The "Idle Janie" Journal - Days 26 through 30

 

Photo credit: David Bryan, Saint-Germain-les-Belles, France May 2018


The “Idle Janie” Journal - Day 26

“Let It Grow”
A few months ago, I posted some pictures from my rooftop, exclaiming how wonderful it was to have unfettered access to fresh air in the midst of a city that was being ravaged by the coronavirus. I have a couple of folding chairs up there for choice seating, to enjoy either the warm summer morning breeze with my coffee, or else to see the sunset over the surrounding buildings. I have a clear view of St. John the Divine Cathedral, Riverside Church, the Empire State Building (from a distance, but still detectable!) and some other historic church a few blocks north of me. All in all, as I then said, it helped save my sanity to have this safe escape, and to be able to get out of my all-too-small apartment for a bit without being bothered by contamination concerns.
Towards the end of April, as society slowly started to open back up, I was awakened one morning by drills and loud hammering. The reason we had this roof access was due to the door being busted for a while, and the alarm disarmed. But lo and behold, the landlord decided it was time for repairs, and I was dismayed later that day to see a brand new door, with a fully operational alarm.
Now, we don’t need to get into details here, but suffice it to say, I do still have access to that roof. Okay, fine. Truth be told, the laborers left the keys on top of the alarm box, and I quickly and quietly borrowed them to go make a copy — as did my neighbor. So now he and I are the only ones in the building with roof access. (We’ve been living here the longest, so we have seniority, and don’t feel guilty that the other apartments are unaware of this fact. 😉 ) Regardless, the owner’s intention stands: we are NOT supposed to have roof access.
Lately, as it seems more and more like society and life as we know it are going to change drastically, this has me wondering: why aren’t ALL rooftops throughout NYC (and other major metropolitan areas) being used to grow food? With distribution routes dangerously close to being cutoff, and with rising unemployment and financial fears, does it not make sense that we should be proactive with planting of produce, herbs, spices, and what have you? Seems like such a waste of space. Here you literally have the acreage and ability to be able to provide for yourself — instead of being dependent on others for everything.
But NO. “Rooftop access is prohibited under penalty of law!” Everyone in this country is always up in arms about the law and liability, that it has totally trumped common sense. There are 12 apartments in this small complex, and we should all be teaming up to train ourselves for self-sustainability. Imagine the cornucopia of comestibles that close to 25 people could produce given the opportunity! We could pool our financial resources and pot, plant, grow, harvest, and then split the haul equally. This would provide basic sustenance for all involved, everyone saves money, we actually get to know our neighbors, and we learn the valuable skill of shared sacrifice as we take turns watering, watching and waiting, cultivating, composting, etc., and then we can feast on the first fruits of our collective labor together over dinner at sunset some given day down the road. Wash, rinse, repeat.
I guess the same question could be raised for those in the suburbs, where in some places there are actually laws that literally prohibit maintaining a garden in your yard. "Those bulky plants are pesky and unsightly! We much prefer the well-kept look of nice, even, green grass, so that your yard matches that of all your neighbors. So please put away your plants, and just understand our urge for uniformity!"
Geez. Have fun mowing that totally un-utilitarian manicured monstrosity of a lawn once a month. At least it gives the kids something to do, so that they'll leave you alone for an hour!
Seriously, though. We need to start thinking about FOOD, and how we’re going to sustain ourselves in “the new world.” We’re all going to be out of work anyway, so why not give ourselves something to do, so we don’t go collectively crazy??
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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, New Orleans, Louisiana December 2018


The “Idle Janie” Journal - Day 27
“Abysmal Financial Failure”
So the coronavirus death toll in America has surpassed 150,000. And apparently states across the country opened way too quickly, as we are now seeing quadruple-digit daily cases in MORE THAN A THIRD OF THE COUNTRY. (With near quintuple-digit cases in several states on successive days as well.) Last week we had more than a thousands deaths FOUR DAYS IN A ROW.
Maybe it’s time to admit that this was not handled properly, from the beginning?
With countries across the world easing back into some sense of normalcy, reopening their economies and their borders to each other, the United States has become the laughing stock of the world. Or perhaps a people to be pitied. How did this happen, that the “greatest country in the world,” with the “strongest economy ever” fell to pieces over this issue? I’ll tell ya, in one word.
MONEY.
So I’m looking online at an article from “Business Insider” from early May, and seeing what other countries did to help their residents, who all equally felt the economic impact of what amounted to a worldwide shutdown. Here’s what the article says:
* Spain is set to establish a permanent basic income for poorer residents.
* Germany is offering aid to small employers and to freelancers — and freelancers in Berlin can get over $5,000 in assistance.
* In the Netherlands, the government will pay up to 90% of workers' salaries.
* Denmark will pay 75% to 90% of workers' salaries on behalf of employers, as long as workers aren't laid off.
* The UK government will pay up to 80% of workers' wages, a first for the country.
*France is offering self-employed workers up to $1,600. Additionally, the country is spending $50 billion to pay businesses to keep workers employed.
*In Brussels, self-employed workers are eligible for replacement income in March and April.
* In Hong Kong, the government will pay 50% of workers' salaries for six months.
* Malaysia is offering direct handouts to workers in some impacted industries.
* Ireland introduced weekly emergency payments for self-employed people and those who had lost their jobs.
That was in early May. To be transparent, I haven’t researched further to find what these governments have given since then, or what their plans are for the future. However, with the virus somewhat under control in the rest of the world, it’s possible that they simply don’t NEED to do anything further.
Meanwhile, in the dysfunctional about-to-be-dystopian danger zone of America, with 28 million Americans on the verge of losing their homes, with 47 OF 50 states hitting a historic high unemployment rate during this pandemic, and with more layoffs looming, our lazy leaders in an always-contentious congress were able to come up with the a one-time stimulus check of $1200 for all lower-income Americans.
That was in March.
It’s now July.
The federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour — where it has languished for OVER A DECADE. $7.25 x 40 hours a week = $290. $290 x 4 weeks = $1160. So, those making less than $75,000 a year were basically given a one time payment equal to one month of the federal minimum wage.
That was for FIVE MONTHS.
Meanwhile, billionaires seem to have made out like bandits during this time of national turmoil.
Congress seems to have approved another stimulus check of equal value, to be delivered sometime in August or September. I guess that’s supposed to get us through to the end of the year?
So much for Christmas presents.
Oh, and I hope we can all keep our housing. 😕
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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, Canterbury, England May 2019


The “Idle Janie” Journal - Day 28
“WOW! THAT WAS FAST!!”
Late last night, a friend sent me the went-quickly-viral video of the already infamous “Dr.” Stella Immanuel, asking my opinion. I’m honored to be one of the folks tagged in her query, as if I have an ounce of common sense and education, and might be someone that folks would look to for an opinion on matters such as these! Glad those 4 degrees can still be useful now that I’m unemployed! LOL
I figured this would be the new “Plandemic” video and that it would occupy our hearts and minds for the entire upcoming month of August. Well, this one got some gas early, and swept across social media within a matter of 12 hours. Holy hell that was quick! Don’t close your eyes for a catnap — you’ll miss everything!
I’m glad this nonsense has already been debunked so swiftly and substantively. I woke up remembering Jerry Garcia’s late-1980’s comment about why the Grateful Dead had taken such an interest in protecting the rainforest, in saying, “Someone has to do something. It’s just incredibly pathetic it has to be us.” And I wasn’t looking forward to having to pore over pages across the internet to bolster my belief that this so-called doctor in question was probably a quack. To be sure, a few clicks on links after a simple google search reveal that this woman — who has resurrected the hydroxychloroquine controversy— also says that sexual visitations by demons and alien DNA are at the root of Americans’ common health concerns.
Whoa.
Okay, so I’m not a doctor. Or a pharmacist. And, unlike Jerry, I don’t need to feel responsible for dissecting the disparate discussions about this issue — as there was an army of analysts attacking these overnight while I slumbered soundly.
What I DO want to discuss is the initial Instagram response — which, truth be told, absolutely frightens me beyond belief.
My friend who had inquired is someone I care about, so I invested the time needed to really sift through the subject, as I wanted to present her an honest, rigorously researched answer — or at least as much as one can do that late at night. I read literally HUNDREDS of comments (out of thousands that were posted by that point) below the supposedly now-banned video, eyes aghast at what I saw.
Are THESE people REALLY my “fellow Americans”??????????
Listen: I’m not going to tell you that this woman is a whack job. I don’t need to. What I do need to tell you, is that this country is in BIG TROUBLE.
The video is about 5 minutes long. And it presents a passionate woman with care and conviction, claiming to be able to cure COVID with means outside of the official narrative. It was such a strong impassioned performance that, I’ll admit, even I took pause for just a moment — IS this the answer? Are “they” right about this drug? Has there been some breakthrough? Maybe Fauci and Gates DO stand to make millions off some miracle vaccine, which is why they dismissed this drug???
But it didn’t last long. For an educated person such as myself, there were immediate “red flags” - such as her stumbling over her words as she tried to spell out what “NIH” stands for. I know she is not originally from here, but ANY doctor in America would not get that tripped up THAT much with the name of this very notable basic American health institution. Also of note was the matching lab coats worn by all in attendance that reads “America’s Frontline Doctors,” a quick internet search revealing this group’s internet domain was registered 11 days ago. And what was up with the Blair Witch Project cinematography? Speaking of cinematography, I’ve personally been in 2 movies and 1 TV show, so I have a little experience with acting and the “art of being an extra in the background.” I’m not entirely sure these folks behind her aren’t paid walk-ons or supernumeraries. But that’s beside the point.
What IS the point was the hundreds of responses I read. I was blown away by the barrage of posts basically saying something like the following:
* Keep this woman safe, they are going to try to kill her!
* Bless this woman for coming forward with the truth!
* We found a replacement for Fauci!
* She’s a hero and a national treasure!
* Trump had it right 6 months ago, and the media fought it!
* This is absolutely incredible! She’s so passionate and honest!
* I believe her!
* Liberals be like “she doesn’t look like a doctor!”
* Yes! Keep this going! It needs to be all over the news!
* This is firing me up for the good! Now THAT sounded like the truth!
Folks, these responses are downright dangerous. Literally thousands of people watched an impassioned performance, did ZERO research into any claims being made, and immediately are calling for canonization of this crazy person. But this is what we get for electing a TV star for the highest office in the land: pervasive performance. YES, she seems to have a strong sense of conviction. YES, her passion about her profession seemed unprecedented on this particular subject. YES, she delivered the monologue of a lifetime. But does it make what she is saying truth? NO. ABSOLUTELY AND UNEQUIVOCALLY NOT. So let’s just give her an Oscar and call it day. Leave her in the land of make-believe and return to reality, so we can resume our fight against a deadly foe that is literally going to infect us all if we don’t grow up and start acting like adults.
Fanning the flames of this fanaticism is the fact that, yes, ALL of these social media sites are basically trying to ban this video, as a violation of their platform policies. This lends an air of credence to the claims being made in the video, in the eyes of the now irate — they feel that “the TRUTH” has finally come out, and is therefore being silenced. THE REASON THIS VIDEO IS BEING BANNED IS BECAUSE IT IS BULLSHIT. It is outright irresponsible fictional fantasy being touted as truth in a time of national crisis. Removing these videos is no different than arresting the fellow screaming fire in a packed theater. Such a person is dangerous, divisive, damaging, and detrimental to public safety.
I’m honestly starting to get a little scared, knowing that possibly a full third of the citizens in this country are comfortable with elected leaders who live in LA LA LAND. But, as an artist, I do love a good movie! And from a Hollywood production point of view, one can’t complain about the twists and turns of 2020 so far.
I just never imagined I’d actually be living in a Roland Emmerich film. Hope we get a happy ending!
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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, Viejo San Juan, Puerto Rico October 2019


The “Idle Janie” Journal - Day 29
“The Sunshine State (of emergency)”
Dear Florida -
We are watching with bated breath from the Northeast, as you enter your next phase of this pandemic. We know that there are many folks from different walks of life living down there, and that with a population of close to 21.5 million, you’re bound to have sharp, contrasting opinions about everything from masks to schools reopening to whether or not you should be partying in the pubs or basking on the beaches.
Would that it were so that our federal government had properly planned and executed an early national response strategy, so that we didn’t have 50 different states left spinning in the wind, each having to hash out their own approach to this crisis. And, unfortunately, with your governor being a Trump sycophant who has basically “remained closely in-line with the White House's messaging,” — which, as we know by now, has been pretty much all over the place — you really didn’t stand a chance. The game was rigged from day one, and now you’ll have to hunker down and deal with the coming consequences.
Yes, we’ve been watching in the news for weeks now, seeing how DeSantis has dealt with this — a response that has been inconsistent, ignorant, contradictory, erroneously self-congratulatory, evasive, and even pursuant to playing the blame game. To be sure, according to CNN, your governor claimed early on, “‘We succeeded and people just don't want to recognize it,’ he blustered. Then, jabbing his finger at reporters, he scolded the press: ‘You've got a lot of people in your profession who waxed poetically for weeks and weeks about how Florida was going to be just like New York,’ he said.”
Um…. 😕
We are all up here wondering if YOU are wondering: how is a mask mandate still nonexistent at this point in your state? Do your so-called civil liberties really matter THAT much, that you can’t recognize what’s happening in your hometowns right now? Since we readily recognize the path you’re on, I guess we would call this “the calm before the storm.” Although it’s hardly calm at all!
With 3 hours still left to report today, you have already lost 216 souls — setting a record for daily deaths in your sunshine state — beating yesterday’s record of 186. I have been recording the daily stats, and wanted to let you know that of the 6,335 people who have died in your state from the virus, that more than 2,600 of those deaths have occurred SINCE JULY 5TH. That’s 42% of ALL deaths in JUST the last 25 days. OUT OF ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY ONE DAYS. Maybe you all should start to carefully consider whether or not it’s worth wearing a mask now?
As I initially stated, we’re keeping close tabs on what you are going through right now. And our hearts are breaking for you and your loved ones, because we’ve been through it. Our entire city was worried that we might have collective PTSD from sirens wailing throughout the quiet nights of the quarantine; we watched the news with horror as we learned about refrigerated trucks being turned into temporary morgues; we wept when we heard of the mass grave sites being dug because the body count was too high to keep up with; we cowered in fear as the daily diagnoses reached dangerous levels; we became noticeably nervous when we had to potentially expose ourselves by shopping for sustenance; and we wondered if that door handle we touched literally 2 weeks ago might soon be our death knell; hell, we wondered if we might even wake up tomorrow.
We went through it so that YOU DIDN’T HAVE TO. Unfortunately, your failed, failing, and flailing leadership — in lockstep with your misguided cries about constitutional rights and your fanaticism about your freedom — have now handed you a hardship that could have been so easily averted.
So buckle your seatbelts, it’s about to get a bit bumpy.
Best wishes,
New York
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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, Guimarães, Portugal November 2018


The “Idle Janie” Journal - Day 30
“Til Death Do Us Part”
I had a livestream concert to prepare for tonight, so I’m gonna keep this one short.
Herman Cain has died from COVID-19. Yes, the very Herman Cain who in 2016 was one of a very crowded field of Republican Presidential hopefuls who ultimately elevated the most unelectable and despicable man in the history of presidential primaries; the man who seems to have his sights set on singlehandedly steering the country down a path of destruction on a daily basis; a consummate con artist who somehow cast a magic spell over much of America — he, who in many misguided eyes — is somehow somewhat akin to the savior of the nation.
In the midst of a pandemic on the prowl, that con artist instead turned his attention to his re-election in the fall — which he now boldly believes should be postponed — and insisted on holding a political rally. In a state which seemingly had the virus somewhat under control, but now has positive numbers in the thousands each day.
Herman Cain attended Trump’s rally in mid June. Leading up to the event, he tweeted the following: “For the event Masks will not be mandatory. The people are fed up!” He began showing symptoms for COVID-19 about 2 weeks after that, and was hospitalized shortly thereafter. He died today, after being on a ventilator for nearly a month.
I never want to glorify death. And I will never, as a “liberal snowflake,” laugh at the misfortune of others. But I guess now is a good time to ask those who still don’t believe in the power of this virus: is this really the hill that you want to die on?
ONE OF YOUR OWN - who dismissed this deadly disease - is now gone as a result of not taking it seriously. And in the last 24 hours or so, the national daily death rate has climbed to close to 1500 for the first time since probably April, as we saw triple-digit deaths today in California (113), Arizona (172), Florida (252) and Texas (322).
I’d say it’s time for another shutdown — one that is actually well thought out this time — but I guess our government is too busy playing politics to take this seriously.
With Rep. Louie Gohmert testing positive this week, and with Herman Cain headed for a coffin, maybe our “trusted leaders” will start to take this seriously, and finally make some decisions that will help get this country on a healing track.
RIP, Herman Cain. I fear you won’t be the last statesman to succumb to the petty politics being parlayed during this pandemic. Maybe your followers will now take notice and help spread the word:
IT’S HIGH TIME TO TAKE THIS SERIOUS.
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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

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