Hello Tomatoes. We’ve been in lockdown for two weeks now in Los Angeles and as always, I continue to hope you are all safe and healthy and finding a little joy. If you are feeling down or just need a chuckle, watch the video above, “Animals Needing Attention.” And speaking of animals, many shelters are busting their seams and here’s how you can help. Our medical healthcare workers, on every level imaginable, need our help in this fight on the Frontlines and I know LA Tomatoes will rise to the occasion. You can also share your personal story with “Inside Our Time” online. And “Call the Midwife” Season 9 just premiered on your local PBS.  Yahoo! And this week’s Happy Hour Podcast is very uplifting with advice from husband and wife reverends.

Los Angeles Homeless Pets

The Los Angeles animal shelters and rescue groups are overloaded but “Best Friends Animal Society” in Los Angeles  is there for you.  In my humble opinion, it’s like a one stop shop for any questions or concerns you might have about your caring for your pet during this difficult time and if you are looking to help, they have a thorough comprehensive resource list (that is continually updated)  with a variety of suggested avenues to help our homeless pets across Los Angeles.

Their mission is to “Save Them All” but they need your help, even more now.  Animal Welfare experts anticipate that communities will experience another surge in the number of pets entering shelters as the spread of COVID-19 affects the health and safety of pet owners, shelter staff, volunteers, animal control officers and other animal welfare professionals. If you are an animal loving Tomato, you can support Los Angeles Shelters and Rescue Groups in a variety of ways, by adopting, fostering, volunteering or donating. I’m considering of fostering myself, Tomatoes.  If you find that you can provide short-term care for a homeless pet, fostering a pet can be a great way to support your community and help save lives and give you four-legged comfort, Tomatoes.

Spirituality and Healing in Times of Crisis

Our guests today are Rev. Laurie Sue Brockway and Rev. Victor Fuhrman, who also happen to be husband and wife. Their backgrounds are fascinating. Rev. Laurie Sue is known as the “romance” reverend and has married hundreds of couples. She is also a journalist and the former Editor-in-Chief of Playgirl Magazine. Rev. Victor was an armed forces broadcaster and is known as “Victor the Voice,” and has a radio show called, “Destination Unlimited.” He is a healer and spiritual counselor and post 9-11 he was a volunteer chaplain for the Red Cross. Listen in here.

PPE for Frontline Soldiers

Healthcare Workers are our true soldiers on the frontlines of this war against Covid-19 and it is of the utmost importance to assist them in any way we can to save their lives with the proper tools.  Tomatoes can help by donating to the “Frontline Responders Fund”  or “Get Us PPE.”.

Flexport has organized the “Frontline Responders Fund”. Flexport.org enables organizations to deliver global aid and impact – and meet their sustainability goals with greater ease and lower costs. Currently, Flexport is focusing all their resources on getting supplies to frontline health care workers combating COVID-19. “GetUsPPE” is working to build a national, centralized platform to enable communities to get PPE to healthcare providers on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Feed the Frontline Soldiers

These brave and exhausted soldiers deserve to be well-nourished as they continue the ongoing battle. Simply providing a ‘decent meal’ is a way to practically and emotionally support our Medical Heroes while showing gratitude for their courageous dedication at the risk of their own lives. 

Tomatoes can donate to “Feed the Frontline Responders” that was started by a small group of LA moms from LA Public Schools who teamed up with World Central Kitchen to raise the required funds with the goal of feeding 450 hospital workers in ICU and ER units in 6 hospitals in the Los Angeles area, and to cover the more than thousands of dedicated medical workers expected to be on the COVID-19 front line.  Every meal is being supplied by a local restaurant also working to keep the lights on. “Wood & Water” in Studio City has teamed up with “The Gallery” in Westlake to provide food for LA hospital workers with “Fuel Our Frontline Meals.” The restaurants are delivering meals straight to the hospitals and are accepting donations for this effort.  “Laist” offers a safe and vetted and enormous list of organizations, restaurants and individuals in SoCal who have launched crowdfunding campaigns to support meal deliveries to various hospitals.  That’s how SoCal rolls, Tomatoes.

Inside Our Time

I wrote last week about Jewish Women’s Theatre (JWT) effort to reduce isolation and give solace and smiles to members of its community and beyond with free online daily digital stories about feelings and experiences during this unprecedented time. I encouraged you to share your stories and I’m still encouraging you to do so. However now, you can view many of the short reflections that have been submitted, Tomatoes.

JWT have premiered many stories thus far with many more in the pipeline.  All the stories are treasures and performed by JWT extraordinarily talented actors from their homes.  My dear friend and JWT’s producing director, Susan Morgenstern, explains, “In the face of postponed performances of various JWT events and shows, what could have been a sad time, isolated from my creative home and colleagues, turned into a project that gives me an ever–growing sense of connectivity and family.” Such a creative and much-need way to stay connected, to find joy and gratitude and gain the knowledge that you are not alone with what you are feeling right now.  You can check out Susan Morgenstern’s story here: 

Kudos to JWT, one of the finest theatres in Los Angeles.

Call the Midwife

Yes, Yes, YES!!! The series that I absolutely adore is back with the premiere of Season 9 on March 29^th. I love how it makes my heart soar with inspiration, insight and damn good storylines, performances and scripts. 

You can see my recommendation of high praise of this series in my first installment of “A TV Addicts Opinion.” Every episode of every year is beautiful to me and has at some point brought tears…good tears…to my eyes.  “Call the Midwife” follows the nurses, midwives and nuns from Nonnatus House, who visit the expectant mothers of Poplar, providing the poorest women with the best possible care.