Welcome to a new era. For better or worse, we have a new president. COVID-19 has decimated the country. Before long we will have more deaths from COVID-19 than in all our wars combined. Depending on where you live, you are probably in some state of shut down. In San Diego, all the restaurants, bars, gyms, salons, bowling alleys, etc. are closed. I’m living like a hermit, going out once a week to buy groceries.
The sun still comes up every morning and goes down every night and life goes on.
We interrupt this story for a commercial message:
BIG NEWS.
The Panama Murders is finally ready to be released. On February 26th, you can get you copy from Amazon. For the first three days it will be available for my Friends and Family discount of only 99 cents. Then the price will revert to 3.99. I hope you’ll take advantage of this opportunity. (The discount does not apply to the paperback version.)
If you haven’t yet, you can also take advantage of my other offer. The entire Catrina Flaherty Mysteries series is on sale for 99 cents each. Grab your copies now so that you’ll be all caught up on the series when The Panama Murders becomes available. Click here to get yours today.
Now, back to our story.
For years my brother, Jim, has lived near Mama and taken care of her. When her hot water heater bursts, he fixed it. When her roof leaked, he patched it. They, along with my brother Jon and his family, live in Portland, Oregon. The land of perpetual rain and cloudy skies.
Jim has hated Oregon winters for decades. Three years ago, he decided to do something about it. He bought a big house near Phoenix, Arizona and began moving his business to the Valley of the Sun.
In November I got a call from Jim.
“I’m moving to Arizona for the winter and I’m concerned about Mom.”
Mama is 96-years old and still lives on her own. She drives, shops, and takes care of her home. Jim was worried that with him leaving the state, she would have no one to look after her.
“You said once that you would be willing to come up to Oregon and take care of her.”
Crap. Caught in my own faux generosity. I have no ties to San Diego. I have friends here, my boat, and love the weather, but I can work from anyplace that has the internet.
I packed a bag and caught a flight to Portland.
For years my brother, Jim, has lived near Mama and taken care of her. When her hot water heater bursts, he fixed it. When her roof leaked, he patched it. They, along with my brother Jon and his family, live in Portland, Oregon. The land of perpetual rain and cloudy skies.
Jim has hated Oregon winters for decades. Three years ago, he decided to do something about it. He bought a big house near Phoenix, Arizona and began moving his business to the Valley of the Sun.
In November I got a call from Jim.
“I’m moving to Arizona for the winter and I’m concerned about Mom.”
Mama is 96-years old and still lives on her own. She drives, shops, and takes care of her home. Jim was worried that with him leaving the state, she would have no one to look after her.
“You said once that you would be willing to come up to Oregon and take care of her.”
Crap. Caught in my own faux generosity. I have no ties to San Diego. I have friends here, my boat, and love the weather, but I can work from anyplace that has the internet.
I packed a bag and caught a flight to Portland.
Mama, circa 1947, with an albacore tuna
For the next two plus months, I lived with Mama and tried to make her life easier and more enjoyable. She would make coffee every morning (not the quality that I’ve become used to, but it worked). I would work on my business for a while, then make breakfast. We’d have breakfast together, then she washed the dishes and took a nap.
I got back to work. I managed to finish all the polishing work on The Panama Murders and move towards getting it published. At about 6 pm I’d get dinner started and we’d eat before Jeopardy! came on TV. I have to watch Jeopardy! (We miss you Alex.)
Mama hasn’t had cable since her husband, Dave, died. She couldn’t figure out how to work the remote. I should say here that Mama is absolutely technically challenged. If it’s newer than a toaster, she can’t work it.
I had internet installed so I could work, so we streamed movies most nights. We watched a bunch of old movies that Mama liked and binged on some cool TV shows.
Mama has been clinically depressed for decades. There has been almost no joy in her life since 1962. In the time I was there, she was having a good time. I’m sure the loneliness of living alone contributed to her moods. With me there every day, she had someone to talk to, someone to share old memories with and someone to keep up with the latest political news with. One morning after breakfast I even heard her singing while she was washing the dishes.
Jim sold his Portland house and came up in early February to get it ready for the sale. I took the opportunity to take a San Diego vacation and come home.
I can’t tell you how happy I was to get out of the Oregon weather. The weekend after I came home, Portland got hit with a blizzard. Meanwhile it was sunny and in the 60’s in San Diego. Spring has sprung here now and it’s sunny and in the 70’s every day.
I dread going back up to that cold, wet climate, but duty calls. On the 15th, after I’ve had my second COVID vaccine, I’m heading back north. I don’t know how long I’ll be there, but I know I have to be there for Mama.
That’s the news around the nation folks. I hope you’re all staying safe and healthy. I’ll be back next month with a new episode of my blog. Stay tuned. And don’t forget to get your copy of The Panama Murders on Friday.
I got back to work. I managed to finish all the polishing work on The Panama Murders and move towards getting it published. At about 6 pm I’d get dinner started and we’d eat before Jeopardy! came on TV. I have to watch Jeopardy! (We miss you Alex.)
Mama hasn’t had cable since her husband, Dave, died. She couldn’t figure out how to work the remote. I should say here that Mama is absolutely technically challenged. If it’s newer than a toaster, she can’t work it.
I had internet installed so I could work, so we streamed movies most nights. We watched a bunch of old movies that Mama liked and binged on some cool TV shows.
Mama has been clinically depressed for decades. There has been almost no joy in her life since 1962. In the time I was there, she was having a good time. I’m sure the loneliness of living alone contributed to her moods. With me there every day, she had someone to talk to, someone to share old memories with and someone to keep up with the latest political news with. One morning after breakfast I even heard her singing while she was washing the dishes.
Jim sold his Portland house and came up in early February to get it ready for the sale. I took the opportunity to take a San Diego vacation and come home.
I can’t tell you how happy I was to get out of the Oregon weather. The weekend after I came home, Portland got hit with a blizzard. Meanwhile it was sunny and in the 60’s in San Diego. Spring has sprung here now and it’s sunny and in the 70’s every day.
I dread going back up to that cold, wet climate, but duty calls. On the 15th, after I’ve had my second COVID vaccine, I’m heading back north. I don’t know how long I’ll be there, but I know I have to be there for Mama.
That’s the news around the nation folks. I hope you’re all staying safe and healthy. I’ll be back next month with a new episode of my blog. Stay tuned. And don’t forget to get your copy of The Panama Murders on Friday.
Mama and me at the Del
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