So today is already weird. Ledcat had to go into her office for an all-day training. She’s had to go in for bits and pieces before, but never before mimicking her before-pandemic schedule. Since March 17, she’s been home and in the kitchen doing her magic. I dropped her off at her usual spot. Traffic […]
I am exhausted. Every single interaction with other human beings requires a complex series of negotiations and calculations that include the scientific facts, the interpersonal dynamics, the safety, and more. Earlier this week, we had to go to Lowe’s to purchase an in-store only item for our kitchen. I step out of the car, triple […]
In July 2020, Pittsburgh City Council unanimously approved the formation of a new commission focused on the LGBTQ community to replace the current Mayor’s LGBTQ Advisory Committee established in 2008 by Mayor Ravenstahl. Commissions serve the City residents, not just advising the Mayor. This is a change I first proposed in July 2019. From TheTrib: […]
For a project launched in early April, receiving a nod four months later as a finalist in a local reader’s poll is fulfilling. And so it goes for the Pittsburgh MasQUe ProjecT to be a finalist in the “Best COVID Fundraiser” category – the sort of intimate, hometown recognition that really works for a grassroots […]
I’m trying to blog more often for my own cognitive benefit, but also to chronicle in some way this strange epoch disrupting our lives. We keep using terms like “disruption” as if when the static clears, regular programming will resume. Guess what? The TV blew up, the television station went bankrupt, and you may not […]
In July, the Pittsburgh Masque Project leadership group decided to increase our monthly allotment to students from 2 masks per month to 4 masks per month. We were motivated by the concerns everyone has about back to school. One small support we can offer is providing enough masks for students to deal with lost masks, […]
On Wednesday, May 25, 1988, I received my diploma from West Mifflin Area High School, a blue-collar suburb of Pittsburgh. A few weeks later, my parents had a graduation party for me as thousands of parents had done before. We had lots of food, tons of canned pop, and almost no guests. I don’t have […]
We’ve been pondering how to get outside, meander, and get a change of scenery. Our solution – visit cemeteries. I decided to map out cemeteries where our ancestors and extended family are buried. Our first trip was to St. Mary Catholic Cemetery in Lawrenceville. We found the graves of two of my third great-grandmothers, Mary […]
Her name was Aja Raquell Rhone-Spears. She was 34 years old when she was stabbed to death while attending a vigil in Portland on Tuesday, July 28, 2020. From Out.com According to police, Rhone-Spears was in attendance at the vigil near the 15800 block of Southeast Division which later moved to a home in the […]
There’s nothing particularly notable about 135 days or about 4.3 months. Four months made up a semester, give or take. It is longer than a season by one month. It is almost half a human pregnancy. The typical duration of Kennywood being open. It is the length of time it took for 4.59+ million Americans […]
