My friends, we are into it now. I say this because, as notable as our response to the pandemic has been -- as much as it has allowed a recent loosening of restrictions in this province -- the plague still rages around us.
Now the hard days of frozen February — bad enough that even during the “good” years I just sit inside and sulk -- have begun. With no escape to warmer faraway climes possible, it will take firm resolve to weather the days ahead.
Fortunately, the human survival instinct is strong.
I was reminded of this the other day while reading a New Yorker article about the spike in traffic on Random Street View, a website that sends anyone who clicks on it to locations in the 10-million miles of the planet’s roads that have been captured on Google Street View. The piece goes on to talk about how a bunch of sites, which make virtual travel possible, have gone through a “pandemic-induced phase of popularity, as people stuck in their homes post pictures of their pseudo-destinations to social media with a sense of longing or irony.”
Admirably creative, I thought, but also a little sad, don’t you think? There must be more authentic ways to get through this than mooning about Ubud, Bali, while ogling Instagram.
We, luckily, live in Halifax. As of Friday, a person can walk past the central library where a new eight-foot pink heart will glow into the night, Hospice Halifax’s valentine “to evoke warmth and lightheartedness in Haligonians during the coldest days of the year.”
That will help.
When I asked around, I discovered there are other ways to get through the frigid days and nights without ever leaving home, challenging the liver or play havoc with the little grey cells.
Chef Ray Bear, who now operates a farm on the Bay of Fundy, says that when the weather and news is bleak and he needs to sit down to a meal that warms his stomach and soul he turns to something “comforting and local” that “not only makes me feel good to make it but brings me back to my grandfather,” an Acadian from Nova Scotia.
That means seafood chowder. His is dill-forward, a little creamier than some — “no tomatoes,” he says — always with plenty of scallops. As an accompaniment he can think of none better than his grandfather’s tea biscuits.
When I connected with Carsten Knox, the Halifax cineaste, blogger and programmer at Carbon Arc Cinema about what to watch during these hard days he replied, “When I need an escape from the winter blahs I will choose movies for their travelogue possibilities. I want sun and glamour and beautiful people.”
His list:
* Palm Springs (2020) on Amazon Prime: “A clever twist on Groundhog Day, this film was one of last year's unmitigated joys.”
* A Bigger Splash (2016) on Tubi/VOD: “Luca Guadagnino's tale of aging rock stars and their lovers on a Mediterranean island, starring Ralph Fiennes and Tilda Swinton.”
* The Fifth Element (1997) on Netflix: “A candy-coloured science fiction romp that never ceases to amuse and amaze.”
Tequila Sunrise (1988) on VOD: “Your mileage may vary around Mel Gibson, but back in the 1980s he made this stylish California thriller with Michelle Pfeiffer and Kurt Russell that casts a spell.”
Charade (1963) on Amazon Prime/Hoopla: “Paris rarely looks as divine as it does in Stanley Donen's picture. That's also true about Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant.”
When I asked SaltWire’s own Stephen Cooke for the names of a few life-affirming recordings to keep a person’s spirits from sagging, he emailed back so quickly that I thought my message had bounced.
* Joni Mitchell – Blue: “I could have gone with any number of Joni Mitchell records, when pressed for a favourite I might pick her 1970s world beat and jazz explorations like The Hissing of Summer Lawns or Hejira, but when seeking an emotional boost, Blue remains a flat-out masterpiece that still sends chills down the spine and pumps blood 'like holy wine' to the heart. Right out of the gate on All I Want, this deft folk deity proclaims, 'Life is our cause' as she takes us on a quest for love, friendship, good company and a world of possibilities."
* Prince - Sign o' the Times: “Not the Purple One's biggest success, or most representative work, but a record that reminds us that love takes many forms while remaining cognizant of the fact there's a big world around us that we need to remain aware of. And of course it's endlessly funky, which is always a plus.”
* Old Man Luedecke - Proof of Love: “If you only listen to one album this Valentine's Day weekend, it should be Old Man Luedecke's Proof of Love. Dedicated to his wife, the talented ceramicist Teresa Bergen, the record is a heartfelt ode to leaping into affairs of the heart with both feet and picking yourself up after life's troubles throw you for a loop. And what could be more life-affirming than a Big Group Breakfast, a hearty anthem for the most important meal of the day.”
* The Kinks - The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society: “A record that is not only my favourite record of all time, it encapsulates a place I can return to time and again with a mix of childhood wonder and rose-coloured glasses sporting cracked lenses. Achingly nostalgic, but with the knowledge that people, and times change, and we must brace ourselves for what comes next.”
My colleague added that part of him “refuses to believe that You Were Here by Kingston songwriter extraordinaire Sarah Harmer turned 20 last year, but the time melts away when I listen to her warm blanket of a voice sing of hiding out and looking for hope around the next corner. If I just need a quick hit of calming Lodestar's tale of a starlit canoe ride is the perfect balm, driven by Harmer's sense of wonder and the gorgeous cello of Nova Scotia's Kevin Fox.”
He also said that if a person needs just one jazz album in their library it should probably be Charles Mingus's Ah Um. “Essentially a love letter to the joy of making music, it blasts you with light while swinging like hell on Better Git It In Your Soul and offers a tip of the pork pie hat to the bassist/composer's musical forebears on Open Letter to Duke (Ellington) and Jelly Roll (Morton). It's all contained here, waiting to carry you away.”
The right book, of course, can do the same thing, says Asa Kachan, chief librarian and CEO of Halifax Public Libraries, who provided her own top picks for the kind of escapist fiction to “push back the COVID winter blues.”
* Anxious People by Frederik Bachman. “This novel has all the hallmarks of a great Frederik Bachman book - unexpected connections and friendships, funny, poignant, and a perfect touch of silliness.”
* Crow by Amy Spurway. “A heartwarming, energetic, Atlantic Canadian novel about family and finding oneself, Crow is perfect escapist fiction for those who wish they could go home again.”
* A Good Marriage by Kimberly McCreight. “A combination of legal and domestic thriller, A Good Marriage is a compelling, suspenseful story about the lengths that couples will go to stay together and the secrets they keep.”
* The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi. “Escape to 1950s Jaipur with Lakshmi. Together you’ll transcend her abusive marriage, become a sought-after henna artist, a confidant to wealthy women who love to gossip. That is, until the arrival of her sister.”
* The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles. “In this historical fiction novel, a young librarian is working at the American Library in Paris in 1939. When war breaks out, she joins the resistance with her fellow Librarians.”
I like the sound of all of these, just as I am hopeful that Knox’s movies, Cooke’s recordings, and Bear’s chowder will see me through to the other side.
It’s a hard, cold world out there. We need every bit of help we can get.
