FRONT PORCH IS A GODSEND NOW

Do you like old houses? If so, you’re definitely in the minority. Most realtors will tell you that they’re a hard sell. It’s amazing to see all the new subdivisions popping up all over town. And houses in every price range are selling like hotcakes. On the other hand, my husband and I live in a house that’s over 100 years old, and we’ve always loved everything about it. The beamed ceilings, pillared doorways, wooden floors. But now, one special feature of old houses has proved to be a blessing. The front porch is a godsend now, during this covid-19 pandemic.

A front porch is a blessing during the covid 19 pandemic — A front porch is a godsend during this pandemic. Friends can visit in fresh air, while social distancing.

For one thing, we’re not stuck inside the house all day—even if it’s raining. Except for the winter months, we always sit on the front porch and have a cool drink in the late afternoon. We live along a busy street, and simply watch the cars go by, or people of various ages and sizes jogging or strolling. It’s fun to see the different outfits people wear. Some are half-naked, sweat dripping off their shoulders. Others are covered in black workout clothes. And then, there are the babies in strollers, and families with little children. Until Covid-19, we didn’t realize how much we enjoyed this evening parade.

But the best thing about our porch during this pandemic is the opportunity to visit safely with family and friends who stop by . The porch is wide enough for social distancing if there’s only four of us. Right now, we’ve been starved for company and social interaction. But if a neighbor stops by to say hello, we feel safe inviting them to sit and chat for a few minutes while sitting in the fresh air. They may or may not wear masks. Sometimes we do, and sometimes we don’t, depending on how confident we are that they aren’t carrying the virus. We don’t invite them inside. But when they leave, we feel satisfied that we’ve seen and talked with someone we care about. Before the pandemic, we never appreciated how important that is. We took those random social interactions for granted.

Front porches are seeing a revival the past few years. Builders are beginning to include them in design plans. And if you’re lucky enough to have a front porch during this pandemic, put it near the top of your gratitude list.

July 27, 2020July 27, 2020

7 THINGS COVID-19 CAN’T STOP

The pandemic has turned our lives upside down. The things we took for granted have been taken away, and we wonder if life will ever be normal again. But here are seven things Covid-19 can’t stop.

1. Kids growing taller. They may be in lock down, missing school and sports, but they’re still growing, in spite of the pandemic. My youngest grandson grew 5 inches in 5 months.

covid-19 can't stop the rain and bumper crops — 7 things covid-19 can’t stop: One of them is rain, resulting in bumper crops of corn.

2. Rain: It’s going to rain when it wants to, and the virus can’t stop it. This year, Hoosier farmers are looking at bumper crops due to the sudden abundance of rain that fell last week.

3. Live Births: Just look at the vital statistics in our local newspaper, you can see that babies are still being born every single day of the week, and every hour of the day, I have no doubt that those who survive this virus will never face another covid-19 scare, because by the time they’re in school, we’ll have a vaccine. Just like we wiped out polio

4. Weddings. They may be postponed or scaled down, but people still want to get married. Look at Princess Beatrice of England. The good thing is that smaller weddings result in far less expense.

5. Home building. New homes are going up all over town. And they’e selling like hot cakes. I saw construction workers outside starting in early March. In our city, entire new sub divisions are sprouting up .

6. Making love. Condom sales have skyrocked all over the world. It makes sense. Couples are locked down together, with much more free time.

7. The beauty of nature. Sunrises and sunsets. Verdant landscapes. Mountains. Waterfalls. Oceans, lakes, rivers and creeks. Because industries and businesses have closed down, there is a sudden drop in carbon emissions, which means covid-19 has been good for the environment. As an example, levels of pollution have been reduced by 50% in places like New York City.

Life goes on…

July 24, 2020July 23, 2020

LIBRARY IS THE SAFEST PLACE

We haven’t eaten in a restaurant for four months. Took one trip to the doctor in Indy. Have seen a few family members. It’s a pretty dull situation when going to the grocery store is the highlight of your week. Thanks to the pandemic, life has become rather boring for those of us who aren’t in panic mode. The local library was one of the last places allowed to open, way after bars, restaurants and hair salons. Which seems odd, because our local library appears to be the safest place in town.

While they were closed, you could still order books for curbside delivery while you waited outside in your car. All returned books were “quarantined” for several days before going back in circulation. I think they’re still doing that.

When the public library finally opened a couple of weeks ago, I barely recognized the interior. All personnel wore masks. Strangely enough, it was nearly empty of patrons. Maybe four or five at any given time. You have to wonder why people would feel comfortable in bars and restaurants, but not in the library, which is spacious, modern, and has good air circulation.

Library is the safest place. Computers are spaced far apart. — Books are quarantined, and computers are spaced far apart. Library is the safest place.

They’ve made a lot of changes. There used to be about 25 computers for use. People sitting close together while tapping away. The keys were often greasy. Now, they have fewer computers which are cleaned between use. Time is limited to one hour. Free masks are provided, but not mandatory.

The biggest and most important changes are about the furniture. They’ve removed all the upholstered furniture, and large tables. Only a few stiff metal chairs and a couple of small metal tables are available. Why is this important? Because we no longer have people hanging out in the library. There’s no place to sit or lounge for hours on end. If you think that’s cruel, , let me add that a local not-for profit has opened a homeless shelter. Here, the homeless can shower, rest, and get counseling as to ways to get off the streets. This is a much needed alternative to spending the day in the library and washing your hair in the toilet. It’s a win win situation for everyone.

If you do take the risk of going to the library, you have another nice surprise in store. The best seller shelves are full of brand new books. You have lots more to pick from, even in the large print section.

Are you tired of sitting at home, playing computer games and cleaning your house? Take a trip to the library.. It’s the safest place.

July 19, 2020July 19, 2020

THE RETURN OF THE BOBBY PIN

Believe it or not, once upon a time, young women cut their own hair. Back in the early twentieth century, beauty parlors were mostly places where older women got permanents and manicures. Rollers hadn’t been invented, nor had the curling iron come into common use. Girls not only cut their own hair, but “put it up” at night. For long hair, kid curlers or rags would produce curls that bounced on your shoulders. Short hair required pin curls. Now that most of us are afraid to go to hair salons, many are reverting to old fashioned hair styling methods. It’s the return of the bobby pin.

The most important thing about curling hair with rags or bobby pins is that it be done with damp hair. You can’t get any lasting curls if your hair is dry. What you do is dampen a strand of hair slightly before making the pin curl., and let it dry overnight. That way, the resulting curl will last through the next day.

Now that women are doing their own hair it's the return of the bobby pin. — During the pandemic, we had to cut and curl our own hair. It’s the return of the bobby pin.

We used to wonder what we would do when we got married. Going to bed with pin curls wouldn’t be romantic, would it? That was before the time when unmarried boys and girls spent the night together. So, you could slather your face with cold cream, put your hair up in rags or pin curls, and maybe even cover your head with a hairnet so the curls would stay in. No boyfriend would ever see that version of you.

If you look at old pictures, you can see that most women had “flat “ hair, with a middle or side part. No one had ever heard of teasing or blow drying. That all changed in the late fifties when short hair came in style. A pixie cut required a trip to the beauty shop. Often, you didn’t curl it at all. In the sixties and seventies long hair returned, and that’s when hot and cold rollers came into use. They were pretty uncomfortable if you were trying to sleep, but most young women managed to do it anyway.

So here we are during the pandemic of 2019-2020. If you’re afraid to go to the beauty parlor, you may decide to cut your own hair. If it’s long, you’might have to use use those pesky rollers. But if it’s short, pin curls are the answer. It’s the return of the bobby pin.

June 29, 2020June 29, 2020

DO YOU LIKE SAVANNAH’S HAIR?

My ambivalence toward perfectly beautiful women started when I was sixteen. Girls and boys went “steady” in those days. You wore the boy’s class ring on a chain around your neck. If he was an athlete, he let you wear his letter sweater to the movies. And so it was that my first boyfriend took me to see A Place In The Sun with Elizabeth Taylor. With a sinking heart, I knew I could never be that beautiful. Everything about her was perfect. Which I could never be. I’ve often felt that way about national tv news reporters, including the perfectly groomed Savannah Guthrie of NBC. But now, due to the pandemic, she’s let her hair down, so to speak. Do you like Savannah’s hair?

Back to Elizabeth Taylor. Most sixteen year old girls are pretty, just because they’re young. And yet, at that age, I didn’t appreciate the advantage of youth. Consequently, when I looked in the mirror, I saw a freckled nose, frizzy hair, a pale complexion, and a mouth full of braces. I thought of myself as “skinny,” not thin. There wasn’t a chance in the world I would ever have the cleavage of Elizabeth Taylor in a strapless evening gown. While I loved going to the movies, I often left feeling like a frump in comparison to the likes of Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelley.

Women in television are held to the same high standards. They must have perfect hair –never gray– and makeup. Smooth complexions. Long, shapely legs under short skirts. Female TV newscaster look far more glamorous than their male counterparts. Popular newsmen can be overweight, bald, pockmarked, have big ears ,wear glasses,, and still land high paying jobs. Although a few, like David Muir, are obviously picked for their hunkiness, it’s not really necessary for a male television reporter to make it to the top because of his good looks.

Covid-19 has changed all that perfection for female reporters. They’ve had to go it on their own. Do their own hair and makeup, put up with unflattering lighting. But I like them more now. Their ordinary hair reminds you of your sister or best friend in college. Everyone made fun of Judge Jeanine Pirro’s flyaway hair one night on Fox News. But I thought it made her appear softer, and down to earth.

Savannah looks more relatable now that she's doing her own hair. Do you like Savannah's hair? — She’s doing it herself now, during the covid-19 pandemic. Do you like Savannah’s hair?

Some people are upset about Savannah Guthrie’s hairstyle. One woman tweeted that she ought to be ashamed of herself for not getting her hair done. So, she’s supposed to let some infectious hair dresser breathe on her, just so she can have stiff, beauty parlor hair? I don’t think so. Truth be told, I think she seems more genuine without the perfect hair, clothes and makeup. Do you like Savannah Guthrie’s and Jeanine Pirro’s hair? I do.

June 26, 2020June 26, 2020

6 MISSING NUMBERS ABOUT COVID-19

We’re bombarded with news about the coronavirus. We know how many people got sick or died in our city, state, country, and all over the world. Yesterday, we learned that the United States Treasury sent over one million stimulus checks to dead people. But in spite of all the information flying around the media, there are still some things we don’t know. There are six missing numbers about covid-19.

1. How many rich people received stimulus checks that they did not need? Shouldn’t the poor and homeless have received most of the stimulus money?

2. How many employees took a free vacation rather than returning to work? $600 a week federal unemployment plus state unemployment pay amounted to more than some were making in salary and tips. Especially in places with a low cost of living.

3. How many patients were infected in each nursing home ? Our governor thinks it’s no one’s business. But he’s wrong. Most neighboring states are providing those statistics.

Missing covid-19 numbers. How many athletes have tested positive — 6 missing covid-19 numbers. Many athletes testing positive are asymptomatic. What about everyone else?

4. How many asymptomatic people are walking around? . Athletes all over the world are now being tested. In one case, there was a 35% infection rate among soccer players. We’ll never really know those numbers unless every person in the world is tested.

5. How many people who didn’t wear masks got sick? If you look at the folks not wearing masks, you may notice that they often don’t look very clean. Out in the parking lot, you see them getting into dirty cars filled with trash. Consequently, you wonder how their homes look. These are not people worried about good hygiene. It would be helpful to know the statistics. Do those of us who follow CDC guidelines have a lower infection rate? Or does it not make any difference at all? Careless people might have developed better immunity over the years, after being exposed to so many more germs.

6. How many businesses got rich on the virus? Manufacturers of hand sanitizer and face masks, for starters. Grocery stores sales increased by 50% at first. .At least 7 healthcare billionaires got richer off the pandemic. As a result, while poor people are lined up for free food, these lucky guys are looking at bigger yachts and vacation homes.

When we come up with a vaccine, the pandemic will end. Then, maybe some investigative reporters will come up with the answers to those questions.

June 15, 2020June 15, 2020

PANDEMIC SENSE AND NONSENSE

Things are settling down and reopening up. Although the coronavirus is still with us, we can sit back and wonder about the pandemic sense and nonsense that occurred. A lot of decisions were made by different elected officials all over the country, that didn’t seem well thought through. Here in the heartland, ordinary people don’t always agree with what has gone down.

Congress hurried up and passed a massive stimulus bill that benefited some people far more than others. The strangest thing was the stimulus checks. Anyone who filed a tax return for less than $75,000 received tax free money that wasn’t based on need or cost of living. $1200 won’t go very far in San Francisco, but it could pay for a lot of rent and groceries in small town, America. Same thing with the unemployment benefits. $600 a week plus state unemployment will go a long way in some parts of the country. In fact, it’s proven to be a disincentive for restaurant employees’ returning to work. Consequently, a lot of tax payer money has gone to people who really don’t need it at all.

.Restaurants and bars have been allowed to open for a couple of weeks in our city. They must follow certain social distancing guidelines but at least you can be served a meal that you didn’t have to cook or send for. This coming week, our library will finally be allowed to open their doors. Does this seem a little strange? Why are libraries so far down the totem pole? They should have opened before bars and hair salons.

Libraries are at the heart of any city. Books feed the soul, and will get you through tough times. I can remember growing up in the post depression years during World War II. Everything good was rationed. You couldn’t’ even buy ice cream—it had to be sherbet, unless you made it yourself. But the highlight of my week—starting at age six—was my weekly trip to the library. A good book will take you to far away places, and show you how people in other times or in different countries think and feel. Nothing can replace books. Certainly not a bottle of beer or a plate of spaghetti eaten at a restaurant.

Mask wearing was another thing. First, we were told it didn’t help to wear a mask. Then, about a month later, all the scientists were telling us we should wear masks, after all. It’s no wonder so many people refuse to wear one.

When things settle down, we’re going to look back at some of the decisions that were made and scratch our heads. Mayors are criticizing governors, and governors are criticizing the president. The politicians are all busy pointing fingers and placing blame. But the truth is, everyone has been floundering in a sea of the unknown. Common sense went out the window