Medley of Thoughts
Inspired by the Abbey Road Medley, Rich shares a medley of thoughts that have been on his mind the last week. Vote from Trump or Biden? Coronavirus cases are up in Chicago. Are leaders making decisions based on political pressure or scientific evidence? Would we slow the spread of COVID-19 in the city if we initiated a “work from home” tax? We could then distribute aid to our neighbors who don’t have the privilege of working a job from home. Also, Mom is right and NFL Commercials.
I’ve been enjoying to the Beatles Abbey Road album over the past week. Playing vinyl records in the morning provides me much peace. Those who’ve listened to it (I hope everyone does for humanity’s sake) know side 2 contains a medley of short songs. That’s what today will be: a medley of thoughts of what is on my mind this week.
The presidential election is next week. I’m not voting for Donald Trump or Joe Biden. I’m either going to write someone in or vote for an independent party. Is it just me or are the Republican and Democratic parties are nothing but two big corporations competing for power? They use the American people in their game. Citizens believe they only have two choices because that’s the way it’s been. But is that the way it has to be? The thing about the future is that it hasn’t happened. So doesn’t that means we can make it however we want? Neither of these parties has vision or big ideas for the 21st century or millennium – they’re only offering us derivatives of generic philosophies. When I think about it, the Democratic Party had four years to come up with something. Their gameplan was to show how absurd Trump is. Through the media, feed Americans with fearful headlines and stories and they’ll vote for whoever we run against him. I’m not scared of the world. After four years, Biden is what you’re offering me? I kinda feel offended. I believe in something greater. Watch my video on the American History book, Generations if you want to know what it is. I’m excited.
I live in Chicago, where the number of coronavirus cases has increased especially recently. Aside from all my projects, I bartend on the weekends. In late March, everything was shut down and we’ve been gradually opening back up over the months. We’ve been at limited capacity and hours. We got up to being able to serve liquor to 1 am. My experience at the bar was more and more hopeful. We were full within all the capacity and social distancing parameters. We wipe everything down with bleach, use gloves and masks all the time, hand sanitizer. We follow all the guidelines. We have not had one COVID case affiliated with our bar.
The city health commissioner has said the spike in cases is coming from small gatherings. The information coming back from testing is that 3/4 of people are getting it from people they know.
Last week the mayor imposed restrictions to cut off liquor sales at bars and restaurants 9 pm and have to close by ten. We’re all looking around like, am I crazy or is this not logical? People want to socialize. Instead of being in a regulated space we’re going to encourage people to go on their own, where we know that’s where the increase of cases is coming from?
This week the Illinois governor decided to shut down all indoor seating for restaurants and bars in the city. Whoa. Does that also seem authoritative to you? It makes me wonder if they’re not making the best use of their data. Are they making decisions from political pressure or scientific evidence? I’m curious if there’s a lot of pressure from people who want people to stay at home. Conveniently, most of these individuals probably have jobs that allow them to work from home. Would an extreme measure stop the spread quicker? Are they considering people on the front lines going out into the world to work and live. If you follow guidelines in public like wearing a mask, or if you’re like me, applying hand sanitizer all the time, for the most part you’re safe. It’s when you’re around people you know that you’re most likely to contract the virus. Is there a disconnect? I’m wondering if it’s possible that people are mad the case numbers keep going up and are looking for a scapegoat. The restaurant and bar industry is an easy target. But I work with blue collar folk, students, artists, entrepreneurs, and immigrants. We’re trying to survive over here. Where’s all that hero talk and love for front line and essential workers like it was being showered in April? If we want everyone to stay at home, maybe something we consider is a “work from home” tax? Twenty percent could be taken from paychecks of people able to work from home and dispersed to people who can’t. That way we stay home.
Mom was right. When I was a teenager, while doing my homework I’d listen to music and watch TV at the same time. She’d say, “How are you able to do that? You can’t possibly be able to focus.”
“I’m great at multi-tasking, Mom,” I’d respond. It was like this pride I felt. As a Millennial I could enjoy the technology and do whatever task assigned to me. I’m just that much smarter.
Now, it’s been challenging for me to do meaningful work without silence. I love silence. It’s so beautiful.
It’s made me think of life before the 20th century. The world was silent. Maybe there was someone in your family that could play an instrument or belt a tune. Maybe your neighbor had a musical talent. Maybe people looked forward to celebrations once a year or once a month or week because there’d be live music, and it was so fun and enjoyable.
Now, once we wake up we can listen to any song ever recorded. We can personalize it. We can put headphones in and it’s even more personalized. We can be stimulated all the time. But then when we’re in silence, we feel anxious. We need stimulation. I need to put something in my ears! So it makes it hard to listen to our own thoughts and feelings.
I’m a big football fan. Go Pack go! You ever watch the commercials during an NFL game? Beer, cars and trucks, junk food, investment portfolios, and… prescription medication. They’ll talk about this problem you’re having with your body. As an adult, I had no idea that that was a problem. The descriptions of side effects are the majority of the commercial. WTF. It makes me wonder if we’re just inventing problems and then just taking pills for them. Give them a name that sounds like a disease or something. End it with “isis.” Part of me is like, “Oh man, maybe I should be more sensitive and empathetic for people with these conditions. I had no idea there are people whose skin turns purple in the cold. I mean, mine does a little, but I didn’t know there are people whose skin REALLY turns purple.” The other part of me is like, “What are we doing here? Is it like this in other countries?”
This concludes the first Rich Conversations medley. If you haven’t already, listen to the Beatles’ Abbey Road album – or any of their albums. They’re beautiful. And on that note, I hope you have a beautiful day.