Miss our adventures in Tombstone Provincial Park (Yukon), Dawson City (Yukon), Kluane National Park (Yukon), or backcountry hiking? Not see my escapade on the side of the mountain? Overlook the time we watched three grizzlies fishing? Check out parts 1-6 of the Klondike road trip at the links!

Alaskan cruises have definitely risen in popularity over the years, and because of its location on the Chilkoot Inlet Skagway is a stop on most itineraries. My family did an Alaskan cruise when I was 14, but I hadn’t yet discovered my interest in the Klondike Gold Rush so its historical significance was wasted on my brace-faced ass. Now that I’m a little older (the little wiser part is debatable), I was ready to look at Skagway through a different lens on our recent road trip through the Yukon and Alaska.

Not a bad view from the ferry

As a consummate travel planner, it’s hard for me to not have every detail mapped out ahead of time, but the key to a great road trip is having a flexible mindset and our journey to Skagway is the perfect evidence for why that is. We knew that we were going to Skagway, but we decided two days before to take the ferry there from Haines. In retrospect, that’s really the only way to do it because the hour-long ferry ride gives some pretty spectacular views of glaciers, waterfalls, and mountains. It’s also not like a typical ferry where you’re just standing on a deck the whole time. It was more like a mini-cruise ship with cabin rooms for people doing multi-day jaunts and viewing areas on either side of the ship. We parked ourselves in lounge chairs under some heat lamps (it was low 50s and had a misty rain) on the solarium level and got a first row view of nature’s best.

Most of our fellow shipmates (ferry mates?) were hikers who looked like they were getting ready to take on the famed Chilkoot Trail. Originally a Tlingit trade route, the trail experienced a boom in foot traffic at the height of the Klondike Gold Rush (1897-1898) and thousands of people took the 33-mile trek from Dyea, Alaska up to Lake Bennet, BC aka the Klondike. Even in the best of conditions the trail is not for the faint of heart, and the best of conditions by Alaskan standards is still pretty tough. Hundreds of people died on the trail, went bankrupt, or simply gave up and went home. To this day there are dozens of artifacts people abandoned along the trail route, and the hike is referred to as the “world’s longest museum”. Jack London did the trail, and it was the setting for his classic, Call of the Wild, so if you’ve read the book you probably have a good idea of the conditions they faced.

Check out the dame in the 2nd floor window

Not looking to be heroes, we decided to skip the hike and spend our time in Skagway eating fresh  salmon, drinking local craft beer, and soaking up as much Gold Rush history as possible. When we disembarked the ferry, it felt like we were stepping back in time. The main drag of downtown Skagway looks like it’s frozen in the year 1898, the year Skagway was booming as a provisions stop for those looking to make their fortunes in the Klondike. Although the streets are now paved, the sidewalks are still wooden boards and the buildings colorful and “old-timey”. Nowadays, the population is around 1,000 and the town thrives on the tourism that comes in with the mega cruise lines. It was late in the year for cruises, so stores were advertising their “end of season” sales where all the old people could get 40% off their kitschy t-shirts of cartoon prospectors holding lumps of gold near their crotch that say “I found my gold nuggets in Skagway!”

Salmon sandwich aka heaven on a plate at Skagway Brewing Co.

We had lunch at the Skagway Brewing Company, a huge space that had equally awesome beer and merch store (seriously, the merch was so good). We both had the Chilkoot Trail IPA and El tried the Spruce Tip Blonde ale, and we both had our first taste of fresh Alaskan fish. I had a grilled salmon sandwich that has spoiled me for life (seriously, I haven’t had salmon since b/c my expectations are too high) and El had halibut fish and chips that were so flaky they practically fell apart on their own. After lunch we strolled down Broadway St., got a magnet to add to our collection, and got called at by can-can girls dangling their legs from their seats in the second-story windows of a saloon, enticing people to come to their show. Sorry, ladies, if you’re not Diamond Tooth Gertie’s, I want no part of it. We also stopped in a shop, Inspired Arts, with locally-made jewelry carved out of mammoth ivory. When you hear the word “ivory”, your first thought is probably of the unethical and illegal trade of elephant tusks and rhinoceros horns. Mammoth ivory is so abundant in Alaska/Yukon that a coffee shop we visited in Dawson City had an actual mammoth tusk mounted on their wall.

The Visitor Center definitely scratched my Gold Rush history itch and taught me all about the different trails (Chilkoot and White Pass) people took to the Klondike, how the Gold Rush took off, the people like Jack London and Martha Black who were associated with that period of history, and the impact that period of history had on the Tlingit (pronounced “Clink-it”) and Tagish tribes. Spoiler alert: It was mostly negative. El and I also spun the ‘Wheel of Fate’ where we learned that if we had attempted the Chilkoot Trail in 1898 I would have turned back on the trail and El would have turned back at the rapids. I’m surprised my fate wasn’t “slip and fall into the river” given my tendency to be a klutz.

One of the characters we learned about in the Visitor Center was the legendary con-man Jefferson Randolph “Soapy” Smith, so we decided to check out his and others’ graves in the Gold Rush Cemetery. Apparently the townspeople of Skagway got fed up with Smith’s schemes, and he was shot dead in the street after crashing the meeting of a vigilante group trying to stop him. What a legend. A display at the cemetery’s entrance tells the stories of the people buried there, and boy are there some doozies. Take Ella Wilson who was famous in the Red Light District and was killed due to “an anonymous strangling”. Or “Unknown Man” who was killed when the dynamite he strapped to his chest exploded when he tried to rob a bank. The cemetery itself isn’t the most authentic because the tombstones have been updated so their writing is legible, but it’s worth a visit for the stories alone.

Much like how we wanted to see the spot where gold was first struck in the Yukon, we wanted to see the Chilkoot Trail at its source, so we drove up the mountain to the trailhead that overlooked the town below. Signs put up by the NPS gave information on hiking the trail but also provided details on the partnership between different tribes and the US government to give a true historical account of the Gold Rush. My inner nerd was more than satisfied by our visits to the Visitor Center, the Gold Rush Cemetery, and the Chilkoot Trail, so the rest of our time in Skagway was going to be dictated by craft beer and fish.

We had originally planned on camping in the RV park for the night, but given the dreariness of the weather we booked a room at the famous White House B&B, a super cute space located close to downtown. We checked into our room, grabbed a cookie from the communal jar, and made our way out for the night. Our first stop was the Happy Endings Saloon, which was deceptively NOT a brothel but rather a sports bar that had a huge banner out front that advertised how “Cornhole changes lives!” Not only were they showing the Chicago Bears game on one TV, but they were playing a National Park Service live-stream of ACTUAL BEARS on another. It was so meta.

No quickies for these two at the Red Onion Saloon

Next up was the infamous Red Onion Saloon, a bar that now offers “quickie” tours of its former brothel space for $10. We had missed the last quickie tour so we saddled up at the bar for a beer. The place was packed because the former governor, Bill Sheffield, was there for a book signing.  A woman in a can-can outfit read out a list of his accomplishments, which included making Skagway a tourist spot by expanding the railroad, sang the Alaskan state song, and then followed it with some song about a knife going through hot butter. ¯_(ツ)_/¯

We started chatting with the bartender at Red Onion and learned that he was actually from Duluth, MN, and his sister-in-law graduated with Elliot. Later that night we found ourselves chatting with some of the workers of Skagway Brewing Company, and they also happened to be from Minnesota. Apparently Minnesota isn’t north enough for some folks!

As we made our way towards Skagway Fish Company at the cruise ship port, a guy in a straw hat and old-time car from the 40s honked his horn and drove down Broadway. I said to El, “Wait, I’ve seen that guy before”, and I looked down at the Skagway Visitor Center brochure I had in my hand. Sure enough, the same guy was on the cover. Me in that moment:

via GIPHY

After keeping our nautical restaurant streak going at dinner, (El got some pan-seared salmon and it was my turn for halibut fish n’ chips), we made our way back to a practically empty Skagway Brewing Company. We were two of only seven total people sitting at a small bar on the first floor, and we were the only ones who didn’t work there. It being the end of the season, and most visitors were already back on their cruise ships, Skagway becomes a ghost town around 9:30pm. So if you’re looking for a wild night out in September in Skagway, you’re gonna be disappointed. Fortunately for us, El and I are freaking old and were a-ok with heading back to the B&B after a pint.

Downtown Skagway

When we made our way downtown for breakfast the next morning, we saw two additional cruise ships in port and Broadway St. crowded with people holding their selfie sticks. When we went down for coffee earlier at the B&B, the manager we talked to made it seem like there wouldn’t be any more ships arriving because it was so late in the season. She herself was planning to head back to NY until the following summer, so we were surprised to see so many cruise-goers taking a chance on a late-season Alaskan vacation. We got a tasty breakfast at the Sweet Tooth Cafe, where the food was classic and the servers dressed like it was still 1898. Satisfied that we had maximized our time in the town, we loaded up our car and started off on the last leg of our Klondike road trip.

Skagway may seem like just another stop on a cruise itinerary, but it has so much more to offer than just a $10 t-shirt or quickie tour. The town is rich with history if you know where to look, has some of the freshest seafood you’ll ever eat, and its people take its responsibility of making sure the Gold Rush era is accurately portrayed and includes more than just the perspective of the white prospector seriously. In short, Skagway deserves your attention as a must-visit travel spot…

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We got the updated S&P Dow Jones CoreLogic Case Shiller Chicago area home price indices this morning along with the indices for 19 other top metro areas and averages. Keep in mind that this data is for the 3 months ending in January so there is no effect from the coronavirus scourge reflected yet in the numbers. Yet, this home price data is pretty disappointing for Chicago.

First, although the Chicago area had a 0.6% year over year increase in single family home prices, that was the lowest rate of appreciation among the 20 metro areas tracked. New York, with a 0.8% increase, was second from the bottom of the list. The Chicago area also compares poorly with the nation as a whole, which appreciated by 3.9% from last year.

Second, condo prices broke the 86 consecutive month winning streak of rising prices for both single family homes and condos with a 0.4% decline. So that’s the first condo price decline in more than 7 years as you can see in the graph below. The rate of appreciation for both single family homes and condos has been on the decline now for a couple of years so this was not totally a surprise.

Chicago area single family home prices have shown annual gains for 87 consecutive months but condo prices fell for the first time in more than 7 years.

Case Shiller Chicago Area Home Price Index By Month

If you look at the graph below of the monthly index levels you can see how price levels are flattening out. That’s pretty depressing when you compare them to the red trendline that I calculated from pre-bubble single family home prices. We are currently 29.3% below that line.

We also remain pretty far below the bubble peak with single family home prices falling short 15.6% and condo prices 8.9% below the peak. That also means that single family home prices are lower than they were during the entire period from June 2004 – November 2008 and condo prices are lower than the period from April 2005 – December 2008.

Of course, we have bounced back from the bottom quite a bit. Single family home prices are now up a total of 38.5% from the depths of the market while condo prices bounced back by 50.7%.

You can also see the seasonality in the numbers from the graph, with us currently still in the winter down cycle. Single family home prices fell 0.9% from December and condo prices fell by 0.5%.

The Chicago real estate market still has a long way to go before catching up to bubble peak prices.

#CaseShiller #ChicagoHomePrices #HomePrices

Gary Lucido is the President of Lucid Realty, the Chicago area’s full service real estate brokerage that offers home buyer rebates and discount commissions. If you want to keep up to date on the Chicago real estate market or get an insider’s view of the seamy underbelly of the real estate industry you can Subscribe to Getting Real by Email using the form below. Please be sure to verify your email address when you receive the verification notice.

How to Adapt When Social Distancing Upends Your Social Structures

When you’ve suddenly added the roles of teacher, head chef and janitor to your usual responsibilities as a leader in your company and parent to your children, it’s time to reassess some of your normal expectations. In short:  you’ll need  to let go of some of your control and perfectionism.

You’ve carefully built social structures into your life, to help you meet your goals and get it all done. But now your office, daycare, child’s school and recreational activities have all been moved to one location: your home.

There are a lot of resources about how to effectively Work From Home (WFH), which focus on the leader/worker. In fact, LinkedIn notes:

“Since January 2020 ‘remote working’ searches on LinkedIn Learning have tripled as both employees and managers increasingly look for advice on how to navigate the challenges of working remotely and managing a remote workforce.” 

LinkedIn offers a free 16-module course.  That’s good as far as it goes, but a missing perspective seems to be the impact on parents who are working from home with their kids, who are now also at home. Given the closure of most schools due to the COVID-19 pandemic, parents are often required to also home school their children.

The Type A parents who are now at home are often perfectionists.  In the conversations I’ve had with leaders/parents this week who have suddenly made this transition, it’s proving impossible to keep up all the old “guidelines” and optimize every element of the situation.  For example, many parents want to limit screen time or  make sure family meals are as healthy as possible. But unless there is a way to bend the space-time continuum, a new perspective needs to be taken.

Balancing vs. Optimizing… Put Aside Perfectionism (For Now)

If you can’t optimize work, school and home life any longer, you can balance them. Your new coping strategies are patience, flexibility and managing expectations. Accept that (for now), life can’t be perfect.

While many Type A personalities typically maintain highly-organized work spaces and home living spaces, we no longer have the luxury of separate spaces. One home can’t be perfectly organized when it’s now the singular space for living, working and schooling.

Being available to your kids during working hours may be necessary, despite workplace demands.  As a parent, you don’t want to send the message that Mommy and Daddy are not available, despite the fact that we are living through a pandemic. It’s necessary to manage expectations with colleagues, and ask for compassionate understanding.

But sometimes you’ll just have to get a little work done in peace. Let those screen time guidelines slip a little bit. An extra viewing of Frozennever hurt anyone, and it can get you through a Zoom videoconference. Perhaps that broadcasting-from-home BBC dad would have benefited from turning on some Peppa Pig.

And after a stressful day of managing WFH with kids, you can take some joy in being the hero parent who opens a can of SpaghettiOs for dinner. It’s what they really want anyway, and you can always make a healthy meal tomorrow. The important thing is that you will help your family get through these troubling times safely and feeling loved.

My daughter spent the past couple of weeks at our house, but she headed back to her home for the rest of the shelter in place today. For the few days she was with us, which seemed like months when we lived through them, it felt like we were safe as a family. There were walks with the dog, cooking, a trip to the grocery store, shared viewing of old “House” episodes, and a shared anxiety.

We worked through the stages of grief together—denial, anger, depression, bargaining, and acceptance. I’m sure we’ll cycle through them again and again. But our first group landing on acceptance meant a huge grocery shopping trip and packing her up to go home.

We realized, without really saying so, that this is the way life is going to be for awhile and we best get on with living. She has lost her job for now, but she still has her apartment and her intense home workout schedule, her roommates, and all of the rest of life’s business.

My husband and I have become online teachers, and we are grateful to have our jobs, our students, and our communities.

I was teaching via Zoom when she left, and for that I am grateful. I’m sure I would have cried had I watched her car leave the driveway. My world is tucked in her grocery bags, among the oranges and carrots. I cannot bear thinking about this invisible beast of a virus licking and spitting her direction. Foolishly I imagine I can protect her if she’s home.

The house is so quiet now. Not as quiet as walks in the neighborhood, where I feel like a character in Stephen King’s “The Stand,” but quiet. It is a relatively peaceful quiet for now. It is punctuated by my dog barking at other dogs and my husband playing drums in the late afternoon.

I’m trying to get on with my life in ways that work for me. It’s a steep learning curve.

I’ve arranged a socially distanced walk with a friend for Wednesday, several Zoom sessions with students and colleagues, and have a to do list I’ll never ever finish. I feel like I’m walking in slow motion most of the time. I can’t get things done. My concentration is splotchy. My emotions are mostly suppressed.

During my Zoom session with students today, they asked if we’d be meeting like this weekly. I told them that most of our work would be asynchronous. I confessed that I scheduled the meeting today mostly because I needed to see that they were ok.

What I saw was people like me, struggling with anxiety and depression, fear, exhaustion, hope. They want to do school work, to write, but they want to go to their jobs and get paid and to feed their families even more. They have children to care for, life to cope with.

Sometimes it feels like moving to online courses is hardest for faculty, but I think the students struggle just as much or more. We are, at least, in control. They are at the mercy of our skill or lack of skill and of our mercy or lack of it. Suffice it to say that mercy is more scarce than I would have hoped.

My writing in this post is much like my brain’s functioning at the moment. I start down one path and then end up somewhere else.

I suppose what I’m saying is that I’m trying very hard to pivot. To learn how to find the closeness and contact with human beings that is so natural face to face, inches or a foot apart. I’m trying to learn how to be a teacher and a mother when neither students nor daughter are nearby.

Landing here on acceptance of life in a pandemic means becoming a new sort of person and contributing to a new sort of community.

Here’s hoping that you are finding the peace and connection that you need and that you are, most importantly, healthy.

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Easier said than done, I’m afraid.

Oh, Jeez – where to begin? (And please bear in mind, I’m not making light here – this is the single, most dire health event most of us have experienced in our lifetime, unless you were around for the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic.)

So here’s what I can’t handle about the nasty, one-celled little fucker that’s up-ended the entire world:

It’s a nasty, one-celled little fucker that’s up-ended the entire world.

And you thought global terrorism was bad?  Compared to this thing, ISIS, the Taliban and Al Qaeda were a petty inconveniences. Welcome to true germ warfare, my babies.  All I can think about is a one-celled organism with my name on it, on the surface of something I forgot to decontaminate before I touched it.

I can no longer touch my face or, God forbid, chew my pens.

Both bad habits of mine. I had no idea how many times I touched my face on a daily basis until Corona-scourge appeared.  You probably didn’t, either.

Lots of people are dying and more will die.

And I pray to holy God it isn’t you, me or anyone that we know and love. This is the one that keeps me up at night – like tonight – it’s 4:23 AM as I write this. Just a little abject fear of dying.

I have to keep working. I’m the new pariah.

I’m not gonna get into specifics here, but I have a job that I can’t phone in, and we are not closed for the duration.  Virtually my entire neighborhood is home, so every day when I leave for work, I feel like a criminal, or that I’m crossing a picket line.  I fully expect to find “SCAB” spray-painted on my car one morning. I want to stay home.  I’m supposed to stay home.  But I can’t. And there are thousands more just like me. Unless and until martial law is declared, we working pariahs are bearing a ton of guilt, along with a ton of fear. And it sucks.

I hate that our first responders and medical professionals are so incredibly put-upon and in constant danger.

Like their jobs weren’t difficult enough.  We all need to thank God every day that we have selfless professionals like this in our midst, much of the time working ill-equipped and against incomprehensible odds. Absolute heroes.

This damn thing is open-ended – no closure in sight.

This, I think, is the real crux here.  We don’t know when it will peak, level off, if having it gives one immunity for a second-strike, and if there will BE a second-strike.  Or a vaccine, treatment or cure.  Present AND future fear. Really hard to handle such long-term peril.

I can’t get a grip on my fear.

I keep thinking that this is the closest we will come to understanding how the country felt the day in 1941 that Pearl Harbor was bombed. Confused. Not comprehending. Frightened. Uncertain. And looking to State and Federal governments that are feeling the exact same way, yet still have to act.

Over the weekend, I re-read President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s famous speech from the day after Pearl was hit – the “Day Which Will Live In Infamy” speech.

In it, there are parallels to our coronavirus fight that I found interesting:

“… The facts of yesterday and today speak for themselves. The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation.
As Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense. But always will our whole nation remember the character of the onslaught against us.
No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.
I believe that I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost, but will make it very certain that this form of treachery shall never again endanger us.
Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory, and our interests are in grave danger.
With confidence in our armed forces, with the unbounding determination of our people, we will gain the inevitable triumph—so help us God.”

From Roosevelt’s mouth to God’s ear. (Would that he were with us now!) I can well-understand why Americans danced in the streets on VE and VJ Days.

So take every precaution, my babies. Pray hard and continue taking care of one another. Don’t give up.

And may we one day soon be doing our own victory dance in the streets.

Thanks for reading.  Comments to:  [email protected]

It’s difficult to reach your business goals if you don’t have the right materials and/or the information to help your business reach the success it’s capable of, especially during these trying times.  These three insights will help you generate the business you’ve always dreamed of.

1.  Find Your Niche

Chances are, you already have a target audience that you are marketing your products to.  Let’s face it, you’re probably looking for ways to increase your market audience and profit…or you probably wouldn’t be reading this article.  Here are the real facts… you don’t have to find a wider audience to increase your sales.

Have you noticed similar characteristics that groups within your target audience have in common?  Maybe you have a group of businessmen, a group of young mothers, and a group of retirees that frequently make purchases.  That is just the set-up I’m talking about.

Pay attention to the individual characteristics of each group, and divide your advertising into similar segments, or niches.  Focus on the specific needs of the group in the advertising products you put out.  General advertisements are not as effective as more specific ads.  Hey, we all sit up and pay attention to someone who recognizes our specific needs and desires!

2.  Create A Unique Selling Point

Why should someone buy from you and not your competitor?  I hate to deal a blow to your ego, but it really has nothing to do with you, your product, or your service.  Yeah, it’s a little self-centered, but customers are attracted by offers that point out the things that benefit THEM.

If you want to stand out from the crowd, create a unique selling proposition that stresses the benefits the customers will receive from doing business with you.  Will they get faster service?  Go ahead and dramatize it, but keep the customer at the focus…”Get free overnight delivery!”  Hey, it tells the customer…you get quick service and a discount on shipping.   Two definite benefits in one statement.

Don’t go out on a limb to create new products and services to get attention.  Just, add a special benefit to the ones you already have… maybe it’s quicker service.  The most effective things to emphasize are the benefits that your competition cannot or is not willing to give.

3.  Offer Your Way To Greater Profits

How many times have you began manhunting?  Sure, as a marketer you scrounge and search for brand new or ancient methods of drawing brand new faces to your place of business.  The fact of the matter is that you don’t have to find new customers for your sales to grow.

No, in fact, you can take the current business you have and send your profits to the moon with one easy technique… make an offer.

Greet every sale with an offer of an item that is related to the purchase.  The offered product doesn’t even have to be yours.  The Internet is wonderful for affiliate marketers who can make great profits selling the material of others.

Making your business grow doesn’t have to be a stressful, backbreaking or frantic process.  Simply implement these three strategies, and watch it bloom!

Like at all times, there are ups and there are downs.

Miss #1:  We Could Be Testing, Yeah!

Our laboratory is still open, and we came so close to being able to do some COVID testing. As I wrote last year, we planned on entering the field of molecular microbiology (MM), a relatively new technique to identify small amounts of bacteria in a patient sample. Instead of trying to grow bacteria in a petri dish as we do in traditional laboratory cultures, and then using a variety of observational and biochemical techniques to identify which bacteria are present, MM actually identifies the DNA present in a sample and compares it to a “hit list” of known bacteria. This technique is quicker and more sensitive than the current technique but not cheaper–2 out of 3 ain’t bad.

And guess what! MM can identify viruses too. In fact, the equipment we need to bring in for our new MM lab protocol is just the equipment that is used in COVID testing. If only we had obtained it a few months ago!

Sadly, the building process (new lease, budgeting, bidding, waiting for the former tenant to leave the space) took longer than expected, as it always does. Our build-out was completed today (hurray) but the testing instruments and training to use them are no longer available. I trust they are being used wisely at some other laboratory doing COVID testing, but we would have liked to have been able to provide this test for our patients who met testing criteria.

Miss #2: It’s a Puzzlement

After our flopped attempt at a YouTube masterpiece, Barb and I turned our attention to the 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle we had ordered to help fill stay-at-home days. It was a difficult puzzle, composed of pictures of classic postcards from around the country–you know, the “Greetings from Sunny California” type. Neither of us is a puzzle veteran, so we attacked the challenge systematically, first the outer frame, then the larger, most obvious colors and shapes. The finely detailed areas came last.

After 4 days and nights of squinting, comparing, and pressing things into place, we had a 99.9%  completed puzzle. Alas, the 1000th piece in the box was a duplicate of piece 999 and we were left with a giant hole in Fargo, North Dakota. Aside from Frances McDormand, I have never given much thought to  Fargo, North Dakota–but when this COVID thing is over, I want to go there and look for my missing piece.

The Haiku Hit

Earlier this month I posted a number of Haiku I had written about our COVID world, and the world seems to have appreciated them. The Haiku have been read in almost 40 countries, including Japan. I’d like to share some of the verses readers have sent in response.

From Dr. Andy Curtis in Canada:

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  Hi! I am Les, a practicing pathologist living in the North Suburbs and commuting every day to the Western ones. I have lived my entire life in the Chicago area, and have a pretty good feel for the place, its attractions, culture, restaurants and teams. My wife and I are empty-nesters with two adult children and a grandchild. We recently decided to downsize, but just a bit! I will be telling the story of the construction of our new home, but also writing about whatever gets me going on a particular day. Be sure to check out the “About” page to learn more about where we plan to go with this blog!

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  lesraff

  January 17, 2020 at 12:00 am

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Advertisement:

Make no mistake about it the world’s economies are in for a world of pain as mandatory social distancing measures cripple entire industries and their related supply chains. No one can say for sure how long it will last or how bad it might get, but it’s possible that the stock market has already priced in the lean times ahead.

For those believe the Dow Jones Industrial Average is predictive and anticipative of greater economic conditions, perhaps the worst is now behind us. Before a sizable pull back this past Friday, last week consisted of a three-day surge that saw the Dow post the largest rally since the Depression era. Monday closed 690 points above the previous trading day, and that put the index in the green four of the past five sessions. 

Maybe the resistance level has been found now amid the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic? There are certainly some favorable signs, starting with reaction to the U.S. government’s $2.2 trillion relief package. The bill is intended to help facilitate corporate hiring, consumer spending, small business loans and other basic building parts of the American ecnomic engine. The plan calls for $1,200 stimulus checks to reach every American in the middle and working classes within three weeks time, but with consumer sentiment falling to a multi-year low in March, there is only so much this monetary amount can do.

For most, this amount will be utilized to cover bills, not acquire any form of capital, but at it’s still better fiscal support than having no stimulus package at all. There are two other factors of greater consequence to the stock market than the stimulus package during the coronavirus inspired crisis.

The first is our global quest to flatten the curve, and not overwhelm the health care system. The second is the rate at which medical science progresses with containment tactics and a safe, widely available vaccine.

On the first point, we’ve seen that social distancing and stay-at-home orders (when adhered to) work. Italy, one of the world’s worst hot spots for the virus, reported 4,050 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, their lowest daily number since March 17. More importantly, their 5-day moving average is now starting to level out, and it looks like they might have passed their peak at this point.

The U.S. which leads the world in both number of people tested and number of cases, has consistently tracked behind Italy, just on a 10-15 day delay.

 In terms of the race for a vaccine, Monday saw news of the U.S. Government reaching a $450 million deal with Johnson and Johnson to get it on a faster track.

Johnson and Johnson claims human testing of its experimental would begin by September and that it could be available for emergency use by early 2021.

Finally, we’ve also seen a blue print for how to contain community spread of the disease. Look no further than Taiwan, where a blend of social collectivism and high-efficiency governing has resulted in an impressive level of containment. The measures implemented in this tiny island nation off the coast of China could be a window into what the new normal is for the rest of us.

The Dow closed at 18,591.93 on Monday March 23rd, a four year low. One week later, it was back up at 22,327.48. Perhaps it’s a false dawn? Or, it could be the opposite, a stock market rebound driven by the good news that’s out there?

Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No,  I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation. 

You can follow Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com on Twitter here and his cat on Instagram at this link.

Type your email address in the box and click the “create subscription” button. My list is completely spam free, and you can opt out at any time.

With COVID-19 changing the world as we know it into an invisible enemy, one of the hardest hit institutions is the American Theatre which has been completely shutdown until further notice.

If and when theaters will reopen and life will be back to normal, no one knows for sure.

As a member of American Theater Critics Association (ATCA) I am privy to coverage from other critics. Together their observations and reporting offer a microcosm of what’s happening to theatre in communities across America.

Some of the coverage offers signs of hope…others signs of despair. Together they paint a picture of how various communities are handling life when the theaters go dark.

VIRUS CRISIS COVERAGE
Here is a sampling of the coverage of the impact of the novel coronavirus pandemic on America’s theater community by members of ATCA.

• Lynn Felder – Local youth theater seeks players for online project
• Michael Grossberg contributed to Coronavirus: Arts groups losing money as central Ohio venues close
• Bill Hirschman – “I’m Still Here” SoFla Theaters Say, But What Will ‘Here’ Be?
• Harry Duke – Going Dark – How to support your local theater in a pandemic
• Tim Leininger interviewed Kristin Chenoweth whose concert at the University of Connecticut was cancelled due to the virus crisis
• Alan Smason – Reported on virus crisis developments on a YouTube program in New Orleans
• Kerry Reid and Karen Topham both covered Teenage Dick livestreaming – Kerry’s is here and Karen’s is here
• Lily Janiak  – Cal Shakes cancels entire 2020 season
• Jay Handelman published seven stories on the virus crisis in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune including Sarasota faces a temporary arts withdrawal
• Jonathan Mandell – World Theatre Day 2020: Celebrate Theater Without Theaters!
• David Siegel shared Deadline is Tuesday for COVID-19 Microgrants in DC

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By Laura Miller

If you’re anxious about surviving the global pandemic COVID-19, you’re not alone.

Coping with the anxiety associated with a global virus is completely out of most of our depth of understanding.

At the palm of our hands, we are receiving updated information of virus-related deaths and infected celebrities approximately every ten minutes. Quite frankly it’s frightening. For this reason, the reactive nature of what we are seeing on social media, in our grocery stores, and even with our loved ones, is something that we’ve never experienced in our lifetime.

As a harbinger of hope, I’ve contacted some experts who specialize in coaching their clients/patients through anxiety and depression in hopes that they can help us from screaming about the end of days all over social media. Here’s what they had to share. 

Devon Estes

Devon Estes, M.S., LPC or Licensed Professional Counselor:

• The key is to challenge our fears with the evidence.
• Follow the recommendations and guidelines of real sources like the CDC, WHO, and looking at the practices of other quarantined countries.
• Avoid memes and social media banter; it’s misleading and emotionally provoking either to over-respond or under-respond.
• Err on the side of caution within reason and don’t wait for someone to FORCE you to be cautious. One of the best anxiety management techniques is doing the thing that’s causing us stress.
• Shop for what you need for 2 weeks or so, devise a plan, create safer habits. Worst case scenario you are over-prepared, when has that ever been a bad thing? Once you have prepared, practice the DBT opposite action skill.
• Do things that produce emotions opposite of fear: Relaxing, calming, and joyful activities such as reading a book, working out, watching tv, playing games, crafting, cooking, etc. Social distancing doesn’t mean you have to become a recluse. Practice safe habits and do what you can while you can. One day at a time.

Baron Stewart

Baron Stewart, Mindfulness Meditation Coach: 

This is a time in everyone’s life where mindfulness can unbelievably be helpful.

With the rise of stress and anxiety in people across the world, having the ability to calm oneself down to a state of peace and tranquility is absolutely necessary. It all begins with taking a deep breath! Deep breathing can naturally transition the mind from an emotional state to a logical state of mind. By becoming conscious of each deep breath, we can become conscious of each thought. 

We can choose a new thought and feeling of our choosing! For example, someone  can substitute a feeling of “I’m scared” to “I’m thankful”. After each deep breath you would repeat in your mind, “ I’m thankful”, and with the power of repetition, you will change your thought process and bring yourself to peace. Let’s all come together and become mindful of our breathing and mindful of our power within! 

Many of us have survived things in our lives that within those moments we didn’t think we could recover from. Let this be one of those things that catapults you into a renewed understanding of self.  

We are keenly aware of the severity of this virus and as always please adhere to the health and safety guidelines precautions by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). 

Laura Miller

Laura Miller is a Freelance Writer, Event Coordinator, and Project Manager who has always used creative expression to promote joy and laughter in a world bogged down with serious people, and serious situations. She is a “dreamer and a planner,” and truly believes that without both, you should stay asleep. Follow her on Twitter at : @80sbaby_83.