We Sadly Bid Farewell To Our Rat Buddy Irving

Writerly Flight of Fancy

What would happen if eight-year-old me met 54-year-old me? What would the younger version of myself say?

“Old man, your epidermis is showing!”

Upon hearing this I would politely excuse myself and go to my bedroom to inspect myself in front of a mirror to be positive nothing embarrassing was amiss.

Then it would hit me. Hey, wait a minute, you little ….

A Modest Proposal for Jewish Community

When Ammon Bundy used the backdrop of the pandemic to organize an Easter rally, I felt a connection to larger societal currents and needed to write something to garner support.

"A Modest Proposal for Jewish Community"

Check out my Medium piece on this link.

Shopping With the Kids

A neighbor offering support and TP.

Beautiful Weather and Social Distance

During the day, I, like many people, can't stand to be cooped up inside, especially during a perfect spring day. So I go for a walk in the park. Happy to report that most people are taking the social distancing policies seriously.

The only point of concern is that fishermen are in force on the Willamette River, and the public boat-launch facilities are packed with cars. I can see this being okay if they arrive at staggered intervals. "Do you fish?" might become a survey question if contact tracing ever comes into existence here.

Haircut At Home

The Daughter gets creative before the cutting begins.

CNN Finally Ends Dignifying Trump's Craziness

I like the idea that CNN is returning to a more neutral reporting of the news, rather than enter the maelstrom of deceit that is a Trump briefing. The boxed captions in the pictures show an editorial tone that is sorely needed when covering Trump's statements.

7:00 pm

Madness or Genius?

My friend smashed his Google Pixel phone with a ball-peen hammer.

My first question was why the ball-peen and not a claw or sledge hammer, as I know this guy has a well-stocked workshop.

"It was first on-hand," came the reply.

Only later did I ask what the phone had done to warrant such an extreme reaction, receiving a vague litany of complaints, foremost being the audio assistant was out of control.

Fast forward two weeks. The guy is thrilled to have lightened his burden not to schlep around a phone. He works in a retail business which is now closed, or close to it, so his life can exist just fine without a phone.

His wife, however, is less thrilled. She now has to broker any calls for him and send and receive his text messages. Back is the day where she answers a phone and has to get up and pass the handset off to the other person.

I'm always happy to learn someone has paired down his tech for improved mental heath, but putting the burden of the lost communication channels on the wife isn't an elegant solution.

Celebration of Signature Graphics

Last Night I Had A Dream...

Passover is harder than you think!

It's Come To This

Truth

Zoom is the new "it" thing.