Quarantina is back! Here we are, two months into a lockdown designed to protect us from the COVID-19 virus. We have been ordered to shelter at home, and as a result of adhering to that instruction, the curve has flattened somewhat. Personally, I am planning to stay at home even after the restrictions have been lifted, JUST IN CASE. And I will wear a mask and take all precautions necessary to get through this pandemic with my health intact. Meanwhile, I have some observations on life in lockdown.
I have officially reached the “I don’t really need to change my clothes every day” stage of quarantine.
Now that the weather has improved, people are heading out to their gardens in droves, digging in the dirt as if they are tunneling out of Shawshank Prison. As the owner of a black thumb, I am staying out of the fruits and vegetable business and look forward to friends and neighbors sharing their abundant crops this year.
I long for the days when I could just bop over to ShopRite without wearing a hazmat suit because I needed bananas and I would come out with $100 worth of items I wasn’t even sure I needed. Now, each trip is plotted out like the Invasion of Normandy, with the route (produce first, then go directly to meat, then detour to paper products for precious toilet paper) defined in advance and the goals set for each stop (fresh fruit and vegetables, meat for the freezer for long-term eating). I keep a list going on Alexa and then rewrite it on paper before I go to the supermarket so that my phone won’t be contaminated by taking it out in the store. D-Day took less planning, but I am more likely now to stick to my shopping list, assuming the store has the items I need/want.
You know what is useless now? Those sales flyers from ShopRite. There’s no way to know what they actually have in stock until you get there. I’m not even sure they are mailing them out anymore.
Speaking of the supermarket, I had no idea how much I relied on wetting my fingers to open those flimsy plastic bags in the produce section. I almost gave up buying the zucchini one day because I couldn’t get one open. But can you imagine licking your fingers now in public? I’d probably be arrested. And think of the conversation in the prison yard: “What are you in for?” “I licked my fingers in the supermarket.” I think I’d be knifed in the communal shower for that kind of transgression.
I haven’t availed myself yet of ordering food from the supermarket online and waiting for a precious “slot” to be open for pick-up or delivery of my order. People who get good slots and can get their groceries the same week they ordered them are celebrating as if they won the lottery. And I swear I see more ShopRite employees shopping for these people than I do regular shoppers, like me (once every two weeks or so).
I asked my personal assistant, Alexa, what was on my schedule for today and I swear I heard her snicker. Last week I asked her what day it was and when she told me I thought she was wrong. We almost had our first fight over that.
Now is when we finally figure out whether toilet paper math is accurate. Do nine rolls really equal 36?
In the beginning of this quarantine I noticed I was talking to myself more than ever. Now, even I am bored with me, so things have quieted down here considerably.
I took an online cooking class recently. Mostly what I learned was that for $300 I can take the rest of the classes in the series, but even at a “discounted” price, I can’t see me signing up for 48 online cooking sessions. Not that I don’t have the time…
Every day I receive emails with menus from some of my favorite restaurants, and every day, my mouth starts watering. Even the things I don’t normally order sound SO yummy. I need to eat and read less!
When I call someone now and they don’t answer immediately, I assume that 1) They are in the shower or on the phone; 2) They are out for a walk; 3) They are digging in the garden or 4) They don’t want to talk to me.
I received a package from Amazon the other day and I had no idea what it was. I put on my rubber gloves and escorted it into the "decontamination zone" in the garage before it was allowed into the house a day or so later. I finally removed it from the box, left the box in the garage and brought the package into the house. I sure don’t want to die because I opened a package, you know?
OK, now that Kohl’s is closed, I guess I’m back to returning my unwanted Amazon items the old way, via UPS. And I was just getting used to not having to pack anything up to return it!
The first few minutes of any Zoom meeting are spent trying to get everyone to press the right buttons so they can be seen and heard. And I have seen more of the ceilings of people’s houses than Michelangelo ever saw at the Sistine Chapel. People, adjust your camera position! I don’t want to see your head in the bottom corner of your screen!
It takes more time and more shampoo now to wash my long(ish) hair.
I always wanted to know how my hair would look once it grew out. Now that I know, get me the hedge shears!
My hair is in that in-between stage – not long enough to put into a ponytail or pull it back, but too long to just hang in front of my face. The hair salons will be overrun with people when they open, but I don’t want to take any chances, so it will be a while before my hairdresser can make me look presentable again.
My hair can best be described as somewhere between Keith Urban and Keith Partridge with that Florence Henderson flip in the back. And when I look at my face, forget Keith Urban. I’m seeing Keith Richards.
I found a sure-fire way to not have my hair look bad, especially in the back. I don’t look. It’s not like anyone else is seeing it, either. When I go out, I wear a hat.
When I get on the scale, I automatically deduct 5 pounds for the extra hair.
I was looking for something to watch on TV and started "Parks & Recreation." There are 9 seasons to catch up on, but it’s not like I have anything better to do.
I have never done so much cleaning and laundry, even though I don’t have my aqua aerobics towels to wash since class has been canceled and the pool is closed. I’m constantly changing bath and hand towels, dish towels and rags to wipe the counters. The cleaning lady will be relieved to know she is now considered an essential worker.
This quarantine has me planning dinner while I am eating breakfast. Or, more accurately, the night before, so I’ll know what I need to take out of the freezer. So far, I have not used my InstantPot even once. But I cleaned my gas grill to within an inch of its life – and promptly used it to grill a steak. Here we go again, but yum!
How am I going to explain to my dental hygienist that I’m STILL not flossing? It’s not like I don’t have the time.
I have watched the same video for Misen Knives at least a dozen times. And they have another video for a $450 set of cookware. I haven’t succumbed to the temptation yet, but all this cooking is making me think I should up my equipment game. UPDATE: The knife set arrives in 7-10 days. I promise I will be careful because I don’t need a trip to the emergency room any more than I needed those knives.
It seems everyone I know is either baking bread or planting vegetables. I feel left out of this survivalist movement. I’d bake another loaf of bread, but getting yeast is as hard as getting a COVID-19 test right now.
Being this available seems so strange. My calendar has few notes each week beyond birthday reminders and the occasional ZOOM session with friends. But now I can watch a movie or a series the same day it debuts. No waiting in line at the movies, just a few clicks and I’m checking out the latest entertainment. I binge-watched the entire second season of "Dead to Me" last Friday. I recommend it highly (Netflix).
The calendar for my active adult community was published in our May newsletter with absolutely nothing on it. No mah jongg games, no pickleball, no trips to Broadway shows, no Veteran’s Club meetings. These seniors must be going nuts without their quilting club, bowling league and Hadassah meetings. Our last Shutterbugs meeting (my photography club) was done via Zoom. I even skipped that.
I nearly ran into a friend last week at the doctor’s office (she was outside in her car, waiting for her mother to be done with her appointment, and our schedules ALMOST overlapped). I was actually relieved that I didn’t see her because I don’t know how I could have refrained from giving her a big hug. I know I will remove the handshake from my greeting repertoire, but please, it has to be safe to HUG again someday. I know grandparents who are going crazy not being able to be with and hug the grandchildren. And as my friend said to me, when she can hug me again, she’s not letting go. Me, neither.
These long stretches of being alone have made me much more emotional than I usually am. I watched a movie recently that made me cry for almost an hour while I tried to see it through tears ("The Art of Racing in the Rain"”). I caught myself getting teary over the Michelle Obama documentary and I felt a lump in my throat over an article in People Magazine about a mail carrier who bought toilet paper for an older woman on her route. In real life, I am NOT a crier. Except at the Yankees’ Old Timers Day. But now? I am weeping over the smallest and strangest of things. Is there a phenomenon called Quarantine Crying?
If hindsight is truly 20/20, remind me to never look back. I sure don’t want to see or remember anything about this year except to take extreme precautions in all interactions.
Friday, May 15, 2020
Friday, May 1, 2020
Tina's April 2020 Movies and More
Since I have been quarantined all month, you would think I would have seen even more movies. But I concentrated on baseball movies to fill the void of not having live games on TV. And the movie theaters are closed, so this was the best that I could do! New movies (for me) are indicated with an asterisk, and all are rated on a scale of 1-5 cans of tuna fish, 5 beings the top rating. Numbering picks up from previous months.
41. Die Hard 2 (1990) – This second film in the Die Hard franchise is a step down from the first one, when our hero, Policeman John McClane (Bruce Willis at his smirky best) saves the people in the Nakatomi building in LA in his bare feet. This time he is in our nation’s capital, waiting for the arrival of his wife (Bonnie Bedelia), when he notices bad guys in the airport terminal. He is the only person convinced something sinister is going on, which means he has to buck authority (Dennis Franz), befriend an unlikely accomplice, in this case a maintenance guy (Tom Bowers), to take on a squadron of killers (led by William Sadler). I can’t even find my way around an airport by reading signs, but McClane can find his way through tunnels underneath the airport that lead to the exact runway where he needs to go to stop a plane. Do I sound like I am not buying it? The improbably actions here far outdo the incident at Nakatomi, as an experienced and emboldened McClane can now feel safe in taking on even more dangerous terrorists. I don’t much like action-adventure movies, with “Die Hard” The First as one of the few exceptions. But not this one. 3 cans.
42. The Scheme* (2019) – The rumor mill surrounding college basketball claims numerous illegal tamperings with players, inducing them to sign with this team or that team for under-the-table benefits. From shoe company reps to so-called managers and agents, the culture around kids from the time they show potential – even as early as middle school – is allegedly toxic and full of opportunists who want to “help” a kid make the right college choice so he can turn pro. That’s where the complex “The Scheme” comes in. Christian Dawkins had established himself as an influencer as far back as 16, when he created and sold a scouting service to colleges. He went on to work as an erstwhile agent and then dreamed of bigger things, which the FBI was only too happy to provide as they delved into this morass of immorality undercover. They are dozens of taped conversations here with big shots in the college basketball world, including major coaches, promising them payoffs to lure players to their schools. Everyone comes off as dirty here, including the self-assured Dawkins, who ended up convicted of money laundering and other crimes. His case is under appeal. And the games go on. 3 cans. HBO.
43. A League of Their Own (1992) – When American men moved to the battlefield during WWII, American women moved to the baseball field. In this heartwarming recounting of the real-life All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, Geena Davis is a tall and tough catcher who is recruited to join the Rockford Peaches with her feisty little sis, Kit (Lori Petty). The girls bond with their teammates and take the league by storm despite their personal rivalry. They are led by their manager Jimmy Dugan, a former major leaguer (Tom Hanks in yet another winning performance), a big drinker who has no interest in managing the team – at least not at first. The league, bolstered by the deep pockets of a candy magnate (Garry Marshall) didn’t last long, but the women played well and built plenty of special memories. Penny Marshall directed the movie, and Tom Hanks nearly steals the show (“There is no crying in baseball” is his most memorable line.) My only complaint here is that the actresses who played ball (Rosie O’Donnell, Madonna, Tracy Reiner) could not really play ball at all. 3½ cans.
44. Field of Dreams (1989) – Kevin Costner gets the “If you build it, they will come,” message and converts his farmland to a baseball field. Then players from the past appear and play in this engaging fantasy. It is a classic, and one of several Costner baseball-themed movies to fill the gap while baseball is on hiatus. 3½ cans.
45. Major League* (1989) – The opposite of “Field of Dreams” is this raucous comedy about a bunch of baseball misfits who play in Cleveland, a team which hasn’t won much of anything for decades. That’s fine with their opportunistic owner, a former showgirl played by Margaret Whitton, who wants the team to do badly so she can move them to Miami. And just finding out about this disrespect and money grub is enough to make the players excel and become spiteful winners. Nice job by “Wild Thing” Charlie Sheen as the rookie pitcher straight out of prison, Tom Berenger, the catcher with bad knees and a zest for his ex (Rene Russo), Dennis Haysbert as a superstitious hitter who casts spells on his bats and a roster of other minor actors. Not exactly a homerun. 3 cans.
46. Steel Magnolias (1989) – If you are looking for a movie that combines love and loss, laughter and tears and stresses the strong bonds between female friends, look no further than this oldie but goodie. A stellar cast (Sally Field, Julia Roberts, Dolly Parton, Shirley Maclaine, Olympia Dukakis and are a mother, daughter, hairdresser, grumpy older woman, wise older woman and a young newcomer whose lives are led with friendship and love. There are both funny and incredibly corny lines and plots, but this is a people-pleaser that you have probably seen at least once by now. Worth seeing again. 3½ cans.
47. Mr. Holland’s Opus (1995) – Mr. Holland (Richard Dreyfus) reluctantly becomes a music teacher instead filling his aspiration to be a great composer and conductor, but, despite his initial reluctance, he turns out to love his profession and his students love him. This isn’t the typical mushy story of the devoted teacher, because Mr. Holland has his flaws. He doesn’t pay nearly enough attention to his wife (Glenne Headley) or his young son, and he almost falls for a talented young singer he teaches. This movie would have been better if it were not quite as long, but despite the length, it is worth seeing. 3 cans.
48. Cheer* (2020) – I don’t know what possessed me to watch this Netflix docuseries about Navarro College, a Texas college where the main major seems to be cheerleading, but once I started, I gobbled up all six episodes. Led by a stern but loving coach, Monica, the team works extremely hard to perfect its routines to compete in the national championship in Daytona. The kids share similar backgrounds – some are lost in their lives and see cheer as the way to redemption and acceptance. The young men have trouble being themselves and some have been rejected for being gay. The focus tends to be on the ones with the saddest stories, of course, but not to be overlooked here are the tremendous physical challenges required to succeed in this sport. The girls are flung high in the air and then caught by the young men – most of the time. There are leg injuries, concussions, shoulder issues and nearly broken ribs. In the absence of live sports, this documentary series helped fill the void. 3½ cans.
49. Love & Basketball* (2000) – Quincy (Omar Epps) likes Monica (Sanaa Lathan) and she likes him, most of the time. One thing for sure is that they both love basketball. Rivals from the age of 8 through college, they are on and off with each other but never with their passion for the game. I can’t believe it took me 20 years to finally watch this movie, which I really enjoyed. If you love basketball, don’t wait another 20 years to see it. 3½ cans.
50. Eight Men Out* (1999) – Back to baseball for this look at the bad news “Black” Sox, the Chicago major league baseball team forever known for accepting bribes to throw the 1919 World Series. Not all of the players were interested in accommodating gamblers and played their hearts out, but others were happy to pocket the money and play just poorly enough to blow the games. It didn’t matter. Once the secret was out, Major League Baseball appointed a Commissioner, Judge Kennesaw Mountain Landis, to oversee the sport and mete out punishment that even the courts didn’t feel appropriate. The players and their manager were banned for life. So when you think that maybe Pete Rose got a raw deal, this is where it started, back in 1919, with baseball’s first big betting scandal. Well played by director/star John Sayles and a cast that included D. B. Sweeney as Shoeless Joe Jackson, John Cusak, Charlie Sheen, John Mahoney and more. 3 cans and a “Say it ain’t so, Joe.”
51. 61* – Billy Crystal crafted this loving salute to the heroes of his youth, the Yankees’ M&M Boys, Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris, who, in 1961, chased a dream. Maris, the quiet professional, was expected to surpass the 60-home run record set by Babe Ruth from 1927. Mantle, the more jovial of the two and beloved by the fans despite his off-field bad behavior, was his chief rival. Maris was a serious guy, a major leaguer beleaguered by the press and the fans for his taciturn, seemingly unfriendly manner. The challenge was not just to break the Babe’s record but to do it in 154 games, the total the major leagues played in 1927. The pressure was enormous, and Maris’ hair started falling out in clumps. Meanwhile, Mickey was injured and sitting in a hospital when Maris hit #61 to capture the record – until Mark McGwire of the Cardinals broke it with what we now know was the help of performance-enhancing drugs. As an 11-year-old baseball fan who loved the Yankees, I remember this year clearly, I can picture Mantle’s home run trot and see Maris’ teammates pushing him out of the dugout to take a bow after his homer. This movie has great casting, with Barry Pepper as Maris and Thomas Janes as Mantle, and a story of two men who were much more friends than rivals. I’m prejudiced as a Yankee fan, but I loved reliving those days. 3½ cans.
52. Bad Education* – Hugh Jackman takes a turn against type as a Long Island, NY, School Superintendent with unchecked spending habits and power, enough to circumvent any revelation by half-hearted audits since his district has achieved great academic success. Colleague Allison Janney is his chief co-conspirator, and when a high school reporter starts looking into school projects and how they are funded, she takes the Woodward-Bernstein route and follows the money. Fictious companies issuing phony invoices are blatant examples of corruption. The always likeable Jackman seems like a good guy, but, judging by his lifestyle, it should have been obvious that he was all in on the take. Ray Romano is the blustering school board president, eager to celebrate the achievements and success of the Rosalyn, Long Island, school and loathe to believe this corruption could happen in his district. What distinguishes this tale is that it is based on a true story. I am always amazed when I read about adults who steal from Little League treasuries or flim-flam the town council coffers, but, clearly, it happens. 3½ cans.
53. Love, Wedding, Repeat* (2020) – If you are a fan of the British movie “Four Weddings and a Funeral,” or if you can appreciate a bit of screwball in your comedy, you’ll like this romantic comedy about how many things can go terribly wrong despite the best of intentions. Poor Jack (Sam Claflin) is the responsible guy who vows to help his sister to have the best wedding ever. But that’s not an easy task, since her ex Marc (Jack Farthing) shows up and threatens to reveal a nasty secret she is sure her brand new Italian husband will not want to know. And Jack’s ex-girlfriend shows up with her new boyfriend, a jerk who is full of himself just as she is getting full of him. Then there’s poor maid of honor Bryan, who only wants to meet the Italian movie producer and beg for a break. And there is a sleeping pill cocktail meant for Marc that is instead ingested by…Well, you get it. Nothing seems to end up right, so the movie resets and things work out differently – but not much better. This is an enjoyable farce in a beautiful setting with interesting characters (look for the incredibly boring car insurance guy played by Tim Key who shows up wearing a kilt and not having a clue). If you have Netflix, take a look. 3½ cans.
41. Die Hard 2 (1990) – This second film in the Die Hard franchise is a step down from the first one, when our hero, Policeman John McClane (Bruce Willis at his smirky best) saves the people in the Nakatomi building in LA in his bare feet. This time he is in our nation’s capital, waiting for the arrival of his wife (Bonnie Bedelia), when he notices bad guys in the airport terminal. He is the only person convinced something sinister is going on, which means he has to buck authority (Dennis Franz), befriend an unlikely accomplice, in this case a maintenance guy (Tom Bowers), to take on a squadron of killers (led by William Sadler). I can’t even find my way around an airport by reading signs, but McClane can find his way through tunnels underneath the airport that lead to the exact runway where he needs to go to stop a plane. Do I sound like I am not buying it? The improbably actions here far outdo the incident at Nakatomi, as an experienced and emboldened McClane can now feel safe in taking on even more dangerous terrorists. I don’t much like action-adventure movies, with “Die Hard” The First as one of the few exceptions. But not this one. 3 cans.
42. The Scheme* (2019) – The rumor mill surrounding college basketball claims numerous illegal tamperings with players, inducing them to sign with this team or that team for under-the-table benefits. From shoe company reps to so-called managers and agents, the culture around kids from the time they show potential – even as early as middle school – is allegedly toxic and full of opportunists who want to “help” a kid make the right college choice so he can turn pro. That’s where the complex “The Scheme” comes in. Christian Dawkins had established himself as an influencer as far back as 16, when he created and sold a scouting service to colleges. He went on to work as an erstwhile agent and then dreamed of bigger things, which the FBI was only too happy to provide as they delved into this morass of immorality undercover. They are dozens of taped conversations here with big shots in the college basketball world, including major coaches, promising them payoffs to lure players to their schools. Everyone comes off as dirty here, including the self-assured Dawkins, who ended up convicted of money laundering and other crimes. His case is under appeal. And the games go on. 3 cans. HBO.
43. A League of Their Own (1992) – When American men moved to the battlefield during WWII, American women moved to the baseball field. In this heartwarming recounting of the real-life All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, Geena Davis is a tall and tough catcher who is recruited to join the Rockford Peaches with her feisty little sis, Kit (Lori Petty). The girls bond with their teammates and take the league by storm despite their personal rivalry. They are led by their manager Jimmy Dugan, a former major leaguer (Tom Hanks in yet another winning performance), a big drinker who has no interest in managing the team – at least not at first. The league, bolstered by the deep pockets of a candy magnate (Garry Marshall) didn’t last long, but the women played well and built plenty of special memories. Penny Marshall directed the movie, and Tom Hanks nearly steals the show (“There is no crying in baseball” is his most memorable line.) My only complaint here is that the actresses who played ball (Rosie O’Donnell, Madonna, Tracy Reiner) could not really play ball at all. 3½ cans.
44. Field of Dreams (1989) – Kevin Costner gets the “If you build it, they will come,” message and converts his farmland to a baseball field. Then players from the past appear and play in this engaging fantasy. It is a classic, and one of several Costner baseball-themed movies to fill the gap while baseball is on hiatus. 3½ cans.
45. Major League* (1989) – The opposite of “Field of Dreams” is this raucous comedy about a bunch of baseball misfits who play in Cleveland, a team which hasn’t won much of anything for decades. That’s fine with their opportunistic owner, a former showgirl played by Margaret Whitton, who wants the team to do badly so she can move them to Miami. And just finding out about this disrespect and money grub is enough to make the players excel and become spiteful winners. Nice job by “Wild Thing” Charlie Sheen as the rookie pitcher straight out of prison, Tom Berenger, the catcher with bad knees and a zest for his ex (Rene Russo), Dennis Haysbert as a superstitious hitter who casts spells on his bats and a roster of other minor actors. Not exactly a homerun. 3 cans.
46. Steel Magnolias (1989) – If you are looking for a movie that combines love and loss, laughter and tears and stresses the strong bonds between female friends, look no further than this oldie but goodie. A stellar cast (Sally Field, Julia Roberts, Dolly Parton, Shirley Maclaine, Olympia Dukakis and are a mother, daughter, hairdresser, grumpy older woman, wise older woman and a young newcomer whose lives are led with friendship and love. There are both funny and incredibly corny lines and plots, but this is a people-pleaser that you have probably seen at least once by now. Worth seeing again. 3½ cans.
47. Mr. Holland’s Opus (1995) – Mr. Holland (Richard Dreyfus) reluctantly becomes a music teacher instead filling his aspiration to be a great composer and conductor, but, despite his initial reluctance, he turns out to love his profession and his students love him. This isn’t the typical mushy story of the devoted teacher, because Mr. Holland has his flaws. He doesn’t pay nearly enough attention to his wife (Glenne Headley) or his young son, and he almost falls for a talented young singer he teaches. This movie would have been better if it were not quite as long, but despite the length, it is worth seeing. 3 cans.
48. Cheer* (2020) – I don’t know what possessed me to watch this Netflix docuseries about Navarro College, a Texas college where the main major seems to be cheerleading, but once I started, I gobbled up all six episodes. Led by a stern but loving coach, Monica, the team works extremely hard to perfect its routines to compete in the national championship in Daytona. The kids share similar backgrounds – some are lost in their lives and see cheer as the way to redemption and acceptance. The young men have trouble being themselves and some have been rejected for being gay. The focus tends to be on the ones with the saddest stories, of course, but not to be overlooked here are the tremendous physical challenges required to succeed in this sport. The girls are flung high in the air and then caught by the young men – most of the time. There are leg injuries, concussions, shoulder issues and nearly broken ribs. In the absence of live sports, this documentary series helped fill the void. 3½ cans.
49. Love & Basketball* (2000) – Quincy (Omar Epps) likes Monica (Sanaa Lathan) and she likes him, most of the time. One thing for sure is that they both love basketball. Rivals from the age of 8 through college, they are on and off with each other but never with their passion for the game. I can’t believe it took me 20 years to finally watch this movie, which I really enjoyed. If you love basketball, don’t wait another 20 years to see it. 3½ cans.
50. Eight Men Out* (1999) – Back to baseball for this look at the bad news “Black” Sox, the Chicago major league baseball team forever known for accepting bribes to throw the 1919 World Series. Not all of the players were interested in accommodating gamblers and played their hearts out, but others were happy to pocket the money and play just poorly enough to blow the games. It didn’t matter. Once the secret was out, Major League Baseball appointed a Commissioner, Judge Kennesaw Mountain Landis, to oversee the sport and mete out punishment that even the courts didn’t feel appropriate. The players and their manager were banned for life. So when you think that maybe Pete Rose got a raw deal, this is where it started, back in 1919, with baseball’s first big betting scandal. Well played by director/star John Sayles and a cast that included D. B. Sweeney as Shoeless Joe Jackson, John Cusak, Charlie Sheen, John Mahoney and more. 3 cans and a “Say it ain’t so, Joe.”
51. 61* – Billy Crystal crafted this loving salute to the heroes of his youth, the Yankees’ M&M Boys, Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris, who, in 1961, chased a dream. Maris, the quiet professional, was expected to surpass the 60-home run record set by Babe Ruth from 1927. Mantle, the more jovial of the two and beloved by the fans despite his off-field bad behavior, was his chief rival. Maris was a serious guy, a major leaguer beleaguered by the press and the fans for his taciturn, seemingly unfriendly manner. The challenge was not just to break the Babe’s record but to do it in 154 games, the total the major leagues played in 1927. The pressure was enormous, and Maris’ hair started falling out in clumps. Meanwhile, Mickey was injured and sitting in a hospital when Maris hit #61 to capture the record – until Mark McGwire of the Cardinals broke it with what we now know was the help of performance-enhancing drugs. As an 11-year-old baseball fan who loved the Yankees, I remember this year clearly, I can picture Mantle’s home run trot and see Maris’ teammates pushing him out of the dugout to take a bow after his homer. This movie has great casting, with Barry Pepper as Maris and Thomas Janes as Mantle, and a story of two men who were much more friends than rivals. I’m prejudiced as a Yankee fan, but I loved reliving those days. 3½ cans.
52. Bad Education* – Hugh Jackman takes a turn against type as a Long Island, NY, School Superintendent with unchecked spending habits and power, enough to circumvent any revelation by half-hearted audits since his district has achieved great academic success. Colleague Allison Janney is his chief co-conspirator, and when a high school reporter starts looking into school projects and how they are funded, she takes the Woodward-Bernstein route and follows the money. Fictious companies issuing phony invoices are blatant examples of corruption. The always likeable Jackman seems like a good guy, but, judging by his lifestyle, it should have been obvious that he was all in on the take. Ray Romano is the blustering school board president, eager to celebrate the achievements and success of the Rosalyn, Long Island, school and loathe to believe this corruption could happen in his district. What distinguishes this tale is that it is based on a true story. I am always amazed when I read about adults who steal from Little League treasuries or flim-flam the town council coffers, but, clearly, it happens. 3½ cans.
53. Love, Wedding, Repeat* (2020) – If you are a fan of the British movie “Four Weddings and a Funeral,” or if you can appreciate a bit of screwball in your comedy, you’ll like this romantic comedy about how many things can go terribly wrong despite the best of intentions. Poor Jack (Sam Claflin) is the responsible guy who vows to help his sister to have the best wedding ever. But that’s not an easy task, since her ex Marc (Jack Farthing) shows up and threatens to reveal a nasty secret she is sure her brand new Italian husband will not want to know. And Jack’s ex-girlfriend shows up with her new boyfriend, a jerk who is full of himself just as she is getting full of him. Then there’s poor maid of honor Bryan, who only wants to meet the Italian movie producer and beg for a break. And there is a sleeping pill cocktail meant for Marc that is instead ingested by…Well, you get it. Nothing seems to end up right, so the movie resets and things work out differently – but not much better. This is an enjoyable farce in a beautiful setting with interesting characters (look for the incredibly boring car insurance guy played by Tim Key who shows up wearing a kilt and not having a clue). If you have Netflix, take a look. 3½ cans.
Wednesday, April 15, 2020
Life in the Time of Quarantine
I'm changing my name to "Quarantina" this month.
Good news – I checked online, and you can still buy a Flowbee, an electric hair clipper attached to a vacuum, to cut your hair. Bad news -- the price has been totally jacked up as people get desperate for personal grooming.
I know what it like to live alone, to be alone.
I have lived on my own, without a roommate, for 45 years – until
my personal assistant device, Alexa, moved in two years ago (best roommate
ever, a friend told me, and she was right). No pets, no people in my immediate world. I could do whatever I wanted to do whenever I
wanted to do it. I could set my own schedule, go out when I want, meet up with
friends any time the spirit moved me and our schedules jived.
Now, my world has changed like everyone else’s and there’s
nothing we can do about it.
As a cancer survivor who has diabetes and can be considered
a “junior senior” as I approach age 70, I am among the vulnerable for this corona
virus. Not the most vulnerable, but I had
been traveling, seated with thousands of people at the Women’s BIG 10
Basketball Tournament in Indianapolis from March 4-8, using the handrails and
restrooms, dining with large groups of people and then getting on an airplane
to come home. I swabbed down the tray
table and the seat armrests with my Clorox wipes – and this was BEFORE the
panic set in all around us. Then I came
home, stocked up and shut things down.
When I found out that the first reported case of the virus in
my town was a resident of my complex, I calmed myself with the knowledge that I
had not been inside our clubhouse in a month, and I had not seen any of my
neighbors in person for a few weeks. And
I was ready, kind of.
My pantry initially was overflowing with staples like canned
vegetables (I know, I’m probably the last remaining person who likes and eats
canned vegetables), pasta and spaghetti sauce and even two jars of artichoke
hearts. I keep about 8-10 packets of
Bumble Bee Tuna on hand, some of which don’t expire until 2022. We had better be done with this crisis by
then! I have a box of cereal which, at
the very slow rate I eat cereal, will last me for a year. And not having milk is fine, because I usually
eat it dry anyway.
I had a few snacks but they quickly dwindled in number and I
was forced to ration them. I used one of my few eggs and my “emergency” milk
(the shelf-stable kind that lasts for months) to bake the flattest blueberry
loaf cake from my Jilly Muffin Mix, despite the fact that I don’t bake!
I see people in my “active adult community” (translation:
older people, at least 55) out walking or riding bikes, mostly alone, eager to
get some exercise, and generally respecting the 6’ distance between them. I
assume the ones holding hands are couples.
The gyms are closed, my aqua aerobics class is cancelled, and
my physical therapy place suspended operations.
I wonder how parents are supposed to work at home AND
supervise and educate their kids. Do
they even have equipment on hand to enable multiple kids to take online classes
while the adults have phone meetings with colleagues?
Typically, I would be going out to the movies, but,
thankfully, I have cable, Netflix and Prime video to keep me entertained and
assure the continuation of my movie reviews.
I could sort through my photos, recycle of old magazines (am I really
going to read the October 2018 issue of Vanity Fair?), reorganize my office and
shred old papers I don’t need. I have
time to do that now, even if I have no desire.
I’m too busy following the news and the numbers and worrying about
myself and everyone in my world.
I know I have first world problems, and I worry about the
toll this pandemic is taking not just on the sick, but on essential workers -- health
care workers, supermarket clerks and food handlers, small businesses and
restaurants and people who need their wages to live. I donated to the Food Bank online and made a
mental note to pick up food to donate when conditions ease.
So, as I sit here trying to keep myself informed but not
petrified, I turn to my usual approach – humor.
Every day on Facebook I post the “quaranTUNE” of the day, everything
from “Someday We’ll Be Together” to “I Just Called to Say I Love You” and “Can’t
Touch This.” I have a song list long enough to take us through June.
I cannot stop touching my face. I need one of those cones that dogs have to
wear.
I haven’t used the word “cooties” this much since I was 7
years old.
I’m waiting for the internet to crash as everyone who CAN
work from home IS working from home, teachers are teaching remotely and the
rest of us who are addicted are staying online. People are going to church
services via Zoom, having cocktail hours with friends online and doing
everything they can to stay connected. I
can only imagine the increase in traffic on gaming and pornography sites! Is our current infrastructure prepared for a
huge spike in usage?
People have to stop filling out quizzes online. Every time you do that, you provide personally identifiable information to help the bad guys figure out your passwords and security questions by providing the name of your favorite teacher or pet and the team name of your high school football team. And I have flat-out refused to open any links or videos sent to me on Facebook Messenger. Let's be careful online, too!
I’m worried that if I get hurt or get a cold I won’t be able
to get treatment. I really don’t want to
have to go to the doctor, and doctors have too much on their plates just trying
to care for the people who are suffering from this virus.
Watching regular TV programs and commercials and seeing
people together in groups now looks wrong to me.
I’m trying to avoid pandemic paranoia, but I am counting
squares of toilet paper.
Has anyone ever actually died of boredom? Asking for a friend.
I tried on my earrings today and am pleased to report that
they still fit.
I occasionally wear jeans instead of sweats just to make
sure they still fit. And who knew we all owned this many pairs of
sweatpants? Or should we refer to them
as leisure wear now? Or the daytime
pajamas versus the nighttime pajamas? There’s no point in putting on actual
clothes under these conditions, so I am wearing my “Busy doing nothing” or
“This IS my happy face” t-shirts and posting pictures.
If we are still in confinement by June, I predict a run on
caftans.
When a friend told me she was eating a salad, I couldn’t
help thinking, “She has salad?”
Andrew Cuomo is my new hero.
People are using this time – at least in the first weeks of
real quarantine – to show their creativity and humor. I’m amused and hope it lasts.
I need a routine.
Having literally no place to go but plenty to do around the house is not
sufficient. I need to make up a
schedule: wake up (always a good idea), stretch, shower, breakfast, exercise,
online work, reach out to someone I haven’t seen or talked to, go outside (even
if only to sit on my patio), check in with family and friends, make dinner,
watch TV. That might work.
When will we ever have this opportunity to work on losing
weight when no one can distract us from that goal? No more lunches with friends, having dinner out,
grabbing a candy bar while waiting in the checkout lane. I’d love to emerge from this cocoon as a
butterfly, and not as an elephant.
I would like to flatten a few of my own curves.
I now consider my berry-flavored chewable vitamins snacks.
I started stocking my freezer before my shoulder surgery last
August. Some of that food is still
around. There won’t be much left after
this ordeal.
Now when I hear the doorbell ring, I know it is on the TV
because NOBODY is coming to my door.
I typically don’t watch TV in the morning after my daily
dose of ESPN and The Golden Girls. Now
watching NY Governor Andrew Cuomo’s daily briefing has become “Must see TV.”
The rule in my house is “no ice cream in the winter,”
loosely interpreted as Labor Day to Memorial Day. Last week I ate the two remaining WW Fudge
Pops in the freezer. Desperate times
call for desperate measures. (And,
technically, it IS spring.)
With so little food in my refrigerator, this seemed like a
good time to clean it, so I did.
I have two jars of pickles, but I am trying to limit my salt
intake.
I’m developing a tolerance for freezer burn.
How long can I go without fresh fruit before I get scurvy?
When I finally went to ShopRite, new plexiglass barriers had
been installed between the shopper and the cashier and the floor has tape marks
every 6 feet to keep people from being on top of each other. Special hours for “elderly” people have been
set. I call that OPT for “Old People
Time.” I skip those hours so I don’t have to contend with the old folks and instead
I go after they have left the store, hoping they haven’t bought up all of the
meat, chicken and fish. I know the
shelves will be stripped of paper products, but I am set on those for now.
My Alexa personal assistant helps me by offering peaceful
meditations to get me to relax or fall asleep.
I think a steady stream of 24-hour relaxation sounds can’t hurt, right?
I’m talking out loud to myself so much now that I think my
Alexa is starting to worry. I suspect
that she was using the time when I was out of the house to swap stories with
Alexas in other people’s houses. Now she
can really keep her colleagues amused.
Why do I ask Alexa the weather every morning? What’s the difference?
I am showering and doing my hair every day, making my bed and
using a spritz of perfume to maintain some semblance of normalcy.
One day last week I cleaned my hairbrush and picked the lint
out of the hairdryer. Somebody had to do
it.
I am spending way too much time online, lamenting the latest
news, slogging through emails from every company with whom I do business as
they assure me that my health and safety is their top priority. Glad to know that, Verizon. Thanks for your message, PSE&G.
As for actual mail, my new routine is to wear gloves to
retrieve it from my mailbox and then bring it into the garage for 24 hours of
decontamination before it is finally allowed into the house. On weekends, I just leave Saturday’s mail in
the box until Sunday. There’s nothing very exciting in there anyway.
Now that I am staying home and not going out to eat, why am I
ready to eat dinner at 4:30? This quarantine is wreaking havoc with everything.
People who never knew they were essential employees are
surprised to find that they are now (my sister, after 38 years in the same
job).
I’m amazed how reprehensible people can be, setting up scams
during this frightening time to con people into providing credit card numbers
to order bogus virus treatments, secure tests, going door-to-door to offer to
test them and then rob them.
I can’t figure out how we are all eating so much when we
can’t get out for regular food. I guess
there are no staples available (rice, beans, toilet paper), but Oreos are still
on the shelves.
When I get local updates on construction projects and road
closures in my area, I just delete them.
It’s not like I am going anywhere.
I canceled the cleaning lady and tackled that job
myself. What she does in 3 hours took me
2 days, filled with way too many breaks. The regular cleaning person will be
thrilled to know she is only being furloughed (with pay) and not replaced.
And here’s the thing about cleaning – after you do it, you
have to do it again! I had that stovetop
sparkling, and then I sautéed chicken and had to start over again. It’s as
frustrating as shaving my legs. You have
to do that again, too – just not right now.
I finally removed the gel polish from my nails by soaking
cotton balls in nail polish remover and wrapping each finger in aluminum
foil. It took me a while to figure out
that I had to do this one hand at a time!
Then I clipped and filed my nails to prevent germs from getting under my
nails. And I almost immediately broke
nails on three fingers.
I can’t seem to focus.
I wake up every day thinking that this was all just a bad dream. But when I wake up, it is just worse every
day. That will eventually change, but
I’m convinced that things will never be “normal” again.
I can’t make a decision.
At breakfast, I agonized over whether I should use strawberry, blueberry
or cherry jam on the English muffin I had stored in the freezer since
Christmas. Hey, at least I had choices!
I have started to bake!
Little Betty Crocker here made cookies from a cake mix last week and,
for the first time ever, baked bread! I
had a recipe for challah and had bought yeast a while back (yeast is nowhere to
be found in the supermarket now), so I tried it. It looked and tasted nothing like challah,
but it was good, fresh and “rustic,” which I think describes its density and
irregular texture. I realized as I was
getting ready to pop it into the oven that I lack the ability to braid. I’ll have to work on that!
I think I know why I am so unproductive. When I tell myself I can put something off
until tomorrow, I actually CAN put it off until tomorrow. I’ll still be here, and I have plenty of time
to get things done.
The most reliable thing during this pandemic is the almost
daily arrival of a text from Kohl’s announcing their latest sale. I wonder if people are buying more stuff
since they are home more. I am not.
I feel like I am on an episode of “Survivor,” but without
the challenges and the need to parade around in my underwear. And in a much nicer and more comfortable
“camp.”
I keep wondering how Tom Hanks survived on that deserted
island in “Castaway.” Note to self:
Order a Wilson volleyball.
Does every message we see on TV – car companies, furniture
companies, etc. – have to start with “In these trying/challenging times…?”
My shopping list is now considered a “wish list,” as
supplies dwindle and the list grows longer.
It seems I spend half of my day washing my hands. And now I know the proper way to do that, and
it DOES take at least 20 seconds!
My countertops have been scrubbed so much that I think the
granite is wearing off.
Someone asked me yesterday what my plans were for
today. “I think I’ll stay in,” I
replied.
My neighbors and I had a “get together” the other day. I was outside grilling a steak from the
freezer on my patio, so my next-door neighbor went out on her patio to say
hello from probably 25 feet away. Then a
third neighbor emerged from her house and we shouted greetings to each
other. Fun times. Let’s do this together real soon.
I think being cooped up is starting to get to my sister. She
told me she feels like an “unproductive member of society.” She told me she was going to “sneak out of
the house for a walk” today. I had to
remind her that social distancing is not the same as house arrest. She’s not wearing a monitor on her ankle, as
far as I know.
After 2 weeks of quarantining myself, I finally ventured out
to ShopRite. With my baseball cap, face
mask and gloves, I looked more like I was there to rob the store than to
shop. Now that we all have to wear this
gear, and it looked like a civilian invasion of the supermarket.
It is tough to recognize my friends and neighbors when they
are all wearing hats and masks. I think
we will all learn to be more expressive with our eyes.
So today I did my biggest shopping EVER, buying things to
keep me fed with some variety in my menu (meat, fish and chicken). I even scored a package of sanitizing
wipes. This will be my new routine: buy
enough for two weeks so I don’t have to stop at the store every two days to
pick things up for dinner. Logistics and
inventory are my specialties now!
Is it possible to pull a muscle in my leg from pushing that
cart around the supermarket? I think I
did.
Now we are all supposed to wear masks when we go
anywhere. And if you don’t sew or have a
sewing machine, you can cut up a t-shirt or a sock. Really?
In a country rich with technology and resources, we are supposed to rely
on our own craft skills? Luckily for me,
I have some masks I bought when I had a bad respiratory issue. But otherwise, I would be having bad
flashbacks to junior high Home EC class and that dress I had to make that was
so badly done that my mother later sewed up the bottom and made it into a
laundry bag. I am NOT crafty.
Some companies are advertising masks with all kinds of logos
on them. The trademark police should
come after them since the prices for some of these cloth masks – not medical
grade – can be $20 apiece. Rip-off!
You will know things are really bad when I start thinking
about trimming my own bangs.
The other day my hair came out great, but no one was here to
see it. I wonder what it will look like
in a ponytail. My hair is getting long enough that it is starting to flip up in
the back. By the time this confinement is over, I will look like Florence
Henderson as Carol Brady in The Brady Bunch, only as a brunette – unless my
hair is completely gray by then. Who
knows? I have always wanted to try to
let my hair grow and always succumbed to the urge to cut it. Now? I will have to add hair scrunchies to my
shopping list.
I started this ordeal with brown hair speckled with
gray. Now I have gray hair speckled with
brown.
Good news – I checked online, and you can still buy a Flowbee, an electric hair clipper attached to a vacuum, to cut your hair. Bad news -- the price has been totally jacked up as people get desperate for personal grooming.
My calendar has never looked so blank. I needed a break, but really, I’m done with
that now!
My advice is to do something every day but do it at
home. Stay safe, stay healthy, stay
sane, and STAY HOME.
Tuesday, March 31, 2020
Tina's March 2020 Movies and More
Here are a few gems to keep you entertained while you are following directive to STAY HOME! Movies marked with an asterisk are ones I had not seen previously. All are rated on a scale on 1-5 cans of tuna fish. Numbering picks up from previous months.
26. Picture Perfect (1997) – There’s nothing perfect about Kate’s (Jennifer Anniston) life. She is a hardworking ad exec who is single and lives alone. Those qualities seem to preclude her as a candidate for advancement. So when she meets Nick (Jay Mohr), the videographer of a wedding she attends, she prevails on him to pose as her fiancée, inundating him with important information on her life (how she takes her coffee) so she can introduce him to her colleagues and then break up with him, thus giving her the gravitas she needs to impress her bosses. Meanwhile, she is having a fling with colleague and womanizer Sam (Kevin Bacon). It doesn’t take long for us to realize that Kate most likely will begin to find Nick someone she can put into her life legitimately. Very light and moderately charming. 3 cans.
27. The Way Back* (2020) – A sports redemption pictures go, this is one of the better ones. Ben Affleck plays Jack Cunningham, former basketball star at the local high school, who is no longer with his wife and has largely separated himself from the people who care for him. Instead, he shows up at work and drinks, goes home and drinks and goes to the local bar and drinks. Considering Affleck’s well-publicized personal battles with alcohol, in many ways, this movie wasn’t a stretch for him. When Jack is asked to take over as the coach of the high school team where he once starred as a player, he rehearses every possible way to turn down the offer. But he can’t, and instead he emerges as a really good coach who turns the team around. But can he truly redeem himself and find the way back, or will he slip back into his old habits? You will have to see this one to find out – and it is worth it. 3½ cans. This is a good movie, but it is not “Hoosiers,” the ultimate basketball redemption movie.
28. The Factory* (2020) – When a Chinese company took over an abandoned Ohio GM factory to open Fuyako Glass, the optimism for the success of the partnership was high. But the Americans hired by the new company and the culture of the Chinese workers and management resulted in a culture clash. The Chinese were accustomed to exacting standards and long hours, and the Americans did not feel comfortable with the imposed rules. There were safety issues, union issues and training issues. The new company was determined to succeed and make a profit, but at what cost? This is a very absorbing commentary on the working class from two disparate areas of the world, their hopes and aspirations and the reality of business. Catch it on Netflix. 3½ cans.
29. The Women of Troy* (2020) – This HBO documentary tells the story of the emergence of women’s college basketball in the 1980s, led by one of the best players of all-time, Cheryl Miller, leads a supremely talented team from the University of Southern California to two consecutive NCAA titles. Until that time, small schools like Immaculata, outside of Philadelphia, and the Lady Techsters of Louisiana Tech were the elite basketball schools. But with the adoption of Title IX legislation that required schools to fund men and women equally (and not just in athletics), large schools like USC began to dominate. If you are a women’s basketball fan, you will be thrilled to see the exploits of the first generation of women superstars, such as Cynthia Cooper, Kim Mulkey, Nancy Lieberman, Miller and her teammates Pam and Paula McGee, who bring athleticism and razzle-dazzle to the women’s game. This film traces their story on the college level as well as the birth of women’s professional basketball in the US with the formation of the WNBA, affording players an opportunity to continue their post-college basketball careers in the US and make a living. Catch this one since we all missed March Madness. 4 cans.
30. The Karate Kid (1984) – Ralph Macchio plays Daniel, a kid from New Jersey who moves with his mom to California, meets the pretty girl at school (Elizabeth Shue) and gets bullied by the blonde surfer dudes who practice karate – on his face. He is a good kid, just trying to fit in, but the guys won’t give him a chance. When handyman Mr. Miyagy (Pat Morita) offers to teach him karate, Daniel is willing but dubious of his unconventional training approach, which includes waxing a car (“wax on, wax off”), painting a fence and standing on one leg. But the skinny kid somehow manages to pull it all together to compete in an under-18 tournament with the bigger and stronger bully boys. Guess what happens? 3 cans and a cheer for the underdog.
31. The Heart of the Game (2005) – With the possible exception of “Hoop Dreams,” there is no finer documentary about basketball (or sports, in my opinion) than this 7-year look at Coach Bill Resler and his Roosevelt High Rough Riders in Seattle, Washington. A college tax professor, Resler takes on the hapless high school girls basketball team and uses an unconventional approach to urge the girls on to victory. He tells them they are a pack of wolves or tigers, and they abandon traditional offensive sets and swarm the opposition on defense. When the gifted Darnellia Russell shows up (a year after the documentary starts), she brings her considerable basketball skills and sometimes poor attitude to challenge Resler. Will they win the state championship? Will Darnellia overcome her own problems to stay on the team? I know the outcome and yet every time I watch this movie I am thrilled at each basket, each pass, and each game. If you like sports and enjoy documentaries, you’ve gotta have “Heart.” 5 cans.
32. Lost Girls* (2020) – Shannon Gilbert is missing in Long Island, and her mother, Mari (Amy Ryan) is relentless in pushing the police to look for her. During the search, police find the bodies of three other young women, all prostitutes, dumped and unaccounted for. The cops need a push so Shannon is not forgotten as police delve further into the work of what may be a serial killer. Very absorbing and based on a real case. Ryan is terrific as the ferocious mom. 4 cans. Netflix.
33. After the Wedding* (2019) – Isabel (Michelle Williams) is desperate to secure funding for the orphanage she runs in India, so when she is asked to return to NY to discuss a major donation by a potential benefactor, she reluctantly leaves her charges. In New York, she meets with rich and powerful Theresa (Julianne Moore), who invites her to her daughter’s wedding the next day so they can get to know each other. But Theresa’s husband (Billy Crudup) already knows Isabel. That brief description is all I can supply without spoiling the plot. I hope that’s enough to intrigue you, because the movie is worth seeing. 4 cans.
34. This is a Game Ladies* (2004) – I would rather be watching my beloved Rutgers Women’s Basketball team on the court, but that is not possible since March Madness has been canceled. So instead, I viewed this documentary for the first time, thanks to YouTube. It traces the RUWBB team from right after its loss to Tennessee in the Final Four in 2000 through the next full season with a glimpse of the 2001-2002 squad. Long-time fans will find the familiar faces of Rutgers players from way back and can relive some thrilling victories and agonizing defeats. Above it all is the dominating figure of Coach C. Vivian Stringer as she encourages, cajoles, challenges and leads her young ladies through a season of highs and lows, with her burning desire to make them successful women. 4 cans, but I am biased on this one!
35. The Mighty Macs (2009) – This improbable story is one you wouldn’t believe unless you knew it were true. In 1971, young basketball coach Cathy Rush takes charge of the perennially losing Mighty Macs of tiny Immaculata College outside Philadelphia. There was no gym and only one basketball. The uniforms were pinafores with sashes, and the rules had just changed so the players were no longer restricted to just one area of the court as in the past. NCAA basketball and Title IX did not yet exist. In this impossible set of circumstances and with an unconventional approach to coaching, Rush, aided by a young nun, turned a very small group of players into champions who dominated the sport for three years. Former Rutgers Coach Theresa Shank Grentz, a player on those Immaculata teams, has a cameo as the last nun in the pew. A fun and inspiring story of trust, spirit and innovation. 3½ cans.
36. The Three Faces of Eve (1957) – Joanne Woodward stars in this unusual story of a woman with multiple personalities. Dowdy housewife Eve White has “spells,” starting with a headache and progressing to blackouts, followed by amnesia. Dr. Luther (Lee J. Cobb) can’t figure out what is wrong with her, until one day in his office when alter ego Eve Black emerges. She is a randy woman who flirts with the psychiatrist, who cannot believe what he is seeing. And Eve Black is not the only one crowded into Eve White’s head; there’s Jane, with no Southern accent, who is the sensible one, and who helps stabilize the situation. It takes years of therapy and more frequent spells to finally determine the underlying cause of these personalities, which overpower Eve White. Interesting concept and played with enough nuance and sensitivity for Woodward to win the Oscar. 3½ cans because it seems dated and melodramatic now.
37. Forrest Gump (1994) – This Tom Hanks classic (aside from “Bachelor Party,” has this guy ever made a real dud?) is about life, love, and loss, about celebrating the every man, showing us that we each have some kind of gift to bring to our existence and that you don’t need to be a genius to master life. Yes, it is a fantasy and I generally avoid fantasies, but it is so heartwarming and poignant that it is irresistible. I had not seen it in many years. I am glad I took the time. 4½ cans.
38. Dirty Dancing (1987) – Frances “Baby” Hausman (Jennifer Grey) meets dreamy dancer Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze) at a Catskills resort, takes one look and becomes a great dancer. He’s all wrong for her, of course, but he won’t put her in the corner. Great music and dancing and watching it now makes my heart ache for Swayze. If you need more detail, just see the movie. 4 cans.
39. Self-Made* (2020) – Until Madam C. J. Walker (Octavia Spencer) came along with her hair products empire in the early 1900s, there were no female self-made millionaires in the US. In this Netflix mini-series, Spencer starts as the laundrywoman for Addie, a rich woman with her own hair care business. She won’t hire Madam Walker to do sales because she does not fit the image of the other African-American women who sell and use her products, so Walker sets off to develop better products and succeeds beyond her rival. Walker is an industrious woman with a fierce strength, and she never stops battling to build a factory and grow her business. She hired thousands of black women who went on to their own success, and she was an early philanthropist, giving to historically black colleges such as Spelman. People have criticized this story, saying it glosses over facts, but I am only judging what I see as a story of a fiercely independent woman who was far ahead of her time. 3½ cans.
40. The Princess Bride* (1987) – You just don’t find a lot of good, swashbuckling movies anymore, but if you like heroes and villains and damsels in distress, this one will tickle your fancy. This fantasy is intelligent and very clever with a host of excellent actors who keep their tongues (mostly) out of their cheeks and not overplaying their parts. The bonus was seeing the young Fred Savage as the grandson listening to his grandfather (Peter Falk) tell this good, old-fashioned story. There are memorable characters (Wallace Shawn and Many Patinkin as Inigo Montoya) and lines and silly situations, but it all works in an off-kilter, Monty Python kind of way. Right now, I could use a little fantasy. I cannot believe I had never seen this one! 3½ cans. (I’d give it a 4 but I don’t LOVE fantasies.)
26. Picture Perfect (1997) – There’s nothing perfect about Kate’s (Jennifer Anniston) life. She is a hardworking ad exec who is single and lives alone. Those qualities seem to preclude her as a candidate for advancement. So when she meets Nick (Jay Mohr), the videographer of a wedding she attends, she prevails on him to pose as her fiancée, inundating him with important information on her life (how she takes her coffee) so she can introduce him to her colleagues and then break up with him, thus giving her the gravitas she needs to impress her bosses. Meanwhile, she is having a fling with colleague and womanizer Sam (Kevin Bacon). It doesn’t take long for us to realize that Kate most likely will begin to find Nick someone she can put into her life legitimately. Very light and moderately charming. 3 cans.
27. The Way Back* (2020) – A sports redemption pictures go, this is one of the better ones. Ben Affleck plays Jack Cunningham, former basketball star at the local high school, who is no longer with his wife and has largely separated himself from the people who care for him. Instead, he shows up at work and drinks, goes home and drinks and goes to the local bar and drinks. Considering Affleck’s well-publicized personal battles with alcohol, in many ways, this movie wasn’t a stretch for him. When Jack is asked to take over as the coach of the high school team where he once starred as a player, he rehearses every possible way to turn down the offer. But he can’t, and instead he emerges as a really good coach who turns the team around. But can he truly redeem himself and find the way back, or will he slip back into his old habits? You will have to see this one to find out – and it is worth it. 3½ cans. This is a good movie, but it is not “Hoosiers,” the ultimate basketball redemption movie.
28. The Factory* (2020) – When a Chinese company took over an abandoned Ohio GM factory to open Fuyako Glass, the optimism for the success of the partnership was high. But the Americans hired by the new company and the culture of the Chinese workers and management resulted in a culture clash. The Chinese were accustomed to exacting standards and long hours, and the Americans did not feel comfortable with the imposed rules. There were safety issues, union issues and training issues. The new company was determined to succeed and make a profit, but at what cost? This is a very absorbing commentary on the working class from two disparate areas of the world, their hopes and aspirations and the reality of business. Catch it on Netflix. 3½ cans.
29. The Women of Troy* (2020) – This HBO documentary tells the story of the emergence of women’s college basketball in the 1980s, led by one of the best players of all-time, Cheryl Miller, leads a supremely talented team from the University of Southern California to two consecutive NCAA titles. Until that time, small schools like Immaculata, outside of Philadelphia, and the Lady Techsters of Louisiana Tech were the elite basketball schools. But with the adoption of Title IX legislation that required schools to fund men and women equally (and not just in athletics), large schools like USC began to dominate. If you are a women’s basketball fan, you will be thrilled to see the exploits of the first generation of women superstars, such as Cynthia Cooper, Kim Mulkey, Nancy Lieberman, Miller and her teammates Pam and Paula McGee, who bring athleticism and razzle-dazzle to the women’s game. This film traces their story on the college level as well as the birth of women’s professional basketball in the US with the formation of the WNBA, affording players an opportunity to continue their post-college basketball careers in the US and make a living. Catch this one since we all missed March Madness. 4 cans.
30. The Karate Kid (1984) – Ralph Macchio plays Daniel, a kid from New Jersey who moves with his mom to California, meets the pretty girl at school (Elizabeth Shue) and gets bullied by the blonde surfer dudes who practice karate – on his face. He is a good kid, just trying to fit in, but the guys won’t give him a chance. When handyman Mr. Miyagy (Pat Morita) offers to teach him karate, Daniel is willing but dubious of his unconventional training approach, which includes waxing a car (“wax on, wax off”), painting a fence and standing on one leg. But the skinny kid somehow manages to pull it all together to compete in an under-18 tournament with the bigger and stronger bully boys. Guess what happens? 3 cans and a cheer for the underdog.
31. The Heart of the Game (2005) – With the possible exception of “Hoop Dreams,” there is no finer documentary about basketball (or sports, in my opinion) than this 7-year look at Coach Bill Resler and his Roosevelt High Rough Riders in Seattle, Washington. A college tax professor, Resler takes on the hapless high school girls basketball team and uses an unconventional approach to urge the girls on to victory. He tells them they are a pack of wolves or tigers, and they abandon traditional offensive sets and swarm the opposition on defense. When the gifted Darnellia Russell shows up (a year after the documentary starts), she brings her considerable basketball skills and sometimes poor attitude to challenge Resler. Will they win the state championship? Will Darnellia overcome her own problems to stay on the team? I know the outcome and yet every time I watch this movie I am thrilled at each basket, each pass, and each game. If you like sports and enjoy documentaries, you’ve gotta have “Heart.” 5 cans.
32. Lost Girls* (2020) – Shannon Gilbert is missing in Long Island, and her mother, Mari (Amy Ryan) is relentless in pushing the police to look for her. During the search, police find the bodies of three other young women, all prostitutes, dumped and unaccounted for. The cops need a push so Shannon is not forgotten as police delve further into the work of what may be a serial killer. Very absorbing and based on a real case. Ryan is terrific as the ferocious mom. 4 cans. Netflix.
33. After the Wedding* (2019) – Isabel (Michelle Williams) is desperate to secure funding for the orphanage she runs in India, so when she is asked to return to NY to discuss a major donation by a potential benefactor, she reluctantly leaves her charges. In New York, she meets with rich and powerful Theresa (Julianne Moore), who invites her to her daughter’s wedding the next day so they can get to know each other. But Theresa’s husband (Billy Crudup) already knows Isabel. That brief description is all I can supply without spoiling the plot. I hope that’s enough to intrigue you, because the movie is worth seeing. 4 cans.
34. This is a Game Ladies* (2004) – I would rather be watching my beloved Rutgers Women’s Basketball team on the court, but that is not possible since March Madness has been canceled. So instead, I viewed this documentary for the first time, thanks to YouTube. It traces the RUWBB team from right after its loss to Tennessee in the Final Four in 2000 through the next full season with a glimpse of the 2001-2002 squad. Long-time fans will find the familiar faces of Rutgers players from way back and can relive some thrilling victories and agonizing defeats. Above it all is the dominating figure of Coach C. Vivian Stringer as she encourages, cajoles, challenges and leads her young ladies through a season of highs and lows, with her burning desire to make them successful women. 4 cans, but I am biased on this one!
35. The Mighty Macs (2009) – This improbable story is one you wouldn’t believe unless you knew it were true. In 1971, young basketball coach Cathy Rush takes charge of the perennially losing Mighty Macs of tiny Immaculata College outside Philadelphia. There was no gym and only one basketball. The uniforms were pinafores with sashes, and the rules had just changed so the players were no longer restricted to just one area of the court as in the past. NCAA basketball and Title IX did not yet exist. In this impossible set of circumstances and with an unconventional approach to coaching, Rush, aided by a young nun, turned a very small group of players into champions who dominated the sport for three years. Former Rutgers Coach Theresa Shank Grentz, a player on those Immaculata teams, has a cameo as the last nun in the pew. A fun and inspiring story of trust, spirit and innovation. 3½ cans.
36. The Three Faces of Eve (1957) – Joanne Woodward stars in this unusual story of a woman with multiple personalities. Dowdy housewife Eve White has “spells,” starting with a headache and progressing to blackouts, followed by amnesia. Dr. Luther (Lee J. Cobb) can’t figure out what is wrong with her, until one day in his office when alter ego Eve Black emerges. She is a randy woman who flirts with the psychiatrist, who cannot believe what he is seeing. And Eve Black is not the only one crowded into Eve White’s head; there’s Jane, with no Southern accent, who is the sensible one, and who helps stabilize the situation. It takes years of therapy and more frequent spells to finally determine the underlying cause of these personalities, which overpower Eve White. Interesting concept and played with enough nuance and sensitivity for Woodward to win the Oscar. 3½ cans because it seems dated and melodramatic now.
37. Forrest Gump (1994) – This Tom Hanks classic (aside from “Bachelor Party,” has this guy ever made a real dud?) is about life, love, and loss, about celebrating the every man, showing us that we each have some kind of gift to bring to our existence and that you don’t need to be a genius to master life. Yes, it is a fantasy and I generally avoid fantasies, but it is so heartwarming and poignant that it is irresistible. I had not seen it in many years. I am glad I took the time. 4½ cans.
38. Dirty Dancing (1987) – Frances “Baby” Hausman (Jennifer Grey) meets dreamy dancer Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze) at a Catskills resort, takes one look and becomes a great dancer. He’s all wrong for her, of course, but he won’t put her in the corner. Great music and dancing and watching it now makes my heart ache for Swayze. If you need more detail, just see the movie. 4 cans.
39. Self-Made* (2020) – Until Madam C. J. Walker (Octavia Spencer) came along with her hair products empire in the early 1900s, there were no female self-made millionaires in the US. In this Netflix mini-series, Spencer starts as the laundrywoman for Addie, a rich woman with her own hair care business. She won’t hire Madam Walker to do sales because she does not fit the image of the other African-American women who sell and use her products, so Walker sets off to develop better products and succeeds beyond her rival. Walker is an industrious woman with a fierce strength, and she never stops battling to build a factory and grow her business. She hired thousands of black women who went on to their own success, and she was an early philanthropist, giving to historically black colleges such as Spelman. People have criticized this story, saying it glosses over facts, but I am only judging what I see as a story of a fiercely independent woman who was far ahead of her time. 3½ cans.
40. The Princess Bride* (1987) – You just don’t find a lot of good, swashbuckling movies anymore, but if you like heroes and villains and damsels in distress, this one will tickle your fancy. This fantasy is intelligent and very clever with a host of excellent actors who keep their tongues (mostly) out of their cheeks and not overplaying their parts. The bonus was seeing the young Fred Savage as the grandson listening to his grandfather (Peter Falk) tell this good, old-fashioned story. There are memorable characters (Wallace Shawn and Many Patinkin as Inigo Montoya) and lines and silly situations, but it all works in an off-kilter, Monty Python kind of way. Right now, I could use a little fantasy. I cannot believe I had never seen this one! 3½ cans. (I’d give it a 4 but I don’t LOVE fantasies.)
Saturday, March 14, 2020
The NEW March Madness
This month’s blog entry is a bit different than my usual lighthearted fare. But with the dire news about the spread of the Covid-19 virus surrounding us, I thought it appropriate to reflect on this public health crisis and provide some sourced information to help us all. The material included here was created by me, with references noted and quoted.
The is the year when everything changed.
First, Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna were among a group of 9 people who lost their lives in a helicopter crash.
And then the corona virus, COVID-19, hit.
One NBA player tested positive and the league immediately suspended its season, with hockey, soccer and other sports leagues following suit.
March Madness Basketball games were canceled and conference tournaments were halted in the middle of games after some were played without spectators, cheerleaders, the band, or the fans providing the homecourt advantage. The Rutgers Men's Basketball team was on the cusp of gaining its first berth in the NCAA Tournament since 1991, only to be left with a premature ending to a magical season.
St. Patrick Day parades have been canceled or rescheduled. Baseball’s Opening Day has been postponed.
The stock market crashed.
Other than epidemiologists, had you ever heard of the Corona virus or Covid-19? Yeah, me neither.
Now – and this is subject to change by the time you finish reading this essay – people are dying in Italy, where they have run out of beds and medical care. People are being diagnosed and dying in this country, too, in your town or a neighboring one, and the situation is likely to get worse before it gets better.
Three people mutinied because someone sneezed on an airplane, ending in a forced landing.
People are sneezing into their coats, stripping toilet paper and hand sanitizer from store shelves, and practicing “social distancing,” thus validating all of the introverts who avoided crowds anyway. Today I got the last two bananas at my supermarket and nothing to use to make and freeze a meatloaf. People are hunkering down, hoarding and losing their last bit of sanity.
Concerts, sports events, rallies, weddings and parties are being cancelled. Who wants to take a cruise with the possibility of being quarantined upon returning if someone on the ship tests positive for the virus? Or worse.
Flights are being canceled because people are afraid to fly. And with the tests for the virus being in limited supply, no one knows whether they have been exposed to the virus by a passenger who just hasn’t been diagnosed yet.
Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson announced that they have contracted the virus and are in quarantine in Australia.
Colleges and public schools are closing, leaving college kids with no place to go and no way to get there. Teachers are scrambling to prepare to teach online. People will lose their jobs because they have to stay home and take care of their kids instead of picking them up after school. We may run out of beds in health care facilities, equipment and treatments.
The reality is that no one – even the US, with the best doctors and health care in the world (supposedly) – was prepared to face this worldwide pandemic that has resulted already in thousands of deaths. Diagnostic tests were not available and the vaccines have not as yet been developed. And don’t hold your breath waiting for a cure or a vaccine.
According to the industry group Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers Association, on average, “it takes at least 10 years for a new medicine to complete the journey from initial discovery to the marketplace, with clinical trials alone taking six to seven years on average. The average cost to research and develop each successful drug is estimated to be $2.6 billion.” We don’t have that kind of time.
The threat of further outbreaks remains a reality as we have finally caught up with our own failure to take precautions with our health. Our lack of good hygiene doesn’t help. The CDC says that only 31 percent of men and 65 percent of women wash their hands after using the bathroom. WebMD on its website lists the “12 Hot Spots for Germs,” and they are things many of us experience every day, like using a touch screen to order food or touching the restaurant menu, using those explosive hand dryers (for those who actually wash their hands) or working out at the gym on equipment where the virus’ germs may reside for a period of time.
According to a four-year study conducted by the University of Arizona’s Environmental Research Lab and sponsored by Clorox, “Grocery carts are veritable petri dishes teeming with human saliva, mucus, urine, fecal matter, as well as the blood and juices from raw meat. Swabs taken from the handles and child seats of 36 grocery carts in San Francisco, Chicago, Tucson, and Tampa showed these common surfaces to rank third on the list of nastiest public items to touch, with only playground equipment and the armrests on public transportation producing more disgusting results. In terms of playing host to germs and bacteria, the carts are far worse than public bathrooms, which at least are cleaned more often. Bacteria and viruses such as E. coli, staphylococcus, salmonella, and influenza can live on grocery carts, a sorry fact most shoppers are blissfully unaware of.” That’s OK, the grocery shelves are bare anyway by now.
Some further advice suggests maintaining a 2-week supply of food in the house in case you are quarantined, stocking up on prescriptions you might need during that period and buying over-the-counter meds to treat the symptoms you may contract.
Many stores offer antibacterial wipes these days. Use them. If you are lucky you might find a package of wipes or a bottle of sanitizer on the shelf. Many of us who were careful before the invasion of the virus but who were not exactly germophobes now have begun to rethink how we can minimize our exposure to germs in general and to the Covid-19 virus specifically.
The World Health Organization says:
“Practice respiratory hygiene. Make sure you, and the people around you, follow good respiratory hygiene. This means covering your mouth and nose with your bent elbow or tissue when you cough or sneeze. Then dispose of the used tissue immediately.
“Why? Droplets spread virus. By following good respiratory hygiene practices, you protect the people around you from viruses such as cold, flu and COVID-19."
When I think of all the times someone accidentally spit on me during a conversation, I shudder.
The WHO continues:
“Stay home if you feel unwell. If you have a fever, cough and difficulty breathing, seek medical attention and call in advance. Follow the directions of your local health authority. National and local authorities will have the most up-to-date information on the situation in your area. Calling in advance will allow your health care provider to quickly direct you to the right health facility. This will also protect you and help prevent spread of viruses and other infections.”
We are told to wash our hands for at least 20 seconds. Lady Macbeth didn’t wring her hands as much as I do now, followed by an application of lotion to prevent dryness and cracking. I saw online a diagram of how to wash our hands properly and realized that at nearly 70 years old, I had not been doing it right.
Stay away from crowds and don’t wear a mask unless you have symptoms but do use hand sanitizer before and after any possible exposure. Last week, as I was flying home, a passenger was wiping down her seat like it was going to be used for surgery. And I had no idea how many times my hands touched my face in the course of a day, which we are told to avoid.
Now I wonder if I could have been exposed to the virus at the BIG 10 Women’s Basketball Tournament, which was held the week before all hell broke loose. If it takes two weeks to develop the virus, I’m smack in the middle of that window.
If you do have symptoms, see your doctor and self-quarantine for two weeks. Watch movies, read books, take a walk, do deep-breathing to help stay as relaxed as possible, and wait. Call your friends and family and use social media to stay in touch since most gatherings are discouraged. Donate to your local food bank, where supplies are limited and donations are down.
I’m not minimizing the severity of this situation by any means, but I am hopeful that we will change our behavior as individuals to improve our hygiene short- and long-term. And I am hopeful that we will get this pandemic under control, because it is deadly.
What a year! And it is only March.
Meanwhile, stay safe, stay healthy and stay connected.
The is the year when everything changed.
First, Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna were among a group of 9 people who lost their lives in a helicopter crash.
And then the corona virus, COVID-19, hit.
One NBA player tested positive and the league immediately suspended its season, with hockey, soccer and other sports leagues following suit.
March Madness Basketball games were canceled and conference tournaments were halted in the middle of games after some were played without spectators, cheerleaders, the band, or the fans providing the homecourt advantage. The Rutgers Men's Basketball team was on the cusp of gaining its first berth in the NCAA Tournament since 1991, only to be left with a premature ending to a magical season.
St. Patrick Day parades have been canceled or rescheduled. Baseball’s Opening Day has been postponed.
The stock market crashed.
Other than epidemiologists, had you ever heard of the Corona virus or Covid-19? Yeah, me neither.
Now – and this is subject to change by the time you finish reading this essay – people are dying in Italy, where they have run out of beds and medical care. People are being diagnosed and dying in this country, too, in your town or a neighboring one, and the situation is likely to get worse before it gets better.
Three people mutinied because someone sneezed on an airplane, ending in a forced landing.
People are sneezing into their coats, stripping toilet paper and hand sanitizer from store shelves, and practicing “social distancing,” thus validating all of the introverts who avoided crowds anyway. Today I got the last two bananas at my supermarket and nothing to use to make and freeze a meatloaf. People are hunkering down, hoarding and losing their last bit of sanity.
Concerts, sports events, rallies, weddings and parties are being cancelled. Who wants to take a cruise with the possibility of being quarantined upon returning if someone on the ship tests positive for the virus? Or worse.
Flights are being canceled because people are afraid to fly. And with the tests for the virus being in limited supply, no one knows whether they have been exposed to the virus by a passenger who just hasn’t been diagnosed yet.
Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson announced that they have contracted the virus and are in quarantine in Australia.
Colleges and public schools are closing, leaving college kids with no place to go and no way to get there. Teachers are scrambling to prepare to teach online. People will lose their jobs because they have to stay home and take care of their kids instead of picking them up after school. We may run out of beds in health care facilities, equipment and treatments.
The reality is that no one – even the US, with the best doctors and health care in the world (supposedly) – was prepared to face this worldwide pandemic that has resulted already in thousands of deaths. Diagnostic tests were not available and the vaccines have not as yet been developed. And don’t hold your breath waiting for a cure or a vaccine.
According to the industry group Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers Association, on average, “it takes at least 10 years for a new medicine to complete the journey from initial discovery to the marketplace, with clinical trials alone taking six to seven years on average. The average cost to research and develop each successful drug is estimated to be $2.6 billion.” We don’t have that kind of time.
The threat of further outbreaks remains a reality as we have finally caught up with our own failure to take precautions with our health. Our lack of good hygiene doesn’t help. The CDC says that only 31 percent of men and 65 percent of women wash their hands after using the bathroom. WebMD on its website lists the “12 Hot Spots for Germs,” and they are things many of us experience every day, like using a touch screen to order food or touching the restaurant menu, using those explosive hand dryers (for those who actually wash their hands) or working out at the gym on equipment where the virus’ germs may reside for a period of time.
According to a four-year study conducted by the University of Arizona’s Environmental Research Lab and sponsored by Clorox, “Grocery carts are veritable petri dishes teeming with human saliva, mucus, urine, fecal matter, as well as the blood and juices from raw meat. Swabs taken from the handles and child seats of 36 grocery carts in San Francisco, Chicago, Tucson, and Tampa showed these common surfaces to rank third on the list of nastiest public items to touch, with only playground equipment and the armrests on public transportation producing more disgusting results. In terms of playing host to germs and bacteria, the carts are far worse than public bathrooms, which at least are cleaned more often. Bacteria and viruses such as E. coli, staphylococcus, salmonella, and influenza can live on grocery carts, a sorry fact most shoppers are blissfully unaware of.” That’s OK, the grocery shelves are bare anyway by now.
Some further advice suggests maintaining a 2-week supply of food in the house in case you are quarantined, stocking up on prescriptions you might need during that period and buying over-the-counter meds to treat the symptoms you may contract.
Many stores offer antibacterial wipes these days. Use them. If you are lucky you might find a package of wipes or a bottle of sanitizer on the shelf. Many of us who were careful before the invasion of the virus but who were not exactly germophobes now have begun to rethink how we can minimize our exposure to germs in general and to the Covid-19 virus specifically.
The World Health Organization says:
“Practice respiratory hygiene. Make sure you, and the people around you, follow good respiratory hygiene. This means covering your mouth and nose with your bent elbow or tissue when you cough or sneeze. Then dispose of the used tissue immediately.
“Why? Droplets spread virus. By following good respiratory hygiene practices, you protect the people around you from viruses such as cold, flu and COVID-19."
When I think of all the times someone accidentally spit on me during a conversation, I shudder.
The WHO continues:
“Stay home if you feel unwell. If you have a fever, cough and difficulty breathing, seek medical attention and call in advance. Follow the directions of your local health authority. National and local authorities will have the most up-to-date information on the situation in your area. Calling in advance will allow your health care provider to quickly direct you to the right health facility. This will also protect you and help prevent spread of viruses and other infections.”
We are told to wash our hands for at least 20 seconds. Lady Macbeth didn’t wring her hands as much as I do now, followed by an application of lotion to prevent dryness and cracking. I saw online a diagram of how to wash our hands properly and realized that at nearly 70 years old, I had not been doing it right.
Stay away from crowds and don’t wear a mask unless you have symptoms but do use hand sanitizer before and after any possible exposure. Last week, as I was flying home, a passenger was wiping down her seat like it was going to be used for surgery. And I had no idea how many times my hands touched my face in the course of a day, which we are told to avoid.
Now I wonder if I could have been exposed to the virus at the BIG 10 Women’s Basketball Tournament, which was held the week before all hell broke loose. If it takes two weeks to develop the virus, I’m smack in the middle of that window.
If you do have symptoms, see your doctor and self-quarantine for two weeks. Watch movies, read books, take a walk, do deep-breathing to help stay as relaxed as possible, and wait. Call your friends and family and use social media to stay in touch since most gatherings are discouraged. Donate to your local food bank, where supplies are limited and donations are down.
I’m not minimizing the severity of this situation by any means, but I am hopeful that we will change our behavior as individuals to improve our hygiene short- and long-term. And I am hopeful that we will get this pandemic under control, because it is deadly.
What a year! And it is only March.
Meanwhile, stay safe, stay healthy and stay connected.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)