Good evening my Corona friends and what a crazy day it is to be alive today. Today was one of the most exciting and promising days we have seen in a very long time.  SpaceX had a very successful launch and the two astronauts are on their way to the international space station. That is the good news. They got to blast off and leave this earth, as I would say they are the lucky ones.  I mean seriously after a weekend like we have been having all over this country who wouldn’t want to hitch a ride right out of this world? I have been getting warnings on my phone for the past hour about a curfew in Philadelphia and I can hear the sirens from my room.  This coming after we had a really nice day taking in the sounds and sights of South Philly for the day. The weather was perfect and I took Tilda on a stroll for an hour or two this morning, just cruising up and down the streets and looking for signs of vitality in the city. You have to dig deep but you can find it in the neighborhoods, with a lot of signs that people post in the windows, with messages of fighting the corona virus and some day we will all be back. What I am always very curious about when I walk these neighborhoods is the amount of wrought iron for people’s stoops or entry ways.  I swear there must have been a contract that people had to sign when they came to the neighborhood and they had to get their railings at one of just a few places. Some of these are pretty ornate, some simple. Occasionally they share between two houses but never anything but wrought iron. I did find one that appeared to be more of a chrome finish and I wonder how that one got through the committee that approves these railings. Although not as many but there are still a lot of these metal awnings and I am sure that supply is somehow related to the wrought iron dealer. It’s funny how it is really a street by street determination of what people can put on their sidewalk.  Some blocks have a lot of big pots full of leafy green plants to really give a garden feel.  They do take a lot of pride in planting some beautiful flowers. The next block can be barren and buttoned up and just begging for someone to pay them some attention. Something we have noticed from out last few visits on our walks is that there are a lot of independent or family owned businesses on every block. You really don’t see much in the way of a chain or national brand in South Philly. I am very worried about them making it through this crisis and I hope they have enough support in their community. What has grown tremendously in this neighborhood the past several years have been restaurants and they had become a dining destination. One of the best things I have loved about the dining scene is a lot of BYOB, which I don’t see a lot of in Boston, if any. Here in Philly it is much more common. I wouldn’t have to worry about those amateur pours when they reopen, as I would be pouring my own.  Tonight we were trying to order take out and we had been off our devices most of the day so unaware of what was happening in this fair city, and a lot were closing early as a concern for their safety.  Now it is just not covid but looting and rioting that can turn you inside out. I support the cause but please don’t take it out on innocent businesses.

Today I want to give a shout out to my second favorite nephew Mike JR.  Yes I have a lot of nephews but Michael is celebrating his Birthday and he is in the fifty something zone. I just want you all to know that I think I was just a wee one when he was born. I did do a lot of babysitting for him or he might say it was the opposite. He might imply that there were many times that he had to babysit Auntie Peggy but from the mouths of babes they can exaggerate. He is very lucky as he has two pretty cool kids in Delaney and Jackson, and his wife Jill, who apparently are able to go shopping today in North Carolina as they reopen with a lot of pent up demand. This guy travels a lot for his work and is often gone 25 days out of every month. I asked him today how he was handling it and if he was disturbing the routine of his family, and typical guy answer he said no not all. I am sure he is wonderful husband and Dad but like most men totally clueless. Happy Birthday…………..

Just sayin