NAVIGATING NEXTDOOR

Prior to the pandemic, I made the personal mental health decision to go off social media. In the absence of Instagram and Facebook, I’ve found myself perusing Nextdoor rather absentmindedly. I can’t stomach the racial profiling, petty arguments or political rants. However, this community platform can be mined for humor and neighborly good feels. Take this pig and his pumpkin for instance. A woman put out a call out for donations of pumpkins as treats for rescued pigs. Hysterical. Hundreds of post Halloween gourds were donated to the little piggies as the subsequent photo post proved. Heartwarming. The found chinchilla. The truckload of pigeons outside of the Jack in the Box. You’ve got to read the comments. Sometimes I find myself crying of laughter and sending screen shots to my friend Olivia. I used to make fun of her for reading Nextdoor. Now, I’m a happy convert.

HALLOWEEN IN A PANDEMIC

My children are a bit older now. The cancellation of trick-or-treating in our neighborhood, which is normally overrun with people, dogs, babies and houses decked out in costume, is not as disappointing to them as it is to me. As long as I provide candy, albeit a “ton” of candy, they seem to be rolling with the new normal even in this most beloved holiday of mine. My annual Halloween party that I host for our block has been cancelled. I didn’t even put out decorations. Too depressing. However, I’ve turned a corner. I’ve decided not the let the Covid ruin my fun. I dipped my toe back into the festive spirit by purchasing a few rather cool striped pumpkins from Trader Joe’s. This goes agains my whole being, as festive gourds are meant to be curated from a pumpkin patch, not a grocery parking lot. Let’s face it, the times they are a changin.’ However, I will not let the Pumpkin Scrooge bring me down…bring on the decor, bring on the costumes, bring on the pumpkins and bring on the candy!

8:00PM SHOUT OUTS

I’d like to give a shout out to my neighbor, Denis Hattemer, who loudly and proudly gives a most enthusiastic and booming shout out to the healthcare workers every evening at 8pm without fail. Since the pandemic began, I’ve gone through periods of disbelief, fear, anxiety, apathy, sadness to name a few emotions. Come 8pm, however, I am always cheered by Denis’ relentless expression of gratitude. He calls out to my name each night, and whatever my mood, I feel compelled to respond. His call to arms, “alright, alright, alright” has become somewhat famous through the hills of Silver Lake. My neighbor across busy Rowena Avenue reached out to tell me he “loves that guy.” Another neighbor and her daughter crossed the avenue in order to catch an up close glimpse of the person cheering everyone through these crazy times. Her husband works at Kaiser. The thanks to healthcare workers does not go unheard. The thanks to Denis reverberate through the hills.

BLACK LIVES MATTER

It has been a heart wrenching time across the United States and around the world since the death of George Floyd. But it has been an unfair, heart wrenching, dangerous, fearful, demeaning, demoralizing and deadly time for black people since they were first stolen from Africa and enslaved in this country. It is beyond time for white people to examine our white privilege and supremacy, to learn how to be anti-racist and better allies and listen to our brothers and sisters of color. I cannot believe what is happening at the polls in 2020…black men were afforded the right to vote in 1867, and yet again black men and women are being kept from the polls. We need men and women in office locally and nationally who can make real change. Mass incarceration is the current form of enslavement of black people. The bail system keeps people of color incarcerated and in the system. One way to help is to donate to https://bailproject.org.

The Bail Project™ National Revolving Bail Fund is a critical tool to prevent incarceration and combat racial and economic disparities in the bail system.

I too am complicit. I too am learning. I too am angry. I too want to be hopeful. I too want to see real change.

STOP TO SMELL THE ROSES

Never in a million years would I have imagined the state we find ourselves in today. So much uncertainty. So much aloneness or togetherness…both can be equally trying. With no access to any of our regular outlets…restaurants, movies, concerts, parks, theatre, gyms, work, school, friends, to what does one turn? Food? Alcohol? Sugar? Depression? No, get out and smell the roses. The lockdown has occurred at a profound time of flora and fauna in Los Angeles, and I’m sure in other parts of the world too. Spring has sprung and along with it comes an abundance of flora and fauna. Without the traffic and the commotion, colors are more vivid, birdsong louder, skies brighter. My weekly routine has consisted of long walks throughout my environs, stopping to delight in, often to photograph and to smell the roses, along with a plethora of other beauteous blooms.