Back from a month and a half break. I literally watched my summer go by. With no place to swim, few places to hang out with friends and little else going on, this bastard virus as I call it, kept me sheltered in the house to watch hours and hours of TV. Worst of all, staying in so much I got practically no tan at all.
Following the passing of comedy legend Carl Reiner I re-watched almost every Dick Van Dyke episode ever aired. Mr. Reiner made countless big impacts in all aspects of funny business but the adventures of Rob, Laura and Richie Petrie, Buddy, Sally, Mel Cooley and Alan Brady were high water marks in television. My favorite episodes are still the Walnuts one and the time Laura outed Alan Brady’s toupee secret.
HBO’s six part docu-series “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark” was a gripping real life drama. Author Michelle McNamara, wife of comedian/actor Patton Oswalt was in the midst of writing a true crime novel about tracking California’s murderous ‘East Side Rapist.’ Sadly, Michelle passed away from an accidental drug overdose before the decades long assaulting man was arrested and convicted. However, her years long dogged work set the table for finding this rapist/killer. Ms. McNamara’s letter to the killer, written not long before her passing, predicted how things would end for him. It is spooky how her prophecy came true, almost word for word!
ESPN kept re-running a 2018 Eagles concert that was fun to delve into. The late Glenn Frey’s son Deacon and Vince Gill ably filled out the band and the 2 ½ hour show was worth several viewings. With sports I’ve been watching some of the Sox and Cubs baseball but without the fans and the many game postponements due to the Covid virus, this 60 game season is the definition of an outlier.
Thanks to Netflix I caught up on all past seasons of Jerry Seinfeld’s “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.” His two episodes with the late Bob Einstein (AKA Super Dave Osbourne) are as gut busting hilarious as it gets.
As far as new movies, the only one I watched and it was free via my service was “The Rental.” In the vein of newer thrillers like “Get Out” and “Us” this one is about two couples who rent a beautiful home for a getaway weekend and come upon conflicts with each other and a mysterious killer. And yes, besides swimming at East End Pool, I really missed going to the local theater to watch new films.
Outside of TV watching, I enjoyed checking out songs I never heard before. 2019’s “I Hope” by Gabby Barrett was a great find for me. (I hate being late to the prom on these cuts) The ever popular Luke Combs posted a new song titled “Cold as You” but since Nashville recording studios are shut down, he recorded only an acoustic version. I look forward to a full on band record of it at some point.
One thing I did not do was the final edit of my book, “Raised on the Radio.” There was plenty of time but getting so wrapped up in the daily virus news coverage and taking needed breaks for laughs on shows just deflated any ambition I had to punch up my memoir. In these crazy times, I’m actually O.K. with this.
At least twice a week I supported local businesses by ordering take-out meals. Every delivery was contact free and well executed. I also saw the tearing down of four homes on my block as a large flood mitigation drainage project is about 75% completed. It’s been loud, dusty and inconvenient but will benefit over 90 homes in the area when finished.
Finally, the real highlight of my summer was I stayed healthy and Covid free. Without symptoms, I still got a swab test and in less than two days learned I was negative. Not everyone can say that and my heart breaks for those affected with deaths and long illnesses from this bastard virus.
So what will happen come the summer of 2021? What shit storms will we deal with? Who knows? But here’s hoping it’s a healthier and happier one for all. And maybe I’ll get back my tan.
NEXT WEEK’S BLOG- The 5 year anniversary when I played true detective.