The Day Before Easter

So, for the fifth Saturday morning in a row, I didn’t make it to the 7:30 spin class at Equinox.

Instead, I woke up at 6 AM to do some stretches, crunches, and some reading over tea and one-half bagel with almond butter and a mushy banana that had gained status as the last of the fruit bowl Mohicans.

The major event of the morning was New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and his daily 8:30 AM briefing on CNN. Cuomo’s honest, reassuring, warm delivery reminds me of my dad, in his prime, delivering some troubling news or giving cautionary advice…with just the facts, dude. When Cuomo acknowledges the disaster of lives lost and families forever changed behind near incomprehensible numbers, his tone of voice confirms his heartfelt empathy; he’s an informed, hard-working leader who wears his authenticity on his sleeve. Today, the briefing ended with some guarded hope and a shared Churchill quote, “Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”

I thought about the quote during a brief walk for some food and supplies. And, a couple of months ago, even though Covid-19 had most likely already begun its insidious invasion of our SoCal lives, walking into Trader Joe’s masked and gloved might have elicited more of a defensive T-Joe’s response. But today, no one called security. I kept my six feet of separation and checked out with some soup, pasta, and Peruvian Chimchurri rice with vegetables from France. I hadn’t looked for toilet paper.

Couldn’t avoid my office two days in a row and Saturdays might as well be Wednesday, so I made the drive down Huntington. I found a DocuSign email request waiting for me from Bank of the West and the Payroll Protection Program; crossed my fingers and electronically signed and delivered. I shared a video to social media starring Dental Assistant Kolleen’s athletic Wonder Dog, Max (My fave canine this side of my Wonder Years buddy, Spot.) I now watch the Max video every morning with a cup of Spiced Chai, just to get my energy going; a routine that could continue indefinitely.

It was a beautiful 72-degrees of Rocky Mountain High pure air for me and my realtor bestie Pratima; we covered 15,000 steps…and at least that many houses.

By 6 PM, I was back home, showered and savoring some once frozen pasta with a glass of Chianti. CNN was back on with “O.J.: Made in America” parts 3-5, on deck.

And I can remember exactly what I was doing during the O.J. Bronco “chase;” I started dental school at USC only a few years after Simpson’s Heisman. But after 8-hours of ESPN during the last three nights, the Trial of the Century never seemed so small.

Another careful day in SoCal.

With thoughts and prayers for timely rebirth, renewal, and better days ahead; happy Easter tomorrow.