Lostin76

Ha, yep that's the only burger place like that in Soho.

Bobe's takeout was the highlight of my week as a kid!

Ha, man Mr. Gattis is a blast from the past. Me and a friend used to destroy some pizza at that place after wrestling practice!

I like our local Neopolitan style the best, but REALLY love Detroit Style pizza like this. Reminds me of personal pan pizzas from back in the day, but less greasy. We have a standard rotation of about five or six pizza places in Brooklyn that we choose from. I also love a Sbarro slice when I'm traveling and nothing else is available. Lucali's is probably our favorite, but the lines are making it really tough to enjoy it. Also interesting history with the owner. https://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/mark-iacono-owner-renowned-brooklyn-pizzeria-lucali-stabbed-brazen-street-attack-article-1.114774 Definitely not a fan of Chicago-style pizza.

I'm not sure how much flatter you can make the curve than in NY. It's like textbook curve flattening up until now. Including IN cases as a marker. NY, unfortunately b/c of who we are and how many people travel here, got jacked by this before we even realized it was a thing. And then we had to shut everything down and listen to sirens 24/7 as the deaths piled up. Like you, I hope when this is all over that we still lead the pack in cases and deaths. We've had enough of both as a nation. We should be going back to work and school at this point, not rolling back reopenings b/c of surging cases (see Miami/Dade today).

Other countries have flattened it. We have not. This is a fact. We are losing the battle and most of our leadership has given up. I'm not sure why people are okay with that or feel the need to defend our horrible response to this, but I can't and won't. And yeah, no one wants to be NY, but there's no way around the reality that we were hit harder than anyone else, have had more loss, and have managed to come out on the other side of it. I'd feel much safer walking around NY right now over FL, TX, or AZ.

Sorry, didn't see your response. I always use this for counts. Which is another issue altogether, we are all using different sources! https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#countries

I think you are onto something - I'm afraid it's that American exceptionalism that's biting us in the a**. This thing can be beat, but it takes a united front. Our testing is not some shining beacon on the hill. Nothing about our response suggests that we can beat this. Although some states have had success (NY has flattened the hell out of the curve after being the epicenter. But that was not easy) And I don't see AZ, TX, of FL willing to do what NY did to turn it around.

We've finally starting emerging from our Corona-cocoon and venturing here to the Eastern Shore of Maryland, where we normally spend a good chunk of our summers (here for about a week on this trip). I've been impressed for the most part when out and about. People that live here are wearing masks - tourists out on the main drag are clueless. We went to the Farmer's Market on Sat. morning and everything was nicely marked for social distance and everyone was wearing a mask. It felt like a good example of a small town (St. Michaels, MD) trying to do what's best to protect each other. Lots of retirees here. When you go out on the main drag though, the tourists are not wearing masks at all. Not sure where they are coming from, but the sidewalks are very narrow and it just looks they have decided "Welp, we are on vacation, so we will do what we want." They are *carrying* masks, b/c stores are not allowing people in w/o masks. They slip them on to enter stores, which is something I guess. I've went into Harris Teeter once to get food/beer and it was fine. Kind of weird, b/c we are not used to driving places, parking, and then going in. But everyone was wearing masks - employees and customers. I felt safe and it felt like a semblance of life (and jobs) was returning. I've been hopeful watching the death rate, but also realizing there is a typical lag and it could start creeping up. The positive case rate is alarming. There is no way around that. Hoping that mid-late July isn't a disaster, but also know that it might be. The thing that I still can't get over is just how badly we are screwing this up as a country. It's maddening that we are months into this and STILL have such an out-sized number of positive cases and deaths. We represent 4.25% of the worlds population, yet we have almost 26% of the world's positive cases and almost 25% of the world's deaths. Oh, and that's not just b/c we test more. We are 25th in testing per 1M people. Does this not really get in people's craw?? Aren't we supposed to be better than this? I honestly feel like a large part of our governing body has just given up trying to fight it and hoping that we as a nation just become numb to the ever-spiraling caseloads.

That's July for you - usually good growth for tomatoes and peppers!

<sarcasm>But, but my liberty and freedom!</sarcasm>

No weeds and critters are a blessing up here for sure. Though I have had an infestation of cutworms on our petunias. Started noticing holes in the blooms and realized that we had some visitors. Have been picking them off each evening at dusk and I *think* they are all gone now. We do get a lot of bees and butterflies up here though, so that's nice. Re: your OCD, I'll post another pic when the sweet potato vines start taking over the joint! 😂

Thank you. We sit out there every morning for coffee and paper and every evening to wind down with a drink or two. It's really saved us having the outdoor space - this year especially. In the glass is some box rose - popular choice here in the spring/summer. In the dead of winter when it's 20 degrees out and sunny, we've been known to hang out there in the afternoon b/c it gets so warm. Somewhere I have a photo of my wife in shorts and t-shirt sipping a drink on the terrace with a little pile of snow at her feet.

One of the baddest drummers of all time - Elvin Jones.

Starting to fill in here on the magical south-facing terrace. I like barely controlled chaos with planting and by the end of the summer, I'm happy when there is barely a path through the terrace. Tomato Alley usually gets pretty unmanageable by early August. It's the end with our large dining table next to the grill. Cactus corner is usually pretty chill, but our large column cacti have been moved to the other end behind the wicker couch. They are growing pretty tall. Our space here in Brooklyn is nothing compared to what you guys are used to, but we make the most of this 35'x5' outdoor space!

July is when they really start coming on strong. The long, hot days make them go crazy. We are leaving for about a week starting tomorrow and I'm kind of sad to be away fro our plants. Luckily, we have neighbors that will water them for us.

My wife caught me one year using an old battery-powered toothbrush on my tomato plant flowers to "manually pollinate" them. She love to tell that story - depending on the company I usually respond with "Well, at least I wasn't using a vibrator on them." I do think it helps to give them a little shake sometimes when you walk by and most likely the action of the wind is enough action to pollinate them. Great early haul!

We haven't rally had any storms lately, so I've been watering my tomatoes daily. Tomatoes in containers need more water than those in the ground. Have been hoping for some rainy days - though not plant damaging ones like you guys are seeing! I did notice a few days ago that some of our cherry tomatoes are starting to turn colors. Behold the color red for the first time this season!

If I remember correctly, they live in Washington Heights? It is getting to be a bit of a pressure cooker, and I feel a bit nervous about the summer. Between COVID, almost non-stop protests, riots in Manhattan, stores and restaurants closing left and right, and now nightly professional- level fireworks from 8-3am, people have definitely been more on edge. I love fireworks, but they have been VERY intense. They've closed a lot of streets down to allow people a bit more room to get out of their cramped houses, but motorists just move the barricades and barrel down the street anyway. Lovely for the kids trying to play in the street. We've been walking a lot to alleviate some of that, but even that can put you on edge. Some blocks are great and others you are forced to walk by people on the sidewalk not wearing masks. The NYPD, pretty much useless even in normal times, are pouting maskless outside of their precincts (and behind barricades) and letting the fireworks fly. The mayor has finally turned his attention to it, but he's inept and hated as well. Thankfully, people are mostly being kind to each other and supportive of their neighbors. I feel like that's the big silver lining. It's weird, b/c so many people had started returning and now they are leaving again. I don't blame them. Glad your cousin was able to get some downtime. A walk on the Monon can do wonders!

Each time my wife and I venture out for an extended stroll here, she always turns to me at one point or other and says, "We are doomed." We are a combo of 1 and 2. Definitely no visitors seeing others, but we are venturing out for small errands (or picking up to go cocktails), but always masked.

Ha, nope. Not even here in NYC. It feels like between 60-70% here.

I remember that saying! Also remember detassling corn in the summer and happy to never have to do that again.

I remember that you have two doxies. I know you already do, but cherish those little pups. We have admitted to ourselves that a silver lining of the lockdown is that we got to spend a lot more time with her - like all the time. Our other dachshund, Chloe, is finally acting normal after losing her pal. At first she seemed confused and mopey, but now she's soaking up all the extra love. Oooh boy, yes. That poem is a tough read, but makes one hopeful. I would give anything for it to be true. We had Greta cremated too and know it's going to be tough when we get her ashes. Sorry about your kitty - it's crazy how much they can mean to us.

Not sure what it was, I rarely get sick like that. I think maybe not eating might have had something to do with it. Hadn't eaten that day or the night before. Also, we were so worried that we couldn't be there with her when she passed b/c of COVID precautions. Thankfully, we were able to be with her as she passed in our laps. Probably just an emotional day - she had kind of become our purpose during all of the crap going on in the world. Thank you, she was such a great pup. Larger than life for such a little dachshund. It's been a week today, so slowly recovering.

Thanks, man. Even though we know going into it that their lives are so short, it's never enough time with them. Greta was such a little comeback kid, they gave us 6 months and she made it another 17 months.