Waiting on the World to Change March 2020

This year will go down in infamy. The year 2020 where we all gained 20 pounds from being in quarantine. Last Friday was the last event we attended. It was the Agitators at the Phoenix Theater on the Brian Fonseca stage. Great show about the friendship between - well - here is the description: The Agitators tells of the enduring but tempestuous friendship of Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass. Great allies? Yes. And at times, great adversaries. Young abolitionists when they met in Rochester in the 1840s, they were full of hopes, dreams and a common purpose. As they grew to become the cultural icons we know today, their movements collided and their friendship was severely tested. This is the story of that 45-year friendship - from its beginning in Rochester, through a Civil War and to the highest halls of government. They agitated the nation, they agitated each other and, in doing so, they helped shape the Constitution and the course of American history. Really amazing acting and versatile set. We were ushering. Jenni collected tickets and greeted as they arrived. I handed out Playbills to attendees. We were running short since we weren't going to print anymore. They were already limiting seating in the Basile theatre for Zhirkus Grimm. You were supposed to allow at least a seat between the next guest. Things were changing rapidly. The news from federal and local authorities just amplified the fear of uncertainty that we were all feeling. My best friend and I spoke when the coronavirus hit Washington state weeks before Indiana figured it out. We were on a live SnapChat stream together shopping Amazon for masks. She knew that N95 were the best. I found a pack of 10. She said to buy them. I didn't. I came back and they were gone. All masks were gone. This was most likely the second week in March. March 7, I met Jenni at the other Loco on Delaware before we went to her VDAY show. People were acting different but not much concern. We gathered and then went home. The next day was Jan/Lori's Open House. Then we had dinner at the Brew Pub. I kept joking to Gari that she was Patient Zero. She kept saying, "Fuck You, Eve." All good fun. That was probably the last time we hung out as a large group. I took Zion to go see Jan this past weekend. We were going out specifically for Pi Day, 3-14. We went to Greek's Pizzeria and Pots and Pans Pies. We had Apple Crumble and Orange Mango Meringe Pie. Both really well done. I will have to try their traditional crust soon. Before we ran errands, we stopped to see Jan and Lori's new house. Zion hadn't seen it yet. So they stopped Bombshell so that Jan could give Zion a proper tour. We chatted and we went on with our day. Granted it had snowed a bit and we probably shouldn't have been out, we want Pi day treats. So it was done properly. I fully believe that children remember memories when they are connected to dates and food. Ha! Anytime you can make something special for a child or teenager, I hope you do it. They may have more bad days than good that you don't know about. Consider giving them more good days. It's all about balance. So that was March 14. Cities were shutting down services. Theatre's canceled. School canceled Thursday evening March 12. They wouldn't return until April 6 after Spring Break. Today they announced that the whole state would shutter schools until May 1. Today is March 19. I know I'm jumping around, but St. Patrick's Day was barely a BLIP. I made some green beer and toasted folks on video. Social Distancing was just beginning. Stay away from folks - at least 6 feet. Don't go out if you don't need to. Restaurants and bars started closing in the city around this time. But still some people aren't taking it seriously. They don't understand that we are estimated to be just 11.5 days behind Italy. As of today, Italy just passed China in the body count. Their military is carrying bodies to other regions for cremation. Families can't say goodbye. They didn't know it would be this bad. As of right now, 737pm ET, the number of US cases is at 13,159 and 176 deaths. 68 in Washington. 108 recovered. I keep watching the numbers. Why do I watch them and also know that they are only going to increase with the amounts of tests there are. There are billions of us in American. How high will the number get before we "flatten the curve"? Fauci, who we all have trusted from the beginning!, is saying we won't know the affects of social distancing for two weeks. Thanks, Fauci, I was trying to take my wife out of town for the Spring Break week. I need some time off so badly. We were just going to a really nice tiny cabin in the words of the TN mountains. It sounded perfect. But every single plan I would have come up with for this time period (including the ISA conference in AZ and missing seeing gramma in CO!) would have been canceled, postponed, or delayed. We talked about Broadway in NYC with just Jenni and Zion. We talked about the Pizza Expo MONTHS ago in Vegas - postponed! All casinos are CLOSED! Yes, in VEGAS. All sports have stopped. Tom Hanks and his beloved wife have COVID! Idris Elba got it. Two congressman. My stepson's basketball coach personnel. It's coming. Where is it going to hit for us? I told Jenni last night. I just don't know when it's going to come for us. It's only been a few days. We've had takeout at Siam Square. We made some great meals, but it's only like officially - starting March 14 really - 5 days? Back in those days, the maximum group number was 250 for some places. Then it was max of 50. I told Jenni one day that Austria said no more than 5 people and joked that they were kicking the youngest kid out of large families. It feels different now. It's not funny anymore. The energy completely changed. My job that was on alert around March 9 (the VPO didn't think it was that bad). My boss knew. He had talked to folks. He was keenly aware of the tidal wave that was going to hit our company. Folks and large organization had already banned non-essential travel. Now they were canceling workshops. He tried to get ahead of it. It was almost too much for him. At least it felt that way. We've already got an estimate on when we may run out of cash if we don't right the ship - May 1. Scary to think of what will happen in the next few weeks. With the world and the work. Many people are realizing that they have been practicing quarantine since before it was cool. Some people are recognizing the needs of marginalized folks and the huge gaps in government knowledge and protection. Then we have debates happening without audiences. We have shifts in voting for state primaries. No one knows when normal might happen again. Then we begin to question what we thought was normal. What did we really take for granted? Time with our families? The technology that allows us to be free musicians and supporters during this time? I watched Matt Nathanson do a live concert. Heck, Anthony Hopkins was playing piano with his cat on video! They are bringing back the Rosie O'Donnell show! They are allowing some Broadway to be online. There are puppets online. 5-day virtual conferences on Budhism! We are trying to do a 2-day Virtual Conference. My boss is on some other planet right now. He is scared. I've seen him scared but he is really scared. He wants to be the leader we all wish he would be. So anyway, resources going online and neighbors and friends actually checking on your well-being. Like I said, it feels different. Today is way different from just 2-3 days ago. It's only March 19. St. Patrick's Day was a tiny distraction. Scream therapy last night was slightly helpful (I tried to collectively get people to go outside at 715pm and scream to release tension - not much traction), but the news is getting worse. I need to remember the good stories. I need to remember that the malaria drug may help folks. There are more recovering. Right now Wuhan, China doesn't have any NEW cases. That's a little comforting. They started with 1 in Nov. How many months is that? 3.5 months. That puts us at July 4. Are we going to be celebrating then? Pastor Frank is still having church! TN didn't declare a State of Emergency or Disaster....yet. Texas was late to the game too. NPR guy said that we are going to look back on history and wonder who did it correctly. What state, government, city, community got it right during a crisis. Who should we model after in the next pandemic?