid-19. And Helen’s adult son lives with her. He goes out and who knows where he goes? And what he might bring home? So many questions.

In these difficult times I am left with two choices. Grocery shopping with her, or not.

Here’s the rub. She’s a very tactile person, a hugger. And she likes to pick everything up, touch it, squeeze it, read the labels, expiration dates, etc. She carries a magnifying glass with her. It takes forever. She’s lonely and friendly and likes to talk to people. People respecting the six-foot physical distance aren’t as receptive these days. They want to get in and get out. I have offered to order food for her online and have it sent. She has no technology in her home besides the jitterbug phone I got her so she could call from wherever for help if needed. She is not receptive to more technology.

I am torn up. If it was a family member, like my mother or sister, I would just put my foot down and insist that she accept food ordering and delivery. But this being her only opportunity to move among the living, I can’t discourage it. Her son still takes her to the store. It is still an ordeal.

Beth Grimm

The Way of Balance

In everything evil, the potential for good;
in everything good, the potential for evil.
We live by the grace of the Great Mystery
and the goodness of one human being toward another.

Ojibwe teaching