One year of *Things We Love*…please consider sharing this blog with three people you love and encourage them to subscribe. If they do and then email me (pamsmilow@me.com) with your name, I will send you a nice gift as a thank you!

three things we love

The Premonition by Michael Lewis

Just finished Michael Lewis's book The Premonition: A Pandemic Story which is a must read if we are to understand the lessons and mistakes of how we have (and are handling) Covid-19. Lewis is a master storyteller and the book reads like a true nonfiction thriller, complete with many characters you and I have never heard of. For example, thirteen year old Laura and her father Bob Glass, whose middle school project created a model that helped predict the spread of the virus. And public health superstar Charity Dean, former Assistant Director of the California Department of Public Health and co-founder of The Public Health Company, whose genius and importance you will learn about; and Carter Mecher, and a small group of visionary doctors who called themselves the Wolverines...heroes who tried their damnedest to get us through what they saw as coming but whose voices were drowned out by an uncaring president, petty functionaries and stupid political appointees who did not have a clue. Through sharp investigative reporting, Lewis connects unlikely protagonists and weaves a tragic story that he believes could have been avoided...

Quoting the author: "Charity would tell you — and I think it's true — that the pandemic has created a kind of selective pressure on our public health officers. And it's removed the brave ones. The brave ones have all got their heads chopped off. So it's sort of institutionalized a cowardice that we're going to need to face up to so that this business of punishing people who are doing their damnedest to try to save us from ourselves has got to stop."

Rafael Mantesso and his Dog Jimmy Choo

Through the fog of covid, sedition, depression and pessimism, I am reminded that humans do wonderful things too. "Since 2014, Brazilian illustrator Rafael Mantesso has been on a journey of endless adventures with his best friend, the dog Jimmy Choo. What started as a playful moment of creative doodling around Jimmy the pitbull turned into a joyous partnership of a human and dog working and living together in harmony." Thanks to Rafael Mantesso and my friend Jill of @jakdesign for sharing this spurt of creative inspiration and lightening our mood!

Cold Missouri Waters and the Mann Gulch Fire

I heard about the tragic Mann Gulch fire through a song on the 1998 album Cry Cry Cry, featuring the collaborative efforts of singer songwriters Richard Shindell, Lucy Kaplansky and Dar Williams. Written by Canadian James Keelaghan, the beautiful and touching song Cold Missouri Waters commemorates the tragic loss of 13 firefighters when the blaze took another direction and trapped the men. In addition, the song describes a technique, born that day, of setting a smaller fire to avoid burning in a bigger one, a tactic still in use today. Sadly it didn't save the life of most that day.

Charity of the Week: City Harvest

Painting of the Week

Pamela Smilow Midnight Blue mixed media on canvas 52” x 80” $8500

About The Author

New York City based contemporary artist, Pam Smilow created the creative lifestyle blog “things we love” in an effort to foster a sense of community during times of isolation and reflection. To read more about her and her art, visit her website and check out the essay written by the Hammond Museum's Frank Matheis entitled The Sophisticated Innocence of Pam Smilow.. And by the way, let me know in the comment section what you think of the new haircut...