2020 - Our Brave New World.

"Life is People." - Bill Fay

"People have the Power." - Patti Smith

"People are the Problem." - Covid-19

We have met the enemy. It is a nasty, deadly viral entity. It is brought to us by close contact with other people. Scary. Freaky. Welcome to 2020. I remember thinking 2020 would be the year of "clear-seeing," maybe I was right: What we see, is what we can't see, and oh yeah, it can kill you.

We have been practicing social-distancing, pretty much in lockdown mode here, hunkered down until further notice. Yesterday, we found ourselves low on supplies, so we ventured out to the grocery store. Two of us, we wrapped our faces with bandanas, we looked like amateur bandits, or badly-cast revolutionaries.

Grocery shopping is now the most risky, "dangerous" activity on our calendars.  Trying to shop less frequently. It was a strange, surreal experience entering our local Whole Foods. Navigating the aisles, doing our best to keep our distance from other shoppers, most of the folks were wearing masks, or other kinds of coverings over their mouths.

You can't help thinking that Covid-19 is lurking, hovering over, and around us all. Could it be in the air? On the shelves? What about the packages, the cans? Shite, what about the produce?!

At check out we thanked our grocery clerk.  It must be totally strange and unsettling to be in that store all day long, watching folks doing their best to stay infection-free.

You wonder, is it even possible? We got home. "Sanitized" the boxes, cans, washed the vegetables. Washed our hands. Exhaled. We won't have to venture out to do that again for maybe a week...

Yikes. Welcome to our Brave New World.

The a.m. soundtrack - Father John Misty's "Pure Comedy."  (2017). When Josh Tillman exited Fleet Foxes, he put on his Father John Misty mask and found his voice as a singer/songwriter. Father John Misty has a lot to say. Maybe sometimes too much to say. He asks all the big questions. He likes to observe himself as he composes, asks, and sings. He is a bit precious. Self-aware/self-absorbed. A complete Hipster. So smart, a bit of a smart-aleck. He does have a fabulous voice. He writes with passion and intelligence. It's a great record. About the Human Comedy. And you, know, really the joke is on us.