Day 38 and the new, fungible, normal

Today at the grocery store there was a 40-something woman shopping during the senior (60+) hours. Faux pas number 1.And she had no mask on! #2 And she was ignoring the one-way signs for the aisles. #3 She stood out like a sore thumb and EVERYONE was talking about her.

It's like she was from a different planet. Or maybe from the year 2019.

As I was checking out, with the Plexiglas shield between me and the cashier, the alien lady approached from the other end of the checkout line; she came over behind the shield, right in the cashier's face, to protest a charge on her bill. She had the shelf price card in her hand, "See, it says right here 99 cents. See here on my bill, I got two of them and was charged $2.00. You need to refund me."  Never mind that the cashier was in the middle of checking out my groceries. #4, #5, #6

The new normal is me, wearing a mask, greeting the two cashiers by their checkout stands, also wearing masks. No more smiling hello, we nod politely at each other.

I noticed a friend shopping as well and we stopped far enough apart that we had to raise our voices to chat a minute.

Strange days.

Meanwhile, our Governor announced yesterday that he is easing the Shelter in Place restrictions so that surgeries can be performed again. So those who need their brain tumors removed, or who need heart valves or joint replacement, or organ transplants have some hope of not dying from something other than COVID-19.

Day 37 and those who don't learn from history

Because of our president's (lower case because he doesn't deserve the respect of upper case) cowardice, narcissism, or stupidity -- or all three -- there was no coordinated, national effort to quarantine in the early days of this pandemic. Decisions for limited or complete quarantines were left to the Governors. Some, notably Democrats, like NY's Andrew Cuomo and CA's Gavin Newsom shut things down pretty early. Other states on each coast followed in a timely manner. 

The South and the Midwest, with more often than not Republican Governors who were tied to the president's coat tails, were much slower. Florida's Governor didn't want to interfere with Spring Break -- and hundreds of college students returned to their home states carrying the virus with them. Louisiana's Governor didn't want to interfere with Mardi Gras. Economics took precedence over Public Health.

Now that NY and CA are showing some slowing of new virus cases, hospitalizations, and deaths, the latecomer Governors, and a coordinated cohort of GOP toadies, are calling for all stay at home orders to be lifted. Even in the states with later closures which are still showing huge rises in cases, hospitalizations, and deaths! Open up the Economy, no matter how many people may die needlessly. Georgia intends a slow, phased in re-opening, starting with hair salons, tattoo parlors and bowling alleys!

The most cogent meme trending these days is something about how, since your rate of descent is slowing, now would be a good time to cut the straps of your parachute. Never mind that you are still 2500 feet above the ground. 

People who know what is going on have, for years, decried the state of education in the US. Never has that been more evident than now. The average person has no understanding of civics, public health, history or even basic mathematics. 

Day 36 and ... today I got nothing

Day 35 and how things will change, or not

Of the things that have changed/are changing in the way we conduct our daily lives, what will change back and what may stay changed?

I do like that stores are more often closed on Sunday. I like that stores have reduced hours of opening. Yes, 9-5 workers need to have 5-9 shopping but, see below.

Wouldn't it be nice if all the people who CAN work from home, CONTINUE to work from home? If nothing else, this pandemic has proven to big corporations that work-from-home and flex-time can still be profitable. Managers don't really need to see your body in a chair in your cubical to be sure that you are working; all they need to see is the bottom line. Did the work get done? Was it done on time? Was it done correctly? Then, HOW and WHERE it got done is moot.

A side benefit would be a reduction in the number of cars on the road at "rush hour". If you only go into the office on Tuesday and Friday afternoons from noon to 4; and Jim and Sally only go into the office on Wednesdays and Thursdays between 10 and 5; and Frank and Joe are there Monday from 8 to noon, think of all the cars that are NOT on the road. Corporations could save on real estate as well: you and Sally and Joe share one office space; Jim and Frank share their space with Mary.

The same goes for school. If students can learn the material, and finish their assignments at home, on their own flexible time, what does it matter if they did it at 8 am in a school building or at 8 pm at home? And class sizes could be wonderfully reduced by having students in the building only 3 days a week, for 3-4 months at a time. A different cohort of students attend in-person classes for a different 3-4 months. Perhaps the cohorts overlap for a month or 2, then overlap with a different cohort for the other half of their time. The possibilities are myriad.

Perhaps, the Western world will no longer have a stigma around wearing a mask in public when one is ill. Perhaps, the Western world will no longer have a fetish around shaking hands, hugging, kissing mere acquaintances, touching strangers.

What else could change?

Day 34 and realization

I planted my cannabis from purchased, guaranteed feminized seeds this year; too many male plants come up when I use my own harvested seeds. The package of 6 seeds had 12 in it, so I germinated all 12. Eleven germinated, so I planted all 11 in solo cups. One succumbed to  ... probably root rot. California law says I can grow 6 plants for personal use, so I offered the remaining 4 to my niece and her boyfriend.

They said the'd pick them up sometime this weekend, then texted how about Saturday late afternoon? I was looking forward to having company. I picked some lemons for them. I woke, fed, and divided my sourdough starter so I could give them a jar of it. I cleaned the stove top because he is a fanatic about clean stoves.

Yesterday -- He came alone because she was surfing; he stayed at least 6' away from me at all times; he thanked me for the extras; he left after 10 minutes.

All along, I've been saying "I'm fine with this social distancing stuff", "I don't mind being home alone with my cats and my crafts all day", "I don't really need people around."

So, tell me, why am I depressed this morning?

Day 33 and analysis from a friend

My friend Craig posted this essay on Facebook. This gives a very clear and cogent analysis of our current situation.

The Covid-19 pandemic isn't just a once-in-a-lifetime event, it's a once-in-a-century event. Not since the Spanish Flu (ironically named, since Spain was the only country not lying about it) has the world seen anything like this. WWII is close, and there are about seven million Americans old enough to remember how the war impacted their lives, and the sacrifices Americans made to support the war effort.

Among the many challenges we face today are those who downplay the seriousness of Covid-19, comparing it to the common cold or influenza. While many people may catch the virus and show no symptoms, at least as many (probably more, the research is fuzzy) will have severe symptoms, and 250,000 Americans will die from it before the end of this year.

As we have a common enemy, one that shows no bias for politics, religion, or other beliefs, you would think we could unite against it. But in this bizarre era of tribalism and political polarization, nothing can escape partisanship. And for some odd reason, a significant portion of the country has decided to side with virus and against science.

It began back in January and accelerated in February when their cult leader*, the narcissist-in-chief*, dismissed the threat posed by the virus and attacked the media for reporting factually about it and its spread. He was quickly joined by right-wing media who spread dangerous misinformation, as well as prominent Republicans who urged people to go out and live their lives as though a highly contagious disease weren't spreading rapidly across the nation.

This week saw more outlandish behavior, as people carrying guns, waving Confederate and Nazi flags, and proudly displaying signs supporting the Mango Mussolini* staged protests in at least half a dozen state capitals. Though they were advocating and condemning a variety of subjects, their one unifying objective was the lifting of shut-down orders put in place to keep them and everyone else safe.

These shut-down orders are not oppressing anyone. You're free to pick up groceries, medicine, alcohol and even weed (in states where it's legal). You're free to take walks or go for a bike ride. In California, you can even visit the state parks (though the parking lots have been closed to minimize crowding). The goal, as has been repeated for the last five weeks, is to “flatten the curve” – reduce and spread out infections so we don't overwhelm the limited capacity of our inferior health care system.

So why are the protesters so angry? What is it they want? It's not completely clear. One sign at yesterday's St. Paul protest said “don't cancel my golf season” (bringing to mind Patrick Henry's famous quote, “Give me golf or give me death”). After protests in Ohio and Michigan, the orange idiot* sent out a series of tweets to “liberate” several states (all of which have Democratic governors). He appears to be fomenting revolution only a day or so after telling governors “You’re going to call your own shots.”

In fact, his approach to the pandemic has shown no consistency. After minimizing the seriousness, he reluctantly admitted it was real, but one day he'll repeat the advice of experts and the next day he'll contradict it. As has been his habit since his inauguration (during which time he's told eighteen thousand lies), he lies about the virus and his response to it, then lies about his lies. It's easy to say the reason we're not unified as a country is because we don't have the type of leader (think FDR, Churchill) that we need in this time of crisis. Instead, we're cursed with a malignant narcissist* incapable of telling the truth, more obsessed with TV ratings and his reelection chances than he is the health and welfare of the American people.

Besides his constant lying, Delusional Donald* has continually boasted of the rising stock market and falling unemployment numbers as “proof” of his presidency (even though both lagged those of Obama, whom he frequently derides). He often asked how you could impeach a president who had such great numbers. It's been obvious that with no real achievements he could claim, he was going to make the case for his reelection on the economy. Now that economy is threatened by the shut-down, and that's the primary reason he and his cult followers are so eager to see a reopening.

But what happens if you reopen too early? Remember the “flatten the curve” advice? I've no doubt that many states will lift their shut-down orders too soon, and that will cause a second wave of infections. Depending on when they do it, the second wave could be worse than the first. What's the economic impact of hundreds of thousands of sick and dying Americans? What's the economic impact of making this pandemic last much longer than it really needed to be.

George Santayana said “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” It was our understanding of the Great Depression that allowed us to avert a second one following the 2008 financial crisis. That lesson remained clear when Congress and the Fed acted last month to avoid yet another depression in the wake of the pandemic shut-down (mind you, this time I'm using the phrase both in reference to mandated stay-at-home orders as well as voluntary ones, either out of concern or fear). So why isn't there the same demonstration of knowledge gained from the 1918 pandemic?

Health experts who've studied pandemics are making sensible recommendations, but politicians and right-wing media are dismissing them and encouraging the inane protests we saw this past week, and will continue to see. Florida and Texas are already lifting restrictions, and several states exempted religious organizations from the no-large-gathering rules. I'm not reading about this type of stupidity elsewhere in the world, and wonder if this is another example of Americans choosing to disregard proven science because they find it inconvenient.

H.L. Mencken is credited with saying “Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public.” I don't know how one can profit from the stupidity the American public is exhibiting these days, but there's no doubt they're doing nothing to disprove his assertion.

*in case you don't know to whom these words refer, it is Donald John Trump, 45th (and 3rd Impeached) President of the United States of America.

Day 32 and fermenting

One thing that seems to be happening during these Strange Days -- going back in time. People are making sourdough, growing gardens for maybe the first time in many years. Today, I tried making sauerkraut.

One large-ish head of cabbage and 4 Tbsp of sea salt,  shredded and massaged loosely, fills two quart jars. Weighted down with heavy glass weights and covered with special mason jar lids that "burp", the jars now sit in a cupboard in my garage. In two weeks, I will taste and discover if I was successful. Delayed gratification, to the max!

This week a worker in the Tracy produce distribution center that Safeway uses, tested positive for COVID-19. Yesterday, the produce shelves in Safeway were nearly bare. Life is not going to go "back to normal" for quite a while, I think.