The world is definitely coming to an end. I cleaned my apartment. Not quick swipes to get the dust bunnies to hop away, or lame wipes of counter tops, but an all out, full assault, top to bottom cleaning. I would say I'm not sure what came over me to undertake the one thing I don't like to do, but I know what is responible and its name is Covid-19. Some call it Coronavirus. Others, The Novel Coronavirus. I call it that bleepity-bleep. Glory has been cleaning my home for over two decades. She cleans mom's apartment at her ALF too. Well, she used to. Since the bleepity-bleep has befallen us and mom is staying with me, I cannot allow anyone in my home. This includes Glory. Wipe those crocodile tears. I know this is a first world problem but I work hard and I don't like to clean. Glory has been a mainstay in my life for over twenty years. I watched her raise her son. I helped her study for the U.S. citizens test. I've heard about her trips home to Colombia. I've watched her exp......

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When I had cancer, my cancer coach Sandy gave me a plaque. It was a list of all the things cancer could not do. I've kept it tucked in the back of a bathroom cabinet and have taken it out to share with those touched by cancer, hoping to inspire and encourage as Sandy had done for me, and then tucking it back in the cabinet. I've taken it out again. Substituting Covid-19 for Cancer is a no-brainer.  What Covid-19 Cannot Do Covid-19 is so limited… It cannot cripple Love It cannot shatter Hope It cannot corrode Faith It cannot destroy Peace It cannot kill Friendship It cannot suppress Memories It cannot silence Courage It cannot invade the Soul It cannot steal eternal Life It cannot conquer the Spirit.                         Author Unknown This post is dedicated to Sandy Paster and to Sue Seltzer, my cancer coach and my friend who valiantl......

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Day 1 of self-quarantine: Morning temperatures. Mom: 98.3. Me: 97.9. A fever is one indication of coronavirus, although a person can have the virus without a fever. I take mine and mom's temperatures at least once per day. Mom puts on a show like I'm annoying her but there's a twinkle in her beautiful blue eyes that tells her truth.  A lot of people I know are employing this simple technique to try and get ahead of the virus. While coronavirus remains very much a mystery as to how it attacks, when and whom it infects, and how it shows itself (if at all), taking our temperatures daily is something easy to do and, at least for me, makes me feel proactive. Knowing that mom and I don't have temperatures makes me feel a little bit less helpless and eases the burdens of the day.  Day 4: Mom: 98.2. Me: 98.1. My friend called to say a co-worker has the virus. Take your temperature, I barked. I don't have a thermometer, she said and explained she had tried to get one from a store,......

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Last night it was announced New Zealand will be closing within the next forty-eight hours. My nephew lives there and I haven't seen him in over eighteen months. My sister and I were planning on visiting him, or perhaps meeting him and his girlfriend in the U.K., in June. Obviously that is off, which makes me sad. But somehow knowing he cannot leave NZ and no one is allowed in feels devastating. The adage "distance makes the heart grow fonder" can pound sand. Family that once were accessible by car or plane might as well live on Mars. Friends and co-workers that we'd see regularly are now literally out of reach.  I think the news of NZ closing hits me particularly hard because I feel helpless. If my nephew were to need me, or his mother and father, we couldn't get to him. We certainly couldn't get him home. I have to remind myself that he's twenty-six years old. Post-college he has lived in China and Vietnam and is obviously a courageous, industrious and self-supporting man. "I'l......

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On March 14th at 5:00 in the morning, after a sleepless night filled with a pit of foreboding in my stomach and with a fog of war creating a haze around the planet, I walked into my mother's assistant living facility. The afternoon before the governor had issued an order forbidding family members from visiting their loved ones at nursing homes for thirty days. Two days earlier I asked mom if she wanted to come home with me. She said no, she had friends there, she loved her apartment, they had activities and, besides, her ALF had the best chocolate ice cream. But on that Saturday morning, with the possibility of the governor's order already being enforced, I went on a reconnaissance mission to retrieve my Holy Grail. I wore sweat pants, a raggedy tank top, and flip flops. I was dressed in all black. No camo makeup. I parked in the near empty lot, glad barriers hadn't been erected to keep out family members. The Florida humidity hit me as I jumped out of my car. The flip and flop of my ......

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While I'm still reading about our presidents (I'm on Lincoln #16), I am taking a break from blogging about my presidents project to concentrate on this strange and surreal time in our lives. Ironically, I began my project to try and discern how the past influences the present and what we can learn from the past to better our present. Now, the answer is more obvious than ever. The Third Amendment to the United States Constitution states: No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in manner to be prescribed by law. The Bill of Rights was written by James Madison (#5) in response to British soldiers quartering themselves wherever they pleased. It was ratified by the States in 1791 and is relevant today. Not because soldiers are going to be knocking on our doors, but because Madison was prescient in acknowledging the need to balance war and peacetime directives. During war, the government can order hom......

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I remember the reporter's words distinctly. It was only a couple of weeks ago but feels much longer. This will touch all of us, he said. Before this is over, we will all know someone infected with the virus. You might get it yourself. You will know someone who knows someone who dies from it. Perhaps it will take someone you love.  It started as the reality of others. In this case: the people of Wuhan, China. It traveled like a speeding train across Asia and to Europe and still felt like a news item. Something distressing and disturbing that came across our TV screens or smart phones. Then, Italy shut down. Flights were cancelled. Cruise lines were stranded. The train was gaining speed. A nursing home outside of Seattle became America's ground zero. People who worked at Port Everglades, a mile from my home, were infected. The train was growing larger and stronger, a brawny and obstinate intercontinental express. Experts warned it was going to be bad but still, somehow, the people ......

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It's an unprecedented time in modern history. Coronavirus has changed all of our lives. More than likely, before we are out from under its spell, we will all be personally affected and changed by the pandemic. From being infected ourselves, knowing someone infected, to just being made to change our routines, life will look different as it did after 9-11, as it did after Katrina.  Daily use of antibacterial lotions will be the norm. Perhaps carrying a napkin or tissue to open doors will be too. Working and taking classes from home will no longer be the exception. Like the hurricanes we get in Florida, with each passing one we will be more prepared for the next one.  As I start my first day working at home from the State Attorney's Office, seated in my home office with my mother in the den watching episode-after-episode about zoo life (I kidnapped her from her nursing home before they were aware of the governor's order of no visitors for 30 days), I wonder how to view this ve......

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How is this for pedigree? Your parents are John (#2) and Abigail Adams (FL#2). By the time you are twenty years old, you had witnessed the Battle of Bunker Hill, resided in France with your father who successfully aided the end of the Revolutionary War, Thomas Jefferson was your BFF, you lived with Benjamin Franklin, at fourteen years of age you spoke fluent Russian and went to Russia as secretary to the American minister, and in a few years you would be a Harvard graduate. Seems like a full life, but ironically the young years of John Quincy Adams were just a precursor to the rest of his accomplished life with only one major blip: his presidency. The failure of his one term as our sixth president explains why, in "John Quincy Adams" by Harlow Giles Unger, of this 315-page book only 30 pages were dedicated to his presidency. Appropriately, the chapter is titled "The End of the Beginning". John Quincy's best achievements, remarkably, occurred prior to and after his presidency, which is ......

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In honor of Michelangelo's 545th birthday, and Dante and Bruno (my cats) turning 8 years old today, I am revisiting a post I did in 2012. Melodramatic, for sure, but the sentiment remains the same. I have never met Michelangelo. I have never had a conversation with him nor heard his voice. I have learned about his life from his artwork, his poetry and his letters. Yet I feel I know him better than many of my closest friends. As a writer, I yearn for creative talent to equal his. As a student of the Italian renaissance, I am fascinated by one of its geniuses. From a spiritual perspective, there is a deep connection between Michelangelo & me. Why? When I look at David, his famous sculpture, I feel powerful. When I see his Pieta, the sculpture of Mary mourning the loss of her son, I know unconditional love. And when I look at the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, his magnificent portrayal of life’s creation, I am certain his gift of creativity comes from a higher power. And the......

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