Today is Friday, September 4, 2020, and it’s the start of the Labor Day Weekend. The year has flown by, but man, what a year! I’ve been working from home since mid-March, and keeping a pretty low profile. I only go out to shop for groceries and to the bank about once a week. Otherwise, here I am usually sitting at my desk working most of the time. I am very fortunate that I can work from home and receive a paycheck. My partner works in a hair salon and he is in close contact with people a lot. Thank goodness he’s careful and wears his mask at all times. I have colleagues who have to go in to work at the UA library too, and I worry for them, as the students are back on campus, and the Covid-19 rates are rising again. What a crazy time.

I’ve lost some dear friends and family this year. My friend RIchard died in late March, and then my oldest cousin Olivia died, and my uncle Art died, and then my aunt Mary died. I also just found out about the death of yet another cousin. Damn. All I know is that I’m staying home! I’ve been an emotional basket case now for several months. Richard’s death hit me the hardest. I dream about him a lot, and I sure miss him. We’d been friends since high school and we managed to always hold on to our friendship. There was nobody like him. My sister saw this poster recently at a bus stop, and she sent it to me. Then later, I was able to acquire a better shot of him holding the sign. Richard was always doing the right thing. Everyone misses him.

Working from home isn’t so bad. I manage reference services for Special Collections, and I get to do research on some interesting topics like vaudeville and architecture, although not having access to the collections makes it a challenge at times. I am also on a few committees, and the work comes and goes. Some committees are better organized than others, and those that are well organized are great to work on. We get our assignments ahead of time and agendas are sent out in advance of the meetings. Those committees and meetings that aren’t as well organized are a challenge, and it’s hard not to want to throw in the towel, especially on those that are voluntary. The older I get the less patience I have for disorganized activity. Nobody likes to have their time wasted.

I have started posting my album and book of the day features on Facebook again. This is now the third round of posts I’ve contributed since I started earlier in the year. I haven’t run out of stuff to share yet, which is surprising. It turns out I’ve read a lot of books! And I have hundreds and hundreds of albums I want to share with people. Every now and then I take a break because it becomes somewhat of a chore. And then I’m back, just like that. Lately, my friend Leanne has started posting albums too, and dang, her reviews are great. She’s so smart. She has a way with words, that’s for sure. My posts, in contrast are usually pretty brief and my descriptions aren’t anything nearly as interesting as hers. It’s okay, however. I don’t like to spend lots of time analyzing stuff. I don’t have that gift anyway. I just like what I like, and sometimes I can’t tell you why.

I sure hope we get rid of that idiot in the White House. He’s sure screwed everything up. I can’t believe anyone would support that evil creature, especially since he’s done nothing to help us get a grip on this pandemic. Neither has he done anything about the rampant police brutality and racism in our country. He’s only fueled the flames. I’m so sad to realize how backward our country still is when it comes to race. I thought we had moved forward, but it’s obvious we have not.

I’m starting to listen to music again. After I left KXCI in February, I pushed it all aside. I was done with it and I didn’t want anything to do with it. Music is my first love, however, and I’ll never let it go completely. I’m enjoying listening to artists who I’ve never really heard before and those who I’ve never really paid much attention to, like Rodney Crowell. That guy sure has a gift for songwriting.

There’s also this other country singer named Josh Turner who’s been around for a long time now who I never heard until just the other day. Oh my god, his voice is gorgeous. It’s so deep and low. I love voices like his. This video is a bit silly, but that voice. Oh my god.

I’m really torn about whether or not this kind of writing is interesting to anyone. Should I post it or not? I suppose I ought to, just to keep things going. I don’t care if others don’t read it, really. Doing this is a way of keeping track of my own life. Nobody else is going to do that for me. That’s for sure. Ni modo.

Here’s a song that just blows me away. Until next time…