Voices from my Bunker 2020
Meet JoAnn from near St. Paul Minnesota. She and her own immediate family and her siblings have been caregiving for their 100+-year-old Mom through the last seven months of COVID restrictions and challenges, including her Mom being diagnosed with COVID and later recovering. I titled this episode “The Wrap-Around Family” because they seem to be able to wrap themselves around the needs of one another. JoAnn thinks their mother taught them how to do it. www.patcoakley.com
info_outline Voices from My Bunker 2020: Slippery Slope of Weight ManagementVoices from my Bunker 2020
Bill Murray says acting suits him he said because he only has to be good at it for 90 seconds at a time. I am also very good at weight management 90 seconds at a time in 2020. But, unfortunately, that time span suits Hollywood and not weight issues. My ability to maintain the weight loss for 10+ years has been due to building it on a slippery slope capable of absorbing challenges from within as well as from without. 2020 is the ultimate slippery slope! www.patcoakley.com | www.artofthediet.com
info_outline Meet Jay: At first, no. Now? I think of it as a natural calamity..Voices from my Bunker 2020
In the beginning, Jay thought it was just the flu and that the news might be exaggerating it. He thought it would pass in a short period of time. Now, he thinks it is a natural calamity no one has ever experienced in their life.
info_outline Last Ferry and A Seat in the Reality BallparkVoices from my Bunker 2020
The last ferry has left the island and I’m sitting by myself in The Reality Ballpark. What the hell? How did this happen: risk management is now a buffet of choices that do not manage risk but invite it in? Estrangement from the government I am used to in the last three years, but not estrangement from family and friends. Is this the new normal?
info_outline Meet Joan. Voices from My Bunker 2020Voices from my Bunker 2020
My interview with Joan, a 74-year-old widow in Rochester, NY who, unlike myself, is not a sloth or someone who enjoys sitting for hours at a time reading, clicking, snoozing and I feel 100% sure never uses her bed as her living room, dining room, and office. But, she got through quarantine in her own determined way and taught me a few things. One of them? When in doubt, drive around. www.patcoakley.com | www.thephotogardener.com
info_outline Meet Steph: We Are All In This Together.Voices from my Bunker 2020
Meet Steph. She was born and lived in the US until a year and a half ago but now lives in Stellenbosch, South Africa with her husband and five kids while he completes his graduate studies. She describes what “quarantine” has meant and if you think the US rules were strict, listen to Steph. I spent most of the time listening and going, “Really?”. www.patcoakley.com www.thephotogardener.com
info_outline Meet Alice. A First Grade Teacher During COVID19Voices from my Bunker 2020
After listening to Alice describe the initial months of March-June 2020, I think Teachers, Students, and Parents are the unsung heroes of this pandemic. I asked her only about this period as at the time of the interview, late July 2020, she did not know, along with many many other teachers in many states, just exactly how or if her school was going to reopen for actual classroom teaching.
info_outline Meet Carol. Let Me Live Long EnoughVoices from my Bunker 2020
Meet Carol. She’s 70+, lives alone, and has been seriously ill and undergoing a succession of chemo treatments for three years. In addition, she had to go into lockdown in March 2020, due to COVID19 and living in Massachusetts. She told her Doctor one thing: Keep me alive until Trump loses the election. www.patcoakley.com
info_outline Meet Carol. Let Me Live Long EnoughVoices from my Bunker 2020
Meet Carol. She’s 70+, lives alone, and has been seriously ill and undergoing a succession of chemo treatments for three years. In addition, she had to go into lockdown in March 2020, due to COVID19 and living in Massachusetts. She told her Doctor one thing: Keep me alive until Trump loses the election. www.patcoakley.com
info_outline Needed To. Meant To. Meet Babz.Voices from my Bunker 2020
Meet Babz. 27-year-old Occupational Therapist who moved to Boston, Mass in February 2020 just as pandemic effects were beginning to challenge the city and the entire state. "Needed to. Meant to." This is how she answered my question about being a health worker in the middle of a pandemic. After the interview, I had a strange feeling. I couldn’t recognize it at first. It turned out to be hope. www.patcoakley.com | www.thephotogardener.com Email: [email protected]
info_outlineWhat’s Next on The Fun Agenda? 2020 begins with a cartoon question that I saw recently on an artist’s Instagram account. His name was “clownchic”. His character answered it by simply stating “Abstinence”. I laughed out loud as this character looked like he had abused every illegal substance available. After the holidays, don’t we all feel this way? Of course, but I cannot deal with another self help strategy, my own included. So, in 2020, I am focusing in literally on “Art of the Diet”. Artists who have tackled food, glorious food, food issues not so glorious, addiction issues, LIFE issues in their art and they have resonated with my own issues in some way. This month I discuss several artists. Philip Guston, Samara Golden, Dana Schutz, Wayne Theibauld, David Shrigley, Francisco de Goya. The podcast art for this month is a wall hanging/teatowel that I designed as a calendar for 2020 and that is for sale. 2020 is the Year of Anxiety for me as I turn 75 and it’s a presidential election year in the US. How much anxiety can an ol’girl take and maintain a 60 lb weight loss? We’ll find out. www.artofthediet.com