PATRICK MCVAY

WRITER

My Musings

This text is currently hidden by a css change. Alow's me to go directly to the category description because it is editable in the front end,

All Quiet On The Western Front

Back in the old days (like, 2 years ago), I could conduct a team meeting and be completely certain that no one was listening to me. They'd be talking amongst themselves, surreptitiously passing love notes to one another, launching spitballs at the crown of my head when I would look down at my notes, and so forth. This would leave me with no choice but to clear my throat and bang my gavel, shouting, "there will be order in this meeting room!"

Now, with only the sounds of Jeb from communications munching on potato chips and Gail from finance trying but failing to squelch nervous laughter, I'd return to the topic of whether the annual employee summer outing should be held at a newly established ax-throwing pavilion, or instead at a beer garden. Or both (ax throwing first, needless to say).

But now, over Zoom, I get silence, even though there is collectively more noise surrounding my team members than ever: dogs are barking, kids are screaming, spouses are running the blender in the next room over to make smoothies. I hear none of it because everyone's audio is muted. Which means I also get zero reaction to anything I say. "Any questions? Thoughts? Opinions? How are things going? Does the lack of any discernable reaction indicate that everyone's doing OK? Is that a yes? Would you please raise your hand to indicate that you're alive?"

Hands go up. People are still alive, if maybe not entirely well. 

Continue reading
  1547 Hits

 

 

J'Biden Era Haikuage

 

People's Arms. That's right!

200 million shots

In 100 days

 

We are good people

But we still have far to go

Repair. Restore. Heal.

 

There's nothing new here

The Affordable Care Act

We're restoring it 

 

America's Day

Democracy is fragile

The world is watching 

 

Strategy is based

On Science, not politics

Truth, not denial

 

 

Subscribe To The Blog

Produce This Audio Play!

Ever wanted to produce a radio play?  Think you have the mettle?  Read on!

Tag Cloud

Knots Football Reveillon Car Dealerships Coyotes Snow Guns Audio 1980s War and Peace Allergies Canadiana Beer My grandparents town square Zoom punk music Mustard Ticketmaster Tom Waits Syracuse gathering throngs Joan Jett baseball the sea Wind Higher Education Hand Planes Good Reads Skiing Imaginings Bodysurfing NFL Plastic Hot Air Balloon Things I've done My Parents Cars Existential Crisis Advertising Email Royal Stuff Soup Accounting Spice Girls Mom and Dad Vaccines COVID The Past Bob Dylan Stairs Bicycles Belgian Ales My Estate Cats Weather Boston Diseases Climate Change Politics As Usual My sisters Canada Halloween Scotch and Sirloin Marketing Gimmicks Bikes Communication Channels Chowder Vaughn Butterfingers Art Bands I haven't seen US Senate Brain Surgery Bunker Reese's Peanut Butter Cups Them Kids midwinter vacations Golf soapbox rantings Religion The Future Folk Music Music Sports NPR coronavirus Roommates I've Had When I die Ukraine Pats The future The Old Days cornhole Earth Biden Eating and Drinking Big Shoes technology Motorists New England Mass General Hospital Rabbit Hole Hawaii curling shoes Barber Shops Ketchup tambourrine Red Sox TV Me Grass Skiing Candy First World Problems Bill Monroe China COVID-19 Food Soviet Union Hache Verde BB King plan mid-winter vacations Peacekeeping Soul Coughing Guns and Ammo Stories I should write Head injuries vacation acerbic high school principal nukes Hurricanes Theater Elvis Presley Putin Spoon the band Liz Phair Work People I know high winds Mike Doughty Bands I've seen afterlife Martinis Trump the future seasons Quebect Ice Dancing Soccer Eclipse Texting Godfather Dad advice Audubon Bar Drumming Europe Skating Yeast Cornhole star Christmas Rock Bands Bands I've Seen weather Sugarbush Fiction