It’s an unprecedented time. With Covid-19 cases now surpassing 120,000 in the United States alone, and shelter-in-place orders enforced almost nationally, it’s a frightening period that we’re encountering. With all of us locked down at home, what are you doing to cope at home? How are you passing the time?
For my wife and I, this means a lot of music and projects. For my wife, it has been quilting, cooking, and organizing of closets and rooms. For me, it’s organizing records and writing. For the first couple of weeks, I had some writer’s block as the fear of the pandemic was overwhelming. Now, I’m fighting my fears by doing the things that I love and attempting to find normalcy at my computer.
Today, I worked on organizing some of my rare records and found some precious gems in the process. One such prize is an autographed copy of Sophie Tucker’s “My Mother’s Sabbath Candles” on 78. Signed to some lucky fellow named Maxx, this Mercury pressing will now be framed and up on my wall. I also came across my 1949 45 of the Sons of the Pioneers Garden of Roses extended 45 and my original copy of Foreigner’s “Double Vision” picture sleeve 45, also destined for a frame.
My writing is stepping up, as well. I’m wrapping up my evaluation of four new products from Audio Art Cables. What a difference they’re making in my system! My reviews are taking place via a pair of Usher SD-500 bookshelf speakers, so look for a review on them soon. As I’m typing this now, I’m listening to music on a brand-new pair of Atlantic Technology FS-HR280 closed-back headphones. While not quite broken in yet, I’m already enjoying them. There are also reviews for Quad and Music Hall coming down the pike, so please stay tuned!
Besides everything mentioned, we’re finding other fun ways to pass the time. I, myself, am doing a lot of cooking, too. We’re putting together puzzles. We’re using apps like Houseparty to “gather” with friends virtually. Last night, we did a “pub crawl” at home, where we had a beer in different rooms of our house and sat listening to music. It’s given us an opportunity to indulge in our “other” systems in our home, rather than just the living room multichannel system of my two-channel critical listening rig.
Are these signs of a couple people on the verge of being stir-crazy? Perhaps. But, as we all should be, we’re taking this very seriously. We’re working from home, staying at home, socially distancing, and doing our part to flatten the curve. We’re all in this together, throughout this whole wide world.
I’d love to hear from you, and how you are spending your time. Are you re-organizing your records? Upgrading cables? Just listening with a good glass of bourbon? What’s getting you through? As always, thank you for reading, and happy listening!