Quiz #56. "The Friend"
Dogs, death and writing. Plus a footnote to "No Spitting" and other Hump Day ramblings in Steve's Coronavirus Stay-at-Home Quiz for May 20, 2020.
Been reading.
“The Friend” by Sigrid Nunez. Recommended by Nathan Hill (who wrote “The Nix”) and my daughter Annie Thode (“Annie, Annie Thode”). Good stuff.
About dogs, death and writing.
Right up my alley.
3 for 3.
On the back deck with Happy and Stella. (Sara and I both think the sky’s been bluer this Spring.)
Taking a break from writing the quiz every day.
Miss it?
Relieved?
Worried?
Trying not to get lost in figuring out the big picture. I don’t have a clue. Stick to the small stuff. Control what you can control--and let the rest of it go.
Are we in that part of the horror movie where everything seems ok--just don’t go in the basement? Maybe--maybe not. (Analogy courtesy my step-son John who decided this week to go back to living in his apartment in New York City.)
Thinking about things we’ll miss from these first two months of stay-at-home life.
Seeing John as an adult, leading a business meeting from the dining room table.
The excitement of big Zoom get-togethers with coworkers.
Homemade bread.
Missed that bread (No Knead from Mark Bittman) so tried to make it. Started Tuesday evening, let the flour/yeast/water mix sit for 18 hours. Turned out as a soupy mess this morning, Wednesday, May 20th. Had I measured the ingredients right? Sara tried to rescue it. She wanted to toss it. I said bake it anyway. Came out awful. Outside crust like a thick layer of concrete. I am no cook.
Bad bread, baked by me.
Went outside. Noticed that lone rose I wrote about last week in Quiz #53. This Bud’s for You. That first bud of the season now fading and falling fast, wilted petals on the grass. And yet, other buds starting to join the party. Everything’s coming up roses--in a week or so.
The first rose bud of the season on Friday, May 15th.
Lonely last week.
It’s not easy being first.
It’s now got lots of company.
Still reading Understandably every morning. Have you subscribed yet? (You should.) Loved Bill Murphy Jr.’s profile this week, “Remember the milkman?” We’re in week 2 of having a milkman. (No one’s unique. We’re all cogs in a big consumer wheel. Have you tried buying a bicycle? We didn’t need Christina Goldbaum and the New York Times to tell us—they’re all sold out.)
Walked the dogs and saw the neighbor who bought us milk back in March as mentioned in Quiz #12, “Stayin’ Alive.” Told her about our milkman. Texted her the milkman’s website. Everytime I mention the milkman, people my age (OK Boomer) ask if we have one of those silver boxes that everyone had as a kid. Nope. Just 2 coolers on the front porch--with the empty, returnable glass bottles.
Thought my Monday quiz, Quiz #55. No Spitting, might get more than a few shares with my “hot take” prediction that baseball and football would not be back in 2020. Nope. (Sadly, with Substack, I can monitor how many times each quiz is shared. I try not to check, but confess that I do.) Only 2 shares. So much for hot takes.
And yet, I read a Yahoo headline this morning that caught my eye, “Tough part of MLB safety protocol: keeping players from spitting.” In a rare “less is more” moment for me in Quiz #55. No Spitting, I’d mentioned the MLB safety rule of no spitting as the tongue-in-cheek tipping point that might make or break baseball for 2020. Here is Yahoo’s Mark Townsend with a serious article on that very point.
… the league’s proposal for the 2020 season includes a provision that bans players, coaches and other personnel from spitting, using smokeless tobacco and chewing sunflower seeds in restricted areas.
It’s a safety issue as opposed to a cosmetic issue. Saliva is one of the many known ways for individuals to spread COVID-19. It’s a big reason why social distancing protocols have been put in place. The suggested distance is six feet, but spitting into the air can spread the virus well beyond that distance.
Townsend’s article focuses heavily on a KNBR radio interview with former Phillies’ manager Gabe Kaplar (of course) who was interviewed about MLB returning with no spitting.
After outlining his pre-game routine of chewing lots of gum--with lots of juice to spit during the early innings--Kapler talked about switching to sunflower seeds.
Sunflower seeds in the middle of the game. As much as you can fit in your both — you’re just spitting the seeds on the ground. I’m not alone. So many players, staff have routines like the one I just described. Different, but similar. They’re all going to have to stop those routines. That is going to be a tremendous challenge.
(And you thought staying safe from coronavirus, getting food for your family and keeping your job were tremendous challenges?)
Kapler continued.
When you’ve been doing it your whole life, it’s like breaking any habit. It’s going to be hard when things get stressful not to default to the habit. But I can tell you this: Everybody’s going to be committed to doing it because it’s so worth it. The trade-off between giving up that habit and getting to play baseball, we’ll play baseball all day long.”
I agree with Kapler—no spitting is worth it if that’s what it takes to bring baseball back—but if players and coaches can’t even agree to a “No spitting” rule, there's no way baseball is coming back in 2020. (Will umpires have to enforce this rule? Will players be ejected for spitting?)
Also noted this week, the NFL owners had a virtual meeting for all 32 teams. The Yahoo headline: “No date yet for NFL teams to open training facilities.” They’re still working on safety protocols. Training camps usually begin in June. Next month. Everybody's waiting.
Is the horror movie over yet?
Back to reading.
Death, dogs and writing.
What did NOT happen?
A. After reading Quiz #55. No Spitting on Monday, Annie texted me, “I agree with Ted’s feedback. Monday night curveball;”
B. In email, Annie praised college friend Brooks for being “the Greek chorus” of the quiz;
C. Brooks gave Quiz #50. 63 only 3 stars. I thought I’d done a good job, gathering together 63 different pieces of life lessons I’ve learned in 63 years of living. Not so, said Brooks.
3 stars were to get your attention. This is a comment on Quiz #50, the 63 fucking commandments. I had been holding my tongue, but when I see you posting favorable reviews of that quiz, I realize it’s time to speak up. God did it in 10. AA has a 12 step program. Woodrow Wilson had his 14 points. You see the pattern here? I understand that brevity is not one of your strengths and you are not God, but for Christ’s sake couldn’t you have boiled it down to 25 or less?
D. The Phillie Phanatic texted me that even though he’d be banned from the stadium if baseball comes back, he planned on making a virtual appearance at every home game. A mask is now part of the outfit for the green furry mascot;
E. A former co-worker gave Quiz #55 No Spitting a 5-star review. A big hockey fan (Who knew?), she bemoaned the fact that the NHL has yet to cancel its season--and refund her tickets for a Flyers-Islanders game she did not get to see with her son.
And as much as it pains me to say it...cancel next season too. I really miss hockey...I could use a good hockey fight.
(She included the link in her quiz comment.)
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Want more?
Here’s the next quiz in the series: Quiz #57. 1 in 12,766.
Here’s the previous quiz in the series: Quiz #55. No Spitting.
Here’s the first quiz in the series: Quiz #1. Stella and Social Distancing, March 13, 2020
Here is an archive of all the quizzes.
The quiz is explained here: Steve’s Stay-at-Home Coronavirus Quiz.
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