Point Made

This week marked my nineteenth week in quarantine. Human contact consists of the following things.  I shop for groceries in a store.  Once a week, I meet with one friend, outdoors and we chat. I met Larry Krowlakoski in a park. Bill Sell and I purchased lunch at the public market. Pamela Frautchi and I had lunch on the patio at the Knick. Michelle Money met me for coffee at Stone Creek on Downer.  Everyone wore masks and we were careful with everything with which we made contact. I suspect this limited social life will continue through fall and possibly into 2021. As many of us are, I am active on Zoom. My association with the Zeidler Group, interviews conducted by Urban Milwaukee's Jeremay Jannene, film studies conducted by John Hickey from St Marks film club, and theater readings by American Players to name a few, occupy a couple of hours a week. I'm in email, phone conversation, and Instant messaging contact with friends, relatives, and societal dropouts in all shades ...

The air is thick. The light breeze is juicy with the sweat of summer. How quickly the clouds form and the thunder rumbles warn us. The birds cry. They are telling the rest of their flock to be aware that soon the damp earth will yield the crawling worms they like to feast on. It is a quick attack. It sweeps over us with menace and leaves us in peace. Soon the clouds linger and the thick air wraps us in its arms. We can hear few rumbles off in the distance as the danger retreats. We are left with the air cleansed. The tires of the few cars, that are in the streets these days, hiss through the wet pavement. The rain will cause the lawnmower engine sounds in the coming days, flowers in the fields to grow, and salad greens in the garden to prosper. Still, we must fear the sickness.

Breaking News! I received my absentee/vote by mail ballot for the August 2020 Primary. Delivered July 2, 2020 Theater News. With the COVID 19 pandemic still closing theaters from Broadway NYC to Broadway MKE, we theater lovers do have a huge hole in our hearts and minds to fill. Let's start in agreement on one thing. No experience is close to seeing theater performance in a theater with an audience. We have acclimated ourselves to watching sports on TV, We have learned to accept TV drama in the darkness of our living room or on our phones while riding a bus rumbling down our poorly paved streets.  However, the magic of theater is sitting in a dark room with others while we witness the talents of men and women who bring the magic with them when they arrive for work. Given that we have now shed our tears and gnashed our teeth over the necessity of giving this experience up, because of the Virus, we can view theatrical performances that are recorded and then streamed. Why would we wan...