Usually I’ve had nothing to write about in the age of COVID-19. Then I was too busy to write yesterday about what happened on Saturday and now I have too much to write about. After all that I bet this will be short. I can pretty much summarize it in one sentence; “I love my friends.
I Saturday I wrote a quick entry in the intermission between two adventures. I wrote about the Census Training Fiasco. After wasting three hours not getting trained I came home and had just enough time to have an ice creamed coffee and write the entry before heading out again. This time it wasn’t a fiasco. I went to see Katherine and friends jam on a porch. I knew some of the other jammers before the first time I went to this and now I know more. There’s Glenn, Dottie, Alan, Shu, and Stephanie Marie. I either don’t know the name of the others or I’m being an idiot and now forgetting them. I suspect I worry more about leaving people out of lists than most people. There have been hurt feelings over the years, so I feel the need to make sure that people know, “It’s not you, it’s me.” It’s well established that I’m an idiot.
They perform on two porches. I sit in my camp chair on the lawn. The rest of the audience is on the other side of the sidewalk. This is in Kensington, it’s a long trip for me. The part that bothers me is taking the subway in the time of COVID-19. The New York Times in its infinite wisdom knew I was worried about this and on Sunday Is the Subway Risky? It May Be Safer Than You Think. That made me feel better. It’s not that I’m afraid of catching the virus, it’s that I don’t want to spread it. The air in a subway car is exchanged 18 times per hour. That’s far better than you find indoors. I had good evidence of this. On the way home I changed trains at 34th street. When I got on the D it reeked of marijuana smoke. The smoker must have just gotten off as there was nobody smoking on the car. The smell was gone in minutes. That’s a good proxy for how long the virus stays in the air.
This is Falcon Ridge weekend so it was quite appropriate that I spent Saturday sitting outside listening to live music. I was in my natural habitat. This was not a performance, it’s jamming, but I love watching jamming. I’m a musician wannabe, I don’t have the skills, but I have intellectual curiosity. I love hearing them discuss how to do a song. Then I love listening to the music. I love hanging out with the people. It’s the antithesis of staying home alone.
Then I did one of the few things that’s right up there with hearing live music, going out to eat after live music. The main drag near Katherine’s house is filled with al fresco dining. We found a place with big tables, so we were distant from each other, and from everyone else. We had what I called frou-frou pizza. This was not a pizzeria; it was an Italian restaurant that sells pizza. I had a pepperoni with hot peppers in it. I did not have to add my usual crushed red pepper to it. Then I got to talk to Katherine for hours. She’s been having some unplanned adventures, ones that involved too much adventure. It was the best time I had since the last time I was in Brooklyn for the jam, which was my best time since the lockdown started.
Then in an utterly amazing development I was out with friends again on Sunday. This was far easier for me; Allison and Joe drove in from New Jersey and we went to the Botanical Garden. That’s an easy walk from here. My subway stop on the D train is the Botanical Garden station. It’s a 15-minute- walk away but that’s not bad. We used the secret entrance on Mosholu Parkway. It’s not a secret but it’s not the main entrance and far fewer people use it. It’s mainly used by people arriving by MetroNorth. It’s right by the station.
This was far from the prime time to visit the Garden. Few of the flowers were in bloom. That’s OK, we walked through the Thain Forest and the wetlands, and other natural parts of the park. It was my first time wearing sunblock all year, I never go out until late afternoon. I got a Teva Tan, just like I get at Falcon Ridge, but not nearly as dark. I got to spend hours with two of my favorite people in a beautiful setting What more can you ask for? Almost everyone in the Garden wore a mask. I’m sure this was quite safe. We took our masks off at the café. I was too hot to eat but the iced coffee felt great. When we were done I walked them back to the Garage, right on my way home. When I got home I turned on the AC, made an ice cream soda, and relaxed. I got enough energy to do more just as Bev Grant was coming on the Greenwich Village Folk Festival. I always saw David Massengill. Christine Lavin and Ron Olesko hosted.
When you’ve been cooped up for months you appreciate the joys of spending time with friends, music, and nature. It’s good to remember that every day.
Wise Madness 