TODAY IS MY FATHER'S NINTIETH BIRTHDAY...

...Or would have been if he were still alive.

My mother comments on how the family would have held a big party this weekend. But the earth is in the midst of a pandemic!

I've been thinking recently of my actions should I ever reach the proverbial pinnacle of my life.

Shades of Bilbo Baggins' one hundred eleventh birthday party:

Thirdly and finally, he said, I wish to make an ANNOUNCEMENT. He spoke this last word so loudly and suddenly that everyone sat up who still could. I regret to announce that — though, as I said, eleventy-one years is far too short a time to spend among you — this is the END. I am going. I am leaving NOW. GOOD-BYE!

And with that Baggins touched the "Precious" ring in his pocket and subsequently disappeared from view!

He stepped down and vanished. There was a blinding flash of light, and the guests all blinked. When they opened their eyes Bilbo was nowhere to be seen....

[Bilbo] was never seen by any hobbit in Hobbiton again.

Hmm..that's not how my father ended his existence. He died in his bed at age fifty-eight; the cause of death was complications of carcinoma (cancer) of the sigmoid colon.

HOW I AM SURVIVING THIS PANDEMIC

I am maintaining a continual log of tasks. This involves constantly updating my daily to do list.

I am completing my exercise workouts in my home via my android tablet and some recently acquired equipment.

I have completed several meetup walks. These involve maximum groups of ten, six feet social distancing, and the use of a face covering.

I am downloading books and finding worthwhile history programs on the television.

I am keeping my bed made, my house tidy, and I have now committed to a three month professional cleaning schedule.

I am eating healthy every day: fruit, vegetables and dairy products.

I am committed to controlling my drinking. This is probably the largest challenge I face. I recently read in the news that liquor sales have increased forty percent since the beginning of this situation; I am somewhat surprised it isn't more!

I am taking each day as it comes. I can project and plan two days ahead but that is as far as my task list goes. BTW I keep a longer term list of appointments etc. on the face of my kitchen calendar.

I am trying to subdue thoughts that the entire summer 2020 will be shot to excrement or that the way of life I have always known will be forever doomed.