The New Abnormal

“The deeper I get, the less that I know

That’s the way that it goes.”

“Brooklyn Bridge to Chorus,” The Strokes, “The New Abnormal”

Assisted by Hall of Fame producer Rick Rubin, the Strokes recorded the Grammy-winning rock album of 2020, in fact, their best effort since their 2001 debut “Is This It,” which featured the catchy hits “Last Nite” and “Some Day.” Critic Danielle Tiernier called the post punk, garage band flavored songs on “The New Abnormal” both magical and nostalgic. Helen Brown asserted that the lead track, “The Adults Are Talking,” is charged with a tense ennui that provided a perfect fit for the year-long lockdown. The same might be said for my favorite selection, save for "Bad Decisions," “Why Are Sundays So Depressing?” I have “The New Abnormal” on heavy rotation in the basement along with CDs by Tame Impala, Steve Earle, Cracker, and The Beths.

For the past two days IU Northwest Chancellor Ken Iwama has hosted a “Swing into Spring” lunch, similar to past “Thrill of the Grill” events but free of charge and inside the Savannah Center rather than in the library courtyard and with boxes containing sandwiches (ham, turkey, and vegetarian), oranges, and cookies rather than burgers and brats. Despite Tuesday’s effort being sparsely attended (most classes are still virtual) I saw a few colleagues for the first time in a while, including geologist Zoran Villibarda and poet Bill Allegrezza, both of whom appear in Steel Shavings, volume 50, and thanked me for sending them copies. Allegrezza recently had the following poem, titled “Webs,” published in Oddball Magazine:

count

as a way to hold it down

a broken flag broken

a web dark

hanging from a limb.

we have been raped by

a generation (and I am hiding

so that you cannot claim it is me)

of green woven.

still we could be useful if

briefed with the long words quickly.

With the temperature in the 60s I’ve enjoyed the flowering yellow and purple crocuses near IUN’s Anderson Library and the buds of spring plants such as daffodils popping out of the ground. My favorite, the first signs of spring to appear in our side yard, are foliage from naked lady lilies, in particular three plants that I have transplanted two different times. They belonged to a friend who was moving, so they first went to our National Lakeshore home and then to our present condo. They are the first things that come up in our side yard, very prominent, and then disappear, so when the flowers arrive sometime in August, the foliage is gone.

With COVID cases decreasing and vaccines more available, Indiana governor Eric Holcomb, under pressure from his Republican base, has rescinded the mask mandate and promised that vaccine shots will be available to everyone over the age of 15 beginning on March 31. Nursing homes are allowing visitors, many for the first time in a year. I fear that this rush to reopen is too precipitate. Toni and I have remained cautious despite having had our second Moderna shot over two weeks ago. We are, however, hosting family over the week to celebrate son Phil’s birthday.