I’m remarkably busy for someone for the most part staying at home. Social Distancing Streaming Concerts is taking up a lot of my time. It’s taking off wonderfully. I have to work on scheduling the staff so that it’s always someone’s job to reply to people and post shows. I wrote that last sentence half an hour ago. I’ve been busy on SDSC since then. My therapist will be happy to hear about this. She was worried that being home alone would trigger depression. I’m too busy to be depressed.
That is exactly what I didn’t want to be writing about. I wanted to write about the little things that are happening to me that are the heart and soul of Wise Madness. That means food and commuting. I was running low on coffee on Friday and needed to get more that day. I’m a poor coffee snob, I want coffee that’s good but not too expensive. Last time I bought 3 lbs of whole beans for $20 from Dunkin Donuts. I went in on Friday and the sale was over. I didn’t want to spend $11 per pound. When I got back to the Bronx I almost relented and walked towards another DD. As I did I realized that the Bronx is not necessarily a coffee-roasters desert. I wasn’t that far from Arthur Ave, the Little Italy of the Bronx. I googled and found Marie’s Fresh Roasted Coffee Beans and Gifts. I got a pound for $8. I got the morning blend, next time I’ll get the espresso beans. I should have bought both so I can switch off and have variety. Next time I’m down that way I’ll get it. I tried the coffee today; it was very good.
Yesterday I went to Stop & Shop to buy beef gravy so I could make poutine. It was a beautiful day, so I walked the 1.43 miles. That’s a triple win; I save bus fare, I avoid the risk of catching COVID-19 on the bus, and I get exercise. That’s really a quadruple win as the exercise is good for both my physical and mental health. I felt so much better emotionally as I walked. The only cost is that it takes 10-minutes longer than taking the bus. That’s a small cost. I did take the bus home with the groceries. That’s how I get my commuting story.
The bus was crowded but I found a seat not next to anyone near the back. I witnessed an argument between an older white woman sitting and a young black man standing. I thought it might have been triggered by her saying something racist as he called her a racist. I’m pretty sure that’s not what happened now. He has severe anger management issues. He started threatening her with sexual violence. That explained why she called him a sexist. I thought of intervening but couldn’t picture a scenario that would work. She should have just kept quiet instead of continuing the exchange. She was the clearly the adult in the room. I got nervous when the woman and her husband got off the bus and had to walk right by the young man. He didn’t do anything violent when they were on the bus but after they got off he leaned out and spat at them. That didn’t end his hostility. First he raged about her then directed his attention at a young woman on the bus. I think she was Hispanic. She didn’t take the bait and did ignore him. When she got off he turned to me. He went into a black superiority rant and got upset at my lack of engagement. He called me a coward. I followed my own advice and the example of the young woman and said nothing. I had to walk past him to get off the bus, but he didn’t spit at me.
I did a good job at thinking of him as a person who has a problem, not just a person that is a problem. He is a person that is a problem, but he can’t be happy with all that rage inside of him. I try to remember that when dealing with problematic people. That applies not just to random people on the bus but even to people like Donald Trump. I keep in mind this quote by Bertrand Russell; “The good life, as I conceive it, is a happy life. I do not mean that if you are good you will be happy – I mean that if you are happy you will be good.” Judging by that Trump is not happy. Realizing that is the essence of liberal values.
When I got home I watched a concert by the Amazing Amy Kucharik. The root of Amazing is Amy. To be amazing is to be like Amy. That’s folk etymology. Don’t use that as a reference on a scholarly work. She combines creative silliness with intelligence and musicality. The show went on longer than I expected so I brought my computer into the kitchen and watched while I cut the fries for the poutine. I posted that in the chat and got a response. That’s a fun thing with streaming concerts. You can talk to people during the shows.
This morning I slept late and started right off with breakfast, Taylorhameggandcheese on a ciabatta role. That went great with my Italian coffee. Then I watched The Kennedys do a concert on YouTube. Over 500 people watched. I hope they made money. They are doing another show next Sunday at 2:00. When they make the event, I’ll post it on Social Distancing Streaming Concerts.
Right after that I got a phone call. It was from the Arts and Entertainment editor for the Fairfax Times in Virginia. She wanted to discuss Social Distancing Streaming Concerts. She was surprised that I just started it on Friday. It’s not growing exponentially but linearly. I can’t call it viral till it spreads like COVID-19, its raison d’être. Now the question is do I try and squeeze dinner in before 7:00 when I’m watching the Sensational Susan Werner. Guess where you can find a link so you can watch.
This looks good; I covered food, commuting, human nature, and music. That’s all the bases. I felt good writing it, that’s the most important thing.
Wise Madness 