Coronavirus19 Diary - Observations While Biding My Time

It was 2 weeks prior to the start date that the job offer was made. There were things I needed to accomplish. There were specialized certificates I had to acquire and black pants to find for my new work uniform. There was a bit of this and a bit of that, all to ensure that my return to the workforce would go as smoothly as possible. Despite these preparations, until the start date, I still have some of the excess of time I have had for the last 6 months. I still have the time to observe, in detail, the events going on in the U.S.,  often at break neck speed. 

A legendary woman, her contribution to our nation virtually incalculable, sadly passes away. Within hours of the announcement of her death the political carrion known as the Republican Party are vowing to replace her despite a highly contentious election being held just weeks away, early and absentee voting already underway. The final Supreme Court nominee of the previous administration was put on hold for 8 months by the Republicans. 

A woman is shot 6 times in her bed yet none of the police officers involved are charged with her death. Only one is charged, with reckless endangerment for the shots that penetrated adjacent apartments, not for the shots that penetrated the body of the dead woman. Protesters, the great majority of them peaceful, once again pour into the streets of cities across the nation.

 All the while a dangerous, childish president, who we learn has attempted to turn tax avoidance into a fine art, states he will not guarantee a peaceful transition of power while attempting to throw into question the legitimacy of the upcoming election. Lest we forget, a pandemic is still raging across the country and 850,00 new people file for unemployment each week.

During these abnormal times people are longing for normal. Some states open up exacerbating the risk of new infections and deaths as a result of complications of the virus. Citizens, never adequately protected financially by the government for the necessary shut down, teeter on the edge of poverty and homelessness. 

Mask wearing, a proven deterrent to transmission of the virus becomes a political hot potato. People rail about their rights yet have no issue with trampling on others right to dominion over their own bodies. They wish to legally censure people for who they love. They moan about the lack of morals in the country today, yet do not show the simple human concern to wear a mask to protect others. 

I do not know how it will end. I try to remain optimistic. I remind myself that, according to polls, a majority of my fellow citizens still cling to the values of decency, truthfulness and the acceptance and worth of others. I hope for the best and bide my time as I await a return to work.

Coronavirus19 Diary - Chicago Is Not Dead

 It seems like every day there is another story about a restaurant or bar closing and people proclaiming the death of Chicago. Much of this is blamed on people working from home during the pandemic. Many feel that this is a permanent condition and downtowns will become wastelands of deserted high rises , once busy streets lined with towering, empty boxes of glass and steel. 

Although companies are seeing cost savings on the horizon resulting from work from home models there are problems associated with it. There is a lack of the positive effects of socialization including the spontaneous collaborations that happen when people work together in the same space. While some functions, such as record keeping and routine interoffice communication, can be preformed adequately at home, the ability to react quickly to an unexpected opportunity or obstacle is hampered when people have to be brought together in Zoom meetings or conference calls rather than being brought together in spur of the moment desk side discussions. 

There are human issues as well. Employees that live alone feel isolated. New hires lack mentorship and recognition for the quality of their work. People in small or shared apartments have difficulty creating a space to work efficiently from home. Some I have talked to bemoan the lack of a work/life separation and balance.

It is possible, perhaps even probable, that office occupation will never return to pre-pandemic levels. Chicago's downtown landscape is somewhat unique as it has been redeveloped over the last few decades to include a mix of both residential and commercial spaces. Over the course of it's history Chicago has been forced to reinvent itself several times. It has been burned to the ground, it's once infamous stockyards and meat packing district a thing of the past. Many of the warehouses from that time have been recreated into a art galleries. The riverfront, once pockmarked with parking lots, as seen in the opening credits of the Bob Newhart Show, is now a wall of spectacular late 20th and early 21st century architecture. 

There are signs of a more normal life returning. Although performances cannot be held safely yet, our museums, though not back in full force, are reviving. On recent visits to the Art Institute we, even as members, had to wait in virtual lines to experience socially distanced exhibitions of the work of El Greco and Monet. 

Some restaurants and small businesses have had to permanently close, however, once the pandemic is under control, once it is behind us, others will open in their place. It will take time but 6 months, even a year or longer, is not long enough to kill the drive of the entrepreneur, or merely someone, as I once did, who decides to pursue a desire. Who, aware of the risks, forges ahead, deciding the risks are worth taking a chance to follow a dream.

Coranavirus19 Diary - Fall's Future

 It is beginning to feel like fall. The sun comes in from a different angle, slanting across the landscape instead of warming it from directly above, as it does during summer's apex.

I watch a country in crisis. Led by a man that behaves like the mad Roman emperors of legend, who pits citizen against citizen, perhaps believing that by dividing us he will conquer. It is difficult to look forward to the future during these times, it takes all one's energy just to wade through the present.

We are more fortunate than some. Over time we were able to put away money for a rainy day and things  seem to be opening up in my industry, hard hit by the pandemic and lock down, partial lock down, another great failing by our current leader. I feel for those with children, scraping to get by, once proud working people forced into long lines at food banks.

I have faith that this will someday be history. Another chapter of "I remember when". I have faith that somehow, through either chaos or compassion and compromise, our country will reinvent itself. I do not have faith in what I desire to lie on the other side, a kinder, gentler, more unified society, will come to pass. I will go through time toward the future one moment at a time, waiting, witnessing and trying as I do to make sense of it all.

Coronavirus19 Diary - Unity

I think back on election night 2016, watching with horror and dismay as the results came in and it became apparent that, because of the antiquated Electoral College, a person totally unfit for the position  was to become the President of the United States. I, like a number of others, consoled myself with the belief that the law of the land and our well realized system of checks and balances would keep him from doing too much harm. We have come to discover that he, and an entire political party, have no respect for either. 

This past week I watched with hope and cautious optimism as the Democrats held their virtual convention. The message of unity and inclusion helped heal a small part of the emotional wound within me. We, as a country, are tired, masked, unmasked, confused and confounded. Many are financially devastated. Our systems are broken, our economy shattered. We are divided by fear, distrust and hate. Our problems are many, the solutions coming from our present leader misguided and few. 

On the final night of the convention the man asking for our vote spoke of working together to move us to a brighter future. We are in a dark time, but, we have experienced dark times before and have always  emerged from them. We have fought civil and cultural wars and survived intact. 

Some rail about socialism and the imagined evils associated with it, refusing to acknowledge that police, fire departments, national infrastructure and public schools are paid for, yet not equally used, by all. Socialism is sharing. If you have more than you need you reach out and help someone who does not. The union creates strength, a bond. It is the moral, or if you like, Christian, thing to do. Will there be a financial benefit to those who give? Probably not. Will there be an emotional one? I would hope so.

By working together, by sharing the responsibility, by unifying, we can make it through these dark times. We can re earn the respect of the rest of the world. We can be an example of how a nation, smashed to pieces, can be reassembled into a thing of beauty. 

Coronavirus19 Diary - My Front Yard

 It's across the street from our apartment. A vacant lot really, it's sandwiched between two of the highrises that line Sheridan Road in Chicago's Edgewater district. A concrete walkway runs down the center. Lawn flanks the walkway on either side. There are a half dozen benches, surprisingly comfortable. 10 or 12 trees are spread out, each ringed with a circle of stones at their base. At one end limestone boulders tumble into the blue waters of Lake Michigan. 

It is serene, by city standards. Traffic is a gentle rush. It's mixed with the noise of construction, providing the bass tones of the city's symphony. There is the occasional honk of geese flying by in their V formation. Butterflies float by, small birds hop through the grass, people sit, appropriately distant from one another in these times or walk dogs, enjoying the short season of Chicago sun. 

Technically part of the lakefront, during the height of the lock down it was closed off. Open now it has become a place of refuge. A place to read, write or simply quietly contemplate. It has become my front yard, the difference being that when it snows I won't have to shovel it.

Coronavirus 19 Diary - Rights and Responsibilities

 I am laid off. I have lots of time on my hands. I am living through a deeply historic period in both my country's and the worlds history. So, I catch odd bits and pieces of things, moments I might miss if I was working. Stomach turning Trump press conferences, talking head round table discussions on the talking points of the day. And, more recently, appearances by the Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. His introduction of Kamala Harris as his running mate gave me hope, for the first time in a very long time. His remarks the next day on mask wearing were those of a leader and a patriot, one who truly cares about and for his country.

As he spoke he stated mask wearing is not about your rights, it is about your responsibility. A sense of responsibility, this seems to be one thing in short supply during these times. The current occupant of the White House refuses to take any responsibility for the handling of the virus or the shattering of the economy. The economy, what Trump once touted as his greatest achievement, revealed to be for many a fragile thing, a house of cards. Much of the population jobless, once proud middle class people lining up for hours at food banks, while the extremely wealthy make billions, that's correct billions, as their fellow citizens suffer.They see no responsibility to share these earnings with those less fortunate, or even those that they employ.

The looters take no responsibility for their vandalism and theft. Their families take no responsibility by not questioning where the new, expensive shoes they are wearing came from. Some spokesmen, not all, of the BLM movement suggest that these stolen items are reparations, payback for years of racism, instead of denouncing the looting as an irresponsible act.

Tens of thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts converge on the small town of Sturgis, not wearing masks, irresponsibly putting not only those that call the town home at risk but also those in their own home towns when they return. Politicians irresponsibly send children back to school sans masks or social distancing, putting them, and those that teach them at risk. Denial of a potentially deadly kind.

When the pandemic began there was a catch phrase, "We're all in this together", although we never truly were. My state locked down for 3 and a half months. Our consistent, relatively low positivity rate, despite the irresponsible behavior of some, and phased reopening was the right thing to do. It was difficult, it cost us business and jobs, making glaringly apparent our decades of irresponsible behavior regarding the way we care for our citizens during times of crisis. Other states either did not lock down at all or for a much briefer period, throwing the doors open too early, allowing the virus to spread across them. 

A vaccine is, at best, 4 months away. Patience is what is needed. There will still be sacrifices but if we truly are all in this together what we give up now will aid the future. 

Show compassion, show concern, wear a mask, It's our responsibility.

Coronavirus19 Diary - An Almost Normal Day

The Art Institute, it is one of Chicago's great treasures, indeed, a national one. It to, is plagued by the virus which continues to ravage our country, as well as the world. Shuttered for several months it has just reopened. Albeit with some areas closed, greatly reduced opening hours and 50% of it's former staff. The other 50%, like so many others, laid off, jobless in an unwelcoming employment market. 

Presently unemployed myself I decided to take a break from pursuing job boards and with a friend that is retired, pay it a visit. We have a membership, surprisingly affordable, and generally go 4 to 5 times a year. 

There is an exhibition of the works of El Greco, 4 years in the making. The exhibit, already scheduled to close, was extended. The museum went into it's dormant state just 7 days after it had opened. They were able to extend the loans of the works, gathered from collections around the world. After all, I thought, where would they return them to? Another shuttered museum? While not a huge favorite of mine I knew that it would be my only opportunity to see some of the pieces in the exhibition. 

We arrived at the museum during the first hour which was reserved for members only.With safety protocols and capacity limits in place we gave my name and phone number at the entrance of the special exhibition galleries and wandered other portions of the massive cultural treasure trove, my friend remarked that it was impossible to be bored there, while waiting for a text informing us that we would be the next to enter. 

I have another friend, we have known him for over 20 years, who works in installations at the museum. I reconnected with him a few years back at the neighborhood gym. I once asked him what it was like to hang a Monet, "You get used to it", he replied. He is extremely well educated when it comes to art, surrounded by it during every work day. He mentioned that they had rehung the El Greco show to allow for social distancing. 

A couple of days earlier he had sent, through Messenger, a photo of a newly exhibited Keith Haring work. He mentioned that a Basquait was displayed in the same space. We headed to gallery 293. The large, fantastic, almost garish in a good way, Basquait takes up one wall. The Haring is on the opposite wall  Two large Haring designed terra cotta urns sit to one side of it. The urns, the friend told me, had been in storage "forever". 

We pondered what else remains in storage that we don't see. Over the years I have discovered works pulled from the deepest recesses of the vaults during special exhibitions. There are always surprises in the prints an drawings galleries. Works on paper cannot be displayed for more than 90 days due to their fragility. We discussed what these two artists might have created had they lived. Both died quite young, Haring from AIDS, Basquait from a heroin overdose at the age of 27. 

Our number came up and we returned to the entrance of the special exhibition galleries and entered the dark world of El Greco. Biblical scenes abound. In an example of savvy middle ages marketing, the painter would sometimes paint copy after copy of a work to create name recognition and a more affordable, "mass produced" product. Several examples of these are displayed side by side. 

We discussed the wealth of the Catholic church. Many of his works were commissioned for cathedrals, chapels and other religious spaces. He once had a Cardinal as a patron, living in the Cardinal's palace. A Cardinal having a palace itself a comment on religious priorities. 

Before we left we spent a few minutes in the Asian galleries, amazed at the age of the pieces, some over 3000 years old. My museum "eye in the sky" has told me that the museum wants to expand these galleries as there are thousands more pieces in storage. Plans were being worked on for an expansion pre pandemic.

As we returned home, masked and socially distanced on the capacity limited bus, my friend said it had almost, almost, felt like a normal day.