Viral Rhythms

We keep our eye -- and our stories -- focused on the topic of the hour -- the Covid-19 pandemic whose numbers of afflicted and dead tick up every few minutes all over the world. 

Here in California, the rhythm of our days, so vibrant and busy just over a month ago, has slowed to a meditative drip-drop, at least for retirees like us (I know parents with young children have their hands full) . We wake, we eat, we patter around the house (meaning we do the same things we did yesterday and will do again tomorrow), we sleep. The next day, the same routine. 

Occasionally, just for sport, we allow our blood pressure to go up by watching TV and either getting agitated at the idiocy in full display before us (yes, that one) or becoming teary-eyed at the heroic efforts of frontliners in this war (the medical workers, the service providers, the police, the journalists) who are toiling, despite the risks, to provide the rest of us updated information and a sense of normalcy. Reading, long a major part of our day, has become a necessary tool in our arsenal to fight against mental atrophy and boredom, and to keep our fears at bay and our sanity intact. 

How about you, how do your days go? Our publisher Mona Lisa Yuchengco gives us a glimpse of hers in part 2 of "Life (and Love) in the Time of Coronavirus." 

First-time PF contributor Ernesto M. Hilario writes about his from Quezon City in "Hunkered Down and Uncertain."

Writer/poet/critic Pablo A. Tariman shares with us his regret at the interruption of a cherished school-day ritual with his granddaughter, him being "Fetcher No. 244."

And in the course of a night's search for stories during curfew, an ABS-CBN News team in Metro Manila encounters a story that will forever stay in their hearts and in ours. Jervis Manahan, a member of the Kapamilya team, reports "The Long Road Ahead."

For comfort food in these days of uncertainty, here once again is Elizabeth Ann Quirino's recipe for "Corned Beef Sinigang."

To add to your reading list, here are links to stories you may have missed:

PH Health Workers and Their Struggle Against COVID-19
https://news.abs-cbn.com/specials/ph-health-worker-battle-covid19?fbclid=IwAR0oOx2c_YHjnnaKLo3YIqYbGeWcQjQvEnlUbxWYwmu0F-LGi_oscOa7cD4

Heroic Filipino nurses at the forefront of UK’s Covid-19 response
https://www.pinoyportaleurope.com/post/tataas-ang-unemployment-at-trabahong-may-short-time-working-hours-sa-germany-labor-expert-1?fbclid=IwAR2UbbXW4aNoKXOg-RBN-p2KoVQryHR4uKJxSm0JmcpVBsjT8exZ3As8C8I

Coronavirus: in Philippines, leak shows politicians and relatives received ‘VIP’ testing
https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3076788/coronavirus-philippines-leak-shows-politicians-and-relatives?fbclid=IwAR2NFoSf4VrURwQaobXM_2tq254t24ZWKwMrbsyVgbsAW9K6ftr-57LXYYc

Asian Americans report over 650 racist acts over last week, new data says
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/asian-americans-report-nearly-500-racist-acts-over-last-week-n1169821?fbclid=IwAR3oLJyo26XX6GvH0IYZMtPt7zuwRLUI8I6Ac0Uy-46MWMwEBFRqV03dBGA

Fil-Am director Dean Devlin’s ‘Almost Paradise’ is the first-ever American TV series shot in the Philippines
https://www.asianjournal.com/entertainment/showbiz/fil-am-director-dean-devlins-almost-paradise-is-the-first-ever-american-tv-series-shot-in-the-philippines/

For our video of the week, Filipino singers pooled their talents in this public service music video to give hope to Filipino citizens and crisis frontliners during the Luzon-wide quarantine to stop the spread of the coronavirus.