Silver Linings on Ominous Clouds [PHIL-OSOPHY]

A silver lining emphasizes the hopeful side of a situation that's menacing on the surface, such as COVID-19. I

try to balance my broadcasts during these fateful times so that even the worst events have some positive aspects. In the midst of this pandemic, did you hear about the Boston rookie cop who saw a single mother of three crying outside a grocery store because she had no money for food? Officer Ben Peguero bought her over $200 worth of groceries, out of an act of kindness.

Then there is Hallmark, during this time of social distancing, giving away two million cards to promote togetherness during this outbreak.

Locally, Paul Cusson called in to talk about how his family is staying together while everyone's separated with a virtual Zoom dinner party, hosted by his daughter, Daphne. Zoom is a web-based video conferencing program that allows a lot of people in different places to be together on one screen. I liken it to Hollywood Squares on steroids. Everyone at the dinner party prepared either veal chops with caramelized pears or pork chops with apples and risotto. The family has also Zoomed over breakfast, and making cocktails.

Daphne told me her birthday was on March 30, so she decided to have a virtual scavenger hunt to celebrate it. She gave everyone a list of items and 10 minutes to return with things like green socks, a No. 2 pencil, an old CD case, pantyhose or jockstrap, a COVID-19 hotline number and other items, plus a count of how many rolls of toilet paper in the house. Daphne's planning a Zoom weekend murder mystery dinner party for some family entertainment and much-needed laughs.

Beyond making lemonade out of lemons, it's the idea that out of bad news comes good news.

Phil Paleologos is the host of The Phil Paleologos Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. Contact him at phil@wbsm.com and follow him on Twitter @PhilPaleologos. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.