Right now, COVID cases are exploding across the country. The percentage of people who are testing positive is skyrocketing in many states. California has rolled back its reopening. Health systems in Texas and Arizona are preparing for the morgues to run out of capacity. And, teachers are writing wills as … Continue reading “Walking through an empty Chicago – a photojournal”
Dear Willow: It is hard to believe that this week is our fifth anniversary! On the one hand, it seems like we have been working together at Willow forever. On the other, it seems like yesterday when Van, Betsy and I moved into our first little office on Clark Street. … Continue reading “Happy Anniversary, Willow!”
Dear Willow: Two weekends ago, I ate at a restaurant for the first time in almost four months. It was glorious. We went to a lovely little place in Oak Park, and they sat us at a small table on the sidewalk, a car door immediately to my right and … Continue reading “Third first date”
Dear Willow: My 79-year and 363-day-old mother had had enough. After being quarantined in her apartment since mid-March, pretty much leaving only to walk her garbage down the hall, accepting no visitors, June 23rd was the day she broke out of Shawshank. Okay, she lives in a very nice retirement … Continue reading “Breaking out of Shawshank”
Dear Willow: Do you remember blue jean Fridays? When companies would “reward” their staff by letting them wear jeans to work on Fridays, as long as they weren’t ripped or stained. An exception was made for our old friend and colleague, Elbert, who somehow always managed to make ripped-and-stained look … Continue reading “Will I ever wear a suit again?”
Dear Willow: I’ve been worrying about Marc Maron. I don’t know if you listen to his WTF podcast, but you’ve probably heard of him. On May 16th, his girlfriend, the filmmaker Lynn Shelton, collapsed in the home they were sharing during the pandemic, and shortly thereafter passed away of a … Continue reading “I’m worried about Marc Maron”
Dear Willow: There’s a lot of different things we may look at when we consider our collective return to “normal” or our arrival at our “new normal.” There’s economic indicators, there’s public opinion surveys, there’s data like Open Table’s database of reservation bookings, which as of June 1 shows states … Continue reading “The Phish Index: How we’ll know when the pandemic has passed”
Dear Willow: What are you all doing about your hair? I am not precious about my appearance, particularly my hair, but I’m approaching a point where I may have to do something radical like a, I don’t know…man bun? My state of South Carolina is open for business when it … Continue reading “The return of the Flowbee?”
Dear Willow: We just got some seriously bad news for the performing arts. Not long ago, an expert panel was brought together by several professional singing associations, to determine the conditions under which it would be safe to sing again in groups. Say, for choirs, or musical theater, or opera. … Continue reading “Closed for the plague”
Dear Willow: So, Oscar decided to barf on my office carpet during one of our recent Monday morning calls. I was able to clean up the bulk of it while still listening in. Thank goodness for the mute button. And also for near-professional-grade rug cleaning machines. I’ve been working from … Continue reading “The present erases the past, and Oscar is getting older”