Jeskai Fires and Temur Reclamation continue to dominate the Magic: The Gathering Standard meta.

Several changes have been made to the MTG esports schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But online events are still taking place, with a total of 20 MTG Arena players qualifying for Mythic Invitational during the MTGA qualifiers this past weekend.

The list of winners includes two well-known Magic players: Ronald PrediMTGMller and Mike Siggy Sigrist.

Both players won their 10 matches with Jeskai Fires, a deck that continues to dominate the Standard meta. Temur Reclamation also performed well at the MTG Arena Invitational qualifiers this past weekend.

Those who qualified for a Mythic Invitational seat will compete during the October tournament due to schedule changes made because of the coronavirus pandemic. Players wouldve earned a seat at the July Core Set 2021 Mythic Invitational, but thats been pushed back to the October Zendikar Rising Arena Mythic Invitational.

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Here are the MTG Arena Invitational Qualifier winners and decks - Dot Esports

Captain Sandy Yawn from Below Deck Mediterranean acknowledges that stressful situations like the coronavirus pandemic can be especially triggering for people in recovery from addiction.

Yawn posted a video on Instagram where she reached out to those who may be struggling right now. I just want to share with a lot of you, who have stopped drinking. If youre struggling theres meetings you can go to online, she said.

Theres a link on myFacebook page, she said. I struggle too. It certainly crossed my mind. This is so stressful. In my lifetime, I have never experienced anything like this. I keep trying to find the positive. I cant turn the news on anymore. Oh my gosh, youd think its Armageddon.

If youre struggling and you need some support, Ill leave you a message, she added. Yawn said people could send her a direct message but asked them to be patient as she might not be able to respond immediately.

Yawn said people in recovery are especially vulnerable during a pandemic or other highly stressful situation. Obviously, its in you, Yawn told Showbiz Cheat Sheet. What do people do when its stressful? A lot of people take a drink. So many people relax by drinking a glass of wine or here in Denver smoking pot or having some edibles, right?

I dont have that luxury, she continued. Because I have it in my genes. Im an addict, an alcoholic. I have to exercise, go to meetings. And know that this will pass. This too shall pass. Thats what I keep saying to myself. I call my sponsor, I stay engaged with people in recovery. And its hard, its a struggle.

She disclosed that even though shes been in recovery for decades, she still thinks about drinking.

The other day, it crossed my mind, she shared. Im not kidding you. When theres nothing else to do I said to Leah [Shafer], You know what I would do today? Id be in a bar, playing pool, listening to the jukebox, getting smashed. Hammered. If there was a problem, I would drink. Its like you go in to fix it [with drugs or alcohol] but you come out and the problem is still there.

Yawn knows that many people are self-medicating during the pandemic. I just want to say, you dont have to [self-medicate with drugs and alcohol]. Instead, do the things that youve always wanted to learn, she suggested. Like, I want to learn to play the piano. Leah bought me this keyboard and Ive been playing that.

And between doing my taxes and the social media, just ramp it up because I want to be there for the people who obviously watch our show. I had thousands of messages. I cant keep up.

I just want people to know they are not alone, she added. Im not an introvert, Im an extrovert. So its hard for me to not be around people. Which makes it even harder.

Yawn suggests that attending an online meeting, or even a meeting in person where they are practicing social distancing, can help. Alcoholics Anonymous has a meeting locator guide here. They also have 24-hour meetings at the clubhouses and dont close, she adds. You can go online, its 24/7.

Yawn is also a big believer in exercise. She acknowledges that a number of gyms are closed but says there are ways to still work out. My friend Randi posted the quarantine workout sheet! So yeah, you can go online and print anything. Do push-ups. I do the burpees and lunges and situps. Another option is to check out an online streaming fitness platform likeNEOU. The fitness app features Andy Cohens trainer and many more.

Finally, Yawn had a message about fear. I decide how I think, she said. It isnt a force in my mind. If I read something or hear something, I decide. Its up to me. I choose to live in faith and not fear.

How to get help: In the U.S., contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration helpline at 1-800-662-4357.

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'Below Deck Med': Captain Sandy Reaches Out to Those Struggling With Their Sobriety During the Pandemic - Showbiz Cheat Sheet

Even though we know that reality TV isnt everything, but this Coronavirus has had an effect on some of our favorite shows. Watch What Happens Live suspended production and the Real Housewives of Atlanta Season 12 reunion has been postponed.

Now, theres word that the next Below Deck season has been cut short as a precautionary measure. Obviously, this was the best call. The safety of the cast, crew, and guests is extremely important.

Page Sixconfirmed that filming for the next Below Deck season has been cut short. Apparently, the cast was shooting in the Caribbean before they decided to shut down.

However, there is some good news as far as the fans are concerned. They managed film most of the season. There were only a few episodes missing before everyone headed home. That probably means that we are still going to see those episodes. If the show stopped filming much earlier, that might not be the case.

A source toldPage Six, Theyre wrapping early and flying everyone home. There were a few more [yacht] charters that they were supposed to film that it doesnt appear that theyll get to. Overall, this is for the best, obviously. Safety is of top importance.

That same source said the season should be minimally affected by this.

Of course, none of this has been confirmed from the network or any named sources because we dont even know whos in the cast for next season. It is safe to assume that Captain Lee Rosbach is back at the helm. But, other than that, its anyones guess, especially since Kate Chastain retired from the Below Deckfranchise.

Hopefully, everyone was able to safely travel home. Hopefully, they are all taking care of themselves and staying healthy.

Reality Tea recommends that all readers comply withCDC guidelinesand remain as isolated as possible during this urgent time. Visit the Centers for Disease Control atCDC.govor the World Health Organization atWho.intfor the latest information on the coronavirus and learn what you can do to stop the spread.

TELL US- WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT BELOW DECK SHUTTING DOWN PRODUCTION BEFORE THE END OF THE SEASON?

[Photo Credit: Bravo]

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Below Deck Season 8 Wrapped Filming Early Because Of Coronavirus - Reality Tea

Georgia Grobler from Below Deck Sailing Yacht seems to finally be hitting her stride. She struggled during the first few charters, being brought to tears at one point after feeling diminished by chef Adam Glick.

Grobler also had a strained relationship with chief stew Jenna MacGillivray. She confided in MacGillivray about Glick but became exasperated with MacGillivray when she broke her confidence. MacGillivray told Glick that Grobler was struggling to help, but it seemed to do more damage to their relationship.

Although they got off to a rocky start, Grobler seems to be more confident and happier in her job. But what does she think about MacGillivray? Plus, what did MacGillivray tell Showbiz Cheat Sheet about why she laughed when Grobler was crying?

Despite the tension, Grobler said she has respect for MacGillivray. I still have a respect for Jenna, I mean, I even have respect for Adam, Grobler told Decider. Youre my bosses, you can do whatever you want and say whatever you want, that is the nature of the business. Im a third stew, Im literally at the bottom of the hierarchy, so its cool.

Grobler also likes MacGillivray socially. Jenna in a different context, when you take out the boss element or you take out the Adam/Jenna gossip circle thing, when you take all of that out, I like Jenna, she shared. She and I chat a hell of a lot. Social medias laid into Jenna recently and Im one of the people that if I wanted to I could be all whiney about mine and Jennas dynamic but I feel sorry for the way people are attacking her because shes a strong cup of tea.

But what about when MacGillivray wanted to give Grobler a hug when she was crying? UmIve got physical boundaries and Ive got very serious physical trust. I really have to trust you. We have to be close for us to hug or do this and that, she shared about why she rejected a hug from MacGillivray.

MacGillivray also has compassion for Grobler and likes her. I have empathy for Georgia, she told Showbiz Cheat Sheet. And, you know, being new and not having worked for somebody, and that was really difficult. Honestly, Georgia, one on one was really cool we had some really good conversations. And shed be somebody who I would totally go out with and have fun with and enjoy.

She added that she typically has time to train green stews, but that wasnt in the cards this season. When I hire students, I typically have a couple of months to prepare them for charter, she said. I feel [badly] for green stews to come into something like that and dont know whats going on or what to expect. Thats super hard, I totally get that.

MacGillivray also clarified what happened when she was caught laughing while Grobler was in tears. I never laughed at Georgia crying. In that moment I did laugh. I did. But I was laughing at the absurdity of it. Like if you asked your kid to clean up his room and he was like, No! and started crying. Its like, Oh my God, I made him cry! It was like that. It wasnt like I was like, F**k her. I was never my intent.

Below Deck Sailing Yachtairs Mondays at 9/8c on Bravo.

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Years before he journeyed to "The Twilight Zone," Rod Serling made a brief detour to the strike zone.

To many, he's the foreboding figure in black and white who gave the world the heebie-jeebies with those bizarre, mind-bending tales of cannibal aliens, talking dolls and phone calls from the grave.

Smoldering cigarette in hand, he unleashed macabre mayhem in a classic TV show that resonates decades later in endless reruns.

"That's how a lot of people pictured Dad," daughter Anne Serling said.

But, there was another dimension to Rod Serling: His love of baseball.

And Serling aficionados and sports fans will soon get a chance to experience it. Think there's no baseball on the radio? Think again.

"O'Toole From Moscow," a long-lost comedy Serling wrote about the national pastime, is on deck.

It's a screwball romp, with a side of whimsy: At the height of the Cold War in the 1950s, a Soviet Embassy worker fritters away time rooting for the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field, then skips town with a comrade who suddenly becomes the greatest slugger ever for the Cincinnati Reds.

Serling's 1955 script, which was performed only once, is being brought to life in Cincinnati. A public radio station there will air it March 25, which originally was the eve of the opening day matchup between the host Reds and the St. Louis Cardinals, before the coronavirus prompted MLB postponements.

"Kind of a gift from my dad back in time," Anne said. "There is a magical quality to it, isn't there?"

"It's his voice," she said from her home in Ithaca, New York. "I could so much imagine my dad writing this."

Easily, in fact.

"There's a line in there: 'Give me a stick and I'll beat it to death.' That's an expression he used all the time," she said. "There's so much of my dad in this. I can envision his words throughout this."

Hers, too. Anne is the narrator and introduces the program, as the stage directions called for, in clipped Rod Serling style.

The hour-long show is peppered with references to brawny Reds slugger Ted Kluszewski, Stan Musial, Willie Mays, Duke Snider and other stars of the day and begins at 8 p.m. Wednesday on WVXU-FM 91.7, with live streaming at wvxu.org.

A twi-nighter, of sorts. OK, but why Cincinnati?

From 1950-54, Serling worked there for WLW, typing out promos, ads and other fixtures. At night, though, he wrote freelance scripts for local and national TV shows.

"O'Toole From Moscow" was televised live by "NBC Matinee Theater" on the afternoon of Dec. 12, 1955, during the days of the Red Scare.

Famed big league manager Leo Durocher and John Banner, best known as Sergeant Schultz in "Hogan's Heroes," appeared in the show that featured Chuck Connors, the former major leaguer who later starred in the TV Western, The Rifleman.

There are no known tapes or recordings of that show, which aired four years before Serling created "The Twilight Zone."

That's where John Kiesewetter got involved. The Serling fan, longtime Cincinnati Enquirer newspaperman and current Media Beat blogger for WXVU first heard about the show in 1989 and was intrigued. He eventually tracked down the script and oversaw a project to adapt it for radio.

"Not many people can say they spent a summer rewriting Rod Serling," he kidded.

Kiesewetter lined up the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music to provide actors, guided by CCM professor of acting and directing Richard Hess, and recorded the show in November.

Reds organist John Schutte was brought over from Great American Ball Park to play "Take Me Out to the Ball Game," other stadium background and even a little Russian folk music. But none of those eerie echoes from "The Twilight Zone" theme.

Kiesewetter also went to a local gym where a couple guys hit with wood bats, recording the loud cracks with his phone to set the scene.

"The ball sounds like it's exploding," he said. Great sound effect.

For Anne Serling, such sounds bring back fond memories of driving around the Los Angeles freeways with her dad, listening to a ballgame.

He loved the Dodgers, hearing Vin Scully on the radio. I can recall him being quite enraged, slapping his palm against the wheel when things didn't go right for them.

Carl Erskine pitched for the Dodgers back then, starting in 1948 with Brooklyn. Now 93, the All-Star is prominently mentioned in this version of Serling's comedy.

"Now that's a real script. That's amazing," Erskine said from his home in Anderson, Indiana. I liked 'The Twilight Zone' and I remember the music that played behind it. Nice to hear I'm in this one.

A postscript, submitted for your approval:

Why Serling picked the name "O'Toole" remains a mystery. It certainly wasn't common in sports. Until Serling's script, there had been exactly one O'Toole in the majors -- Marty, a pitcher who debuted in 1908 with (naturally) the Reds and stuck around the bigs for a bit.

Some older fans might note that a few years after "O'Toole from Moscow" ran, a young lefty came out of college and showed up in Cincinnati. Jim O'Toole was pretty good, pitching Cincinnati into the 1961 World Series.

But try to explain this: Serling wrote only one baseball-themed episode of "The Twilight Zone," about a robot pitcher titled "The Mighty Casey." It ran in 1960 and starred Robert Sorrells as the unusual moundsman.

Sorrells, sadly, drew attention later in life. At 74, he shot and killed a man in a Southern California bar and died in prison years later.

News reports of the case listed Sorrells' acting credits, but mostly skipped his work in a long-forgotten TV comedy from the early 1960s with a Navy backdrop.

It was called ... Ensign O'Toole.

Coincidence? Could be. Or maybe just cue the "Twilight Zone" music and let that Serling touch slip into the shadows, too.

Visit link:
Twilight Time: Serling baseball comedy on deck - News from southeastern Connecticut - theday.com

By ROY GACHUHIMore by this Author

All hands on deck is an expression of naval origin made by the captain of a stricken ship. It required all sailors on board to stop what they were doing and immediately report to the deck to help navigate the vessel through a storm or whatever other emergency it was in.

Kenyan football is in a similar situation. It is in a life-threatening state, showing weak spasms of movement here and there, and if Football Kenya Federation is allowed to continue at the helm alone, our football will die.

Some people actually think it is already dead but to me there is still a feeble pulse. However, without further loss of time, it must be all hands on deck now before it succumbs to mismanagement and incompetence.

Never in the history of this country has our national sport been in such a bad state. Even in the amateur days when players sometimes staged coups against their elected officials, livelihoods were not an issue.

Today, players are going without food. And these are players, so-called professionals, who depend entirely on their football career to feed themselves and their families. If this is not an emergency, what is?

Imagine watching an award-winning photograph of yourself scoring a goal or saving one on the morning that red-eyed street toughs wielding huge padlocks and chains come to lock your house because you have defaulted on rent payment despite several reminders.

You are two diametrically different people at the same time: one is a national asset who bears our flag on international duty and the other is a man who cannot provide for his family through no fault of his own but because of the incompetence, arrogance and possible corruption of others. What kind of life is this?

In all my career, I cant remember reporting on a match where the home team gave its visitors a walkover because it could not afford to host them.

In fact, the problems I covered revolved around clubs splitting into two with each claiming to be the bona fide team.

There were walkovers all right but that was because of disagreements over who should play; sometimes exasperated referees blew the final whistle after 10 minutes just to break the deadlock. In other words, there was too much football, not too little of it.

And despite passing the hat around to raise money, teams still managed to travel to other towns, the wrangle-ridden ones causing mayhem over who the match officials should admit into the pitch. The history of our game shows that some of the best known teams, although now long dead, were actually splinter sides. Think about that kind of vibrancy.

Today, some home teams cant raise a side. What is more, even our most popular clubs are now practically destitute. They beg their players to play after scrounging around for somebodys lose change so as to make partial payments.

This has been made to look normal and it isnt. It is utterly abnormal. If the federation cannot attract sponsors for the most popular game in Kenya and the world, its raison d'tre ceases. It should go home at once. It is a deadweight on the country.

Football Kenya Federation is currently grappling with a debt of Sh109 owed to former Harambee Stars coach Adel Amrouche. Its president, Nick Mwendwa, who all facts show wilfully got Kenya into that hole, wants the public to foot that bill.

It is one of the most obnoxious habits by far too many public officials in Kenya. Without even the slightest pretence to any modicum of responsibility, they transfer personal misconduct to overtaxed Kenyans to deal with.

One world leader whose views I could never stomach was the late British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. But she once made a speech on taxes whose contents I filed somewhere.

She said: Let us never forget this fundamental truth the State has no source of money other than the money people earn themselves. If the State wishes to spend more it can do so only by borrowing your savings or by taxing you more. And it is no good thinking someone else will pay. That someone else is you. There is no such thing as public money; there is only taxpayers money. And no nation ever grew more prosperous by taxing its citizens beyond their capacity to pay.

When Nick Mwendwa asked the government to foot Adel Amrouches bill, the government should have responded by surcharging him with the same.

Harambee Stars coach Adel Amrouche gives instructions to players from the touch-line during their GOtv Cecafa Senior Challenge Group A match East against South Sudan on November 30, 2013 at Nyayo Stadium. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

The government has no money for such a purpose and Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohammed was right on the ball when she told him as much.

That money is Nick Mwendwas debt to pay and if he cannot do that, he should be dealt with as the law demands. Nothing less, nothing more.

Football Kenya Federation president (FKF) Nick Mwendwa address delegates during the Special General Meeting at Safari Park hotel, Nairobi on January 28, 2020. PHOTO | LUCY WANJIRU |

I asked Sam Nyamweya how Kenya came by this bill which his successor at FKF wants us to pay. He told me: Adel Amrouche had a valid contract with us. But when he was suspended by CAF, it became imperative to hire somebody else to handle the national team. That is why we turned to Bobby Williamson. But I made it clear to him that he was with us on a temporary basis pending the return of Adel.

This is what I said to Nick. I told him that to terminate Adel, he had to pay him. To continue with him, he had to pay him. So it was a question of whether he wanted to pay him to work or not to work because either way, he was going to pay him.

But once in office, Nick arbitrarily threw everything out of the window and brought in his own man, Stanley Okumbi. The millions FKF was going to pay Adel were a forgone conclusion from day one. It was not a question of if but when and how much.

Kenyas football scene is completely desolate. In a manner of speaking, the clubs and their players are dead men walking. The stadiums they play in are virtually empty.

The sponsors are gone. One of the two main stadiums in the country has not been available for more than two years and the other one is usually only free after a struggle. Its surface, when it rains, turns into a mud bath while its roofs gush in floods. And the federation has nothing to say about all this to the government even as its city-based teams travel distances out of town, digging into bare pockets to stage their matches.

The federation, reeling under a mountain of self-inflicted debt, exists to exist. Its primary goal is self-preservation, not service provision. That is why it concocted a raft of rules to disbar everyone but its own to run for its presidency.

But thank goodness there was a Sports Disputes Tribunal to call it out. As things stand in the country today, if FKF is allowed to continue at the helm of Kenyan football, we must give up on our future which will continue to belong to other Africans Algerians, Cameroonians, Nigerians, Senegalese and practically everyone else.

Sports Disputes Tribunal chairman John Ohaga delivers the ruling on December 2, 2019 in Nairobi. PHOTO | CHRIS OMOLLO |

This is untenable. It cannot and should not be allowed.

We cannot wait for the captain to shout All hands on deck! He wont. He would rather the ship sinks than part with the controls.

We must seize the deck and assume control of the vessel. The time for a normalisation committee is now because the term of the present office has already expired.

I have been a voracious consumer of books by African writers. One of the novels I enjoyed the most was Elechi Amadis The Great Ponds. In an early scene, Ejimole, a prisoner held captive for poaching fish in the Pond of Wagaba, decries the conditions of his captivity:

This treatment is worse than death, he sobs.

His captor is unmoved. Dont be too sure, he tells Ejimole. At any rate, death is not always the worst thing that can happen to a man.

What begins as a fight between two villages over control of fish ponds gradually turns into their own devastation by a mysterious disease. People die one by one and it is gut-wrenching. Nobody is able to stop the deaths. Grave after grave fills up.

From the anonymous villager to the chief, the society is grappling in the dark, trying this and that for a cure, praying to this or that god. They are helpless. The very last paragraph of the novel reads:

But it was only the beginning. Wonjo, as the villagers called the Great Influenza of 1918, was to claim a grand total of some twenty million lives all over the world. This week, I googled this occurrence and various sources put the deaths at between 50 and 100 million.

The Great Ponds, a compelling work of literature by one of Africas most elegant writers in my estimation, is now haunting me and I will admit that I cant remember the last time I have spent days on end holed up in my house in such low spirits. A mysterious disease called coronavirus is upon us and it is consuming people one by one all over the world at a frightening rate.

It has shut down the world and I am very sad, no matter how I try to raise up my spirits. The figures of people expected to die that experts are putting across are more or less those claimed by Wonjo.

Who among us will live and who will die? And we are being told that a vaccine is 12-18 months away. The sense of helplessness is crushing. Death is not always the worst thing that can happen to a man? Of course. Doesnt knowing if you will be one of the statistics mean just that?

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All hands on deck to save Kenyan football stranded at the high seas - Daily Nation

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CHARLOTTE, NC NOVEMBER 13: Cam Newton #1 and teammate Christian McCaffrey #22 of the Carolina Panthers look on against the Miami Dolphins in the second quarter during their game at Bank of America Stadium on November 13, 2017 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

A tumultuous period for the Carolina Panthers football offseason is approaching fast. The patches and plugs for every teams supposed needs will be receiving calls and making plans for the upcoming season and Carolina will undoubtedly be in the mix to make some big moves.

For the past two seasons Carolina has used free agency to remedy the obvious needs of veteran mentors and talent on their roster by signing players like Torrey Smith and Bruce Irvin. The Panthers have already started down the same path this off-season with an addition of left tackle Russell Okung. Now they have to set their sights on other targets.

The free agent market just became flooded with starting talent all across the board, particularly at the defensive lineman position. The chance that Carolina will find a reasonably-priced plug for their issues on run defense before April just increased drastically (although I believe theyll still walk away with at least one defensive tackle from this draft).

This works to the benefit of the Panthers as they can shift the draft priority around and find some long-term options to fill the voids left by linebacker Luke Kuechly and (possibly) James Bradberry with the acquisitions of some backfield barracudas in the first and second round. Additionally, the Panthers will avoid breaking the bank for a quarterback and a running back which will leave room to acquire more replacements for their losses this off-season.

It looks like Dontari Poe wont be returning to the Panthers, so now theres more cap space to make all of the other necessary moves. The re-signature of Tre Boston could be the beginning of a serendipitous cascade of events if the Panthers play their cards right.

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Carolina Panthers poised to stack the deck this offseason - Cat Crave

Inspired by a community in Italy, the idea has taken hold in Twin Cities neighborhoods

MINNEAPOLIS Neighbors craving signs of hope are finding it in song, on their front steps, balconies and the porches of their homes.

For four nights straight, Michele Hoch has stood in front of her South Minneapolis home singing John Lennons Imagine.

For the first time, she was joined by her upstairs neighbor, Karen Smith, singing from her balcony.

Stuck at home, Karen laughs. Introverts unite.

Inspired by a community in Italy during its battle with coronavirus, the 7 p.m. nightly sing-along has gained traction on social media and spread to neighborhood across the Twin Cities.

They may be the only person on their block, but it just makes you feel connected to your community, Hoch says.

KARE 11s coverage of the coronavirus is rooted in Facts, not Fear. Visit kare11.com/coronavirus for comprehensive coverage, find outwhat you need to know about the Midwest specifically, learn more about thesymptoms, and keep tabs on thecases around the world here. Have a question? Text it to us at 763-797-7215. And get the latest coronavirus updates sent right to your inbox every morning. Subscribe to the KARE 11 Sunrise newsletter here. Help local families in need: http://www.kare11.com/give11.

The state of Minnesota has set up a hotline for general questions about coronavirus at 651-201-3920 or 1-800-657-3903, available 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

More information on the coronavirus:

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Minnesotans stand on balconies and porches to sing - KARE11.com

An epidemiologist answers the biggest questions she's getting about coronavirus. Wochit

Editor's note:The Star is making this story free to readers due to public health concerns related to coronavirus. Please consider a digital subscription to The Star so we can continue doing this important work.

John Gahan stepped out of his Ventura home Tuesday night, his mandolin in his hand, and sat down on the porch.

It was 8 p.m. and he started to play.

He had gotten the idea earlier while talking over the phone withhis brother-in-law in Barcelona. In home isolation because of the new coronavirus, people in the city 6,000 miles away started takinginstruments out on their balconies and played each night at 8.

They did it in honor of all those working at hospitals and clinics to save lives, his brother-in-law told him and his wife.

"I thought I could do that from here," Gahan said.

The new virus hit Ventura later than Barcelona. As the number of cases rose locally, public health officials first urged social distancingand later ordered Californians to shelter at home.

Families, classmates, friends, bands, even neighbors were physically divided as lines grew and the shelves emptied at grocery stores. Schools were closed. Gyms, bars anddine-in restaurants followed suit.

Gatherings bigger than 250 people were canceled,then those with more than 50and finally more than 10.

Before Gahan started to play that first night,he crafted an email to his fellow members of a band called Pint of Irish.

"8:00 Tonight And Every Night I Can (For At Least A While)," he wrote in the subject line.

He toldhis bandmates what his brother-in-law had told him.

"Anyway, in honor of health care workers everywhere dealing with this, I'm going to do it tonight and every night that I can for a while," he wrote. "I'llgo out on my porch and bang out a couple tunes.If anybody is interested, join me from your porch. I'll be listening."

More: Coronavirus: How you can help in Ventura County during the COVID-19 outbreak

The spot set up for a wedding at Lisa and Jeff Daniel's Santa Paula home.(Photo: Contributed photo/The Daniels)

On the same night in Santa Paula, Susie Yee stood with her husband, Dan, and watched their youngest get married.

A small group of family members sat inchairs or stood in the grass, a majestic oak tree nearby.

It wasn't how it was supposed to happen.

Laurie Yee and Landin Osbornegot engaged lastJune andhadaMarch 21 wedding scheduledata private residence and barn in Oxnard.

They had planned for nine months and felt lucky to find the spot just a mile from Laurie's childhood home. About 125 peoplewere coming, including family flying in from homes scattered around the country.

Deposits were made and then the new coronavirus swept through the U.S.

Family members who had planned to stick around after the wedding for a reunion of sortshad to cancel. The wedding also had to be called off.

"There were a lot of tears and disappointment," Susie Yee said.

But while the wedding day they planned was off,neither bride or groom wanted to wait to get married. However this crisis was going to play out, they said they wanted to go through it together.

Lisa Daniel read her friend Yee's Facebook message about the canceled wedding and reached out.

I thought, Well, they still want to get married and I have this big beautiful oak tree with green grass under it,' " she said.

More: Food Share, local pantries worry about volunteers, donations as coronavirus takes a toll

Susie and Dan Yee at the Santa Paula home where their youngest child got married last week. The bride and groom had to cancel the large wedding they had been planning for months because of the coronavirus.(Photo: Contributed photo/The Yees)

There wasnt room at the Daniels' Santa Paula home to host a big wedding. But a big wedding couldn't happen anymore.

"We trimmed everything way back," Susie Yee said. "But once we knew this was the place, it was like the clouds lifted."

The Daniels invited them to their home.A friend of her daughterdonated flowers from her farm. Another friend of the family gave them a reduced price for photos.

Even though everyone is going through tough times, Yee said, so many people put everything aside to make the night happen. And, it would happenrain or shine.

By 2 p.m. Tuesday,the raintapered off and the sun came out. Lisa and her husband, Jeff, dried off their patio chairs and set them up by the big oak, keeping them spaced apart.

I had a wooden table here in my house that I had actually hauled to San Francisco when my daughter got married for an outdoor wedding, she said. I just pulled that thing back out there, and we used it for another wedding.

In the end, most of thedetails didnt really matter.

There was a pastor.The bride had a dress, and the groom had a suit. He played a song he had written on his guitar while she walked down the aisle. Someone took video for everyone who wasn't able to be there.

"I swear it was like the best way to have a wedding," Yee said.

An old photo shows Pint of Irish practicing before coronavirus required social distancing.(Photo: Contributed photo/Mike McChesney)

At 8 on Wednesday night, Gerry McGuirecoaxed notes of a couple Irish songs from hisconcertina.

He couldn't hear the other members of Pint of Irish but knew they were out there.

The night after Gahan's email, ahalf-dozen or so played at their homes separated by miles or cities in some cases. By Thursday, the number had doubled, and on Friday night, a neighbor of the Gahans even joined in, playing a bongo drum.

Any weirdness about playing alone in the dark on his Venturapatio faded quickly, McGuire said."It's a good feeling to be doing something."

In his 80s, hehad taken the call to stay at home seriously.

"My wife had a doctor's appointment today. It was the first time we left the house since this happened," he said one day last week.

They have some family in the area and two neighbors already hadoffered to bring foodif or when they need it. One neighbor had posted some mailfor them.

"We're doing fine," McGuire said.

As he played "Merry Blacksmith" that night, his wife cheering him on from inside, he didn't know if his neighbors listened in.

"Nobody threw anything. I know that," McGuiresaid laughing."I didn't see anyone, but I imagine they were in awe."

More: Cafe Society: Ventura County restaurants address dining in the time of coronavirus

John Gahan, in the blue shirt, plays with Pint of Irish band members pre-coronavirus social distancing.(Photo: Contributed photo/John Gahan)

The band members choose the songs every day before 8. Mostly, they aim for up-tempo, happy tunes with some lilting melodies mixed in.

Group leader Mike McChesney, who plays the tin whistle from his Thousand Oaks porch, tried to find a video-conferencing program that they could use.

It hasn't been entirely successful, but it hasn't really mattered.

"Even though you're there kind of isolated in your front yard," he said, "you feel like you're part of a group."

That was kind of the point.

It is important to take what ishappening seriously, Gahan said. "But I also feel like life doesn't have to be dismal in such circumstances."

People can find ways to connect, check in on each other, save a weddingand maybe cheer on some health workers with a tune or two.

"It sounds like it really helps to unite people even if there is a physical distance," Gahan had typed in his message to the band.

Then, he had clicked send, grabbed a cushion and stepped outside to play.

Cheri Carlson covers the environment for the Ventura County Star. Reach her at cheri.carlson@vcstar.com or 805-437-0260.

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Coronavirus canceled a wedding and band practice. But these friends didn't give up - VC Star

Knoxville, Beaverdale host bear hunts, but it's not what you think

Updated: 8:00 PM CDT Mar 21, 2020

Knoxville and Beaverdale neighborhoods are taking a page out of the book "We're Going on a Bear Hunt."Homes are putting stuffed animals in windows and on porches so families can go on bear hunts, whether in their cars or on walks. While some people didn't have bears to show, the Cookie Monster made an appearance, and so did some unicorns. To find where bears are in your community, click here.

Knoxville and Beaverdale neighborhoods are taking a page out of the book "We're Going on a Bear Hunt."

Homes are putting stuffed animals in windows and on porches so families can go on bear hunts, whether in their cars or on walks.

While some people didn't have bears to show, the Cookie Monster made an appearance, and so did some unicorns.

To find where bears are in your community, click here.

Follow this link:
Knoxville, Beaverdale host bear hunts, but it's not what you think - KCCI Des Moines