Stacy Horn

I haven’t done a ton of reading, but I’m ramping up it seems. After reading a bunch of material that was book proposal related, I stopped because I wasn’t concentrating. Then I switched gears. The first book post-gears-switched was just for fun: The Woman in the Window. And it was fun. Perfect escapist reading. Now I’m just finishing up The Glass Hotel, which is just marvelous. It’s the new novel from Emily St. John Mandel, who wrote the post apocalyptic Station Eleven, which is one of the best I’ve read.

The Glass Hotel was supposed to be just for the sheer pleasure of reading, but it’s a fictionalization of Bernie Madoff’s crimes (which might make it sound not so interesting, but it’s glorious). The book proposal I’m working on is also about financial crimes, but like her book it’s about more than financial crimes and her book is inspiring me.

I’m going to finish her book before my next one arrives, a novel by one of my favorite authors who usually writes non-fiction, Lawrence Wright. It’s about a pandemic! I would have ordered it regardless, but now I can’t wait for it to get here. It’s called The End of October: A novel.

While I wait for Wright’s book to arrive, I’m going to re-read one of my top ten favorite books of all time: One Hundred Years of Solitude. So many people are using the title of one of his other books, Love in the Time of Cholera, for signs. I wonder how many of them have actually read his book? (Not one of my favorites, alas.)

What are you reading?

I’m on an email list for a group called the New York City Pigeon Rescue (I’d wanted to write about them way back when). To this day I get cc’ed on email about pigeons needing rescue. Tonight there was one that needed help over by Grace Church, where I’ve been singing for almost 40 years (I’m a member of the Choral Society of Grace Church).

I took it as a sign, plus it’s not like I’m super busy or anything, AND, it would be nice to do something to help a creature who needed it. So I put on my face mask and headed over. He struggled a little bit when I transferred him to my carrier, but unfortunately he had died by the time I got home. So now I’m feeling sad. Poor little thing. I’m glad I tried though.

This is him. The very kind woman who had found him put him in a box with food and water.

I have only myself to blame. When I walk along the river now, I walk on the city side of the highway, not the river side, because of the runners. I know they are not following social distancing guidelines. But on my walk yesterday I stayed on the river side because I wanted to be in the sun, damnit, and I wanted to take pictures.

But the runners were just awful. Or rather, I’d say about 98% of them are. 98% make no effort to keep their distance from you, they run right by, inches away, WITHOUT MASKS, and, I swear to God, three of them coughed just as they were passing me, WITHOUT MASKS, and they didn’t even bother to cover their mouths. WTF?

Cuomo, you closed the parks. Stop the runners.

I took this on a walk along the river. I probably already mentioned that people on the river are not following social distancing pleas, runners especially. So I walk on the city side, not the river side.

I’ve decided to only take a walk on days I need to go to the grocery store and I’m limiting the number of trips I take to the grocery store as well.

This is a shot of Perry Street when I get to the highway. I always turn left and head downtown, but the next time I will go uptown and get some pictures of the Navy hospital ship Comfort.

Seen on one of my walks. I am still taking walks, although not every day as I was doing. I’m rethinking whether or not I should continue walking for exericse at all. They make me feel so good. Except, they might kill me. And others.