Matches for: “Dispatch from the Hideout” …

Oct 10 2023
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Dispatch from the Hideout: It’s Not Over, Till It’s Over!

“It ain’t over, till it’s over!” — Yogi Berra

This past weekend, the weather in the upper Midwest changed dramatically from unseasonably hot temperatures — 20+ degrees above normal — then dropped below normal for early fall. We went from wearing short sleeves and short pants to sweaters and sweats. We turned-off air conditioners, or closed open windows, we turned on the heat or used our fireplaces. Instead of outdoor social activities like dining al fresco, we began moving indoors.

Like the past three-and-a-half years during the pandemic which now can be classified as an endemic, most of us now get vaccinated in the fall. This year in addition to the annual flu shot and pneumococcal vaccine, there’s a new RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus) immunization, plus the updated COVID vaccine protecting us from the newest variant. Health experts suggest that moving forward we will receive an annual COVID vaccine like the flu shot.  Continue reading →

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Apr 26 2023
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Dispatch from the Hideout: Casualties

“Life seems sometimes like nothing more than a series of losses, from beginning to end. That’s the given. How you respond to those losses, what you make of what’s left, that’s the part you have to make up as you go.” ― Katharine Weber

“Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.” ― Laozi

This past Saturday night we planned an event, Last Night at the Hotel Bar, a reunion of sorts, a wake, and sendoff, not for a person but for a place, The Brink Lounge in Madison, Wisconsin. It was a gathering for Madison Indie Filmmakers, friends, and supporters. We referred to ourselves as the Barflies. The Brink Lounge was closing permanently on April 30. Continue reading →

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Mar 04 2023
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Dispatch from the Hideout: Endemic Edition

“When the physical threat of coronavirus subsides, as it surely will, we must address the impact to our mental health” — Luciana Berger

Endemic Definition: “…a disease or a condition, regularly found and very common among a particular group or in a particular area” — Cambridge Dictionary

Three years into the COVID-19 pandemic and we are the next stage of its evolution as the virus becomes endemic. It’s now living with us, and for some of you, living in you as Long COVID. To the best of my knowledge, I’m a Never COVID, COVID Virgin, or COVID Target. Yes, I’m still vulnerable, however, I’m grateful. It required three years of isolation including, social distancing, healthy practices, sacrificing time with friends and family, avoiding indoor restaurants, stores, and events, many of which gave my life meaning and pleasure. For some of the past three years, I worked remotely, and when in the office, masked. Continue reading →

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Oct 16 2022
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Dispatch from the Hideout: Hip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah!

“Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay
My, oh, my, what a wonderful day
Plenty of sunshine headin’ my way
Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay!”

[Song composed by Allie Wrubel with lyrics by Ray Gilbert for the Disney 1946 live action and animated movie Song of the South, sung by James Baskett.]

First, I took some liberty with the happy song from my childhood for the title of this installment of the Dispatch from the Hideout series, to express optimism about the relief and restoration I hope to experience from my upcoming hip-replacement surgery.

A note about the movie that featured the song: It was considered by the NAACP as racist and released this statement, “…in an effort neither to offend audiences in the North or South, the production helps to perpetuate a dangerously glorified picture of slavery … [the film] unfortunately gives the impression of an idyllic master-slave relationship, which is a distortion of the facts.”  To read more about the film and the controversy it caused, Song of the South: 12 Things to Know About Disney’s Most Controversial Movie.

Continue reading →

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Feb 14 2022
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Dispatch from the Hideout: Love in a Pandemic 2.0

Heard today: “I finally fell in love with my person.”

My realization: “My person, is me!” 

Though the title of this Valentine’s Day holiday musing is Dispatch from the Hideout: Love in a Pandemic 2.0 it is actually the eve of the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Let that sink in for a moment.

Like most things in life, we can look at life from both sides now (cue the amazing Joni Mitchell). There’s pre-pandemic romantic love and our relationships with friends and family — compared to the past two years of love in a pandemic. It was a challenge and we each made an assessment — weighing the risks versus benefits — every time we made a decision of when, where, and how we’d get together in-person with friends, family, and loved ones with whom we didn’t live. When you live alone, the question became more powerful. How much isolation can my physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being tolerate?    Continue reading →

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Dec 26 2021
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Dispatch from the Hideout: Omicron Edition

“The year 2021 has been like a roller coaster. It was supposed to be the year the pandemic fizzled out. Instead, it was a year of intense whiplash.” — Julie Ries

“It’s not over, till it’s over!” — Yogi Bera

This dispatch is part holiday season review, 2021 year-end wrap up, plus a look ahead, and once again, an acceptance of opposing conditions, that things both change and remain the same. It has been a year characterized by both hope and despair, gratitude and grief, and resistance and surrender.

The past year — or 22 months — depending on how you want to count — we’ve been riding the coronacoaster of the COVID pandemic. There have been highs and lows on this ride, whiplash, and screams. We want to get off this ride, yet we can’t until it’s over. Continue reading →

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Aug 28 2021
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Dispatch from the Hideout: Pod Squad 2.0

“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” — James Baldwin

Last weekend, on Friday, I spent time with friends, celebrating a birthday on a pontoon boat on Lake Mendota in Madison, WI on a hot, beautiful, late summer day. The next morning, I had brunch outdoors with three Pod Squad members (some of my quarantine bubble of friends and family), and continued the birthday celebration of one of our members. On Sunday, I setup and staffed the OutReach Magic Pride Festival outdoors at Olin Turville Park. We watched the entertainment program and speakers on a Jumbotron screen while people picnicked.

When the weekend was over, I realized I spent more time with people than I have in over 18 months, many who I didn’t know if they were vaccinated or not, including Pod Squad members, friends, and members of my LGBTQ+ community, unmasked outdoors. There was no guarantee during the latter event that everyone was vaccinated. Continue reading →

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Jul 31 2021
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Dispatch from the Hideout: Two Steps Back

“It is necessary sometimes to take one step backward to take two steps forward.” — Vladimir Lenin

“Captain, May I take two steps forward?” — Childhood backyard game

Yesterday, I traveled to Racine, Wisconsin to visit my 91-year-old father who gratefully remains independent, vaccinated, and healthy as he continues to live alone. Since I live 100 miles away, I can’t just drop-in for a quick visit and check-in on him. Prior to the pandemic, we scheduled a weekly phone date every Sunday, and I’d visit him in-person at least once a month The COVID-19 pandemic changed all that. Continue reading →

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May 31 2021
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Dispatch from the Hideout: My Post-Pandemic Life

“As a writer, I like words, their origin and meanings. Memory: Something remembered from the past; a recollection. Memorial: Something designed to preserve the memory of a person, event, as a monument or a holiday.” — from Mixed Metaphors, Oh My! With a Little Help from My Friends

First, the Memorial Day Holiday is a time to acknowledge and honor the men and women who have served our country in war and peace, and more importantly to work for peace in the world. It’s also a time I remember loved ones, friends, and colleagues who have died.

This year it’s also a return to some version of our pre-pandemic lives — a new normal — a post- pandemic life for those of us who’ve been fully vaccinated. Continue reading →

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May 02 2021
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Dispatch from the Hideout: Exit Strategy

“In the rush to return to normal, use this time to consider which parts of normal are worth rushing back to.” — Dave Hollis

As I write, it’s the day after May Day, this year the first Saturday in May, the traditional running of The Kentucky Derby. Attendance was, according to the Courier-Journal, “51,838 — a far cry from the usual 150,000-plus fans the race draws in a normal year, but one of the largest crowds at any event since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.” Many people who attended did not wear their required face masks, except around their neck, though they dressed up for the occasion donning their derby hats and costumes while sipping mint juleps and placing their bets. Continue reading →

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