It's time for a rebrand

for the one millionth time

Hey!

It’s been a minute.

Let’s start with how COVID has forever disrupted the construct of time. What was a long time ago seems like it was yesterday and the minutiae of yesterday feels like it was in the 90s. But that’s not all.

Before the pandemic, things didn’t always go as planned but it certainly wasn’t 90% of the time the way it feels now. So many days I feel like a broken Rumba - setting off in one direction only to slam into the wall, back up, pivot choose a new trajectory to find myself in the same damn place having to change course again. It’s exhausting. And don’t even get me started on driving.

In addition to navigating those changes, the last five months have been filled with a tremendous amount of physical pain, going from a walker to learning to use a transport chair to get myself out of the house, and finding ways to manage my life with limited mobility. This is the result of needing a hip replacement and having issues that don’t make me an ideal surgical candidate. Being in this physical place has opened my eyes to accessibility issues I never could have dreamed of and I’m here to tell you, the ADA has not changed as much in the world as you think it has.

I encourage you to have a conversation with someone you know who uses a walker, Rollator or chair (motorized or not) about the challenges they face every day. Like just getting into the bank. Where I live, if the door isn’t over a certain weight threshold, the business isn’t required to install an accessible button. And the borough in which I reside doesn’t have an elevator to get to the floor where the council meetings are, so if you have mobility issues, you cannot attend in person. Trust me it will blow your mind and go a long way to nurturing empathy (which is not the fundamental weakness of Western civilization as some believe).

The good news is that when you’re a creative, you can’t ever completely stop the flow. Sometimes it’s a trickle, others a stronger current, but even with all of the physical challenges, I keep writing, often lying in bed using voice to text on Google docs. I’ve produced two staged readings of plays I’ve written and have the next one scheduled for May with two more on the books for 2025. Part of the reason I’ve been able to do this is because I’ve eliminated most social media from my life.

We all have to do what we need to do and I still use Facebook to participate in professional and community groups where I find value and to watch the occasional cooking reel. But eliminating 80% of it freed up RAM in my brain to do what’s important to me without the interference of white noise that in the end is irrelevant.

I’ve also begun to outline what will be a kind of memoir tentatively titled “So Many Shitty Decisions: A View of Unresolved Trauma.” I feel like it’s time to share those stories and trust me, a lot of them are hilarious…now that I’m not living them!

And… I’m thrilled to announce work has begun in earnest on the book from the Haiku Ninja Collective, group of nine who met every week for almost two years to turn the pain, sadness and confusion of the pandemic into art. Wait until you see some of these amazing poems!

Have a fabulous rest of the week and I’ll be in touch soon…