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The covid lockdown began on March 17, 2020. On March 20, I began piano lessons. I took piano lessons from age 6-10, before switching to violin (a mistake), then quitting. I later resumed piano lessons as a teenager -- a very positive experience that ended when I left home for university.  It was always assumed that I would one day inherit our family piano. That didn't turn out as planned, but that magnificent heirloom has stayed in the family, and in a wonderfully random way, I ended up with a piano anyway. I told this story here: why it is interesting and significant that i own a piano . As soon as that happened, I decided that I would find a way to take piano lessons again. The pandemic presented me with the perfect opportunity. I did some research, and easily identified Pianote as my method of choice: in which i begin re-learning how to play piano -- using pianote.com . And now I've been learning piano for one year! So... some thoughts. Pianote has exceeded my expectations...

Here we are in the middle of a global pandemic, and I feel (to paraphrase my favourite baseball player ) like the luckiest person on the face of the earth.* I'm healthy, my partner is healthy, and no one in our extended families has gotten covid. Thanks to my union, and to my partner's very decent employer, we have a comfortable income, and we didn't lose any income during the pandemic. I have a safe, comfortable, spacious place to ride out the lockdown and the pandemic in general, with plenty of indoor interests to keep me busy.  I live in an area with very low covid incidence, where it's easy to enjoy the outdoors while maintaining social distancing. And that's just my covid-related good fortune. In general my privilege is vast. My young life had many challenges, and perhaps my future holds more (who knows), but in the present I am incredibly fortunate.  I hope many of you reading this also enjoy lives of privilege, and that you have strong support for the areas o...

An Antidote to COVID Boredom: Virtual Book Clubs As winter settles in on the North Island, and we continue social distancing to lessen the risks of contracting COVID-19, life can sometimes get a little monotonous. Boredom is bad for our mental health. Plus, it's boring! If reading is one of your pleasures, perhaps now is the time to try reading with a group – a book club. The Vancouver Island Regional Library (VIRL) is offering three virtual (online) book clubs with three different themes. Like all library programs, you can join in for free. All you need is a device and an internet connection. All the selections for these virtual book club titles will be available as eBooks and eAudiobooks with no waiting. " Our Shared Shelf " Book Club is focused on children's chapter books that the whole family can enjoy. November's title was Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu, an adventure story about a brave 11-year-old girl on a supernatural mission to save her best friend Jack from m...

Homeschooling? Your Library Can Help One of the many ways COVID has changed our lives is an increased interest in homeschooling. Of course no parents want their children to be exposed to the virus. But many families face health challenges that make the possibility of exposure much more dangerous. Parents may have many reasons for preferring homeschooling, and the pandemic has brought them front of mind. If you're a homeschool family, you already know that the public library is an invaluable resource. But the Vancouver Island Regional Library (VIRL) can support your efforts in many ways that you might not be aware of. One of VIRL's most popular resources for homeschool families are our Tinker Totes . Tinker Totes help you bring STEAM learning to life in your own home. STEAM – which stands for Science Technology Engineering Arts Math – activities encourage creative thinking and build problem-solving skills. With STEAM learning, children learn through hands-on experience, rather t...

During the pandemic shutdown, there were so many offers of interesting things to do online -- cooking, crafting, indoor exercise, art classes, author readings, and on and on. I didn't do any of it. I began piano lessons with Pianote , read books, took walks, and generally (although somewhat guiltily) enjoyed myself. One online series looked interesting to me, but I kept forgetting to do it. The New York Times posted walking tours of different areas of New York City, hosted by Michael Kimmelman . Kimmelman was formerly the paper's longtime chief art critic, now the architecture critic. Although I miss former architecture critic Paul Goldberger , whose columns taught me how to look at buildings, Kimmelman brings a similar open, inclusive perspective that I enjoy. For each walk, Kimmelman is joined by a historian, architect, or writer who has a connection to the area. I'm off work this week, and as we bite our nails and hold our collective breath waiting for the results of th...

This is the time when wmtc turns into a travel journal, which I write almost entirely for myself, for a record of my travels. First of all, we were supposed to travel in April, an ultimate road trip that would take in everything I could want in a vacation, from beloved friends and family -- many of whom we had not seen in many years, and who I really miss -- to gorgeous scenic drives, and, of course, baseball. And with our dogs, too! That is truly my little heaven.  Even before the lockdown, we realized we had to cancel. When the border closed, at least it confirmed our decision. So yeah, that's all behind us, and when so many people have died, and so many others are near starvation, it seems the height of privilege to complain about cancelling a vacation. But I miss my family, and I don't know when I'll see any of them again, including my 89-year-old mother. Perspective or not, it still hurts. Back in the present moment, I am struggling with uncontrolled, chronic urticaria...

Ancestry Library: Your Library Can Help You Discover Your Roots As the lockdown began, I posted some "At Your Library" columns that were suddenly irrelevant, among them a column about Ancestry Library , then only available from a library branch -- and the branches were all closed. Shortly after that, Ancestry was made available from all computers -- but the newspaper wasn't publishing.  As it turns out, that column didn't  run before the lockdown. I submitted with some changes in July, and I was able to announce that this e-resource is now available from any computer. So I'll check that off my list. *  *  *  * The next column feels sadly ironic. As more library services move online, we can reach more people. But the "digital divide" grows wider, and we fail our most vulnerable customers. Libraries everywhere are working on ways to address this, but it's another sad ripple effect of the pandemic. Your Library Online: fun and safe ways to enjoy your li...

Since the lockdown ended, I've been writing my column in the free local newspaper again. These columns seem very specific and not of wide interest, but since I started collecting the columns on this blog, I want the record to be complete.  At Your Library: Your Library Is Coming Back… One Step at a Time Welcome back! I’m so very happy to welcome you back to your local branch of the Vancouver Island Regional Library (VIRL).  I hope you weathered the lockdown in relative comfort and safety, and that you and your loved ones are all healthy. It’s been such an unusual time, with so many unknowns, and for many people, a real struggle. I can speak for all library staff when I say, we missed being able to help you through it. VIRL is taking steps towards a gradual return of library services. We’ve worked hard to design a system that protects the health of our customers and library staff, follows all the provincial health guidelines, and still provides access to your library. Quit...

In 2015, Allan and I moved into an apartment , for the first time since leaving New York City in late 2005. We had rented a series of houses for 10 years. Now the market had changed and it was clear there were no houses for rent in our price range that would offer long-term stability and a decent commute. There is no way we would consider buying a house in the Toronto area, and we had no interest in buying a condo. This meant we were forced to move back to rental apartment life. We found a great apartment, as rentals go -- three bedrooms, two bathrooms -- at an affordable rent. And we adjusted. I'm very aware of my own privilege, so I consciously found the positives and tried not to complain about the negatives. But truth be told, it was a difficult adjustment, and definitely a diminished sense of well-being and happiness. I sorely missed having private outdoor space -- a lack that had me scheming to find a way to leave NYC many years before we actually did. Having a backyard was t...

I emailed this to my colleagues and our administrators; I should share it with wmtc readers, too. Along with many library workers, I am worried that our most vulnerable neighbours are being left behind. * * * * I just heard a heartbreaking lament from one of our regular customers, who was here for curbside. She told us that most people she knows do not have internet access or any TV service, and many do not have phones. They rely on library staff to suggest and order materials for them. We assured her that we can still do that. We asked her to encourage folks to show up during curbside hours and we will find books and DVDs for them. Then she said, “It’s not just the boredom. It’s the isolation. It’s the friendship. We are a poor community, and this library is our lifeline. I would work on the jigsaw puzzle or read a magazine, but that was just an excuse to be among people, to see friendly faces, to connect. The other place we would hang out is the Salvation Army – also closed. Many peo...

Each year on April 28, we recognize and remember workers who have died, been injured, and become ill through their work. In 2020, the year of the coronavirus pandemic, this day carries profound and urgent meaning. Health care workers, emergency workers, supermarket workers, and others put their health at risk and their lives on the line daily. Most poignantly, health care workers risk illness and must isolate from their own families in order to save the lives of others. Low-wage workers like supermarket cashiers and couriers, already working physically demanding and monotonous jobs, suddenly find themselves in potentially life-threatening danger. * * * * The canary is a potent symbol and a powerful reminder. Not so long ago, this small, fragile bird was the only thing that stood between miners and a suffocating death. The world over, workers are little more than canaries in their own workplaces. No worker should ever be killed or injured because of work, yet it happens on a regular bas...

This ran after the library was closed... and it's about a resource that can only be accessed in our branches! Ancestry Library: Your Library Can Help You Discover Your Roots Many Canadians are interested in learning about their family background. After all, unless you're an Indigenous person, your ancestors were once newcomers to this land. Where did they come from, and what was life like there? Why did they decide to leave their original country, travel to a strange place, often on the other side of the globe? And where did they all go? You probably know some of their stories, but you may have family in Canada or elsewhere that you've never even heard of. For some people, genealogy becomes an absorbing fascination, even an obsession. Folks travel around the world to see what remains of a family village, or learn a new language so they can read original letters. For others, just a dip into the information now and again is enough – interesting and fun. Whatever your level of...

This ran shortly before the library closed. Reading to your children is one of the best and most important things you can do to help them succeed in school – and in life. Storytimes – coming to the library so someone else reads to your children – are another important tool to build literacy and reading readiness. In the small Vancouver Island Regional Library (VIRL) branches here in the North Island, we are fortunate to work with the Mt. Waddington Family Literacy Society, who hire and train people to be "Mother Goose" storytime leaders. Thanks to the Literacy Society's generosity and commitment to the community, the Port Hardy Library now offers Mother Goose Storytimes twice each week: Tuesday mornings 10:00-10:30, and Wednesday afternoons 3:30-4:00. In our Port McNeill and Port Alice branches, Mother Goose visits every-other Saturday morning at 11:00. In our Sointula and Woss branches, Mother Goose is on a break right now, but will be back soon. You can ask at the libra...

1. Wealthy urbanites are fleeing to their second homes -- buying out grocery stores, expecting personal shoppers and home delivery, swelling vacation towns' size to summer proportions. This is the epitome of the egocentric, classist arrogance that often pervades the United States. 2. In India , a planned lockdown of more than a billion people is expected to leave millions dead of starvation. As people become desperate, there will inevitably be rioting, police shootings, and all forms of rampant violence. In this case the response seems far worse than the pandemic itself. 3. Many people seem to have forgotten that the majority of COVID-19 case are not fatal. I'm not minimizing the potential, but numbers of confirmed cases does not equal the same number of deaths. 4. Our experience of the pandemic often depends on our employment situation. For me right now, it's a vacation. Health care workers have so much added risk and all the stress that comes with it. Supermarket workers...

Removed from all context, I am loving social distancing. I was very disappointed to cancel our planned vacation to visit west-coast family and friends. But other than that, I am having a great time. Reading. Writing. Practicing piano . Doing jigsaw puzzles. Watching movies and series. Walking outside. Stretching and meditating inside. Playing with our dogs. They are loving having me around all the time. Cooking. The Instant Pot is working overtime! Getting things done around the house. Poor Allan, because he works from home anyway, he's not getting a vacation, and his alone time has disappeared. But for me, it's a guilt-free staycation. That's quite a contrast with the outside world. It's horrendous. Illness, death, income loss, ordinary employment becoming dangerous. So much uncertainty, and so much fear. I can't seem to lose the feeling of surreality. Is this really happening? Where is it going? How bad will it get? I'm not looking for answers. I stay in the m...

I'm taking piano lessons! I'm really happy and excited about it. I'm using an amazing site called Pianote , which combines traditional lessons with seamless, user-friendly technology. * * * * If you're just picking up this story, please read this . (Comments are still missing. Blogger was (finally) working on it ... now, who knows.) Ever since writing that post above, piano lessons has been on my to-do list. Now social distancing has given me the perfect opportunity to get started. But how to begin? Simple sheet music wouldn't be enough. I knew I would need actual lessons to guide me through the process. And I wanted an app or online course so I wouldn't have to schedule anything or, to be honest, deal with another human. When I started surveying piano-learning apps, I discovered a deluge of options, and most of them looked awful. Many are geared to children. These are mostly "gamified" (yuck) and involve teaching basic songs by rote (double yuck). I ...

I've read that the recent border closures, part of the effort to slow the spread of COVID-19, have raised concerns in the agricultural sector. Farmers are worried that there will be a shortage of the seasonal workers they employ -- and depend on -- at harvest time. Farmers normally apply for workers through Canada's Temporary Foreign Worker Program . There are many problems with the TFW system, including a lack of oversight that opens the door for all kinds of abuses. But leaving that aside, right now a great many Canadians suddenly find themselves unemployed, as their employers have shut down or are severely limiting services during the public health crisis. This leads me to an inescapable question. Couldn't local workers pick crops? They would need protective equipment, of course. And their hiring and any training would have to conform to health protocols. But so would hiring temporary foreign workers. Surely Canada is not going to bring in busloads of migrant workers ...

As waves of shelter-in-place orders sweep over the continent, Canada and the US must figure out how to support an entire population thrown into unemployment and in need of food, fuel, shelter, and in the US, health care. A brief dip into recent history provides two very simple answers. Demand corporations pay their share. The corporate tax rate is at an all-time low (for modern times), offshore tax havens are rampant, and as if that's not enough, in the US the largest corporations are now receiving tax rebates to the tune of $79 billion. Nearly 100 Fortune 500 companies effectively paid no federal taxes in 2018 , according to a new report. The study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a left-leaning think tank, covers the first year following passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act championed by President Donald Trump, which was signed into law in December 2017. The report covers 379 companies from the Fortune list that were profitable in 2018 and finds that 91 paid an ...

A reader pointed out that my previous post is very negative, and doesn't mention any of the very positive responses to the pandemic that are being rolled out. So: A prohibition on evictions. Water and electricity not being cut off for nonpayment. Student loan forgiveness. A relaxation of rules for employment insurance, and emergency funds for those who don't qualify. In some cities, free public transit. Paid sick leave. A suspension of rules about needing doctors' notes for sick days. And Every single one of these decent, humane responses to this health crisis injects a piece of socialism into our world. When the crisis has passed, governments will have to work overtime to erase our memories and return to ruthless business as usual.

We're all struggling to take in the magnitude of coping with a global pandemic. Personally I've had to cancel a long-awaited vacation to vist family, and with libraries closed, I may soon be applying for EI. The shelves at our local supermarket are empty; we're hoping folks who did the right thing, remained calm and didn't hoard, won't be repaid with severe shortages. And of course I'm hoping that the relatively fast and decisive actions taken by Canada and my own province of BC will protect us from the worst. But I'm also acutely aware that my personal inconvenience is nothing compared to the misfortunes of so many others. I don't mean those who are necessarily sick with COVID-19. I'm thinking of those who simply cannot prepare, and those who are suddenly faced with a total loss of income. All the families who live paycheque to paycheque, cobbling together an income from various part-time and casual jobs, who suddenly find themselves unemployed. All...