Tuesday, March 3, 2026

     Hard to concentrate while watching the war spread in the Middle East.  Hard to wonder what we could have done to stop it. Hard to know how to be safe. Monterey is a vulnerable military town   Hard to stop catastrophizing the events. It is not just about me.

      It is beautiful day this morning, flowers, dogs barking, fog, heater working, friendly faces. I want to be present for my life today. The potatoes are in the ground. Today I want to be kind to everyone.

     THE LONELINESS OF SONIA AND SUNNY has a good ending and I can close the 800 page book now.

     At the recommendation of the tall Man, we start watching the Israeli thriller, TEHRAN. The first episode is quite compelling. Third day in a row of eating pizza.  I am ready for other foods now. We can focus our anxiety on these TV characters.

 

Monday, March 2, 2026

     We don’t eat the whole bag of small organic russet potatoes fast enough. They begin to sprout. I throw them in the garbage bin.  My roommate rescues them to plant them in the back yard.  We are going to have our own potato patch. She is studying to be a master gardener.

    Each morning, I check the NYTimes webpage to see if the president has disappeared yet, or maybe impeached. It is so hard to find another solution to his demonic take over of our country.

     Foggy wintry morning. Sounds of a leaf blower is in the neighborhood. I don’t turn on the heater, a mistake.  It is really cold. We had a week of warm balmy weather but now it is cold again.

     While my roommate goes out with her charming college friends to watch the Tig Notaro live comedy show. I stay home and watch more episodes of THE CLOSER. I am close to finished reading THE LONELINESS OF SONIA AND SUNNY.  I have slowed down reading the book. I sense it does not have a hopeful ending. I still love the book and want the characters to have happy lives at some point.

 

Sunday, March 1, 2026

     The plans for Saturday evaporate as I keep going back to the TV to watch my country bombing another country.  Just like that, a war is started by our president who appears to be deranged. I pause and watch the bombing scenes repeat on the screen.  Feeling helpless as the fighting continues. What to do next? It would help if I understood the reason for the war.

     And yet the day in Monterey is warm and colorful as the flowers bloom and spring arrives.  The visiting dog plays in the back year, investigating smells and tall grasses.

     The tall man and the dog lover visit and we don’t talk about war. We talk about family and health and what to watch on TV.  The tall man recommends the Israeli spy show called TEHRAN on Apple TV. I recommend THE LONG WAY BACK, the two motorcycle guys on a long road trip in South America.

      In the evening the young poet roommate arrives with pizza. She is a student at UC Santa Cruz. I did find the CT scan report on the cancer center portal. I read the technical report saying no problems were found. And the bombing and killings continue in the middle east across multiple countries. So far, no bombs have reached us. But I don’t think we are safe.