A post from FB worth reading 3_25_20
Reposted from a nurse.
Tonight is the last night that I’ll hug my kid’s goodnight until god knows when. Their things are packed and lining the hallway because tomorrow they will go to stay with my best friend and her husband.
My floor is now a main suspected Covid 19 floor and it means that the odds of being exposed over and over again are now a 100% guarantee. So I just wanted to talk to everyone stuck at home with your family, bored out of your mind and itching to get out. A little perspective is sometimes all you need to feel grateful for the things you have that others don’t.
Starting with my shift tomorrow, I’ll come home from work and I’ll strip naked and put everything straight into the washing machine on sanitize mode. I’ll use a Clorox wipe to clean anything I touched in the process. I’ll then take the towel that my husband has left for me and use it to walk to my master bedroom covered up. In there, a room that nobody else is allowed to enter after today, I’ll shower on hot. After my shower I’ll sanitize everything I touched again, then hand sanitize and get dressed.
I’ll have been using the same single disposable face mask for a minimum of an entire shift and I can’t be sure that the moisture from my breath didn’t render the mask ineffective. So I must treat myself as though I have it and am contagious.
I’ll get to talk to my kids via phone, but I won’t get to touch anyone I love. It’s the only way I can protect them. I’ll probably have to assure Evan for the millionth time, that mommy will stay safe. I’ll have to pry to get Cody to talk about his feelings. I’ll worry constantly that Tyler will act out his feelings, he internalized so much! And Brenna, she’s lucky that she’s too little to understand what’s going on. When that’s done, I’ll give the kids air hugs and wish them goodnight. I know their safe and loved where they’re going!
This will be my life, every day. Even my days off (until those are no more) because I could be contagious before showing symptoms. So until this thing is gone, my reality will look a lot different. I’ll probably hug my co-workers because they are just as dirty as me, but at a time of heaviness, I won’t be able to receive the human touch of love from the people who I love the most. For weeks, for months, who knows- that part is in the hands of the American public.
So my ask of you is this, as you sit at home with your children on your laps snuggled up watching a movie- please end this thing quickly by not going out unless absolutely necessary. My arms stay empty every day that you don’t. I go to bed alone every day that community spread is still a thing. Stay home. Hug your children, sleep with your spouse, sip wine from a long-stemmed glass and give thanks for the things that you can still do that some of us can’t. I’m doing my part.
Please do yours.
From Michele Samit
3/24/2020- THINGS ARE GETTING WORSE
Public Service Announcement:
DON’T listen to President Trump, AKA Dr. Death.
He will get you and those you love killed.
DON’T listen to other members of his death squad, AKA his fascist administration, AKA the evil regime.
DO listen to Dr. Fauci
DO listen to Gov. Cuomo, AKA Rock Star
Do listen to Gov Newsom
Do listen to Mayor Garcetti
LOCALS:
DO listen to Rep. Harley Rouda
? Possibly listen to Huntington Beach mayor Lyn Semeta, but she’s been inconsistent, so only listen to her when she follows the advice of the experts.
In a nutshell, please feel free to listen to ANYONE who advises you to stay at home.
PS: I put most of the money from the sale of my house into the stock market, and even though I am no longer looking at balances, I know it is falling daily. Even so, lives are more important than dollars. Staying home is the only thing that will save lives. We’ll figure out the rest later.
Stay home. Stay safe. Stay healthy!
Be kind.
#FlattenTheCurve, #ItIsUpToUs, #NotDyingForWallstreet
#thankyouMicheleSamit
From My Brother _Joel Moss
Perchance
Something unseen
That knows no border
Merely trying to survive
Has taken hold
And challenged us
To try to stay alive
And I wonder
At the distance we must keep
If this living
Will change the way we love
And sleep
And dance and trust
And count our worth
If the time is ripe
To pay the price
Of our hubris here, on Earth
So,
For those who may survive
If the rebuild for tomorrow
Is crafted by important men of note
Citing hopelessness and sorrow
As bandied items of the day
And war and hate and enterprise
Are the shrines to which they pray
We will have wasted our fair warning
Even the least schooled can plainly see
That the way we humans live
Is not the way life’s meant to be
3.22.2020
We all need to come together NOW!
From my Ferris
Living here in PA, we have tons of folks who are just eeking by – paycheck to paycheck – surviving on tips and the good nature of people; they work in Restaurants and Bars; as servers and bar folks and chefs and sous chefs and wait trailers.
Places we frequent: like Bar Louis and 403 Broad, The Dimmick and John’s of Arthur Avenue (Pizza and Pasta) Chris & Ginas and Faltes and the WaterWheel Cafe just to name a few local places that will be closed because of coronavirus.
In Jersey, we’ve all fallen madly crazy ass in love with the Layton Hotel.
Most of these places and the folks who work there are going to suffer greatly; they’ll be doing take-out only – NO SERVICE – just pickups; a few will deliver within a certain mile range (Layton Hotel will deliver within 15 miles from their restaurant, so you’re good to go in Dingmans) and they need our support.
PLEASE, SUPPORT THESE RESTAURANTS! And leave tips for ANYONE who has served you; handed you your food.
- For many, this is their only source of income.
- Order from them. They will make sumptuous meals and be thrilled you called and came and smiled.
- You can grab their menus on FaceBook, on Open Table or google them.
- Please, these folks don’t only offer up meals, they offer up kindness.
Thank you.
I love Amy Ferris
From Amy
Okay, so, I’m sitting here reading a bunch of my own writing that’s in a folder on my computer that says: GROOVY WRITING because, you know, quarantining, and this writing is a few years old… and so, I open the folder and I start reading – and WHOA is me – this really charming funny weird as all fuck animated series PILOT that I wrote a few years back – OF MICE AND MENSCHES: ANIMALS IN GROUP THERAPY and yes, it’s registered with the WGA, so no stealing this idea, and I’m thinking: wow, this shoulda gotten made into a series, yeah, this shoulda gotten made… and now I’m getting comfy on the couch and I’m re-reading this little novella – that’s in the same folder – that I wrote a while back, a sexy little love story – and thinking….yeah, this shoulda been published and …. okay, stop the presses: holy fuck – holy fuck – I just got a text from my very favorite bartender who just texted: ALL RESTAURANTS are closing in Pennsylvania as of right now. And right now is RIGHT NOW, which means no Bar Louis, which means I need a Xanax.
I love you all.
Hold tight, stay safe, fall in love with YOUR MAGIC; fall in love with the words that you write, that pour outta you onto the page, fall in love with your creativity, your talent, your sexy crazy ass art, fall in love with your beauty, fall in love with the music you make & the dances you choreograph and the photos you take and the poems and the prose and the plays and the movies you create… and mostly, mostly fall madly head-over-heels in love with your own badass gorgeous messy life.
(Amy I love being a BADASS)
REDEMPTION with Amy Ferris & Teresa Stack
2/6/20 Message from Amy:
Today, Teresa Stack & I begin our glorious Podcast journey… on REDEMPTION…which, yes, is coming soon! Thank you Karen Moss Hale!
We will have great guests on the show.
I am a firm believer that our mistakes can become our mission, that poison can be turned to medicine, that our scars are indeed our stardust & our blemishes are in fact our beauty marks. And no, I don’t believe all folks can be redeemed, but I do believe, with every fiber in me, that humans, and no, not all humans, can take their worst moments, their worst experiences and use those moments and experiences to inspire and encourage and enlighten others. I believe that through and through. We, humans, are capable of so much greatness and beauty. That our pain can help us understand another heart, that our failures make us stand taller so we become more determined, that our heartbreak can teach us how to love ourselves first and foremost and yes, become more compassionate. I believe that who I am in this world – who I am today – was born out of many mistakes, many fuck-ups, many fuck-downs, much pain, much heartbreak, and heartache; the bits and pieces, the edgy and the frayed, the lessons learned, the wrong turns, the one night stands, getting lost got me found. And getting found filled me with compassion and passion, determination and much beauty, and all of that makes me quite extraordinary. I imagine the very same for you.
So, today, love yourself more.
See the beauty in your life.
Don’t let anyone tell you you’re not worthy.
You are worthy.
So very worthy.
An Amazing Start for Sherapy
Today was an amazing day, the first of many Sherapy: Therapy with Sherry Amatenstein. Sherry is an NYC-based psychotherapist and author. Her podcast is a little unconventional for some. Still, it is becoming more traditional, especially to Millennials, as well as working professionals who want to participate in therapy but are limited on time and travel. Each episode of Sherapy is a 50-minute therapy session. The aim is to demystify and destigmatize psychotherapy. Too many people in distress still suffer silently. None of the participants are her private patients. On Sherapy, a person can receive complimentary therapy and remain anonymous. If interested, please contact Sherry at sherrymsw@earthlink.net
I am so excited to have Sherry Amatenstein on our podcast show real she may be heard by clicking on https://newclevelandradio.net/sherapy-real-therapy-with-sherry-amatenstein-3/real-therapy-with-sherry-amatenstein_podcasts/ – choose a streaming service to listen to this podcast.
Sherry Amatenstein (Licensed Clinical Social Worker) is the author of The Complete Marriage Counselor: Relationship Saving Advice from America’s Top 50+ Couples Therapists; Love Lessons from Bad Breakups; and Q&A Dating Book.
She writes advice columns for www.womansday.com, www.thirdage.com andwww.brides.com, and is frequently called upon to give relationship advice on many national radio and TV programs, including The Today Show, Early Show, Inside Edition, GMA Live, CBS News, and HuffPost Live.
I hope you will enjoy the show and learn more about yourself by listening to others share their journeys.
Amy Ferris shares 1_19_20 (THANKYOU)
My friend Suzanne Kulperger wrote this and I am sharing her & her words – because her words ring so true and go so deep and because, well, I love her to pieces.
“There are days when you stand up for yourself and or the people that you love, and you end up getting slammed.
There are days where you set boundaries, even though you’re scared, and end up relaxing them because the fallout from a confrontation is more upsetting to your peace of mind than holding your ground.
There are days that instead of receiving a deserved apology, you receive a hard wall of “how dare you“ and “I’m right, you’re wrong.” You let it go because you realize you’ve been tried and judged and found guilty in a trial you didn’t know had been held, in a courtroom, you weren’t even in, but you let it roll knowing that those who judge you so harshly are not your people and don’t have your back, and it‘s not worth the fight.
There are days that you try to speak your truth and end up being insulted to the core of who you are. Gut punched right where it hurts the most. And you let it go because you refuse to engage in a firefight where your honest responses would hurt someone to the core of who they are, and you refuse to throw those ugly punches.
Remember this on these days…
You stood up for yourself. You stood up for your people. You turned the other cheek. You spoke your truth. You made peace when your instinct was to lash out. You refused to be hurtful in response to being hurt. You refused to hurl insults in the face of being insulted. You swallowed a horse feed sized bag of shit because the alternative was nastiness and conflict and an adrenalin-filled poopnado. You realized, in the face of people not having your back, that there are so many that love you and do.
You know the truth of your heart. You know the truth of your soul. You know the truth of your experiences. What other people choose to believe is out of your control. Stand in this.”
Please Keep Amy Ferris, Ken & Bell in your Prayers
For my friend Amy:
*Amy’s words
The post below from a few months ago. Bella is now at the Vet/hospital, getting ultrasounds and x-rays and all sorts of tests because she’s begun to disappear right in front of our eyes. I’m hoping for a miracle, but more than anything – I write with tears falling on the computer keys – I want her to be at peace and no longer in pain.
Here, the post from back when, a little about the beauty named Bella:
She chose us.
Ken wanted the sexy blonde cat. I was partial to the misfit. The crazy-ass misfit with a beauty mark right on the tip of her nose. Ken tried everything in his power to get the blonde cat chick into the cat carrier; promising her a cat collar made of catnip.
I told him he was wasting his time.
“Really?” he asked.
“She’s just not that into you,” I said, paraphrasing/borrowing a great line from Sex in the City, or another HBO series.
While we were bickering the misfit walked into the cat carrier and sat down as if to say, “Hey humans, I’m yours now and I’m not letting you go.”
Her name is Bella, and she is struggling right now with her health and Ken believes it’s because we’re all struggling so very much and she is, after all, named after the great and amazing and feisty as all fuck Bella Abzug, and he believes she – our Bella – is fighting for all of us.
Would you please send her some good love.
Thank you so much.
So much.
D5 Creation