In the morning walk along the lakefront to Northpoint. Toss a bag of cheetos on the ground near a bunch of geese. They like cheetos. They run up to me and gobble each piece down. In the afternoon walk around downtown.
Quiet Saturday in downtown Milwaukee
In the morning go to the office. Work on setting up new files and figuring out my calendar for next week. Begin outlining my book in the Scrivener App. Write out short sentences that summarize the ideas for the book. At night walk around downtown. It is mostly empty. A few people on the streets. Nothing is open. It is a quiet Saturday in downtown Milwaukee.
The coronavirus is changing fortunes
Go to the courthouse again. The case I have been dealing with all week is getting put over again. Way out into June. Argue bail again. Granted. Under normal circumstances the client would be on a bus going up north to prison by now but instead he is going home to his family. The coronavirus is changing fortunes. At night walk along Oak Leaf Trail to Locust Street. Walk down Oakland Avenue then down Farwell Avenue and up Brady Street. Talk to my dad on the phone for an hour. Go to bed early.
Warning signs are everywhere
Go to the courthouse. It is mostly empty. Offices are closed up. Court forms are sitting on tables outside waiting for no one to pick up. Those ominous warning signs are posted everywhere. My sentencing hearing is delayed again. Argue forcefully for a bail reduction for my client. Case set over for tomorrow. In the afternoon go to the optometrist for an eye examination. My eyesight has slightly improved. My new contact lens prescription is less powerful than what I have been using the past two years. At night walk along the lakefront to Northpoint. Walk down Farwell Avenue and up Brady Street.
Omega Man
In the morning go to the jail for some consultations. The consultations are held in the non-contact booth. There is glass between me and the client. Walk around the courthouse. It is mostly abandoned. My sentencing hearing is put over to tommorrow. At night walk along the lakefront to Northpoint. Walk down Farwell Avenue. Everything is closed. Feel like the Omega Man.
Closed
In the morning go to the office. Call into the court to reschedule my hearings. E-mail back and forth with other courts. Things are being pushed out into April and May. In the afternoon walk along the lakefront to Northpoint. Walk down Farwell Avenue then up Brady Street. All the restaurants and bars along they way are closed. Get a notice from Orange Theory that they are closing up too.
Empty shelves
In the morning go to the office. Work on a few things. In the afternoon drive to Racine. Go to court for a status hearing. Drive to Sam’s Club. Get more Diet Coke. Many shelves are empty and others half full. There has been alot of panic buying. Go home and watch a documentary on Linda Ronstadt. Go to Orange Theory. The class is half empty. My heart races into the red zone and stays there for most of the class.
The universe is saying hello again
Sleep in late. Very nice. In the late morning, walk along the lakefront to North Point. On the way down North Avenue see the lady walking on the other side of the street. Run across North Avenue. Give her money. The universe is saying hello again. Walk down Farwell Avenue. Walk up Brady Street. Walk back downtown. In the afternoon, walk south through Bay View and down to Oklahoma Avenue.
Driftwood
Gray and cold day. In the morning, go to the Fish Factory to get a driftwood piece with some fern moss growing on it. Go back home and do a water change in the fish tank. Place the driftwood into the tank. The fish start picking at it immediately. They are going to strip the moss from the new driftwood I got for them, no doubt about it. In the afternoon, walk up the Oak Leaf trail to North Avenue. Around sunset walk south on First Street to Washington Avenue. A little bit down today.
Toilet paper aisle
In the morning drive to Valvoline to get a vehicle emmissions test. They tell me they don’t do that on Friday. Go somewhere else. Get the emissions test and pick up new registration sticker for my back plate. I have been driving around all year on expired plates. Drive out to Sam’s Club. Long lines and panicked buying everywhere. Load up on Diet Coke and water. Stop at Pick N’ Save. The toilet paper aisle is completely empty. I laugh out loud at the scene. Other people seem unnerved by my nihilistic sense of humor. A national emergency is declared. In the late afternoon walk along the Oak Leaf trial out to Capitol Drive. Stop at Culver’s for a cheesebuger and strawberry malt. Life at Culver’s seems to be going on normally.