Thursday, April 30, 2020

Business as Usual

This one has been burning in my head for the last few days. Every week is another curve ball in this whole COVID drama. Even though we are far in, I don't think we quite have the grasp of hindsight yet. So for me it is about checking in daily and taking inventory.

Yes there was the initial phase of jigsaw puzzles, baking recipes and learning technology for Zoom meetings. But to me, that is just biding time. I have my eyes set on the light at the end of tunnel and am starting to grasp the next level of division that is evidently coming.

The Startup Roadmap: Chapter 12 - Open for Business | SCOREEach state, city and even neighborhood is trying to decide how this withdrawal will work. We are having to rely on whatever leadership we have, whether we trust that or choose to defy the parameters. There is never going to be a mutual consensus that is agreed upon. It is unknown and even facts are blurry. From what I can see, there are tons of options with much middle ground and compromise.

But as everything in this country seems to now dissolve into, it is looking like it will again be a two-side battle. You are either a snowflake liberal that is demanding absolute quarantine and sweating at the palms with gloves and face mask on. Or you are a fanatic conservative waving a rifle on the Capitol steps or a playground saying that your rights are being violated.

ImageNeither party is equipped to handle how opening a restaurant back up will unfold. Or how a non profit board will craft a new direction for a theater to survive. Either one is a very specific entity and needs to do what is right for the organization it serves. This may have nothing to do with a governor or a President. Only they are burdening the weight of foreclosure, mortgage payments, a payroll relying on them, skilled workers that they have trained. On the floor at work EVERY day; I get customers who are "so thankful that you are open and we needed this" to "Why are you open, where are your guidelines and why is every patron not wearing a mask?" Every one of them is entitled to an opinion. But they are not entitled to judge others. They are not living in those shoes or in that world. 

Sadly, each of us is going to have to choose how this situation affects us and what we can or cannot deal with. You can always make the choice to not shop or support this business. You can make the choice to advocate for artists that you love. But there is no absolute right and wrong. It is not Business as Usual. Be firm in yourself but not judgemental of the choices of everyone else. It is literally about your own survival, and while someone else choices may impact yours, it is ultimately your own to make.

Friday, April 24, 2020

Tiptoe Through the Tulips - and Beyond!

I am trying to find some stimulation beyond isolation, quarantine and all the other buzz words that haunt our new daily routines. It is obviously Spring and so many of us are hands-in to our gardens, checking out hatching chicks or looking towards blue skies & longer days. Small pleasures.

But I am still seeking out larger things that can inspire and celebrate. This is an old archived article going back a few years that has been sitting on virtual ice. Today seemed a good time to put it in print. Who doesn't love a #Parade? We have our jewels of Macy's for Thanksgiving and the Rose Bowl for New Years. This one is a stunner in the Netherlands called the Corso Zundert. It takes place in the Fall around what would be our Labor Day; the end of summer and the harvest season. There are 20 nearby hamlets around Zundert that compete for the coveted prize in the festival.

Of course we always associate the country with tulips, but this is months after the bulb blooms. Floats are made using Dahlias, Sunflowers petals and 100s of other varieties. Imagine our Rose Bowl with a spin of modern art and psychedelia. The floats are absolutely mind blowing. The ones that originally captivated me were from 2015 when the theme of the Festival was Vincent VanGogh. I cannot even imagine seeing these live. But as I went to the website and the archives, there are pics going back to the late 1930s, impressive even for back then.


Enjoy some of this shared beauty and imagine what they must have looked like up close!

Corso Zundert Official site