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Greetings, earthlings.

As the weather becomes milder it is more difficult to stay indoors. I understand; I’m human too. I look out our windows and see the trees blossoming, the tulips in the sidewalk tree boxes, and I want to go out there! I want to walk around, buy a bunch of lilacs, and have a picnic. But it’s just not to be.

Since March 14, I have left my building once or twice a week for a short walk, or some quick, local errands. I smell the air through my mask, feel the sun on my hair, and feel grateful that things aren’t worse. If that’s the new normal, it’s somewhat temporary, I hope.

Host Lisa Birnbach and Guest Steven Henderson

Speaking of hope, my guest this week is a man who has been able to offer glimpses of hope to the have nots all around the world. Whether this started because of his early theological background or because of the privilege he recognized in his adult life hardly matter. His name is Stephen Henderson, and he volunteers to cook at soup kitchens, wherever his travels take him. His new book, The 24-Hour Soup Kitchen: Soul-Stirring Lessons in Gastrophilanthropy details his adventures cooking in usually sub-ideal conditions in India, Peru, Iran, Japan, Israel, Mexico, and even Pittsburgh. As a travel and fashion writer, he would be sent all around the world on the most luxurious of reporting gigs – for Delhi Fashion Week, to find the world’s most refined oven factory in France, or visit a super exclusive resort with only 30 guest rooms in the Andes. Then, after checking out of his 8 star hotel he would look for a soup kitchen in a close-by slum or ghetto, where he would happily slice vegetables for eight hours or serve the rice to hundreds of diners.

One can’t not be inspired by Stephen Henderson.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Lisa’s 5 Things:

1) My “Mom” mug. My daughter, #ExhibitB ™ painted this at one of those ceramics painting studios that were all the rage in the early 2000’s. She must have been somewhere between 7 and about 10 or 11 when she painted this, based on her signature on the bottom. Inside, she wrote “All gone” which you can only read once the coffee’s been drunk. It is one of the souvenirs that means a lot to me. It was on the back of the shelf the other day and I brought it back into heavy rotation with a smile.

2) The play, “What Do We Need to Talk About? Conversations on Zoom” written by Richard Nelson, which debuted online this past Wednesday, April 29th is a mirror reflection on how it feels to be us now. Nelson, the playwright and director has revisited the Apple family five times now, since 2010. Feeling just a bit like those incredible Michael Apted documentaries – 7Up, 14Up, 28Up – we’re getting to see the adult siblings of a WASPy family living in Rhinebeck (upstate) New York. One sibling has just been released from the hospital with severe COVID-19, and the youngest sister’s boyfriend thinks he has it. Brother Richard works in the Albany office of Governor Andrew Cuomo. The play, presented as a Zoom call, feels as if it were written last week. And it essentially was. Set on Wednesday, April 29th, the Apple family reminisces, frets, tells stories to one another, and say the things we’re all saying or thinking to ourselves. You can find it online at The Public Theater online at Streaming free online through Sunday on publictheater.org and YouTube.

3) Reading. More and again. Like many of you, I’m getting screen fatigue. I don’t think peering into my laptop screen, our tv screens, or my phone screen are doing my eyesight any favors, and sometimes whatever I see there feel like bombardments. I’m enjoying quietly reading a book. I’ve been reading several.

4) My brother Jon and I saw our mom again this week. I’m not sure if she’s getting as much from our visits as we are, but the peace of mind is inestimable.

5) My daughter in law FaceTimes me often with her baby boy. I love watching him walk and pick up every single thing he sees and then attempt to put it in his mouth. I’m sad we cannot be with them for his first birthday, but the live video makes the absence bearable. Vive la difference!