Journal of the Plague Months

We continue our focus on what is undoubtedly the biggest story of the year -- the pandemic -- even as our shelter-in-place days are interspersed with heartwarming stories about the heroism of the frontliners and the strong sense of community among regular citizens, along with our grieving -- almost daily -- of the lives unexpectedly snuffed out by this insidious virus.

 From Kenya, regular PF contributor Agatha Verdadero gives us a glimpse of how life has changed with "Social Distancing in Nairobi."

PF Correspondent Cherie M. Querol Moreno tracks down some regular folks who have stepped up to do their part in "Inspired Kindness in the Time of Lockdown."

From Manila, John Silva shares with us his tribute to two friends, fashion designer Ito Curata and his partner Bob Miller, both of whom didn't survive Covid-19.

From Chicagoland, PF Correspondent Rey de la Cruz features a Filipino restaurant who is likewise helping out, "Chicken Ati-atihan, Restaurant with a Heart" from which our Happy Home Cook recipe for Chicken Curry comes.

Our links to stories to keep you In The Know:

New Tear-Jerking Tourism Video Honors Frontliners and Filipino Optimism
https://www.esquiremag.ph/politics/news/department-tourism-video-frontliners-a00204-20200404?fbclid=IwAR1GSOqQN1qtPDC7agR75ZSY9hemFVLlh52JBoiZmEaY7hglHrZRU1BOSTg

In Slum at Epicenter of Duterte’s Drug Crackdown, Fear and Love Coexist
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/02/world/asia/philippines-manila-duterte-market-three.html?fbclid=IwAR0PE5pd8jabbRWSCuofL83MHegffIdlMma72AxqSOm67wyLlz1fkZYo5U8

The Philippines is sending its nurses to the frontline underprotected. Now medics are dying, others risk spreading the virus
https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/01/homepage2/philippines-nurse-intl-hnk/index.html?fbclid=IwAR0NgvaYogiKXkDyzVnUPY7DI_ce4lH1toJ_Gk5TCFNKj72ldvOc56Diif8

Asian Americans use social media to mobilize against attacks
https://news.yahoo.com/asian-americans-social-media-mobilize-150724085.html

Dr. James Goodrich, friend to Filipinos
https://opinion.inquirer.net/128576/dr-james-goodrich-friend-to-filipinos?fbclid=IwAR36WY8nkcc_VYkPg6pFmLzjp13vktaU25oILWuS9ydrsm36-oYPqbI0i4s

Voices from the frontline: The volunteer driver giving free rides to stranded medical workers
https://news.abs-cbn.com/ancx/culture/spotlight/04/06/20/voices-from-the-frontline-the-volunteer-driver-giving-free-rides-to-stranded-medical-workers

For Video of Week, we commemorate the 75th anniversary of  the Battle of Manila and the  Liberation of the Santo Tomas Internment Camp.

Viral Rhythms

We keep our eye -- and our stories -- focused on the topic of the hour -- the Covid-19 pandemic whose numbers of afflicted and dead tick up every few minutes all over the world. 

Here in California, the rhythm of our days, so vibrant and busy just over a month ago, has slowed to a meditative drip-drop, at least for retirees like us (I know parents with young children have their hands full) . We wake, we eat, we patter around the house (meaning we do the same things we did yesterday and will do again tomorrow), we sleep. The next day, the same routine. 

Occasionally, just for sport, we allow our blood pressure to go up by watching TV and either getting agitated at the idiocy in full display before us (yes, that one) or becoming teary-eyed at the heroic efforts of frontliners in this war (the medical workers, the service providers, the police, the journalists) who are toiling, despite the risks, to provide the rest of us updated information and a sense of normalcy. Reading, long a major part of our day, has become a necessary tool in our arsenal to fight against mental atrophy and boredom, and to keep our fears at bay and our sanity intact. 

How about you, how do your days go? Our publisher Mona Lisa Yuchengco gives us a glimpse of hers in part 2 of "Life (and Love) in the Time of Coronavirus." 

First-time PF contributor Ernesto M. Hilario writes about his from Quezon City in "Hunkered Down and Uncertain."

Writer/poet/critic Pablo A. Tariman shares with us his regret at the interruption of a cherished school-day ritual with his granddaughter, him being "Fetcher No. 244."

And in the course of a night's search for stories during curfew, an ABS-CBN News team in Metro Manila encounters a story that will forever stay in their hearts and in ours. Jervis Manahan, a member of the Kapamilya team, reports "The Long Road Ahead."

For comfort food in these days of uncertainty, here once again is Elizabeth Ann Quirino's recipe for "Corned Beef Sinigang."

To add to your reading list, here are links to stories you may have missed:

PH Health Workers and Their Struggle Against COVID-19
https://news.abs-cbn.com/specials/ph-health-worker-battle-covid19?fbclid=IwAR0oOx2c_YHjnnaKLo3YIqYbGeWcQjQvEnlUbxWYwmu0F-LGi_oscOa7cD4

Heroic Filipino nurses at the forefront of UK’s Covid-19 response
https://www.pinoyportaleurope.com/post/tataas-ang-unemployment-at-trabahong-may-short-time-working-hours-sa-germany-labor-expert-1?fbclid=IwAR2UbbXW4aNoKXOg-RBN-p2KoVQryHR4uKJxSm0JmcpVBsjT8exZ3As8C8I

Coronavirus: in Philippines, leak shows politicians and relatives received ‘VIP’ testing
https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3076788/coronavirus-philippines-leak-shows-politicians-and-relatives?fbclid=IwAR2NFoSf4VrURwQaobXM_2tq254t24ZWKwMrbsyVgbsAW9K6ftr-57LXYYc

Asian Americans report over 650 racist acts over last week, new data says
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/asian-americans-report-nearly-500-racist-acts-over-last-week-n1169821?fbclid=IwAR3oLJyo26XX6GvH0IYZMtPt7zuwRLUI8I6Ac0Uy-46MWMwEBFRqV03dBGA

Fil-Am director Dean Devlin’s ‘Almost Paradise’ is the first-ever American TV series shot in the Philippines
https://www.asianjournal.com/entertainment/showbiz/fil-am-director-dean-devlins-almost-paradise-is-the-first-ever-american-tv-series-shot-in-the-philippines/

For our video of the week, Filipino singers pooled their talents in this public service music video to give hope to Filipino citizens and crisis frontliners during the Luzon-wide quarantine to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Facing the Challenge

With coronavirus news and missives swirling relentlessly and dire economic prognostications triggering panic attacks, we wonder how our entrepreneurial kababayans are faring. PF contributing writer Jennifer Fergesen checks in on Filipino food businesses in Europe and reports their situation in "Filipino Restaurateurs in Europe Grapple with Pandemic."

Author and balikbayan traveler Cecilia Manguerra-Brainard tells her story of how the virus trailed her in the early days of contagion when she traveled from the Philippines to LA in "CORONAVIRUS: The Beginning." 

When the going gets tough, the tough gets going. This popular adage aptly describes the plight of the Alcantara sisters of Paco, Manila, whose privileged life was abruptly cut short with the advent of WWII. Ambassador (Ret.) Virgilio A. Reyes, Jr. lovingly tells the story of his grandmother, mother and aunts who survived a situation so much worse than what Covid-19 has created now, in "How Linda and Her Sisters Survived the War."

Other than the pandemic, the most important issue in the US right now is the Census 2020. We urge all Filipinos in the US to stand up and be counted (by filling out the form either online or on paper). The future of your families, the communities you live in and the communities you belong to depend on your participation. To know why it is imperative, Read Again "What Fil-Ams Should Know About the 2020 Census" by Cherie Querol Moreno.

What does battling an epidemic entail? Read Again Dr. Jorge Emmanuel's riveting story of the work he did as a World Health Organization (WHO) consultant in Monrovia, Liberia during the 2014 ebola crisis in "My Battle with Ebola." 

Our Happy Home Cook recipe this week is for the ultimate Filipino comfort soup, Chicken Tinola with a new way of serving it.

Here are links for your reading enjoyment:

Philippines: Covid-19 will devastate the poor
https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/philippines-covid-19-will-devastate-poor?fbclid=IwAR2KC_ucEtO9XCHZ1O1KcJqcsx6AHprBzk4z71h2MtGqNiWlXDOgY0APz7w

How this first Filipino COVID-19 patient battled the virus for 15 days and won
https://news.abs-cbn.com/ancx/culture/spotlight/03/23/20/how-this-first-filipino-covid-19-patient-battled-the-virus-for-15-days-and-won?fbclid=IwAR2TUJMc-Q0R9hr3hEyb0PHRlpcnoCxkgrId25yAAT9FsONmdJVxadoEBOA

Metro Manila’s Most Vulnerable in the Time of COVID-19
https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/specials/content/138/rick-rocamora-metro-manila-s-most-vulnerable-amid-covid-19/?fbclid=IwAR1VSaphXXP7N6tjqmy2dFmc_7mowQpOYYC0oGshZOPVznRHw7iLy2dS5fY

10 Things We Wish Pasig City Could Give the Entire Country
https://www.spot.ph/newsfeatures/the-latest-news-features/81448/pasig-enhanced-quarantine-a4362-20200318?utm_source=Facebook-Spot&utm_medium=Ownshare&utm_campaign=20200317-fbnp-newsfeatures-pasig-enhanced-quarantine-a4362-20200318-fbfirst&fbclid=IwAR1535XR4Lf0zGIZpsfgYHZSSOtKwN3BOOH5gbpJ3tPbugZ5pgabjsZoapc

'Bayanihan, Musikahan': Ryan Cayabyab, Filipino artists launch FB Live concert series amid coronavirus crisis
https://news.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/03/18/20/bayanihan-musikahan-ryan-cayabyab-filipinos-artists-launch-fb-live-concert-series-amid-coronavirus-crisis?fbclid=IwAR10yBiZd1SYUcKB26hgccSjWiM77LMS0XGt8RSe2wYan363U5fNtAASd_0

Cutting Our Travel Short And Trying To Get Home During The Coronavirus Pandemic
https://www.travelawaits.com/2493076/cutting-our-travel-short-and-trying-to-get-home-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic/?pv=related_list&fbclid=IwAR0-AmsVUrXlUzydOyvKjp-uAbe3sDmib0rwIyniwbN0jz3l1eX1Dd8OEZg

For Videos of the Week, the Filipino Voter Empowerment Project created these public service announcements to remind Filipino Americans to be counted in the US Census. In the second episode, three of the actors, Lily De Ocampo, Jurshia Felipe, and Jamie Sophia Tubal, are also nurses in real life. They took time out to volunteer for this project before the coronavirus breakout and are now serving on the front lines of the Covid-19 crisis.