#newsamehope / 3.30.20

What is new in the last 24 hours?

• John Prine is in critical condition due to complications from COVID-19. 

• National shutdown extended to April 30th after projections that 100k-200k people in this country could die.

• Sales of yeast are up 647% this week.

What is the same?

• Orinoco Flow is a banger. Blast some Enya today if you can.

• Still open overnight, as reported by the Tribune: laundromats, liquor stores, drive-thru windows.

What is the hope?

• The sun returned this morning. This makes a huge difference. If I get to see the sun crack its way out of clouds, my chest relaxes. 

• Conversations about grief, individual and collective. Tenderness. Compassion. Recognition that everyone is on a slightly different cycle. 

• I saw a cluster of chive blossoms that had burst through a newly laid square of sod. It pushed through the heavy wet soil and shoved the corner of Kentucky Bluegrass out of its way because it had to join the world. 

Not a hope, a same, or a new, but I’m glad the series finale of The Good Place came out when it did. I cried enough when I saw it then. 

Photo: West coast of Ireland, October 2017.