• Adieu. For now…

    Two masks. Apparently, that’s part of the conversation now. Wear two masks, some say. Because, you know–twice the protection. There is no data to support this, of course. Literally none. It’s non-existent. Vaccines continue to roll out with the efficiency of something like…well….the government: uneven, capricious, slow and full of bureaucratic middle level functionaries who have their reasons, by gawd.

    The world turned upside down a year ago and we all told ourselves we’d be home making bread and home-crafted foods for a couple of weeks and we’d learn the value of friendship and family and “me-time” and then we’d be released back into the world, realize what we’d lost and be more thankful and gracious.

    How’s that working for ya?

    I don’t mean to be sardonic. I truly don’t-and perhaps my friend and co-host, Keith, will have a different take. I’m not being political, here-though for a lot of people, there is no such thing. Everything is political and what’s more everything is partisan. Well-no. “Viruses gonna virus,” and this one does that. It’s frightening, of course. My family is not untouched by it and there is reason to be somewhat cautious, but the media flipped the crazy-switch pretty quickly and the lies we’ve been told have been stacking up, at their peak-the two-mask idea as though walking out the door with two on will provide you more protection from a virus that really doesn’t give a damn about your mask. Sure, it does stop you from spitting on people-and that’s a good thing. But that’s not the only way the virus is spread. Keep that in mind.

    And all of this is to say that the podcast herein was developed at the “I’m going to make bread” phase. My heart and mind were in it, then and I wanted to contribute something creative that might be a help, a cri de coeur that would allow me to use time that was forced on me, on all of us while we all pitched in and “bent the curve.” We bent something, alright–but the curve? Well–somebody show me and I’ll see if I can see it.

    In the meantime, so much is happening here. There is grief and there is loss in this time–and there is fear, a constant and demanding presence, there are the politics that are so ferocious and ugly and there is much transition in my personal life. I’m retiring from my 30-year teaching career in about 4 months and my family and I are moving out of California. My brothers are making huge transitions in their lives as well, and we are all supporting each other as we deal with the fallout of a sick parent who is going to need us and our efforts to rehabilitate. My creative energies are being spent on these last 4 months of teaching with kids who need something more from their teacher, because sitting in front of a computer all day to learn Shakespeare is not their idea of fun–or interesting. They’re being spent on my family, moving my daughter into her dorm with a vital hope of returning to classrooms and campus all-nighters and library time and commons meals early on Saturday night before the night’s revels.

    We plan to come back to this, Keith and I do. I’ll probably be in a different state by the time we do, which will happen this June and I expect we’ll launch more episodes starting late this spring or early this summer. Look for us as I’m out on the road with Sue and our dog, Simon, traveling the west and trying to remember what it’s like to live again.

    So, I’ve been considering a lot–thinking a lot and finally, I reached out to producer Jason and said, well–all of the above. And I’m tired right now. It’s time to put CST on a shelf for a while. So, we’ll call this the end of season one. Our 51st episode on Feb. 3 will be our last for now.

    With prayers, vibes, hopes for healing, love, vaccines and treatments–I remain your friend. And I’m grateful you were here with me. Be well.

    Onward.