Journal of the Plague Year 4-26-2020

Lots of TV watching (see below), but first I must report progress in the decluttering department. We tackled a closet that was a dumping ground for one of my sons plus assorted stuff that I had no place for. The closet is now empty!  The best finds

Art nouveau music stand used by my grandmother the violinist. It wound up in the closet because it needs repair and I wanted to get it out of the way. Now it is elsewhere, but still awaiting repair.

Fencing socks, sword blade and sword holder. Returned to the fencing son who lives here in Minneapolis and hopes to be able to start fencing again.

Sleeping mask, also returned to Minneapolis son.

Five heavyweight hoodies in the colors of Roosevelt High School, where Minneapolis son was a debate coach some years ago. Now they are in the pile destined for Goodwill when they reopen. 

A blueberry box from Wyman’s, the blueberry king of Washington County, Maine. It was filled with rocks picked on various trips, including amethysts from a visit to a Canadian mine near Thunder Bay, Ontario. My new plan is to get them polished. The box could go back to Maine if we ever get there.

Old New Yorker magazines. I read everything but the cartoons online, so I looked at all the drawings and then tossed them in the recycle bin. 

Lest you think that we are all work and no play, here are samples of our recent TV watching:

Righteous Gemstones and Succession: Both are disappointing series about families with larger than life patriarchs and three adult children (in both shows the three children are two men and a woman) who are not filling their fathers’ shoes. Neither show is particularly great, although I usually like John Goodman, who plays the patriarch of his televangelist family in Righteous Gemstones. We have not gotten through the first season of either. Maybe they will get better.

Informer: A well-written British series about an engaging young man of Pakistani descent who becomes a police informer after he is threatened with the exposure and deportation of his stepmother, who is in the UK without papers. This is worth watching. 

Giri/Haji (Shame/Guilt): This British-Japanese production is about a Tokyo detective who is sent to London to bring back his gangster brother. The characters are well-drawn, the plot complex (sometimes I had to rewind to figure out who was who), and the writing good. The star, Takehiro Hira, is a heartthrob. Hard to see how there will be a second season, but if there is, I would watch.