The "Idle Janie" Journal - Days 11 through 15

Photo credit: TV screenshot, New York, New York July 2020

The “Idle Janie” Journal - Day 12
“The grim reaper is getting SOOOO giddy!”
Yesterday was a Sabbath Day for Janie, and today will be a short post, as I need to prepare for my livestream on FB tonight. But I did want to get something on the books for today.
I’m STILL just in shock at the laissez-faire attitude of so many Americans vis-a-vis this virus. I realize that, out of a national population of 330 million, that 3.3 million cases must not seem like a big deal. To be sure, that is only 1% of the total population. However, with us adding between 60 and 70 thousand new confirmed cases EVERY DAY, it’s obviously NOT going to stop. And contrary to popular belief that we are hitting that so-called “2nd wave,” we are clearly not even through with our first wave yet.
Those who are “in the know” — buckle up, it’s about to get BAD.
A few headlines I’ve seen over just the past few days — some verbatim, some from my recollection of what I’ve read:
* Florida is averaging 10K new cases per day, and Disneyworld opened to the public today.
* The Governor of Kentucky issued a mask-mandate that was immediately overturned in court.
* Hospitals in hotspots are nearing ICU capacity, and people are being turned away.
* Medical examiners in hotspots are ordering refrigerated trucks to deal with morgues that look like they are going to start bursting at the seams.
* A patient in their 30s has reportedly died after attending a ‘COVID party’ in Texas and thinking the coronavirus was a hoax.
* A 37-year-old Ohio man died from coronavirus after slamming ‘hype’ over pandemic on Facebook.
* 8-year old child dies of coronavirus in North Carolina.
* CDC feels pressure from Trump as rift grows over coronavirus response.
* The NC Department of Health and Human Services reported 2,462 new cases of the virus Saturday — a new daily high since the start of the pandemic.
* Coronavirus sweeps summer camp, infects 82 campers, counselors and staff in Missouri.
* 85 kids, counselors, infected with coronavirus in YMCA camp outbreak, Georgia officials say.
* Florida shatters single-day infection record with 15,300 new cases.
* For first time, the US records more than 70,000 new coronavirus cases in single day.
* Florida county commissioner who voted against masks in hospital with COVID.
* Ohio governor says no statewide mask mandate despite spread of coronavirus.
* “I am not the mask police” — Ohio sheriff is refusing to enforce the governor’s mask mandate.”
Listen up, folks. JUST because YOU don’t personally know someone who has had this virus — or died from it — does NOT MEAN THAT IT DOESN’T EXIST. We paid the price up here in the Northeast, and we paid it dearly. How on Goddess’ Green Earth did you not learn from what we went through up here? With our country setting a NEW RECORD for number of confirmed cases on something like 7 out of the LAST 11 DAYS, why can you not read the writing on the wall?? How can you possibly think that this is going to just “blow over” or that it’s “no worse than the seasonal flu” or that “it’s just a democratic hoax” or any such nonsense????
OUR ENTIRE COUNTRY HAS BEEN LITERALLY QUARANTINED BY THE REST OF THE WORLD. MEXICO AND CANADA HAVE CLOSED THEIR BORDERS TO US. YOUR PASSPORT IS USELESS RIGHT NOW, AS EUROPE AND ASIA ARE CLOSING THEIR BORDERS TO ANYBODY COMING FROM AMERICA.
Ok, so I guess I’m not just in shock. I’m actually really quite FURIOUS at the tsunami of toddler tantrums I’m seeing in the news every single day as arrogant adults act like ignorant imbeciles — in public, even with cell phones out documenting your behavior — in response to this whole “wear a mask” mandate. It’s such a simple simple simple step that each of us can take to prevent this pandemic from pulverizing the entire population.
You may not live in a hotspot right now, but trust me: it’s coming. Eventually, most likely every single American is going to lose somebody they know and love to this scourge. And when that happens, when you are tearfully telling your loved one goodbye VIA A FRIKKIN IPAD, just remember, once again: WE WERE RIGHT.
It sucks to be right sometimes.
At the very least, the grim reaper might empathize with this nation full of weary workaholics who have to hold two jobs just to make ends meet. Cause he’s about to put in some serious overtime. At least he’ll probably get a well-earned vacation when finished with his work here, as most of the rest of the world seems to be finally containing the virus.
So go on, you mask eschewing megalomaniacs. Enjoy your day at the beach, it might be your last.
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Thanks for reading. If you like what you read, and want to support my fledgeling career as a writer and musician, you can drop a few bucks in the virtual tip jar. It all adds up!
Venmo: @David-Bryan10026

👀


Photo credit: David Bryan, London, England May 2019 

The “Idle Janie” Journal - Day 13
“LESH/WEIR 2020!”
Our stable genius president is retweeting conspiracy theories by GAME SHOW HOSTS!
The current asinine administration is foregoing Fauci, saying that science is stupid and that this virus will vanish on its own!
Ann Coulter — ANN COULTER!!! — is endorsing a democrat over Mucky Mitch McConnell!
Governors in so-called Red States are reeling in coronavirus cases with no particular plan whatsoever to stop the spread of this pandemic!
And on and on and on. AND ON. You all are on Facebook. I know you’re seeing the same silliness saturating the news that I am. We all entertain the same issues — we just find ourselves on opposite ends of every single damn one of them. We dig in our heels and scream into our cacophonous echo chambers, or else outright attack others we’ve never even met.
It’s time for all Americans to come together. I think we can ALL agree on one thing: the political structure in this country is absolutely BROKEN. With coronavirus containment ostensibly out the window altogether, with the economy primed and ready to go down the tubes, with Americans at each others throats online on just about every imaginable issue, the time has clearly come to hit the reboot button.
This two-party “choose the lesser of two evils” mockery of morality is a moribund system to which we all need to say: SEE YA!
So, I’d like to present the populous with a new political party: THE PRANKSTER PARTY! And I’d like to nominate Phil Lesh and Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead for the 2020 ticket.
Sound like a crazy idea? Here’s a few things to think about.
1. Given that our current president can barely make it through one press briefing without sounding like a grade school bully — much less compose a single comprehensible comment that isn’t self-congratulatory, self-contradictory or an outright compulsive lie; and given that the self-defeating Democrats deemed it prudent to pick a candidate who is more or less just a liberal version carbon copy of the current occupier of the oval office: wouldn’t it be nice to actually have someone who can string together some semblance of sentences in a row that illustrates eloquent elocution?
Both of these current candidates seem burdened by simple speech. They are both probably struggling with dementia, as neither can seem to get through a thought without a giant gaffe. It’s basically just word salad with different dressing every time either of these men attempt to orate. I am sick of it, and outright embarrassed when I think of the number of travelers who visit our shores from overseas who probably have better comprehension of the English language than either of these imbeciles.
Have you ever listened to an interview with either Phil Lesh or Bob Weir? They have a strong command of the English language, are thoughtful and elegant in their presentation — and more than anything, I’d suggest there is little to no EGO involved when they open their mouths. I was recently watching the Grateful Dead documentary, and in it there is a clip of Ronald Reagan speaking about the evils of the 60’s, etc. Now, I am no fan of Reagan whatsoever, and think he was a terrible leader. But — BUT — HIS SPEECHES. The man was an actor, as we all know. And. He. Could. Speak. I don’t know, call me crazy, but I think if one is to attain the highest office in the land, THEY SHOULD BE ABLE TO SPEAK BASIC ENGLISH. For the love of god(ess). Phil and Bob would restore some sanity to the simple act of SPEECH.
2. As the music of the Dead has slowly pervaded each and every corner of the country, we Deadheads have realized just how all-encompassing this music is for folks from all walks of life. It is the biggest tent attainable in terms of political persuasion. Republicans, Democrats, Independents, Tea-Partiers, Greens, Working Families, Libertarians — you name it, we got it. Now, this doesn’t dictate that ALL of us will agree on every single issue. But, I have a sneaking suspicion that if Phil and Bob were calling the shots, most of their fans would LISTEN — and at least give them a fair shake. The Dead organization was always anti-authoritarian, egalitarian, communicative, thoughtful, and most importantly worked TOGETHER to dispel their differences. I like to think this is how they would run the country. And, more importantly, that ALL of those folks from different political parties would HEAR THEM OUT. Instead of knee-jerk reactions to everything espoused by “that person from the other side of the aisle,” Deadheads would carefully consider the pros and cons of each and every question.
3. WE GOT THE NUMBERS. It’s said that “everyone knows a deadhead.” It’s also said “We are everywhere.” Let’s face it — if deadheads decided to form a political party, they would be a force to reckon with. They would also be an absolute economic behemoth. Think about how much money deadheads spend on what they believe in. They would make Trump’s super PAC look like a bunch of losers scrounging for loose change.
4. The Grateful Dead organization has been lauded by the likes of FORBES FRIGGIN MAGAZINE for their visionary business practices. CEOs and Fortune 500 companies alike across the nation have delved into the Dead’s incredibly successful (albeit almost accidental) business, marketing, and entrepreneurial strategies that launched a brand that beats all others and has stood the test of time. Could you imagine if we applied their visionary thinking to the running of this collapsing country? Every politician who ever runs for president claims they can turn the sinking ship around. These guys would probably do something like abandon the ship altogether, opting for completely new models that would reimagine how government should work in the first place. It’s time to try something different.
5. WE WOULD STOP SPENDING SO MANY BILLIONS OF DOLLARS ON BOMBS. Let’s face it, these guys are as “anti-war” as you can possibly get. It’s time to invest in our own education, infrastructure and safety nets, and stop bombing brown people on the other side of the world.
6. Their Cabinet positions would be filled by “family.” YOU WANT NEPOTISM? WE GOT YOUR NEPOTISM RIGHT HERE. Only, unlike the current crowd in charge who seem hell-bent on hanging on to power in perpetuity — even to the point where they have “joked” about terminating terms limits and delving into a dictatorship — this “family” is not one connected by BLOOD. It is one connected by MUSIC, COMMUNITY, and LOVE. In my mind, it would bring some semblance of sanity to imagine these powerful positions filled with the likes of Steve Silberman, Dennis McNally, David Gans, and Wavy Gravy; and the likes of Candace Brightman, Mountain Girl, Trixie Garcia, and Betty Cantor-Jackson. You see I listed the MEN first? Because traditionally the men would be listed first, and they would be more “powerful” and wield more “control.” But you know what would happen? The first thing Phil and Bob would do would be to PUT THE WOMEN IN CHARGE. As they sing in one of the songs they cover, “That’s right, the women are SMARTER!” And smarter they are. And smarter they would be. And smarter THEY WILL BE.
Isn’t it high time more women were put in positions of power??? That whole man-centric male-chauvinist murdering machismo mudslinging mulish morbid mobster manic maligning macabre malevolent maniacal masochistic manipulative misanthropic myopic monstrous money-grubbing miscreant mentality MUST END ONCE AND FOR ALL. It’s obvious that MEN CLEARLY CANNOT HANDLE THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF RUNNING ANYTHING THE RIGHT WAY. We need to put women first from now on. And Phil and Bob would be the first to admit that and agree.
7. It is said that LSD opens the doors of perception, making you wiser, more thoughtful, and more compassionate. It’s already public knowledge that this gang is well steeped in pushing the boundaries of consciousness. I think it’s time we have leadership from folks who have experienced true humility and have experienced what it’s like to have a sense of self outside of the constraints of the EGO.
8. THINK ABOUT HOW WEIRD THE ADMINISTRATION WOULD BE, AND HOW WEIRD THE COUNTRY WOULD BECOME??? “Normal” is on the way OUT.
So there you have it, ladies and gentlemen. An apolitical party that will put an end to all our problems. Let’s write ‘em in and see what happens!
P. S. Never trust a prankster. 😉
———————-
Thanks for reading. If you like what you read, and want to support my fledgeling career as a writer and musician, you can drop a few bucks in the virtual tip jar. It all adds up!
Venmo: @David-Bryan10026

👀

Photo credit: David Bryan, London, England May 2019 
                                                    
The “Idle Janie” Journal - Day 14
“We seem to be going backwards”
As I’ve said before, my facebook feed is kinda out of control. Unlike many of my like-minded friends, I have chosen NOT to delete or defriend folks due to their political leanings. I’m really interested in what “the other side” has to say, and I’ve found that facebook is great fodder for this. It is unscripted, unrehearsed, independent, and eye-opening.
If we convene and comment only in our echo chambers, we will hear only the hollow sounds of ourselves screaming. I think it is imperative to national dialogue and human healing that we keep the lines of communication OPEN between so called liberals and conservatives.
BUT there comes a time when one has to simply thrown one’s hands in the air and give up. Regarding coronavirus, I’m obviously and unabashedly a believer in both the science and statistics. I’ve been following this issue from pretty early on, and am not surprised whatsoever that we are currently dealing with this calamity as a country. What I AM surprised by is how ridiculously POLITICAL this problem has become. Almost along party lines — both with the politicians AND the populace — we have found ourselves divided on the most dangerous of issues. As I’ve said before, I’m shocked at the fact that some people still think it’s a hoax, or a democratic conspiracy, or no worse than the flu. But no, that’s not enough for some of you. I was reading through a comment thread last night and it appears that some folks on “the right” have decided it’s time to double down on Benghazi.
BENGHAZI.
So, you’re telling me that FOUR dead servicemen from an incident EIGHT YEARS AGO is an arguable issue, but that ONE HUNDRED THIRTY-NINE THOUSAND DEATHS IS NOT AS IMPORTANT???
For the record, IN CASE YOU MISSED IT, HILLARY CLINTON IS NOT THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. Why the hell is anyone still talking about her stupid emails???? SHE’S OUT OF THE PICTURE. Seriously, some people are just so incredibly ignorant. Or so unabashedly BROKEN or PRIDEFUL or SPITEFUL as human beings that they can’t just own up to the fact that they made a horrible decision in voting for a dumb TV show host with zero political experience, shady real estate projects with 6 bankruptcies, 5 kids from 3 different marriages, 11 charges of sexual assault, and 4,000 plus lawsuits. We elected a clown, and now we have a 12-ring circus. It’s as simple as that.
But let’s face it: most of the people who voted for Trump have decided they are simply going to dig in their heels and fight to the finish. They literally don’t care that everything that comes out of this man’s mouth is either (1) an outright lie, (2) directly contradicts something that HE HIMSELF SAID PREVIOUSLY, or (3) complete gobbledygook.
And this brings us to another difficult pill to swallow — the reason WHY they will support this rogue Ringmaster who seems hellbent on the undoing of our union:
BECAUSE OBAMA WAS BLACK.
So there you have it. Trump himself has repeatedly ‘outed’ himself as a racist — and it has entirely emboldened those who think and feel the same way. I don’t need to elucidate this claim or educate anyone about this issue. If you seriously have been living under a rock for the last 4 years, just google “trump racist remarks,” and that should give you enough reading to ride out the end of the approaching apocalypse.
But now, like many others I’ve seen on facebook, I feel the need to publicly proclaim: if you support this racist, or you make excuses for his racism, then simply put, YOU ARE ALSO RACIST. Or, at the very least, you are saying it doesn’t bother you if the most powerful person in the entire country, who can control the fate of so many if not all of us, is racist. Complacency is tantamount to acceptance. Either own up to it or eschew it once and for all. There is no middle ground here. The line has been drawn in the sand, and you HAVE to pick a side. Period.
Sorry, but not sorry if this statement offends you. As a “son of the south” — who grew up being uncomfortably exposed to “black jokes”; who so happened to attend an 80% black middle school; then attended a 92% black high school; then worked in a community outreach organization that dealt primarily with poor populations; then studied Black Theology in seminary; and who now lives in Harlem; and who taught for five years at an all black college in one of the poorer sections of the Bronx — I’ve been absolutely baffled by white racists for the better part of my entire life. And I am sick and fucking tired of it.
How stupid to think that the pigment in someone’s skin makes them inferior! If you did the slightest bit of research — and trust me, Google has made it REALLY EASY FOR YOU — then you’d learn that ALL HUMAN BEINGS ARE 99.9% IDENTICAL IN THEIR GENETIC MAKEUP. Skin pigmentation just happens to fall under that .1%, and that has made all the difference in the overall course of human history.
And that is JUST. PLAIN. STUPID.
But as I was once ridiculed on the subway by some yahoo redneck, just for wearing dark blue socks instead of black socks with a tuxedo, I guess I shouldn’t really be surprised. Jesus, don’t you people have anything better to do with your time??????
To anyone who is racist, or even just thinks “black people are somehow inferior” — there is nothing wrong with YOU. It’s just that the way you were taught to think is flawed. If you — yes you! — need help divesting yourself from racist ways of thinking, I will literally devote hours on end to help you, no matter who you are. Whatever it is that was ingrained in you as a child IS REVERSIBLE. And I, that guy who hasn’t unfriended you because of your ridiculous political posts, I will work with you to make yourself a better human being, to become more of a whole person.
Oh and by the way, Jesus wasn’t white.
Nobody in the Bible was.
“Hashtag IT’S THE TRUTH”
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Thanks for reading. If you like what you read, and want to support my fledgeling career as a writer and musician, you can drop a few bucks in the virtual tip jar. It all adds up!
Venmo: @David-Bryan10026

👀

Photo credit: David Bryan, Porto, Portugal November 2018 

The “Idle Janie” Journal - Day 15
“Post-Pandemic Possibilities: Part 1”
As much as I LOVE writing, I am finding that these daily journal entries are taking more time than originally intended. I’m still able to check everything off of my daily list (see “day 9”) but the amount of time spent thinking, writing, editing and proofing these posts has become a bit burdensome. So, I’m gonna try to reign it in just a bit. And one way to do that is to dissect certain subjects over the course of several days. Whether those days will be consecutive or not will depend on the wind and which way it blows on a given day. But for today, I’d like to start a series of sessions about “post pandemic possibilities,” with the aim of discussing inherent problems I see in how society was previously structured, with an eye towards offering some new ideas. The thrust of these “sessions” is that the way things were — and have been for quite some time — simply DON’T WORK. And they haven’t for a while. I can’t promise any type of conclusiveness for each chapter, I’m just gonna go for it and see what transpires. See how “the spirit” moves me.
For the 12 years that I worked in midtown Manhattan, I was daily surrounded by a vast seat of suits — businessmen, bankers, financiers, hedge fund hounds, corporate capitalists, etc., etc. And almost every day during my commute I noticed the disparity of the dispensation of vocation: those who were “in the club” and those who weren’t. This constantly had me wondering: who goes into what field, and why?
To be sure — as this is America — the uniforms worn were mostly based on race: the “whites” in their fancy coats and ties, and everyone else in some kind of “uniform,” usually with some logo affixed. Starbucks; Subway; Ben & Jerry’s; Samsung; Chipotle — the list goes on. Of course this isn’t obviously the case 100% of the time, but there is no denying the overwhelming representation of race in this “tale of two cities” — by and large, those really making the money are white, and the “working class is nonwhite. “Everybody else,” basically.
I have MUCH to say about this on a structural level later on, but for now it has me thinking about society forcing everyone through a funnel that deposits them and declares that everyone is either a “this” thing or a “that” thing. We’ve ended up, mostly based on race, with a bunch of people “in the club,” with the rest of society setup to SERVE them. Preparing their coffee and pastry in the early morning; mailing their packages in the late morning; serving them their lunch; shining their shoes on their afternoon break; driving them home for dinner; cleaning their houses or tending their children while they’re away all day. Of course as a Libra, I found myself set squarely in the middle: I didn’t have to sling Starbucks lattes, or clean the common areas after the lunch rush. But my “status” was also reflected by my salary. Perhaps that “middle of the road” occupation I ended up with is what allowed me to be aware of those suffering in the service industry. Nobody really wants to serve sandwiches or clean the cafe, right?
[SIDEBAR: And then I, as a musician with really a limited income (living in one of the most expensive cities in the world), have typically once or twice a month spent a handful of my off hours choosing music, emailing bandmates regarding schedules, rehearsing music, preparing set lists, and then performing for these “white collar workers” for a mere $10 cover charge — of which the club takes an astronomical amount (don’t even get me started on streaming services such as Spotify, which has a billionaire CEO yet pays out fractions of a cent per stream), meaning in the end, I have paid OUT OF POCKET to hone my craft and then offer my gift for their evening entertainment. And now that I am no longer gainfully employed, I won’t even be able to do that.]
So, I guess today, as I reflect on all of this, my heart goes out to those folks who feed the fat cats for little financial gain — those so-called “ESSENTIAL WORKERS” who won our hearts during the daily deaths of thousands of New Yorkers, who seem to have mostly already been forgotten now that the curve has flattened. I think that once this pandemic has passed, we need to have a REAL conversation about compensation. Then we need to talk about the inherent discriminatory decisions over many decades that got us here in the first place. Without these workers, we’d literally all be dead.
To those folks in the service industry in midtown whose faces I saw for so many years: I’m not a top tier type of guy, raking in billions during the recent bailouts. I lost my job, so I won’t be passing your place of employment anymore. But please know that I SAW you, that I REMEMBERED your faces, and that I APPRECIATED you all those years.
I hope you’ll finally get some financial justice that you so justly deserve.
———————-
Thanks for reading. If you like what you read, and want to support my fledgeling career as a writer and musician, you can drop a few bucks in the virtual tip jar. It all adds up!
Venmo: @David-Bryan10026

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