Carolyn Bennett Writer/Comic

I  miss Stage 1 It was good fun hanging in my jammies having little nappies in the afternoon it went so soon Grocery clerks were heroes celebrities were zeros you couldn’t see me I had on homemade PPE I miss Stage 1 I miss Stage 1 it was good fun Unless you had Covid-19 Devastation not foreseen Except by those in the know Sounding the alarm Of the virus’ great harm Rest of us ate treats like fudge Now we have pandemic pudge But at least we’re still breathing our babies now be teething but we’re the lucky ones we haven’t died from guns we can login sip bespoke gin and be at work with no commute. our shrunken lives we must compute That’s why I Miss Stage 1 when everyone had fun hanging out in jammies having little nappies Nature said Time out you need to layabout Let me have some rest While I put you to the test stay still or I will kill You.

  January 13, 2020 . Dear Mother. You've been dead for almost two years and now I can finally get a word in edgewise. It feels strange not hearing your criticism and sarcasm. I have a reservoir of your greatest hits to drawn upon though, so I'll continue being hard on myself in your absence.           You may be pleased to know I've been hired by a non-profit where I've been volunteering. The non-profit is a community support service that helps seniors and persons living with disabilities. I have no kids and have had a good run in the arts, so the lousy pay is not a deterrent. I have enormous respect for the staff, so if I keep my mouth shut and do as I'm told, I should be able to hold down this job for a month or two. A tall order, I am aware. Cautiously yours, Carolyn. January 31, 2020 . Dear Mother: I'm being trained on a client management computer system. The Meals on Wheels (MOW) Supervisor instructs me orally, and ...