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
  1378 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

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