Singer Ron Kaplan’s New Book of Old Love Songs

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COMMUNITY NEWS Singer Ron Kaplan’s New Book of Old Love Songs

Singer Ron Kaplan and indie music label Kapland Records of Aptos have released their second book by Every Now and Zen Press, entitled “Song of Ron.”

The 44-page book, composed of poetic lyrics from songs written and performed by Kaplan from 1976-1983, chronicles his journey of insights on love and life with his guitar as trusty companion.

It can be said that all songs are love songs. That’s what Kaplan thought when listening to the radio going through a “break-up.” In those songs were tales of found love and lost love as an ever-present theme across cultures and genres.

Then Kaplan turned off the radio and began to learn to play the guitar and write his own songs.

As he reviewed this collection of his songs, he could see in the beginning it was about love lost, love celebrated, and love sought.

As his mind expanded beyond the world of feelings he began to write on issues, and ideas, and eventually humor, with humanity at heart, in the process of being human.

His life then took a different direction. He set down the guitar to focus on building a business, a family, and a life with his wife Cheri.

Kaplan returned to music to sing once again from 1994 to 2020, which he calls a saving grace. This go-around has been as a jazz singer interpreting the repertoire of the jazz standards of the Great American Songbook.

“I am so glad I lived in a musical world to express myself and bask in its sea of emotions, feelings, sensations, vibrations, imagery, and co-creations,” Kaplan said. “I knew right from the start that music and I were meant to be companions, resonating together throughout time. In my mind, singers are born, and I was born to sing among other species of our world in the Animal Kingdom. It is what comes most naturally to me. There are memories and anecdotal reports of me singing at the very young age of 2 or 3. Even my name Ron is diminutive of the male given name Ronald, of Hebrew origin, meaning “Song of Joy.”

So his new book, “Song of Ron,” is aptly titled, for these are the lyrics from the songs that he wrote and sang with his guitar, a valued friend and trusty companion throughout those years. n •••

The paperback is $14.99 at Bookshop Santa Cruz and Kelly’s Books in Watsonville, and $4.99 as an eBook. To learn more, visit https://store.bookbaby.com/book/Song-of-Ron

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“COVID Update” from page 9

When the Wickham case was filed on Nov. 10, no other nursing homes in the county had had a COVID death, but now that has changed.

Santa Cruz Post Acute has also reported 16 COVID deaths, and 10 people with COVID died at Pacific Coast Manor in Capitola. Two people with COVID died at Hearts & Hands Rehab in Santa Cruz. A few deaths were reported at residential care homed for the elderly.

Spini said the question will be whether each nursing home had specific failures in their infection control protocols, whether this is a systemic problem within nursing homes as a whole, or whether this is simply an unpreventable consequence of the virus.

He added, “One thing that we are learning is that at several facilities the elderly residents, once diagnosed with COVID, were essentially denied access to family members. Obviously, in-person visits are not practical. We are finding that even telephone or video conferencing communication was not being facilitated. This creates new concerns for these residents who knowing they were facing the end had to do so without any communication with their family or loved ones.”

So many deaths have occurred that county Public Health spokeswoman Corinne Hyland created a spreadsheet to keep track.

Initially, many of the COVID deaths were in the Latinx community, which saw a majority of the cases, but now the numbers have evened out, with 33 deaths of Caucasians topping the 23 Latinx deaths.

A record number of COVID cases in nursing homes is being seen nationwide, prompting the nursing home lobby to ask Congress for financial aid to hire additional staff, conduct testing and buy personal protective equipment.

“Our worst fears have come true as COVID runs rampant among the general population, and long-term care facilities are powerless to fully prevent it from entering due to its asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic spread,” stated Mark Parkinson, president and CEO of American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living, which represents 14,000 facilities across the nation.

Age, Underlying Conditions

Nursing home residents are typically older adults with multiple chronic conditions, making them most vulnerable to COVID-19, according to the AHCA/NCAL.

Hyland’s spreadsheet shows that is true locally.

The most deaths, 27, were among those 90 and above – including some centenarians – then 17 deaths of people in their 80s, eight deaths of people in their 70s, nine deaths of people in their 60s, a handful of deaths of people age 40 to 59, and no deaths of younger people.

Since residents at nursing homes and care facilities are not allowed to leave the premises, health officials believe staff are bringing the virus in.

COVID-19 is so new “I think there’s just a huge learning curve,” Hyland said.

CVS Delivery

Hospital workers are first in line to get the COVID vaccine, and Santa Cruz County got 1,950 doses for them on Dec. 15, divided between Dominican Hospital and Watsonville Community Hospital.

Nursing homes will get the vaccine from “a different route,” going through pharmacies such as CVS, Hyland said, noting that she does not have a date yet.

CVS earlier announced plans to hire thousands of workers to help distribute the vaccine.

The lawsuit filed against Watsonville Post Acute noted staff working at multiple facilities, increasing the likelihood the contagious coronavirus would spread.

Hyland said a policy requiring staff to work at only one facility would not work because “people are trying to make ends meet.”

“Many staff do work in several facilities, so when there is an exposure, a notice is sent to all facilities,” she said. “If there is an outbreak at a facility, no new admissions are taken.”

For example, admissions were halted in October at Watsonville Post Acute, but now there are zero cases and the facility currently accepts new residents.

California Department of Public Health, which licenses nursing homes, and California Department of Social Services, which licenses care homes for the elderly, “remain active in trying to mitigate outbreaks.”

Asked about personal protective equipment for nursing homes, Hyland said the county has PPE resources that facilities can tap. N-95 masks must be fit properly to prevent the virus from spreading, and she said the county has offered resources to nursing homes for that since April.

“We are currently contacting facilities and asking them to review those plans and ensure they are following proper infection control measures,” Hyland added. n •••

County COVID Deaths

As of Dec. 16

Age

90 and up:............................................27 80 to 89:................................................17 70 to 79:..................................................8 60 to 69:..................................................9 50 to 59:..................................................2 40 to 49:..................................................1

Race/Ethnicity

White:...................................................33

Latinx: ..................................................23

Asian: .....................................................4

Black:......................................................1

Other: .................................................... 1

Unknown:..............................................2 Underlying Conditions

Yes:........................................................47

No:........................................................17 Skilled Nursing/Residential Care

Watsonville Post Acute:.....................16

Santa Cruz Post Acute:......................16

Pacific Coast Manor:..........................10

Hearts & Hands Post Acute:...............2

Montecito Manor:.................................1

Maple House II:....................................1

Total:.....................................................46 Gender

Male:.................................................... 30

Female:.................................................34

Source: Santa Cruz County Public Health

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