How I Spent My Covid “Vacation”
Before Lockdown, I spent much of my time hanging with my tribe at music shows; either on stage, as a singer-songwriter; or in the audience, as a photographer. With music show venues closing due to the Lockdown, I had nowhere to sing, and no folks to photograph. So, Gigs and Photos of Gigs got replaced by Songwriting & Venting, and Photos of Cats…
To explain:
Photos of Cats: As Covid Lockdown entered its second week, I noticed that living in Lockdown had much in common with going to Junior High School. Both provided a potent mix of uncertainty, angst, and boredom.
One day while I was feeling anxious & bored I looked at our two cats. They were cuddled up around each other & sleeping. I thought, “They don’t look worried.’
Not able to turn myself into an unworried cat, I settled for taking photos of the sleeping felines. I posted a photo on Facebook. It got liked. I posted a new cat photo every two or three days. At first I was doing this for me, just to give me something to do!
Six weeks later, I’d posted dozens of photos! I thought maybe this ‘photos of sleeping cats’ thing had run its course. So, I stopped.
Then my Facebook peeps started asking for MORE photos of sleeping cats! So, the Sleeping Cat posts have continued. And to appease the Dog Lobby, a few dog photos got slipped in too.
Songwriting/Venting: I couldn’t go to gigs, but: My muse visited! A few of the new songs are about the ‘joys’ of The Covid 19 Lockdown set to well- known melodies. Here are a couple of examples —
Covid sucks
(sung to the tune of ‘Jingle Bells’)
Like a hamster on a wheel I can’t go out to play
My routine is so – routine, every stupid day
I need a change of pace – It’s that, or go insane
Oh! I don’t wanna sing the song of sitting home again
Oh! Covid Sucks Lockdown Sucks!
Every day’s the same
If I don’t get a change of scene I’m gonna lose it man!
Oh! Covid Sucks! Lockdown sucks!
Every day’s the same
Frankly I’d much rather eat a frozen can of Spam
Covid Hair
(to the tune of “Yesterday”, by that Beatle)
Covid hair – It seems I’ve come down with Covid Hair
It seems the mirror’s playing truth or dare
Oh, I’ve come down with Covid Hair
Covid Hair – I almost got a perm on a Zoom dare!
We’ll call my new hairstyle, “I Don’t Care”
It’s that or shave my whole head bare.
I just sit around – nowhere bound and kill the day
My hair’s gotten long – not as long as yesterday
Suddenly, I have more time than I need for me
My ‘Week At A Glance’ is blank indeed!
This Covid thing is bugging me
Covid hair – My mirror sez that I have Covid hair!
How the living hell did that get there?
I suddenly have Covid Hair
~ Ken Holme
Ken’s brief bio:
Ken Holme is a sixty-something singer songwriter & photographer from Southern California. He and his wife Beverly are co-owned by two cats, Mischief and Zoomba.
Ken’s painfully brief bio:
Ken. Old. Songwriter. Photographer. Married, with cats.
http://www.kenholme.com
In an attempt to keep us connected as we continue to find our way through these often stressful times, some in our extended community have been sharing their experiences, lessons learned and hope as they’ve dealt with Covid, lockdown, boredom, lack of inspiration, etc. We are all looking for ways to make lemonade out of the many lemons! This column will continue on a weekly basis and postings will be released at 10 AM Pacific every Monday, so watch for them! For guidelines and submission details, please contact Julie Zipperer at juliez@far-west.org or Marlynn Block at marlynn@far-west.org. Submissions will be posted based on approval from the Lockdown Lemonade Committee.
I love this example of how community comes together, and what you do for yourself helps others, too. Isn’t that why we create in the first place?
I’m making a weird face, but yes. Yes, it is.