Must be Covid-19

Sore throat must be Covid-19. Headache must be Covid-19. Fever must be Covid-19. Chills must be Covid-19. Cough must be Covid-19. Sneeze must be Covid-19. Backache must be Covid-19. Pimples must be Covid-19. Bad hair day must be Covid-19. Pink eye must be Covid-19. Rash must be Covid-19. Itching must be Covid-19. Bad breath must be Covid-19. Toenail grunge must be Covid-19. Earwax build-up must be Covid-19. Dirty underwear must be Covid-19. Leaky facet must be Covid-19. Body odor must be Covid-19. Laziness must be Covid-19. Boredom must be Covid-19. Rocky relationship must be Covid-19. Screaming children must be Covid-19. Electricity turned off must be Covid-19. Flat tire must be Covid-19. Getting liquor delivered must be Covid-19. Haven’t got your stimulus check must be Covid-19. No sex must be Covid-19. Bloating must be Covid-19. Rain must be Covid-19. Mac & Cheese for dinner again must be Covid-19. Piles of bills must be Covid-19. Lost track of time must be Covid-19. Dog pooped on floor must be Covid-19. Dirty dishes must be Covid-19. Farting must be Covid-19. Leaky roof must be Covid-19. Tired of reading must be Covid-19. Running out of soap must be Covid-19. Doing shots for breakfast must be Covid-19. Saying the words you wouldn’t say to your grandmother must be Covid-19. Turning over in the bed for exercise must be Covid-19. Writing book reviews of Superman comics must be Covid-19. Hearing a siren in the neighborhood must be Covid-19. Taking out the trash is a big adventure must be Covid-19. Knowing who is essential or non-essential must be Covid-19. Spending an hour chatting with somebody from India trying to sell you auto insurance must be Covid-19. Putting together a puzzle with pieces missing must be Covid-19. Doing a crossword with Google must be Covid-19. Deleting friends from your profile must be Covid-19. Picking your nose for fun must be Covid-19. Trying on your ‘work clothes’ and they don’t fit must be Covid-19. Your kids’ fail at home schooling must be Covid-19. There is a bear in the backyard must be Covid-19. Forgot how to start the car must be Covid-19. Believing the barrage of political memes must be Covid-19. Reading Revelations must be Covid-19. Writing your will must be Covid-19. Being happy to see someone walk down the street through the window must be Covid-19. Having your inbox being filled with request for donations must be Covid-19. Washing your hands every ten minutes must be Covid-19. Stub your toe must be Covid-19. Forget your kids’ names must be Covid-19. Cancellation of your summer vacation must be Covid-19. Breathing through a mask must be Covid-19. Hoping your children won’t put you in a retirement home must be Covid-19. Cutting the grass three times a week means it must be Covid-19. Snoring must be Covid-19. Learning to knit online without any yarn must be Covid-19. Forgetting why you are standing in the living room must be Covid-19. Bundling up in winter scarf’s, hats, gloves to go to the grocery must be Covid-19. Waking up to the bird songs must be Covid-19. Missing a deadline must be Covid-19. Today is Thursday must be Covid-19.

Where were you when the world stood still?

If you are old enough, you know where you where when the President told you about “a date which will live in infamy”. You may be old enough to remember where you were when another President was assassinated. You may have remembered the death of Martin Luther King and the riots that followed. Bobby Kennedy lying on the kitchen floor? The space shuttle Challenger explosion? 9-11?

All these were sudden monumental changes in the time warp of life. Some may have affected more closely than others, but today’s pandemic has stopped the entire world. There is no escape or avoidance.

Do you remember when the bottom fell out? When your boss said the business was closing and everyone was laid off? When all the toilet paper was gone at the store? When no one came out to play?

How we all coop with this ‘new normal’ is an individual adjustment. Social media certainly shows some of our reactions but we can’t hear the whispers in the bedroom. The bank statement is the new reality. The children at home, every day, all the time, are the new reality. The routine of getting dressed for work, putting on make-up, shaving (perhaps even daily bathing) has become none essential.

There have been other times of mystery and fear, creating a medical panic in every community. Polio was the word of the ‘invisible enemy’ when I was growing up. I was scared of the iron lung but was too young to comprehend. My parents and my teachers lined me up in school with the rest of my classmates and we took our medicine.

Later in life there was this HIV thing that became all the talk. From the first reports it seemed like a ‘gay disease’ so I didn’t worry. Then there was talk that bi-sexual activity could spread to the ‘straight’. At the time I was single without a steady girlfriend so it made clubbing more cautious. I met a girl who said she was on the pill and I didn’t need to put on protection. Weeks later I talked her into donating blood. We went to the local blood bank and I laid on the gurney and pumped out a pint, but where was she? Of course they gave us an Aid’s test before we were guided into the draining area and she never showed up. Was I about to find some finality to this relationship? I went into the waiting room and she was eating a cookie. “I’m anorexic and can’t give blood” she smiled.

1957-1958 Pandemic (H2N2 virus), 1968 Pandemic (H3N2 virus), 2009 H1N1 Pandemic (H1N1pdm09 virus), Ebola virus disease (EVD), SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV), and what other boogie boo I don’t remember. There has always been Cancer and Obesity and Diabetes and Tuberculoses and Measles and Mumps and Heart Attacks and a flood of physical ailments we have had for years and years. Start listing emotional and mental deficiencies and you about got everyone.

So maybe we will never see each other smile again. We will have to stand apart to speak behind mask. There will no more be gatherings for baseball games, weddings, birthday celebrations, and Sunday prayers or movie theatres. Children will only be able to play with their siblings and relatives can only be talked to on screen. Television will be full over cooking shows and reruns and cartoons for there will be no sports. Shopping will have to be done online with questionable delivery times. The shared experience of hanging out with your friends will become history. Meeting new people will become a click on Tinder or Facebook hoping the profile image is the same as they might appear in person.

Motivation and inspiration will fade under the lack of deadlines. Anxiety will be where the next meal comes from while the money runs out. Summer family vacations to the beach or Disneyland are the things of the past. Toilet paper and rent payments will replace the idea of shopping for that new car.

Your children will grow up before your eyes but will not leave for all the schools are closed and there is no place to go. Business conferences on line are a waste of airtime for the business probably won’t open again. If you are an essential worker making time-and-a-half for hazard pay is wondering why you can’t sleep in like everyone else.

There will be no cookouts and fireworks for July 4^th. There will be no dressing the kids up and going door to door for candy on Halloween. Christmas won’t have Santa coming down the chimney and all the gifts will have smiling faces.

The historians will write about the day when the cure was discovered and saved mankind from deadly extermination.

Or not.

Give me the shot

Or the pill or the cup or the rub on lotion or….

Whatever your people in white garb come up with, we will stand in line and take it. It may be painful or taste bad, but everyone else is doing it, so give me the shot.

Medicine is the promise of feeling better with no guarantees. Haven’t you read any of that teeny tiny print on the side of the boxes? All sorts of bad things might happen to you as side affects because you and I and the girl behind me are all different.

Is this amount too strong or not enough? How will it affect red heads? What about blondes? Will blacks or Latinos or Asians react the same?

There are reports and studies and testing on control groups where some get the dose and others don’t. Let’s see what happens.

Once the ‘miracle cure’ is decided on, thousands of vials are produced in sanitary laboratories and shipped to clinics and hospitals across the country so the community can line up to get theirs.

Now we are invincible again.

What about the guy down the block? He didn’t get a shot? Maybe he still has it? Maybe he will give it to all of us again?

So we end the story as they light the torches.

The Last Goodbye

In this time of Zoom conferences and Skype and email images with no physical contact, do you remember when the last time you said, “Goodbye”?

When people would leave from an evening meal or drinks with friends or a family occasion, we would wave and say, “See you” or “Have a good one” or “Later” assuming tomorrow would bring you face-to-face again.

This time it is different.

There is no end in sight to this total imprisonment. Screen images are like saying “Hello” to a photograph. A voice message cannot relate facial expressions.

We are social creatures. We welcome others into our confidence and miss them when they are apart.

Now with social distancing and the unknown of the possibility around the corner, what do you remember about the last time you were actually in the room with the other person? How did the conversation go? Did you solve some problems? Did you tell some secrets? Did you reminisce about old times never thinking this might be the last time?

What did you say when they left?

There are people who have gone before me that I never said “Goodbye” to. My father. My mother. My wife. Friends who left with smiles and laugher would soon to be removed from my contact list without a proper “Goodbye”.

In this time of reflection of our own mortality we might consider our welcomes and goodbyes.

If people are important for whatever reason, what do you remember about the last time you saw them?

Every morning I step out into the yard and stop. I stand still for a few moments to see what the yard tells me. I then go get my pony and get geared up to ride and then stand still again. I look up at the clouds coming through the trees. I notice how the forest has changed since last I was here. I take a deep breath. I remind myself everyday how lucky I am to have this plot of land. Only then do I walk off not knowing if I’ll ever be back.

Week ???? – Who is counting?

So let’s see how we are adjusting to staying away from each other? Liquor manufactures are delivering to your door. Those little cute comments are becoming annoying. Going out and sitting alone in the auto at night is a vacation. Working at home is a joke. Home schooling is a bigger joke. This is a fantasy venture with no end in sight.

The post office (while still open) will keep bringing the bills that can’t be paid. The constant diet of mac & cheese is bloating everyone up so they puff when walking the dog for exercise. Reruns on Netflix just mean you can open the liquor sooner.

If the unemployment and stimulus checks run dry? When the lights go out and the phone quits will you wander outside amongst the other wild creatures?

While all that sounds like gloom and doom, you can watch Jimmy Jones bid of people on his yacht. News reports of millions of face mask and gloves and shields are being bought and shipped around every state, but no one is saying who is paying for it.

Confusion reigns and everyone is ready to break out, as the temperature is getting warmer. Kids who didn’t get a prom or a graduation ceremony must decide sign up for college that may not open, apply to McDonald’s at the drive-thru, or join the navy? Those among use who are still under the obligation of mortgages, childcare, elderly parents, credit card debt, and homeowners association fees are so glad they listened to their parents and stuffed away a tidy nest egg to survive any pandemic.

For the rest of us it is putting on the same worn clothing of yesterday, wiping off your cup instead of washing, make some Irish coffee to start the day, turn on the electronics to see if the world has ended or not then listen to all the complaining.

Reports of food lines give hope, but no one volunteers. Reports of storms and tornado destruction, fires and the occasional shooting just add to the misery.

There has to be more to a day than planning ingredients for a meal, the wash and repeat until you physically cannot function any longer. Sounds like a college dorm room to me. Maybe it is time to refresh “Animal House”?

How many days have I been saying, “Tomorrow I will run the vacuum and hook up the back-up drive and change that light bulb upstairs”? These days when the pressures to please someone else like going to work or making that doctors’ appointment or getting the car inspected or picking up the kids on time, we just become slugs.

Listening to a show talking about this is the time when we have the time to do the things we always complained we didn’t have the time.

Today is still a bit chilly with last nights rain but when the sun comes out behind the clouds the whole yard perks up. It is springtime. It also could be the last day?

I walk outside into the middle of the forest and stand-alone. Listening. Time has no meaning. The sun is warm on my face. The creatures of this land are doing what they do around me, allowing me to participate.

Hopefully as the weather warms up this time will only get better. It may be age or wisdom but the simple pleasures of life as we have it has so been forgotten and unappreciated.

So if it is Monday or Wednesday or next week, the sun comes up and new day welcomes you to enjoy life. What you decide to do with the time is up to you.

Stay safe.

The Press Conference

There was a time when information coming from the white house was a press conference. Intuitively press conferences are important in a democracy to hold leaders accountable for their actions and conduct in office. It provides a forum for politicians to explain issues that may be a source of query or unease for reporters and the wider society.

Press Briefing - It is a meeting called by an organization, government, etc, to inform the press of something.

Press Conference - It is a media event in which newsmakers invite journalists to hear them speak and, most often, ask questions.

The White House press secretary is a senior White House official whose primary responsibility is to act as spokesperson for the executive branch of the United States government administration, especially with regard to the president, senior aides and executives, as well as government policies.

The press secretary is responsible for collecting information about actions and events within the president's administration and issues the administration’s reactions to developments around the world. The press secretary interacts with the media and the White House press corps on a daily basis, generally in a daily press briefing. The press secretary serves by the appointment and at the pleasure of the president of the United States; the office does not require the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate, though because of the frequent briefings given to the media, who in turn inform the public, the position is still a very prominent non-Cabinet post.

So there was a time when the White House press secretary came before the press to announce and explain governmental actions as a go-between the executive leader and the forth estate (or fifth estate?).

The ‘press’ is used to describe journalistic reporters, news outlets or social media who gather the news. News ‘media’ are ways of distributing news.

Recently the president has decided to have nightly press conferences or Pandemic Task Force (headed by the vice president standing by his side) briefings to tell the American public the actions of the government and give recommendations or guidelines for each to follow. The press took notes, got handouts and asked questions with the opportunity to ask the president and the experts first hand.

Like Roosevelt’s fireside chats or Churchill’s speeches, these press conferences (or briefings) were to give viable information and sooth the fears of the ‘invisible enemy’.

Unfortunately they went off the rails and became a political rally or worst, a battle with the press.

Now they seem to be over.

That means to get our information will be the handouts or leaked news to reporters and editors to assimilate and trim to a blip on the screen or a headline that can be re-discussed and analysis by the opinion talking heads.

Now it is time to move ahead without direction. You need to know when to wander out after the latest bombing. You will have to decide if what your heard or what the gossip going around is true. You will have to decide when to take off your mask. You will have to decide to send your children back to public school or not. You will have to decide where the next paycheck is coming from.

Without government giving laws and rules and regulations by elected officials that we all agree to follow, the community decides what is acceptable to them to survive.

Contact Tracing

Where are you? Who have you been in contact with? Where did you come from? Where are you going?

For some time people have wanted their social networks to tell them where the closest restaurant is or how to grab a ride or how to get from point A to point B, but no one wanted to be tracked.

People would duck away from security cameras trying to hide with a phone in their pocket following their every move.

From time beginning, the computer works on a network by ‘pinging’. This is how your computer or phone or pad can go out through the air and contact another computer or phone or pizza delivery van.

While it is wonderful technology that a quick press of a button can connect you with the world, but the computer that sends your message knows where you want to go and also knows who you are.

Our privacy has always been cherished and protected with safe deposit boxes and passwords, but we have to give up one for the other.

The advertisements that appear on your Facebook pages or your Tinder links or your Amazon orders are just your history of research and interest given back to you.

You can’t have privacy and also immediate connection with the world.

So now this new ‘contact tracing’ or personal snooping would only take place after you have been tested for the cooties.

On this test, if you fail you have to stay home. Call it isolation, quarantine or prison, you failed the test and must stay in detention.

Then the ‘contact tracing’ starts.

Sort of like a genealogy of who do you come from and when, a contact detective team will grill you on where have you been, who did you see, where did you go in the past month. Once they have a list of names and places the contact tracers will spread out and seek out anyone who may have shared spit or had close proximity and find out where they were and who they knew, and the list goes on and on.

If the test is given and re-given, more and more people will be detained from normal living and more and more data will be accumulated. This information along with your social media profiles, friends, contacts, census, tax information and religious affiliation will be combined to know who you are and where you are at any given time.

Giving up your privacy is your decision but what about your friends and family? What about the person you passed on the street who you have never seen before? Can you describe their outfit, haircut and direction they went? Where they tall or short? Did they speak to you? Were they in a vehicle? Did you get the license number?

Understanding this ‘contact tracing’ is to find out WHO has the cooties and then corralling them into submission until a solution is concocted or they just die, the sun will shine again tomorrow.

When the contact detectives knock on your door, feel free to take the swab and give them all the information on your whereabouts and friends and neighbors and associates and credit card numbers and social media contacts for this is a National Emergency and Freedom's just another word for nothin’ left to lose.

Feeling Adventurous?

In these times of home sheltering, one feels adventurous to walk outside.

There are those among us who seek the thrill of venturing into the unknown and possibly dangerous or life-threatening to climb mountains, hang glide, swim with sharks, walk in space, drive beyond the speed limit, have babies or call someone for a date; these days of self restraint must be demoralizing if not constricting or emasculated.

Yet we are a curious creature and must explore even under orders to shelter in place. Besides only a few have foreseen the future to grow gardens and raise chickens, goats and a possible bovine or two.

The rest of us, following the proper government instructions of social distancing and facial covering, must wander out into the world now and again to forage for grub.

That means going to the Tummy Temple.

With limited traffic the ride is must more appreciated in this time of spring. It can be fast or slow depending on the chill in the air or the sunshine but this time of isolation of others, an independent appreciates the space.

The carts are clean and the place is starting to smell nice. Many of the usual deacons and ushers are doing their jobs in their blue aprons but now looking like nurses. The shelves are not packed, but they are stocked. No one seemed to have a run on olive oil during the hoarding panic. Even t-paper has reappeared.

The other day there were black uniformed security personnel outside. Since the path in and out has been changed I had to walk by them. I asked if they were guarding the food. They mumbled under their mask and I kept on moving. Later I found there was a “Liberate” movement just down the street. Things are not ‘normal’ at the Tummy Temple.

Pat and Chris were scouring the frozen food section and complaining as they always do, but these are not normal days because you can’t hear them through the mask. The congregation has thinned out while the park and bring the food to your trunk has picked up. I am still waiting for the ‘bring to your house, unpack it, cook it then eat it’ so I don’t have to eat all this stuff I bring home.

Still it is a good reason to get some exercise and now is an adventure for every venture into humanity could be the last. Don’t know these people or their hygiene or whom they shelter with or what makes them essential. Personal space has always been a requirement so avoiding others is no problem.

Though the traffic flow is less than it has been, the driving quality has not improved. With all the time alone inside has not increase the drivers intelligence of using signals or following other rules of the road, so for survival I wait.

Not being too adventurous I return home safe and sound to feed my bunnies, hydrate and view the cynicism of my social media contacts. Not even adventurous to comment for these are uncomfortable times.

The Sacrificial Generation

These are strange times. The world is shutdown and all we can do is look to each other.

Babies are still being born just like the flowers are blooming. Folks still eat and sleep and wake up the next day to do it all over again, but now it is different.

Kids can’t go out and play ball after home schooling. Going out means driving thru the drive thru. Sports are ancient history and the laundry is piling up. Those little quirks are becoming annoying and taking the dog for a walk is a vacation. Gas is cheap but there is no place to go. You flip off your boss when you get an email about the last report then realize your computer camera is still on.

Everyday the numbers of those who have been tested and those who have been hospitalized come across the screen. Lately the numbers of dead also include the numbers who have recovered, but they don’t say what a recovery is.

Like any disease or plague or whatever you want to call it, the weak will suffer the most.

Which brings us to the ‘assisted living’ facilities. Like the poor and the indigenous people, this is where we warehouse the old folk….

The idea of triage is to the assignment of degrees of urgency to wounds or illnesses to decide the order of treatment of a large number of patients or casualties.

Unfortunately I’m now in the category of the sacrificial lamb generation. If there is one ventilator or even a vaccination to assist your immune system, a doctor must decide between two patients.

I’m not in a Holiday Camp yet but a fall or heart murmur could get me there. I’m used to two wheels and not four, beside those places are full of old people.

We all die alone, just like we are all born alone (except for twins, but one comes out first)

Touch

One of those things you miss living alone is touch of another.

There is something soothing in a touch. It connects us together. A gentle brush on an arm, a bump in passing, a kiss on the neck, a massage or just the brush of a hair away from the face is all about the touch.

This is impossible from social distancing.

Even the firm handshake or the pat on the back is no longer acceptable human activities.

If (and or when) we come out on the other side of this, will we trust our old habits? Will we fear each other to stay away and not touch?

From the time we crawled out of the water we groomed each other. Have you missed your haircuts yet? Have you noticed how fast your nails grow? The personal preening by another draws us together. Look at the number of strangers we would hug. Remember the slow dance?

It has been ancient history for me, but I have memories that still make the hairs on my back stand at attention. A touch, fondle, stroke, cuddle all requires the human touch and response. A pet is different than Fido.

Couples who were together when all this happened can hope the other one doesn’t have it and being quarantined together for a month should see the symptoms but in the meantime can cook together close in the kitchen, snuggle together watching old movies, holding hands on long walks and cuddling in the bedroom.

For the rest of us, no matter how many rooms to wander back and forth or electronic distractions, there is no one to touch.

The few ventures out into public, touching a stranger would not be appropriate before and now even the attempt would become a capitol crime.

If and when we can approach one another, the touch will be more appreciated and cherished.

Study

Everyday there are post on the Internet of studies done. These are researching different qualifications and inspections done by (supposedly) qualified personnel to define problems and offer possible solutions.

Read the headlines and one can assume the facts are conclusive to the results of the study…until.

Do you remember when you studied for an exam? Maybe you had taken footnotes and cross-correlated information being spouted from the professor or teacher. Maybe you read all the text in the required reading only to fine that 90% of it was fluff for textbooks are written by teachers who are wanting verification and tenure and are obsolete before the ink dries.

Maybe you cram the night before trying to catch up on all that time you wasted down at the local pub talking about sport teams or some fine looking lady? No amount of coffee or meds will pour semesters worth of stuff into your head for the next day.

Back to the stuff that is flowing off the wire as “news” based on a study from some organization or publication, what is relevant and what is propaganda?

Like so many interviews with ‘experts’ who give their views on a question with the credentials of associate or assistant or adjunct professor. Everyone has an opinion and a point-of-view with whatever data they can back it up with, but is it complete?

These studies can be hundreds of pages or volumes with many references to other studies and opinion pieces and references to historical writings and quotations from great writers, theologians, philosophers and world leaders.

Appreciate all those book nerds that will read and re-read text and highlight and copy and paste to make a point.

Just like the scientists who are now in spotless clean labs filling Petri dishes and test tubes mixing colored liquids to see if A+B=C will B+D-Q=?

No matter how smart you think you are, your bias is based on your facts, as you perceive them.

Do you ‘Got IT’?

Besides what everyone is saying about washing your hands and staying away from everyone, do you have ‘IT’?

They say, as they do, the symptoms are fever, chills, dry coughs and gasping for air. These are not clinical terms but you get the overall picture.

If you’ve ever had a cold or the flu or bronchitis or asthma you know some of the symptoms. This time is not that but that first cough will send you to the ER.

Some of the symptoms I’ve read about are losing smell and taste.

Now I can tell you it is now springtime in Virginia and the aroma is the most excellent. The flowers are blooming, the greenery is fresh and without all the traffic, the air is clear. I use the sense of scent when I ride to enjoy every block of different flowers and trees and passing perfume but don’t like Mondays. That is trash day.

I haven’t eaten anything remarkable recently but do know the difference between peanut butter cookies and dark red kidney beans. Too many beans will remind me of the other scent.

Believe cleanliness is next to Godliness, but I’m not getting close to the pearly gates. I do know the Tummy Temple is cleaner than it has ever been.

About now everyone is starting to sneeze and wheeze with the yellow carpet and wondering, “Is this IT?” We are so frantic now that any cough will make everyone around back away to social distancing space.

It might be IT or it just might be the season saying ‘Hello’. If you found a test and took it, what would you do if IT were positive? There is no vaccine or magic potion so the recommendation is to go home, get some rest, drink plenty of liquids and if IT gets worse, call an ambulance. The ambulance will pick you up; drive you to the local medical center to be evaluated. If they declare you have IT, you will be wheeled into quarantine isolation hooked up to a breathing machine to die. I think that is the process.

No one has posted all the data of how many of those who are connected to air survival or how many of those who stay at home die.

When the bell rings and we can all come out to play are we safe? Can we breathe the air the same as we used to do? Do we shake the hand of a neighbor or hug a distant relative the way we did before?

Everyone is suspect now. It might me you? It might be them? It might be me?

Now that is social distancing from anxiety and fear has become the norm what will happen to community?

The next phase doesn’t look good.

Wash your hands.

Sorry

Why do we apologize for crying? We don’t apologize for laughing.

There are certain occasions when crying is accepted. Funerals. Disasters. Weddings.

If we cry in front of another we mop our tears and apologize for the display of human emotion.

Somehow we laugh at everything. We laugh to get accepted by others over a joke we don’t get. We laugh when we get drunk until we puke and then we cry. We laugh at each other until one starts to cry.

We never feel laughing as a cover for a bad statement or rude comment will refrain our intent. We laugh to cover our sins.

Both emotions are uncontrollable. A simple plat fall or goofy statement can break us up into a rolling jellyroll belly guffaw. A beer commercial with big horses and puppies can bring a fountain flow every time.

While laughter is contagious and people join in with hilarious reactions, crying is a private emotion. It is difficult to share the emotion that creates crying.

The question is why do we say, “Sorry” when wiping away the tears.

Some people wear yellow hair without asking approval of others. Some people drive fast or drink too much without remorse. When someone falls, some will laugh and some will cry.

Accept we all have emotions and others must accept it as a part of who we are.

Week #5 – or is it #6?

Hard to believe it has been another week. Seems like only yesterday was just like the day before and the day before that.

Tired of watching old movies and eating junk food? Don’t know what your kids are talking about properties of derivatives and integrals of functions, by methods originally based on the summation of infinitesimal differences. Your cat won’t sit on your lap because you’ve been wearing the same underwear for a week.

When jigsaw puzzles become the NEW NORMAL, debasing to hunter/gatherers is not far away. Toilet paper has become the new white gold.

The delivery trucks still bring cardboard boxes to porches but not nearly as frequently as before. A few grub delivery folks show up but haven’t seen a pizza delivery in weeks. Are people cooking at home or just living off pb&j sandwiches?

Haven’t smelt the backyard barbecues or even heard the kids in the backyards.

Speaking of quiet, no traffic or airplanes or lawnmowers or tree cutters or roof replacements, this place is as quiet as a deserted island.

Not complaining about the lack of traffic. For a two-wheeler it is an adventure into fantasyland of wonder. Instead of being alert of possible elimination, can ride at ease and enjoy the sites and smells and sounds.

Still aware that anyone and everyone is the enemy, dress like a cowboy and keep a safe distance of personal space, then venture into humanity is only for refreshments and observation.

The immediate neighbors only want space and shelter and some kindness. A meal or two of antioxidants seem to please them and myself. At this time, it is good to have this space for all to enjoy the garden that was given to us.

The only real conversation with another humanoid was a cycling prophet who exchanged some weird speculations of the situation until I said, “I’ve made my amends with my maker” to which he said, “Amen Brother” and left happy.

Tomorrow (they say) will be rainy. It may keep me in or I can attempt to ride between the drops. Stocked up on the blueberries as they are going through two batches everyday.

With all this time on our hands, we should be doing something other than wasting time between when we wake up and when we go to sleep.

We never did before.

We had our day planned for when we ate, got the kids off to school, dress appropriately for viewing, got to work on time, messed around with senseless meetings and email until lunch to return to rinse and repeat then returned home exhausted to plop down on the sofa and watch mindless television until the wine ran out.

Every evening we hear our leaders tote their achievements with numbers so grand it is beyond comprehension. What is the cost? These things aren’t free! Charts and graphs and numbers trying to describe the ‘invisible enemy’ but it only make sense when they drag your neighbor away. Did you just cough?

That check you received might not cover your college debt and your mortgage and your doctor’s bill (yes, they bill you too) and the plumber’s fee for that clogged toilet, but it is better than nothing. This money is your money. This is not coming out your congressman’s pocket as good will. This is your tax money given back to you (instead of buying another tank or section of wall) and come next tax season, it will be included as ‘capital gains’. You will just be taxed on money you were already taxed on.

And the ‘interest free’ loans for businesses? The key word is loan. It is not a hand-me-down grant but a loan that needs to be paid back. Check the details with your accountant (if you can afford one).

It is interesting to listen to opponents’ state their terms and studies and reports and opinions while the common man wonders what happened when the bottom fell out. Where is the bread line?

This ‘new normal’ might go beyond the 15 days or 30 days or 60 days. Even when a vaccine is created and tested and proven in a control environment, it will have to be manufactured in large quantities and distributed to every Tom, Dick and Mary (with documented verification). Only then may we take a sigh of relief, but wait. What about the rest of the world?

Have you thought about redecorating? This is a good time to do it. Learning to sew new clothing for your kids? Now is the perfect time. There is no need to worry about auto repair training for your car isn’t going anywhere. It is a good time to start a ‘Victory Garden’ for sooner or later the food chain will break down with the lack of detained migrants and sick truck drivers. This is a good time to check your first aid supplies and your scouting medical knowledge because hospital beds will be hard to get.

Next week will bring more good news of how China planned the pandemic and the Democrats are holding up giving away another gazillon bucks with no oversight and while you can still escape into “Harry Potter and the Cookie Monster”, J.K. Rowling can’t write fast enough for another adventure.

There are lots of entrepreneurs and established scientific research centers working hard to find a solution for governmental funding. What better incentive than money? Just name your price if it works.

There will still disability. There will be mental illness. There will be domestic violence. There will be suicides. There will be murders. There will be bored people looking for more adventure than Pac-Man. People will continue to get old and die. Babies will be born. Fires will burn. Tornadoes will ravish the landscape and life will go on.

We can shelter in place scared of the unknown flooded with information (some true and some false) while checking out calendar for the date when the alarm clock will ring and we can all go back to Neverland.

See you next week.

(Lord willing and the creek don’t rise)

What is Epidemiology?

Epidemiology is the area of healthcare that deals with the incidence, distribution, and possible control of diseases, illnesses and ‘other factors’ relating to health.

What is Epidemiology?

Epidemiology is a field where trained epidemiologists study patterns of frequency and the causes and effects of diseases in human populations. Epidemiology provides the scientific footings for evidence-based medicine and allows placement of strategies for improvement in public health. Epidemiology is often referred to as the cornerstone of modern public health research and practice and it relies on a variety of relevant public health areas, including biology, biostatistics, social sciences, and assessing risk of exposure to a threat.

What is an Epidemiologist?

Epidemiologists study outbreaks of diseases, the causes, locations, and how various communities are affected, utilizing relative information to aid in the prevention of future outbreaks. Epidemiologists help to keep the public informed of methods to maintain and improve public health. Epidemiologists work at universities and for government organizations including the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), National Institute of Health (NIH), or the World Health Organization (WHO).

The Bureau of Labor Statistics states that epidemiologists earned an average of $65,270 in 2012 with the top ten percent of epidemiologists earning at least $108,320.

What are the Degree Options for a Career in Epidemiology?

* Bachelor’s Degree – Most universities and colleges do not offer undergraduate programs in Epidemiology and those who want to pursue epidemiology careers usually choose to pursue medicine or other health fields prior to graduate studies.

* Master’s Degree – Epidemiologists are required to have at least a Master’s degree from an accredited University or College. Most epidemiologists have a Master’s Degree in Public Health (MPH) or a related field. Epidemiology graduate programs provide students with the skills to investigate and analyze the root causes and spread of disease to develop methods of prevention and control. The most common degree is a Master of Public Health with a concentration or focus on epidemiology, however degree programs that focus solely on epidemiology are becoming more popular. Most Master’s Degree programs require students to complete a practicum or internship that can last for up to one year. In addition to a Master’s Degree in Epidemiology some programs offer highly concentrated degrees for those pursuing particular career paths. Some areas of specialization can include focus on cancer, cardiovascular disease, genetics, infectious disease, environmental causes and aging.

* Doctoral Degree – Some research epidemiologists may be required to hold a Ph.D. or medical degree depending on the careers they choose. A doctoral degree provides graduates the skills and knowledge required to be at the top of their chosen field. The doctorate degree in epidemiology consists of one to three years of study and a doctoral dissertation. Those who earn a doctorate will find more opportunities available including more in-depth research studies or options for teaching. Students in a doctoral program can specialize in specific areas of epidemiology including cancer research or zoonotic infectious diseases.

What are the Future Career Paths For Those With Graduate Degree’s in Epidemiology?

Those who pursue careers in epidemiology within public health work in many capacities including within universities and government organizations including the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), National Institute of Health (NIH), or World Health Organization (WHO). The Bureau of Labor Statistics states that epidemiologists earned an average of $65,270 in 2012 with the top ten percent of epidemiologists earning at least $108,320.

This area of Healthcare Management is an excellent option for individuals who want to help track patterns of illness and disease and decipher plans to stop further spread. A career as an Epidemiologist is a great way to help your community, society and humankind.

There seems to be a lot of ‘ologist’ out there. Psychologist, Sociologist, Zoologist, Biologist, Theologist and more ‘gist’ than there is paper here to print.

To be ‘ologist’ means to study a subject. Just throw that on to the back of your favorite subject and you qualify. You might even make talk radio?

So here we are stuck at home, reading more than we ever did in school, listening to twenty year old music we can’t dance to, eating everything in sight and digging a tunnel to escape while waiting on an Epidemiologist to come up with a solution to set us free.

I read the reports of anti-bodies and invasive cold germs to wipe out this new plague. I also know it takes more than fifteen minutes to come up with the magic elixir to rid the country of this ‘invisible enemy’ so we can all come outside again.

So the best of the scientific minds are searching for variations to a solution, we wait and after awhile we will try anything to put us out of our misery.

Perhaps aspirin or vapor rub will work? Have they tried decongestant or nose spray? How about cocaine?

This ‘new normal’ may last (dare I say it?) years. I’m old enough to die in this pandemic wearing a bandana eating a banana. I’m already homeschooled but would like to meet some new people along the way out.

The idea of shaking hands is now forebode which also takes away the subtleties of holding hands or touching. Swapping spit with a stranger will become a distant memory. This makes dating boring. This will also cut down on the population.

While the Epidemiologist study their charts and examine their data and compare their testing, we will wait.

As long as the food holds out and we can bury our dead in the backyard, we will wait.

Wash your hands.

Week #4 – Just Another Day

So here we are again. Someone wrote something about resurrection and someone else wrote something about colored eggs, but it is still just another day to scratch off on the calendar.

You are under house arrest and there is no parole in sight.

No one expected this but it has happened before. Do we blame the bats for they are the only mammals that drink our blood? They also eat all those bugs that bug us in the summer.

In my lifetime (that I can remember) there have been other pandemics. 

When I was just a tike, there was the image of polio that scared the bijous out of me. Oral Roberts would talk to these kids in metal tubes and pray for them, but they didn’t get up and walk away.

My parents never talked about disease or plagues or anything medical. If an aspirin or Pepto-Bismol or Ex-lax couldn’t handle it, we’d call Ole Doc Page who made house calls and would recommend more fluids and wet clothes and if that didn’t get better bring the little one down to his office so his nurse could give a shot of Penicillin.

After realizing that routine, I tried to avoid getting ill. I couldn’t avoid the tonsils or the appendix but stayed away from the sick kids.

At the time, when the nation was under attack by some disease, the government doctors declared all children get vaccines at school. It was the 50’s and we just stood in line and did what we were told.

For polio they gave us sugar cubes. Take that where you want to.

We also hid under our fabricated desk to avoid atomic bombs.

There was also a small pox shot given at school that left a big crater. It makes sense to give the kids vaccination at schools because that is where they all should be, but what about the adults?

At work they used to have blood drives that I participated in until the ‘nurse’ could find the vein.

They also offered flu shots (that was charged to co-pay). The only time I got the flu was after one of these shots. That was not a confidence builder.

Beside the point of there is no cure in the foreseeable future, spring is here and you got nowhere to go but relax and enjoy the season. There is pollen all over your car that needs washing (the kids can help with that), that green stuff popping up from the ground needs a trim job, time is a wasting on cleaning out that closet, instead of baking another batch of cookies the shoes could be polished and arranged in order or just sit still in the sunshine and listen to the birds and feel the breeze and take a nap.

Now that you are becoming an aficionado of cooking Mac & Cheese and well on your way to Alcoholic Anonymous, there is no end in sight, so it is up to you to become creative with your time. This is FREE TIME to do what you’ve always wanted. Don’t waste it.

Think you are crawling the walls? What about these guys? They couldn’t get out to walk the dog.

Besides being home bond isn’t so bad when you are so drunk you can’t find the door.