Month: April 2020

A lot of people have been referencing the song Life During Wartime by The Talking Heads with regard to the current crisis. I suspect this has something to do with the idiot in the White House referring to himself as a “wartime president.” Whatever.

That song is not the right song from their oeuvre. The song you’re looking for is Nothing But Flowers.

It was a response to Joni Mitchell’s Big Yellow Taxi, where she famously complained: “they paved paradise, put up a parking lot.” While I don’t care for the overt stance against a return to nature, the song definitely strikes a lot of chords given the current situation.

Once there were parking lots
Now it’s a peaceful oasis

This was a Pizza Hut
Now it’s all covered with daisies

I miss the honky tonks,
Dairy Queens, and 7-Elevens

And as things fell apart
Nobody paid much attention

I dream of cherry pies,
Candy bars, and chocolate chip cookies

We used to microwave
Now we just eat nuts and berries

This was a discount store,
Now it’s turned into a cornfield

Don’t leave me stranded here
I can’t get used to this lifestyle

I've been designated our family's errand runner. That means tomorrow I get to go get our groceries that we ordered a week ago. Curbside pickup. I'll bring them home, disinfect them. It's the first grocery run we've done in three weeks.

Three weeks.

We used to go to the grocery store almost daily, not to mention trips to restaurants and coffee shops. I guess we're saving some money!

I can't remember when we last put gas in our car.

Even more troubling is that our car desperately needs an oil change. I don't have the equipment to do it myself, and I don't know how to safely do it at a retail shop, so I feel stuck.

Every day is more challenging than the last. Trying hard not to feel defeated.

Rabbit, rabbit.