Hello again. These past two weeks I found it impossible to function normally beyond taking care of myself. As the number of cases and deaths from the virus continued to increase exponentially around the globe, I found myself sucked into my internal world, and unmotivated to dig up my creative energies. I was doing everything I could to simply survive both physically and mentally. Lots of long walks, sitting in my swinging chair, reading books, doing puzzles, and staring out the window.I felt partially paralyzed by the individuals in our country who feel the need to sacrifice people for the sake of saving the economy. The virus is still here. It has not gone anywhere. It will continue to be here until the day a vaccination is available. This is not the time to open the floodgates without a solid plan in place that continues to keep people safe. I am hearing arguments, especially from the small group of extremists here in our state, that the stay-at-home orders are unconstitutional and impeding our rights as citizens to do what we want. That argument is a self-focused, piece of horse shit. These same people are arguing they have the right to hold church services and are actually going against the orders and doing so, while most likely exposing themselves and everyone else they come into contact with at the grocery store, etc. to the virus. How in the Hell is that a Christian thing to do? The last time I read the Bible, there was a whole lot of talk in there about putting others first before ourselves.As I record this, there are 2,451,879 cases of Covid-19 in the world and 168,371 deaths. In the U.S. alone there are 771,197 cases and 41,356 deaths and rising as of this moment in time. A few states have begun to flatten the curve, but, there are many other states in the nation who have not yet come close to the plateau, their cases and deaths are still rising. There is no magic light switch that we can turn off that will make it okay for all the businesses in our country to open back up, and for things to go back to normal. Our way of being has changed, and will continue to be radically different after this virus finally subsides.The best we can do for everyone on this planet is to stay home, stay safe, and listen to what the medical experts tell us. That is how we will save lives.For this episode, I decided to share one of my essays from my upcoming book “Walking on the Edge of Crazy”. This essay is titled “Life is a Laundromat”.Life is a Laundromat, filled with the slightly soiled, the filthy and the clean.  Somewhere between the empty boxes of Tide, the agitation, spin cycle, and the cold rinse sit the meaningful revelations of life. Some of my deepest visions of clarity have arrived while sitting on the edge of a deluxe Speed Queen three cycle washer as I wait for the grime from my life to come clean.  As the washer slops its load below me I harbor thoughts of self-proclaimed brilliance while lost somewhere in the depths of my mind.  I solve the issues of my own existence when I fold a few pairs of bleached white socks and place them back inside the laundry basket.I have sordid memories of Laundromats past. As a child I was convinced the Great Oz himself sat crouched behind the door of the utility closet as I dangled my skinny legs off the edge of a washing machine. Each Sunday I popped open a twenty-five cent can of vending machine soda, the bright orange kind that stained the teeth and tongue with its toxic dyes. I watched black and white movies on the television set that hung from the ceiling as my mother did her best to wash the soil from our lives.Inevitably the man I called Oz would appear. He had a jangle of keys that hung from a long chain clipped to his belt loop as he refilled the soda and detergent dispensaries. I would peer at him from around the edge of a row of the churning white machines with the hope he would drop a quarter or two as he collected the change. We never had much money so finding a loose bit of ...