I haven’t felt like writing much during this Global pandemic. My work-from-home days are filled with Zoom calls, e-mail’s, texts, and Microsoft Teams messages. Just like yours. When I finally knock off for the day, I try to get in an Orangetheory Fitness at Home workout or take the dog on a long walk. Zoom fatigue is real.

My dear wife is in the same WFH predicament as I am. Our two work worlds separated only by the two rooms where we’ve set up camp. She’s in the dining room and I’m in the living room. Our laptops sitting atop either a dinner table or lap desk with our eyes glued to the screens and fingers tapping away on keyboards. With her on her Apple MacBook and me on my Lenovo ThinkPad, we look like a couple of business travelers who’ve set up workspaces inside the breakfast nook of our hotel. Only we’re responsible for cooking our own meals.

Not being one to risk getting COVID-19, we’ve spent very little time outside of the house except for exercising, shopping, and picking up an occasional online order from a local restaurant. Being outside in the world has always been my inspiration for stories. Confining myself to the living room, backyard, QFC, Chipotle, Jamba Juice, or Westside Trail hasn’t motivated me to do anything artistic except take a few dozen photographs of flowers, hawks, gray squirrels, and rabbits. Selfishly, I haven’t shared any of those pictures on Instagram. Those are for me. I like nature.

I also like baseball. It’s been something like 50 years since I haven’t played baseball during a Summer. It breaks my heart to think of all the amateur and professional athletes whose seasons didn’t materialize because of this awful coronavirus. My government’s response has been nothing short of deplorable. If only Hillary had been our president, the severity of this situation wouldn’t have nearly been this bad. Clearly, President Pinocchio wasn’t up to the task.

Besides work and working out, I’ve kept myself busy playing Madden Mobile 21. The game is so damn realistic! It’s a far cry from the original Mattel Electronics handheld football game I still have. Green dashes have been replaced by virtual professional NFL players and coaches. I love it.

I’ve taken over the cooking of dinners and I’m enjoying it. I’ve perfected the art of smoking Trout on my Traeger. But, I’ve made more delicacies than just smoked fish. I’ve leveraged the web for the discovery of all kinds of recipes like making homemade pesto sauce from the basil I grew in my garden, white bean chili, fried chicken, turmeric rice, tomatillo salsa, and Italian peas. I’ve tried my hand at all kinds of ethnic foods like Mexican, Indian, and Chinese. Even the Betty Crocker cookbook has come in handy. I try to do something a little different every week. My rule is simple – follow the recipe. Something my poor mother was challenged to do for reasons I’ll never understand. I’ll never know where she came up with her substitute ingredients.

Still, I remain hopeful. A vaccine will be discovered. Democracy is on the line in this election and I do hope the American electorate makes the correct choice this time in November. The Orange Buffoon in the White House has to go. So does COVID. It won’t take anything but your vote. Please register. Please vote. Your and my life depends on it.

Literally, if The Tweeter wins again, I won’t know what to do with myself.