Coping With Covid

Garrison Keillor, a true original.

If I could be anyone else it would be Garrison Keillor. He sings like an angel and has such a keen eye on human nature; nothing gets by him. And his storytelling is beyond compare. Listening to his soothing voice spinning tales from Lake Woebegone is just about the only thing that keeps me sane during this terrible time. I only wish he could give his take on how the citizens of that small Minnesota town would handle Covid-19, especially if the Chatterbox Cafe were closed and they were all stuck at home. As for me, I'm getting pretty damn sick of the whole thing.

Throwing caution to the wind, one of my favorite things to do these days, I actually hugged my son when he came for dinner last night. We let him in the house even though he lives in downtown Portland and is out and about, working part-time in an establishment where random clients come and go. Everyone wears masks, but as we all know they don't prevent anything but look like they do.

My coping strategies are minimal: My husband and I have taken to Zooming with friends in distant cities, which is fun but not as much as us all being together in the same room. Most days I go for long walks with the Beach Boys, listening to Pet Sounds on my headphones and reliving the good old days before an unseen enemy infiltrated society and changed everything. And when I feel really low I visit Lake Woebegone and imagine myself with a steaming cup of coffee and a slice of lemon pie, sitting at the counter in the Chatterbox Cafe. It's cold outside and all the windows are fogged over, making it even cozier inside.