Thursday, June 4, 2020

June 4, 2020 (In The Year of the Trump Virus)

June 4, 2020 (In The Year of the Trump Virus)

Today there are 1,469 new cases of the Trump Virus, and 44 deaths reported for today as well in the county of Los Angeles.  The city of Glendale, California, which I can see from the distance from my backyard has 1,031 cases so far and 91 deaths.  Atwater Village, which is walking distance from my home, has 52 cases and two deaths.  Where I live, Silver Lake, is still a tad under 200, with 12 deaths altogether.  I look at these reports daily, and they very much tell me what I will be doing for the next few days or weeks - staying at home to work on the film script and various writing jobs.

The good news is the neighbor's cat is back in my backyard.  She was gone for 24-hours, and I was miserable without her. I thought that a coyote caught her, and I was miserable throughout the night.  My neighbor told me this morning that they are allowing the cat to stay indoors at their home, and I was thrilled that she was alive and healthy.  I like dogs, but I love cats. Their relationship with humans is complexed interestingly.  There is equal attention paid to each other, and I feel in these days of misery, going out on the front steps and petting this gorgeous beast makes me feel good.

For the past few days, I have been reading the novel "Tapping the Source" by Kem Nunn.   The book is considered to be 'surf noir,' which may be the case, still, a real joy to read.  I've been studying surf culture as much as possible for a writing project.  The solitary surfer appeals to my sense of need to be alone during these days of a harsh life.  I feel miserable about my mom being in solitude; although I do text or call her daily, it is awful to have this border between us, yet, I don't give up the fight against the Trump Virus.  I don't live in fear or even anxiety, but more with sadness on a daily basis.

This afternoon I did another video for Artbook / D.A.P. on Philip Guston, the painter.  I love doing these little segments for my work, and it's challenging to touch on subject matters that are complexed and detailed, but within 8-minutes long.  I'm naturally a wanderer of a writer or talker, so to be confined in a timeframe is something new for me.  Kimley and I also discussed what the next book would be for our podcast Book Musik.  It isn't easy because we are committed to doing two episodes per month.  Due to the virus, we can't be in the same room, so that means we have to get an extra copy of a book for us, which so far is not that difficult. Still, the delivery and mail system is slow due to the Trump Virus.  Life has changed where we have to make plans even for a short time ahead of us.  I hear people mention that people have to live, meaning go back to their old life before the virus, but to me, living now in seclusion or being apart from the world is an intense experience. It is very much being alive and interacting with the new world.  For those who feel fear, either for the business they are losing or their lives and not to be sick - it's still a fear.  I have no fear.  I choose to live in a new world. - Tosh Berman.

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