Thanks to Donna, who inspired this post.

My neighborhood is friendlier
My neighbors down the block have built a fire pit. From what I gather as I shamelessly eavesdrop, it’s built into the ground. Their two kids, one just graduated from high school and the other a college student, are home with them. Just about every night they build a fire and talk and laugh, emphasis on the laughter. The mom has one of those full throated, deep laughs that make you glad you were around to hear it. The whole neighborhood, always friendly, has been gregarious. People call out to my husband and me as we walk by with our dog. Parents thank us as we step six feet away from their kiddos wobbling wildly on little bikes. I’ve realized how very luck I am to live here.

I’m cooking new things, mostly healthy things
I won’t say that everything I eat is healthy, nor that I’ve reduced the amount that I eat, but I’m not eating much packaged and processed food. We’ve been cooking so much that we have to go on recipe hunts to create variety. I’ve made enchiladas from scratch with the best sauce I’ve had outside of New Mexico. I’ve made vegan pesto, pickled onions, cauliflower tacos, roasted vegetables with a puff pastry top. I’ve baked every piece of bread that we’ve eaten and discovered a wonderful flat bread recipe. The colors and smells and textures have been divine.

“Some Good News” with John Krasinski
Once I discovered Krasinski’s homemade show about good news, I was hooked. He’s funny and he’s well connected. From Malala to Jon Stewart to an amazing number of everyday people, he’s got the best stuff going. I keep the kleenex close because I cry most of the way through it. Like the graduation special, which you can watch here. He has hilarious weather forecasts where a different famous person each time either looks out the window or looks up at the sky and says, “Looks rainy” or “Yeah, it’s sunny.” It warms my heart and reassures me that human beings are worthwhile.

Less work stress
I’m a teacher, and at the beginning of all of this, the stress weighed heavily because I had to take my face-to-face classes and transform them into online courses. One is a first-year class, who struggle with the transition to college, and I was worried the move to online would do them in. But they made the transition. In addition I learned the joy of Zooming with them for conferences. Somehow in the midst of all of this, they’ve found a way to take school seriously and it’s been a pleasure to work with them. Much of my day at school pre-COVID-19 was spent on administrative tasks, meetings and paperwork. But we now only have essential meetings. There’s no commute, no lunch to pack, no worry about getting home in time to walk the dog. I can grade without interruption, and having students to watch over has kept me on track.

Wearing sweats
My grandfather used to say that he’d give me $20 if the next time I saw him I wasn’t wearing tennis shoes, jeans, and my hair in a ponytail. Truth be told, my truest self lives in sweats, walking shoes, and a headband (hair’s too short for a ponytail). I usually dress up for work, tights and dresses and dress shoes, makeup, the whole lot. But not since March. Nope. The dressiest I get is leggings and a comfortable dress to go grocery shopping. In fact, I have fun on grocery shopping day getting “dressed up.” But there’s still no makeup and my hair’s a mess because, well you know why.

The NBA 
Thank god for basketball. The NBA has dumped dozens of games onto YouTube. Wanna see Kobe score 60 points? Wanna see the best on-court fights? They’re there. And, on Wednesdays, ESPN shows a double header of a classic game. I usually don’t remember having seen the game before, so it’s exciting to watch. But the crowning glory has been “The Last Dance,” the ten-part special on Michael Jordan. It’s riveting stuff. I practically repeat the entire show verbatim to my husband the next day. I’ll tell you one thing, you don’t end up being the best basketball player in the world by being a sweetheart. Nevertheless, I’ll always love him.

Facebook Groups
I have to scroll by any and all discussions of the pandemic or I’ll end up in a fetal position, so I’ve gotten really good at scrolling. My favorite aspect of Facebook are the groups, especially the private ones. One I belong to is for folks who deal with anxiety and depression. We have mugshot Mondays, photos of us drinking our coffee. We share our weirdness and our favorite memes, ask for support and try to laugh when we can. Another of my groups was originated by my best friend. It’s called The Safe Place. We can say and do anything except for criticize each other. We’ve had two Zoom cocktail hours, where I had the chance to meet several of the folks I’ve never met in real life. It is my virtual home.

Zooming with Family
Don’t know why we didn’t do this before the pandemic, but we’ve had lots of fun having large family gathering thanks to Zoom. My husband and his siblings meet every week and the peels of laughter coming from his office are a tonic in these tense times. When my family gets together we out-story each other. Ever competitive, it’s a contest to see who can get the biggest laugh. The kids love to hear stories about the old folks and we can see each other. Such a joy and so much better than the phone. One weekend my husband bought two bottles of the same wine, dropped one at my daughter’s house, and he and our daughter did a taste test via Zoom.

Less Driving / Less Shopping
I’ve filled up my tank once since the sheltering in place began. Early on we took some drives, but someone mentioned that driving can easily result in fender benders or other accidents and first responders just don’t need the hassle. So, it’s once a week to the grocery store and a cop coffee or two with my daughter. See my story about that here. And, nothing’s open, so there’s no place to spend money. I mean, I’ve bought some things online, but mostly it’s food items. We may get to build a fence this summer with the money saved.

Time with my husband
My husband teaches philosophy at Illinois State University, a two hour drive from door to door. He’s usually gone Tuesday through Thursday and sometimes on Fridays, too. I don’t see much of him. But he’s here now, and though I’ll admit it took some getting used to, we’ve settled in to quiet times of enjoyment. I love hearing him talk to the cat (to whom he’s allergic), bang on his drums, and hold Zoom classes with his students. I love taking walks with him and our dog (to whom he’s also allergic). And so far, every morning as I lie in bed scrolling through the internet I am met with toast and coffee.

Why don’t you make a list of ten good things and share them with me? Or just one or two?

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Reflections on the lockdown, civil disobedience and other issues brought to the fore by the coronavirus pandemic.

Hey, Ms. Mayor, the lakefront belongs to the people.

Her Lordship, Mayor Lori Lightfoot, has closed the Chicago lakefront, , the 606 trail and city parks to the  public. Cower at home. And if you don’t, you’re evil.

Her order is supposedly based on “science.” But has she not heard that science has concluded that you’re safer from coronavirus in the fresh air outside than in stuffy confines indoors? Here’s one:

Conclusions: All identified outbreaks of three or more cases occurred in an indoor environment, which confirms that sharing indoor space is a major SARS-CoV-2 infection risk.

Someone should ask her highness how she figures she’ll enforce this arbitrary, unscientific command. Fed up Chicagoans eventually won’t pay attention and decide where the hell they can go on their own.

I fear this another example of how Chicago is moving away from its historic commitment to protect and honor its most precious resource, the lakefront. It’s the same with the Obama Presidential Center, that gobbles up acres of Jackson Park to build an ugly monument to the former president’s ego. By the way, oral arguments are scheduled to be heard on May 21 in the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in a citizens lawsuit against that land grab.

No school until fall?

This threat keeps popping up, warning that if the schools reopen in fall that we are, in essence, child killers.

The costs to children of being out of school continues to mount and arrives in the form of stolen childhoods, depression, increased cases of attention-deficit and hyperactivity disorders, more acting out, lost class time and falling behind intellectually and emotionally…should I go on?  The science of epidemiology does not include these topics. So where the hell are all those education experts? All they going to let this happen?

Have the Bill of Rights been suspended? 

You might think so, the way assorted governors, mayors and other high and mighyt officials have assumed dictatorial powers to tell us what we can do and where and when we can go.

The lawsuit against Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is a clear-cut case of a public official exceeding his power beyond the 30 days that the Legislature has authorized. It has become a cliche, but it’s true: There is no pandemic exception in the Bill of Rights.

The Left abandons its admiration and defense of civil disobedience

Younger generations don’t remember or appreciate the role of civil disobedience in political and societal change. But years ago, the Left used civil disobedience to fight Jim Crow and the Vietnam War, citing it as a necessary moral tool to fight oppression.

Its definition:

On the most widely accepted account of civil disobedience, famously defended by John Rawls (1971), civil disobedience is a public, non-violent and conscientious breach of law undertaken with the aim of bringing about a change in laws or government policies. On this account, people who engage in civil disobedience are willing to accept the legal consequences of their actions, as this shows their fidelity to the rule of law. Civil disobedience, given its place at the boundary of fidelity to law, is said to fall between legal protest, on the one hand, and conscientious refusal, revolutionary action, militant protest and organised forcible resistance, on the other hand.

Now the left has turned on civil disobedience with a vengeance against people who are fighting the unjust and illegal shuttering of their businesses, restrictions on their constitutionally protected liberties and more. It’s a sad commentary and where America is heading. And where, I wonder, is the ACLU?

Most we wait until we find a coronavirus cure before the country reopens?

This was not the purpose of the lockdown. Originally, the shelter-in-place and other lockdown orders were intended to “flatten the curve,” meaning getting control of the spread so that hospitals wouldn’t be overwhelmed with COVID-19 cases. Turns out the extra emergency beds that were established to meet the expected demand lay empty and were being taken down.

By that standard, the lockdown should have been eased except for the most jeopardized groups, namely the elderly and people with underlying health issues. But now, “the goal posts have been moved,” as we hear that in some jurisdictions the lockdown won’t be lifted until the cure arrives. That might never happen. So, just how long will the lockdowns continue as the economy and individual lives are pushed over the cliff?

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www.dennisbyrne.net 

My historical novel: Madness: The War of 1812

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Working from home is quickly becoming the standard business model across the globe. If you’re like many other employees or business owners, you may be looking for a way to improve your remote workstation. For this dynamic, it’s important to have your own designated room or space to work from while at home. When you give yourself that unique area, you minimize distractions, create a personal working location and separate your job from your personal life.

Minimizing Distractions

Whether you live alone or with friends or family, distractions appear in many different forms. They could be other members of the house, household chores or responsibilities. Things like outside noise can reduce your focus as well.

When you designate a room to work in, you remove those distractions from your mind. Communicate with your household members that your workspace is where you go to disconnect and focus solely on work. If you’re in a loud and disruptive area, you can invest in noise-canceling headphones, too.

Watch out for piled-up household chores. The dirty laundry or dishes that you need to take care of can distract you. When you have a space away from it all, you can devote yourself to your work, which helps you buckle down and dive into your assignments.

Having Your Own Space

You’ll need to consider different factors when choosing which room to designate as your workspace. What’s your profession or field? Will clients and customers be visiting? Do you only need a desk and a laptop?

Your job position can influence your space’s structure. If you are a crafter or builder, you’ll need a bigger area that you can stand to make a mess of sometimes. If you need a place for storing items and meeting clients, you may also need a bigger room. Turning your garage into a home office with proper temperature control can provide that ideal workplace. For some, using a traditional home office will suffice as well.

With your own area of the home, you can make it into whatever it needs to be. It’s now your workplace where you can get into the right mindset and concentrate on projects. With all your supplies and materials in one location, you can feel more comfortable transitioning from your daily life to your work headspace.

Balancing the Work-Life Dynamic

As you work from home, you may notice the work-life line starts blurring. However, designating a work area can help you separate the two. A proper work-life balance is one of the most important factors of working, whether you’re full- or part-time. When you’re doing your job, that’s where your focus should be. When you finish, though, you’ll need to disconnect fully.

The room’s physical boundary acts as a threshold. When you cross it in the morning, you’re starting work. When you cross it at the end of the day, your job duties are over. It’s tempting to answer that last email even after you’ve clocked out. However, you should respect your set boundaries, and a separate workstation can help you do that. That way, you can tune into work when it’s time and end it on time as well.

Benefits of Working From Home

When you take these steps to create a remote working space, you’ll start seeing the benefits. You can focus more on your duties during the day and more on your personal life after you clock out. You’ll see your efficiency increase, and you’ll feel more well-balanced overall. It all starts when you designate a unique location for your remote work.

What are we all quarantine-cooking for dinner? Here at Building Chicago we’re going to whip up some shrimp and creamy pasta with a great green veggie. Growing up, seafood was one of my mother’s favorites. She’d cart me and my two brothers to her favorite seafood restaurant and we’d get to order from the adult menu. What bliss. My youngest brother always chose crab legs and wrestled to get to that sweet crab meat, finished with warm drawn butter; my middle brother usually chose a burger – interesting choice for a seafood restaurant. I’d typically choose the shrimp or crab alfredo. As I grew older and began to enjoy creating meals similar to the restaurants we’d frequent, I noticed a few tips and tricks to get that restaurant-quality finish. I surely miss dining out; now, let’s recreate that restaurant quality food that we’re all so nostalgic about to enjoy at our dining room tables with our families.

What you’ll need for this meal:

• Raw Shrimp or Prawns
• Short-length Pasta of Your Choice
• Milk or Milk Substitute
• Green Veggie
• Shaved Almonds
• Cream Cheese or Non-Dairy Substitute
• Salt & Pepper
• Chopped Garlic (Ready to Use or Fresh)
• Shallots
• Regular Olive Oil

First, clean, de-vein and prepare the shrimp for seasoning. Take a paring knife and slice the shrimp on the posterior side of each piece and remove the vein that’s there. It should be a dark, almost black vein that you can see through the translucent flesh of the shrimp. Although your preference, it may be easier to remove the scales of the shrimp before de-veining.

Next, heat your oven to 400 degrees and place the almonds in a baking pan and dress with olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake for 10-13 minutes until toasted and set aside.

Season both sides of your cleaned shrimp with salt and pepper and set aside. Use a cast iron skillet and line the pan with regular olive oil and heat the oil on medium heat. Be cautious in using extra virgin olive oil to sauté food as this coating should only be used for raw applications; the smoke point of extra virgin olive oil is too low and will make any food you sear take-on a bitter taste.

Now, add chopped shallots to the pan and sauté until translucent. Remove the cooked shallots from the pan and set aside. In the same pan add the chopped garlic and sauté until the garlic converts to a goldenrod, almost brown hue. Keep-watch of the garlic as it will burn easily. Stirring regularly and careful attention will limit the risk of burn. Remove the garlic from the pan and set aside.

Cool your pan by rinsing with cold water and wipe clean with cloth or a paper towel. Add a fresh coating of olive oil and heat to the pan over medium heat and sear the shrimp until the edges turn pink. Once pink, flip each prawn until the middle of the shrimp turns opaque in color. Note: be sure not to purchase shrimp that is already pink in color in the package. This packaged shrimp is already cooked and is typically for use in shrimp cocktail or other dishes that call for prepared shrimp. Searing cooked shrimp will overcook the prawns and create a rubbery texture, ruining your dish.

Once you’ve seared all cleaned and seasoned shrimp, place the cooked shrimp in a 170 degree oven to keep warm while you finish the other dishes.

Next, take ½ of your sautéed shallots and ½ of the seared garlic and add to your skillet. Add about a cup of milk or milk substitute to the pan and heat on medium-high. Add salt and pepper to your cream mixture and add about ¼ cup of cream cheese or cream cheese substitute to the pan. Take this opportunity to taste the mixture and see what the dish needs. Is more garlic or onion appropriate? Perhaps it needs a dash more of salt or pepper. You choose and reduce until your desired consistency is met.

Now, bring water to a rapid boil and add your desired pasta and cook as directed on the package’s instructions. Cook until al dente or firm to the bite; drain and add to your reduced cream sauce and mix.

For this dinner, I chose green beans, but this method of cooking will work for any green vegetable you choose. Take a sauce pan or skillet and place your green vegetable in a bit of water. Here’s the key: do not cover your vegetables in water as you want to steam them, rather than boil them. Heat the pan over high heat, cover and steam until the vegetables turn a bright green. Quickly drain and add olive oil, seared garlic, shallots and toasted almonds.

Plate your shrimp and add the seared garlic and sautéed shallots on top and include the pasta and green vegetables and enjoy.

Note: All recipes on Building Chicago encourage you to estimate ingredients where possible and tap into your inner food artist to create wonderful nourishment for yourself and loved ones. Use your senses of taste, vision and feel to create dishes that you like and love. In order of progression, take a look at the photos and follow along…and remember: get creative, builders!

Shrimp or Prawns

De-vein & Remove Scales

Almond Prep

Bake Until Toasted

Season Shrimp with Salt & Pepper & Set Aside

Sauté Shallots Until Translucent

Brown Your Garlic

Shrimp is Ready for Turning When the Edges are Pink

Seared Shrimp

Creamy Garlic Sauce Time

Reduce Your Cream Mixture

Add Your Cooked Pasta and Stir

Fresh Green Beans

Snip Those Ends and Get Ready for Steaming

Now Plate and Enjoy, Builders!

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The Wisconsin Supreme Court has struck down, 4-3,  Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ crippling stay-at-home order.

The Chicago Tribune noted:

The U.S. Department of Justice, in Temple Baptist Church v. City of Greenville, No. 4:20-cv-64-DMB-JMV (N.D. Miss. April 14, 2020), expressed the position of the United States by stating: “There is no pandemic exception . . . to the fundamental liberties the Constitution safeguards.  Indeed, the individual rights secured by the Constitution do not disappear during a public health crisis.  These individual rights, including the protections in the Bill of Rights made applicable to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment, are always in force and restrain government action.”

Watch for more and more legal challenges.

[email protected]

www.dennisbyrne.net 

My historical novel: Madness: The War of 1812

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Thirty years ago today, The Charlatans UK released their demo for the song that would start one hell of an amazing career. The song on that demo was “The Only One I Know.”

“30 years ago today we released The Only One I Know. Here’s the demo. Recorded in January 1990 on a farm in Shropshire. Lyrics not finished. Tim on tambourine. We pulled up the carpets to make Jon’s drums sound more garage(y).” -Tim Burgess

While it’s not the most amazing version, it’s still exciting to hear how the magic began. All this time later I’m still an avid listener and fan of the band. They’ve been through several stylistic changes, while never losing track of who they are and what made them successful.

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Dateline: Bowling Green, Kentucky-November 3, 2017

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul is at his home, cutting his grass. It’s an activity familiar to most Americans. Paul has on head phones. He’s intently into his task, when from out of nowhere, he’s tackled off of his riding mower.

Paul is taken to the ground and a fight ensues. When it ends, Rand Paul is left with six broken ribs and some lung damage.

The attacker is Paul’s next door neighbor of close to two decades, Rene Boucher. Although it was insinuated that the attack was about conflicting political views, it turned out to be over Paul leaving his grass cuttings on Boucher’s lawn. This had been a bone of contention for some time. After bringing it up multiple times, Paul wouldn’t stop his lawn mismanagement behavior. On this day, Boucher saw him doing it again and he finally snapped.

What happened is Rand Paul was beat up for acting like Rand Paul.

Rand Paul is one of those guys who likes to believe he’s always the smartest person in the room. He likes to show off. It often leads to embarrassment and in the above case, it led to him getting beat up. Being a U.S Senator gives Paul a forum to to act up. He does it quite often.

It’s hard to get anything done in the Senate. It’s an often contentious collection of one hundred men and women with contradictory ideas. Occasionally they do work together for the common good of the nation. One of those cases was in early March when they were putting together the first coronavirus bill to help Americans handle their economic distress. There was a lot of compromise and it was ready to go…except here comes Rand Paul. He had an amendment to the bill and was willing to hold things up until he was heard in Senate chambers. This meant all the Senators and their staff had to show up to listen to five minutes of Paul’s blabbering. He was voted down, condemned by many senators and the bill passed. But Paul’s ego put hundreds of people at physical risk.

So where was Rene Boucher when the Senate needed him?

A few weeks later, Paul was at it again. He tested positive for the coronavirus. Most normal people self-quarantine after receiving that diagnosis. Rand Paul isn’t most normal people. He continued to show up at Senate meetings. He showed up at luncheons with other senators. He continued to work out in the Senate gym and was even found in their swimming pool. In other words, Rand Paul again didn’t care about anyone except himself. His colleagues were furious at this behavior. Utah Senators Mike Lee and Mitt Romney went into self-quarantine, while others consulted their physicians.

So where was Rene Boucher when the Senate again needed him?

That brings us to Tuesday. The senate is holding a committee meeting on the coronavirus and what it will take to reopen the economy. Being questioned are the medical leaders of the White House coronavirus task force, including Dr. Anthony Fauci. It’s being nationally televised on multiple networks. Millions of Americans are watching. It’s the perfect setting for Rand Paul to try to bring attention to himself again.

Dr. Fauci says that reopening businesses and schools too soon could lead to more outbreaks and unnecessary deaths. Paul then gets his chance:

“As much as I respect you Dr. Fauci, I don’t think you’re the end all. I don’t think you’re the one person who gets to make a decision. We can listen to your advice, but there are people on the other side saying there’s not going to be a surge, that we can safely open the economy, and the facts will bear this out.”

Dr. Tony one-ups Rand calmly: “I’m a scientist….I think we better be careful if we are not cavalier in thinking that children are completely immune to the deleterious effects. I don’t give advice about anything other than public health.”

Rand….Rand….Rand….maybe you shouldn’t pick on a real doctor? A real medical expert? With a degree that hasn’t lapsed?

So where was Rene Boucher when America needed him?

Before we get too outraged, I really don’t condone any kind of violence. The piece is labeled satire and humor. I really don’t want Rene to beat him up again. Besides, the act cost Boucher over a half million in damages. It forced him to sell his house, with those proceeds going to Rand Paul. That’s a lot of jack to give someone a beating.

We don’t know where Rene Boucher is today. Rumor has it that he moved to Florida to be closer to his children and grandchildren. If any of my Florida readers know Rene, please pass this column on to him. His services may be needed again. Knowing Rand Paul, it’ll be sooner than later.

It appears some beer establishments in Indiana may be opening up further this weekend. I’ll try to have some updates on the list of open bars and brewers on my right rail, what they call that column over there——>

Friday, May 15

Saturday, May 16

Sunday, May 17