More to the point, who would have believed it? Everyone says that I am the most social person that they know. That is not really how I see myself.
That is a good question. How do I see myself? I see myself as an old curmudgeon, really. I love my friends, and am nothing if not loyal to them. But I don't like people as a whole very much.
The pandemic - and the political situation both in Canada and the US - is not improving my opinion of mankind much. Or al all.
Let's start with the pandemic itself. Canada has its fair share of people who think the whole thing is a hoax, or, at the very least, hugely overblown. Do they think all those caskets in New York and Italy were set up just for show? And the anti-vaccers (that doesn't look right, but how would you spell it, I wonder), are alive and well here, saying that they wouldn't take a vaccine if it were offered, because, you know, it might cause autism, or who knows what. And, of course, wearing a mask is an infringement on their personal freedom. So, I guess they don't stop at red lights, because, after all, that is an infringement on my ability to drive however I like. They probably don't use seat belts or helmets, same reason.
And don't get me started on young people. I'm fine, they say. Even if I get sick, it won't be too bad, I won't die, and after all, life's short, and we have to party!!! Me, me, me. Do these people not have mothers? Or grandmothers? Or, heaven forbid, children? What is the matter with these people? Have we always been this selfish? I am reading about Berlin in the time immediately after WW II - well, more about that later in the book section.
And politics? Our illustrious prime minister, Trudeau fil, has had yet another ethical lapse, his third - that we know about? I won't bore you with the details, but really, did he get hit on the head with a surfboard and get brain damaged? Or did he just inherit his father's looks and his ga-ga mother's brains? Of course, it all doesn't hold a candle to the illustrious Mr. Trump, but for Canada, it's a big deal.
Okay. Now that you have let me rant, I will get on to what is happening in my life, which as usual, is pretty benign, in spite of the fact that the world as we know it is going to hell in a handbasket. As with everyone, nothing much new. I am still playing bridge 5 or 6 times a week, on line, with the usual cast of partners (5 in all), at the usual (Palm Desert) club, with the usual opponents. It is actually rather comforting, and one of the benefits of practice, is you do get (marginally) better over time. I do love it, and never ever ever when I am playing bridge do I wish I were doing something else, no matter how bad the cards or how stupid my partner. And, as obsessions go, it is relatively cheap and relatively harmless.
I see the occasional person live and in real life.
Neighbor and friend John comes over at least once a week with The Economist and to have a (socially-distanced) chat on the patio.
Friend Lew has invited my over to his boat for a (socially distanced ) drink in the cockpit on a number of occasions....
.....Dennis and John and I went for a walk around Burnaby Lake on one of our glorious sunny summer days....
.....colleague Brian dropped by to bring a stack of books (more about them later) and to chat....
...... friend Jack comes by every few weeks with some New Yorkers and some take out food, and we eat and chat and occasionally bump elbows.... We even ventured out to Steveston, to Kato's patio, a new (to me) restaurant with a lovely patio with a view.
......colleague and friend Eric and I have shared a few meals out (including one Indian fusion at Embers in Steveston - yum!) on COVID friendly patios.
.....colleague Paul and his friend David came over with a picnic for my birthday (yes, ladies and gentlemen, I am another year older, 74. I was going to have a party, but, oh, well, next year to mark 3/4 of a century...), and we had a lovely time.
All in all, a very good time indeed, much better than my usual boring summer in Vancouver.
I even have a bit of work. I have always preferred working in the office, which is only 7 minutes from my apartment. Now, of course, there is no-one there, so it is perfectly safe. Our fearless leader has been very smart about it. He insured that all the support staff got secure computers set up in their homes, so they can take care of kids and family safely at home, while still working and getting a paycheck. We, of course, have offices of our own, so are already socially distanced from everyone else, so safe for us as well, and, of course, work is a distraction.
Of course, there is no place to spend the money that I'm earning, but it will keep. My travel plans, like everyone else's, have been put on hold. Viet Nam, where I was supposed to go in November, 2020, has been postponed to October, 2021. Bayreuth, where I was supposed to be right about now, listing to the newly produced Wagner Ring Cycle, is postponed to August 2022. And, really, I don't think I will be going to Palm Springs in November. California is rampant with COVID, and although I think Palm Springs would probably be okay, who wants to get on a plane? Maybe in January, when I am heartily sick of the rain, and my friend Gerry is driving down..... but not now....
I am still walking, although I have tried to up my game to 5 miles every day - well, some days. Below, what I see....
.....that's actually from my patio before I started out, but you get the idea...
........as you can see, I don't have to worry much about social distancing while I am walking ...
.....well, it is usually at 6 A.M. or thereabouts, or, sometimes, if I am feeling ambitious, 8 P.M.... aren't the flowers glorious....
Oh, and I have had the boys over for dinner and bridge. They are my (very small) social bubble, and have been from the beginning, and we are all super careful.
I do go to the occasional store as required (Canadian Tire, London Drugs, the farmers market), appropriately masked of course, and am very much enjoying the absence of crowds, both in the stores and on the roads (although I know I should be worried about the lack of business...).
And friends (and even such family as I have) have been reaching out, by telephone and email, some who I haven't been in contact with for decades. It has been really lovely to hear from everyone. I have been doing some reaching out as well, and, as a result, and am feeling surrounded by love and friendship.
And did I tell you, I have discovered (thank you, Bill...) grocery delivery, which to my mind is the best thing since sliced bread. I did not like grocery shopping in the best of times, and now, it is down right creepy. Not only is shopping unpleasant, then you have to lug everything up from the parking garage. Now, a few clicks of the mouse, and the bags get delivered to my patio - within 2 hours, no less - and I get to feel virtuous by keeping others employed (my last personal shopped was a former stewardess!!). And, another benefit, I never see the cookie aisle, or the soft drink aisle, or the ice cream freezer!
So, that's my life. Quite full, really, and I am feeling neither bored, nor (overtly) anxious.
And then there is the reading. In addition to the aforementioned New Yorkers and Economists, there are the books, lots and lots of books. People keep bringing me more - as if I don't have enough of my own. It's probably a good thing, on a number of fronts. For one thing, the books your friends want to share is like a window on to their souls. It is also good, because I read things that I otherwise might never pick up. So, here, in no particular order, is the list, and a few comments.
Several books by comedian David Sedaris, lent to me by friend Tom. I've heard Sedaris often on National Public Radio, and he is just as funny in print...
The Mother Tongue: English, and How it Got That Way, by Bill Bryson. Also a Tom recommendation. I have read several of his (Bryson`s ) other books, on Shakespeare, as I recall, and this one was equally enjoyable, about the development of language in general and English in particular.
Three Stations and Red Square, by Martin Cruz Smith. These are Brian picks. I had read Cruz`s first Detective Arkady Renko novel, Gorky Park, eons ago, but Brian is a big fan, and has brought me over a stack. They are even better than I remembered. Not only is the character development wonderful, but he evokes Russia like no other modern novelist. Most of you know I am a big Russophile, so this is a big plus for me. Looking forward to reading the rest.
The Mirror and the Light, by Hilary Mantel. Jack brought this one over. I have read her first two books on Thomas Cromwell, Wolf Hall and Bringing Up the Bodies, and this one takes him - spoiler alert for those of you who don`t know your English history - takes him to the gallows. Fascinating man, or at least how she has drawn him, a very complex and flawed character, but wonderful reads all.
Jack also brought over The Ascent by Robert Caro, part 2 of the so-far 3 part biography of Lyndon Johnson. I have read the first, and was looking forward to this one (the third is already down-loaded in the form of an audiobook), and started right in, but, well, I just can`t deal with Lyndon Johnson right now. Talk about flawed characters.... well, it has waited this long, it can wait a little while longer.
A number of other Tom picks for me. Three by Christopher Isherwood, Christopher and His Kind (autobiographical), Mr. Norris Changes Trains, and The Berlin Stories (on which, of course, Cabaret was based). I am fascinated by the Berlin of the thirties, and he evokes the period like no other. It is a fascinating - all the more so because now so lost - place. I am dying to go back to the very different Berlin, and will do that in conjunction with my Bayreuth trip, I hope....)
Tom also brought over The Statement, by Brian Moore. He is apparently quite a well known author, but not before to me. I am not usually a fan of thrillers, but these are unusual times. This one was very well written ( would expect nothing less from something that Tom recommended) and a real page turner. Two thumbs up. I have another by Moore, next up on my bedside table.
And, to add to the surfeit of bridge in my life, there are also bridge books (again, curtesy of Tom.) Judgment at Bridge, by Mike Lawrence. This book is actually 45 years old. Well, bidding styles have changed, but the need for judgement has not. Great book. Play Bridge with Mike Lawrence. Again, bidding styles have changed, but his comments about the play are just as relevant. Still in process: The Bridge Bum, My Life and Play, by Alan Sontag. And there are a few more on my bedside table.
Finally, I've discovered Libby (thank you Mickey), the app from the Vancouver Public Library, where you can download audio books. I listen while I walk, and it keeps me going (without using my data for listening to the radio....) What have I heard:
Seriously...I'm Kidding, by (and read by) Ellen DeGeneres. Eh. She's a light weight, and I didn't even find her all that funny.
Lincoln in the Bardo, by Georrge Sanders. "Read" a couple of chapters, then gave it back. The book got a lot of buzz when it came out, but it didn't grab me.
The Siberian Dilemma, by Martin Cruz Smith. See above. Reading or listening, what a great author! And, of course, having just visited Siberia, it was like my own personal travelogue.
Murder Must Advertise, a Lord Peter Whimsey mystery, by Dorothy Sayers. I have, of course, always heard about the Lord Peter Whimsey series, but don't think I have ever "read" one before. Charming! I will listen to more, if I can find them.
Man's Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl. I read this 50 years ago, when I was in college, but things mean different things at different points in your life. Especially now, the search for meaning is most relevant, even more so than when I was 25, I think...
Pieces of Her, by Karin Slaughter. Another thriller by an author previously unknown to me. Two thumbs up. I have already put a hold on her next book.
Theft by Finding, by David Sedaris. (See above) This one is autobiographical, and became a little tiresome. However, interesting to see the development from a young repressed gay man in the south to sophisticated married gay man in Paris..
Why Did I Come Into This Room? by Joan Lunden. Pah. I am getting tired about books about getting old....Don`t bother.
South of the Border West of the Sun, by Haruki Murakimi. I have read a number of his books before. This one is written as though it were autobiographical, but who knows. The Japanese style of writing is so different from ours, or the Latin authors, or the European ones. It takes me to a completely different place.
And, currently listening to, Nightmare in Berlin, by Hans Fallada. I have read several of his books before. This is Berlin a bit later, during and immediately after the Second World War. He is scathing about the German character, or, more accurately, about the character of mankind in general, but very much in line with my Eastern European (Jewish) weltanschaung (outlook). I`m riveted.
And that`s all folks, That is, if any of you are still reading along, after such a long delay on my part, and now all this blathering. As always, I will try to do better....
