The Revolution Will Be Televised: Saturday Political Soap Box 248

It's difficult.

As a middle-class white person, one steeped in respect for property and possessions, as someone who cringes at vandalism both big and small, watching the destruction of buildings, and the looting of stores, bothers me.

And yet...

These people are angry, and we're not listening to anything they're trying to tell us.

When they protest peacefully, we ignore them.  Some of us (not me) pretend to tolerate peaceful acts of civil disobedience, but then find something to object to in the mildest of protests.

Colin Kaepernick was vilified and ostracized, and his career derailed because he took a knee during the national anthem.  And why did he do that?  To bring attention to the very thing that's happening now.  Over and over and over again.

Ahmed Aubrey - killed while jogging.  Breona Taylor - riddled with bullets in her own home.  George Floyd - murdered by police who have this cuffed man down and wouldn't get off his neck for almost nine minutes.

And those are just a few of the recent incidents.

We only know of many of these because we live in an age of cellphone videos.  It seems like more because more is filmed.  And unless it's filmed, we don't believe it exists.

Protesters block streets, and some conservative-dominated state legislators pass bills saying it's okay to run over protestors if they get in your way.

We say we want the protests to be peaceful, and I agree.  But the reality is that they are much easier for the vast majority of white people to just ignore them when they are.

Things are not good in America. The grievances felt by people of color are real. Our safety net is being shredded.  Millions are unemployed, and the biggest thing you hear on the right is whining that some on unemployment may be getting an extra dollop of money so they can be secure as we try to handle a necessary shutdown to help us get through a deadly pandemic.  Low paid workers are deemed essential and are forced to into work environments that are not safe - and the Republican answer is to attempt to pass legislation that will make sure employers cannot be sued for the lack of providing proper protection.  Our employer-based health insurance system is crumbling, and even many centrist Democrats refuse to address the single-payer system that is vitally needed to replace it.

Meanwhile, as everyone else sinks, our tiny but dominating billionaire class is getting richer and richer.

Some of the corporate entities, like Target, that were looted and burned, is disturbing to watch, but I understand the message being sent.  This is also true of the burning of Minneapolis Precinct 3, which was the precinct that was home base for the police who participated in the murder of George Floyd.  I have less understanding of the mom and pop businesses that may have been looted and burned as whole blocks went up in flames.

President Franklin Roosevelt, faced with digging us out of our depressionary hole in the 1930s, saw that no response would lead to the greatest dangers, and could see the extremes of fascism and communism tearing up the world.  So, he buckled up and put in place The New Deal that benefited so many working citizens, defying the squallering of the wealthy and large corporations.

We no longer have that kind of leadership.  We have a racist president whose primary reaction is to quote a racist saying from the 60s - when the looting starts, the shooting starts.  Many of our politicians, on both sides of the aisle, have sold their soul to special interests that choose their good over the public good.

I do not want to see buildings burned.  I do not want to see stores looted.

But I do know why it is happening.  And I do know that crimes against people are more important than crimes against property.

The revolution will be televised.  And the scariest part?  We have no FDR.  We have George Wallace Jr.

The election cannot come soon enough.

Zoot-Shooting Zucchini: Keeping Your Distance 30

,

Who knew?

Well, probably most of you.  I sure didn't.

I thought maybe zucchini grew below ground, like a carrot or a potato.  I didn't know it grew above ground, and I certainly didn't realize that it flowered first.

Don't worry about me.  I'll catch up.

Our little garden is growing bigger and taller.  Alison has added two more pots.

We have:  tomatoes (four dozen plus now budding), carrots, broccoli, zucchini, lettuce, sweet potatoes, and a mystery seed that when it came in was only identified by country (Kyrgystan).  That last one has been planted, but nothing has germinated yet.

Sadly, I really don't eat tomatoes, except as ketchup or sauces.  Happily, Alison LOVES tomatoes and should have plenty to choose from.

The rest of the stuff I can eat, although I'm not highly enthused about the lettuce.  I can eat really leafy lettuce sometimes, but I prefer it mixed with some iceberg.

Our experiment continues, and I will keep you, my faithful readership, all 12 to 24 of you, updated!

Georgia By the Books: Keeping Your Distance 29

People are starting to press.

When can we go to a restaurant?

When can we be in a play, or attend one?

When can we go to church?

When can we hold in-person meetings of our favorite clubs and organizations?

Some of these and related questions have been answered by Governor Kemp - sure!  Go ahead and do it!  After all, things are getting better here in Georgia!

Well...

Are they?

Have we had 14 days of declining numbers, as the CDC suggests?

All I can go by is the Georgia Dept of Health numbers, updated three times a day.  Honestly, they may not be the most trustworthy numbers.  There have been press reports that suggest that Georgia and Florida have been manipulating and/or suppressing data to make their states look like they're recovering.

That may be true, but let's just take the Georgia Department of Health numbers and see what the state itself is reporting.

I've looked at seven-day accumulations, starting with May 5th, in two categories, confirmed cases and the number of deaths.  Results are summarized below -


                                                   Confirmed Cases                    Confirmed Deaths

May 5 - 11                                       4,565                                          198

May 12 - 18                                     4,281                                          205

May 19 - 25                                     5,117                                          199


Although cases have not skyrocketed over this period, you certainly cannot claim they are declining.  And deaths have remained sadly steady.

And then came Memorial Day Weekend.  A massive nationwide orgy of misbehavior.  What will be the effects of that?

 I'll let you know in two to three weeks.








                                 

The Church Is Everywhere: Keeping Your Distance 28

The church is not a building.

The church is everywhere.

The spirit of love lies in each and every one of us.  Whether we meet in one building or not, we can still pray.  We can still worship.  We can still be the hands and feet of Christ.  We can still love.

Some day, we can re-open our building and worship together again.  That day is not today.  Love compels us to keep ourselves and our community safe.

From today's liturgical readings, First Peter 3:13-17

Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good? But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear, and do not be intimidated, but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and reverence. Keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if suffering should be God's will, than to suffer for doing evil. 

Do what is good.  And for now, that means not meeting in your building, but meeting in your spirit.  Do what is right in containing the speed of this virus.  Do what is needed to support those in need, those who have been made vulnerable by the lack of support from the government in providing the safety net they need to stay sheltered.  Do what you can to fill the gap left by employers who are calling to work essential employees, including those who are vastly underpaid for what they do, or are inadequately protected from risk.

When Anne Frank and her family were hidden in an attic, it did not stop their faith.  It did not stop their prayer.  It did not stop their hope that there were good and decent people in the world.  It did not stop them from worship. 

When the world tries to pull your faith away, you cling to it all the more.  When the storms come, you do not take off your raincoat.  You hug it to you all the more.

Soon and very soon, we will be together again physically. 

But spiritually?

We are already there, my friends.

And no one can pull us apart.

Story Time with Mr. Tom #2

Shocks to the System: Saturday Political Soap Box 247

So, some people ask me, "Hey, Tom!  What's the most influential book you've read about politics?"*

Thanks for asking.  Well, in recent years, the book that has impacted me the most has been The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein, a well-credentialed and award-winning journalist, columnist, and author.

The Shock Doctrine's premise is that many on the right, including politicians, the super-wealthy, and major corporations, use the cover of crisis to further their own agendas.

Katrina was used as an excuse to impose free-market solutions on New Orleans, privatizing public functions, such as schools and utilities.  The same thing happened at a larger scale in Iraq.

Disasters also make perfect opportunities for legislation to improve the lot of those already in charge.  You can see that in the legislation bailing out the banks and major corporations during the 2008 economic collapse.  Less successful were efforts to rein in the same players who caused the crisis.  What feeble attempts to check them has been whittled away and reduced to white noise by successive Republican Congresses and the current Republican White House.

Democrats are often participants in this power grab for concentrated wealth, either willingly or unwillingly.  Democrats have their donors that they have to keep happy, so many are nowhere near as progressive as they should be.  Democrats also believe that action is better than inaction, so they more quickly compromise for crumbs, just to get Republicans to do something.

You can see that in current legislation around the pandemic.  Republicans get 90% of what they want - a massive slush fund to major corporations - a $500 billion slush fund, complemented by up to $4.5 trillion in support by the Federal Reserve.  Meanwhile, the backbone of America, small businesses, have to scramble for PPP funds while competing against larger businesses, many of whom have the inside track on bank relationships and lawyers/accountants who can barrel through the paperwork.  Individuals are handled a mere pittance, a one time shot of funds barely able to cover food or rent for a month.  State governors play an end-around the slightly extra unemployment benefits by prematurely opening their states and eliminating unemployment for those unwilling to put themselves and their loved ones at risk. 

The working poor aren't warriors.  They're cannon fodder to protect the wealthy interests that exploit them and the stock market that doesn't benefit them.

The Democrats stand in line, let McConnell dictate things, thinking that NOW it is their turn, with the House coming up with a bill that does more to shore up individuals and local/state governments, and the Senate Republicans will refuse to even consider it.

The condition to even consider a bill?  McConnell wants employers protected from lawsuits by employees who get sick because the employer has not put in adequate protection measures.  It's Shock Doctrine essentials - improve the lot of the wealthy and powerful at the expense of everyone else.

There has been a lot of whining by Republicans that the House legislation is an excuse to put in Progressive wish list items that go beyond the current crisis.

You know what I say to that?

Well, no s---, Sherlock.  'Bout fricking time!

Pot. Kettle. Black.

Naomi Klein realizes this, and an excellent follow-up book of essays lays out the case for an aggressive Green New Deal.  It would transform this country  FOR THE BETTER.  Because we cannot continue to have authoritarian capitalism centered only around the interests of the exploiters at the top, and socialism only when it benefits the most advantaged.  Capitalize gains, socialize losses - this is a motto we can no longer afford.

I won't go into the Green New Deal here.  I don't want to write forever (people stop reading after a while - heck, probably only 10% of you got this far), and I hope to move on to another Story Time with Mr. Tom (shameless plug). Still, I do have other blog posts that discuss it, and I do highly recommend her book pictured above.  It is an important example of why Progressives need to start using the Shock doctrine themselves.

It's not enough to just check the Republicans.  It's not enough to take a few crumbs while they stomp off with the bulk of legislation.  It's time we stood up firmly for the radical change that is going to be necessary to truly save the country and the planet.



*no one asks me this.  No one really asks me anything, except maybe, "What's wrong with you?  Why aren't you smiling?"  Thank god we wear masks now.  Maybe I won't get asked that so much.

A Child of Capitalist Impulses

Bird Feeder of Mass Distraction: Keeping Your Distance 27

We've put up a bird feeder on the side of the house opposite our garden.  Part of the reason we did this was to distract birds from the garden and give them another place to go.

Look, I don't know how well this is going to work.  It's a theory, ok?

Another part of it is that it is set up just outside Benjamin's Study window.  Benjamin likes birds.  When he plays online role-playing games, he's known as the bird facts guy, sprinkling his conversation with random bird facts.

So, we thought it might be something he would enjoy.

He has seen birds, but often he has to bang on the window to frighten away squirrels.  Yeah.  We're working on how to avoid that.  

I like birds ok.  I'm not enamored with them.  They're kinda like flying reptiles to me.  Some are pretty to look at.  Some just seem mean as hell.

Benjamin has at least one picture on his phone of the birds using the feeder and birdbath.  But he is still in bed as I write this, so I haven't ben able to get the picture yet.

That's ok.  I can use it the next time I have a bird feeder story.

Another series I can use on my blog!  Ka-ching!*


*sorry to imply that my blog makes me money.  It does not.  Like everything else I do creatively, it earns me between jack and squat.

America's Dope Takes Dope : Keeping Your Distance 26

Tom!  This is such a misleading headline!

Hydroxychloroquine is not dope.  It's legitimate medicine!

Yes.  When properly prescribed for certain conditions, where the doctor knows the patient and can watch for side effects, it CAN have its proper uses. 

But when misprescribed for DOPEY reasons for someone who is a DOPE - well, that's something else.

There is no proof that this medication has any effect on coronavirus.  Indeed, some studies have shown adverse effects, with a more significant death rate among those taking it than in the control group.

The medicine does have other side effects and risks, including potential heart damage up to and including heart attacks.

So..so what?  He's an adult (?), and he found a doctor that prescribed it (we'll pretend for a moment that he couldn't get prescribed whatever the heck he wanted) so, more power to him.

Why the problem?

Because he's the President of the United States, doing something foolish, stupid, and DOPEY.  And others may decide to go off the cliff with him.

We have gone full snake oil salesman.  And I am disgusted.


The risks are not just that he'll hurt himself.  As Nancy Pelosi says, he's not without risk - he is morbidly obese and has the diet of a teenage gamer.  Some of his medical exams have indicated the presence of some heart disease. 

As risky as this is, other elements to it are just as dangerous.

Let's say that he takes it and he doesn't get coronavirus.  He's going to falsely attribute it to the drug, encouraging other Americans to take the drug, and putting them at risk.  And if he doesn't develop side effects, it's going to make it look to others like the side effect concern is overblown.

He encourages other dopes to think they're immortal and immune.  Especially with the way that Trump refuses to wear a mask or distance himself, he promotes that behavior in others.

A reporter trying to safely interview protestors in upstate New York was confronted by an unmasked man who was getting too close.  The reporter asked the man to distance himself, and he refused.  The man said, "I don't have the virus.  I'm taking hydroxychloroquine!"

Oh, geez!

The doping of America is in full swing.


Addendum:

The panel on Morning Joe seemed to be convinced that he wasn't really taking it, that he was just lying for whatever twisted purposes he has.   Maybe.  If so, it just makes things worse.

Story Time with Mr. Tom #1

Herding to Nowhere: Saturday Political Soapbox 246

Some believe the solution to our coronavirus crisis is herd immunity.  That enough people get this and then get over this, there will be enough of us immune that the virus can no longer get ground to expand.

I'm not a scientist, and unlike a certain orange eyesore, I don't pretend to be one. But unlike that narcissistic plague on humanity, I do know how to listen to them.

And I don't think going for herd immunity is going to do anything except kill more people.


I won't be offering links to different articles. It's not my general policy and not that type of blog.  But I do encourage any of you to research this on your own.

Nevertheless, here's my impression of what I have seen -

#1   To get to herd immunity levels will result in an unprecedented number of deaths.

To reach herd immunity levels would require a level of infection of 60 to 80%.

What would that mean?

Let's take Georgia, for example.  The current rate of death, the ratio of confirmed deaths to confirmed cases, is 4.3%. This information is calculated from Georgia Department of Health information,

The current estimate of Georgia population, from worldometers.com, is 3,990,327.  Let's take the minimum of that for herd immunity, 60%.  That would be 2,394,196 people.

If the virus death ratio stays at 4.3%, the number of deaths would be 102,950.

That would just be the state of Georgia.

102,950 souls.

So...

Is it worth it?


#2 We really don't know what kind of immunity is gained.

The level of immunity gained has not yet been determined.

It is a myth that whatever immunity is gained is permanent.  The level of immunity acquired from exposure varies with different illnesses, from many years to nothing.

The antibody tests that have been done have so far been inconclusive.  There is some evidence that some people may have some limited immunity, but for how long or how strong no one knows.

A recent outbreak in South Korea has been traced back to one person.  A person who contracted the virus in March, and then recovered in late March.  He began reinfecting people in MAY.

We may go through herd immunity, cost all those lives (if done worldwide, a hundred million or more lives lost), only to find that little or no real immunity has been developed.


#3 We don't know what damage the virus is doing beyond the initial respiratory stage

There are some troubling signs that this virus is doing damage to those who go through it beyond the respiratory difficulties.

Again, please feel free to research, but -

Some autopsies show damage to internal organs in addition to the lungs.

Some with diabetes may be suffering additional kidney damage.

There are children who have developed a rare inflammatory disease as a COVID-19 after effect.

How serious are these?  I don't know.  Research is still ongoing.

I do know this.  If it was your child or diabetic family member, it would be pretty damn serious.


#4 Those who have tried herd immunity have not done well

Sweden was the right-wing poster child for a while (and how often has that happened?),  The country had decided to take the herd immunity route and did not shut down.  The result?  They have more cases than their three neighbors combined (Denmark, Norway, and Finland), and THREE times the number of deaths.

Brazil may be herd immunity by default.  Their leader, Jair Bolsonaro, is an even farther right fascistic leader than our own President Bone Spurs, and he has rejected any notion of a shutdown.  After a slow start, Brazil is now rocketing up the charts with number of cases and deaths.  A few weeks ago, they were not in the top twenty. Now they are sixth and should soon pass Italy in the number of cases.

Our third by default example, may be the state of Georgia.  Yes, many states are lifting stay-at-home orders, at least partially, but no one is doing it with as much glee and ignorance as Governor Kemp and his ghoulish allies.  The effect of this has not fully reached Georgia yet.  We should know in a few weeks.  IF they don't fudge and manipulate the numbers.  And what are the odds of that?


So what are we supposed to do?

What we were doing, or starting to do.

Check with those countries most able to hold the virus in check, including South Korea, Taiwan, New Zealand, and Iceland, and states like Oregon and Wahington. Staying at home and social distancing, accompanied by testing and contact tracing WORK.  Even if there are setbacks, they can be checked and controlled.

Worried about the economic effects on you and your family?  You should be.  But if we had a government dedicated to supporting our working families through this, as many other countries have, this would be much less of a problem.

Millions dying is not the way to recover the economy.

First, control the curve of the outbreak,  Bend it down.

Second, TEST TEST TEST and contact trace.

Third, isolate outbreaks.

We can't get through Step One without wanting to pack a restaurant or frost our tips.

We are herding to nowhere, except to more death and pain.

Stay as safe as you can.  Because everyone around you is acting crazy doesn't mean you shouldn't try to protect yourself.

God help us in these irrational, terrible times.

Inspire Me #2: Flash Fiction

Well, let's take a break from the COVID-19 madness we are all surrounded by.


I'll try a game based on the Inspire Me app.  It selects three words at random, and then you try to construct a very short story using those three words.  There are no real length rules, but I try to stick to 100 words or less.

Maybe.  I'm not really counting.

I challenge all OHC Writer's Guild members to do the same, and post either on the group site or in the comments below.

LET THE RANDOMNESS...BEGIN!

#1

ranch, thirty, fought


George:  How many ranch dressing packets are you gonna put on that salad?

Melinda:  It's not a salad.  It's a zalad.

George:  Way to give in to the corporate monolith, Mel. 

Melinda:  I fought the salad, and the zalad won.

George:  OMG, Mel!  Another packet of ranch!  Your Zalad-O is swimming in a lake of Ranch-O!

Mel:  Lake Rancho.  I love it.  I'm taking a picture.  Remember, Instagram is Instafun.

George:  For you, maybe.

George starts to count the packets.  Thirty seconds later...

George:  Hokey smokes!  That's...twenty-nine packets! (What?  I already used thirty.  You expect me to use it twice?)

#2

hidden, walk, rapidly

Fluffly loved his daily walk.  He pulled his servant with him, using all the power of his eleven pound Shih Tzu body.  "Slow down, Fluffly!" complained the one the humans called Anita.  "How rapidly do you think I can go?"

Fluffy came to a screeching halt, but not because of his servant.  He smelled something just off the path, hidden behind the azalea bushes.

Fluffly growled.  The hair on the back of his neck stood up.  He had found his nemesis.  It snarled and hissed.

Today, there would be victory.

#3

merely, money, tonight

Tonight.

Tonight won't be just any night.

Tonight there will be no morning star.

Well. At least not for a few hours.

He waited in the gazebo.  He waited for Maria.  It had seemed like he had just met her.  The electricity had never left his body, and the lightning charges inflamed him whenever she was near.

This was different.  This was not merely another fling, a temporary infatuation.  It was a love that would light up the rest of his life.

Nothing meant more.  Not material things, not money, not the gang, not the family, not the church.  Nothing.

Tony has met Maria.  And nothing would ever be the same.

The Start of Something Green: Keeping Your Distance 25

Garden update!

We have fruit!  Tomatoes, the most vegetabley of the fruitiness, is starting to appear in our new garden.  In all, we have over a dozen budding tomatoes.  These three are the farthest along.

For many of you, this may appear a rather insignificant achievement.  Not for us.  We are pretty far along compared to our other gardening attempts.

The mystery will be what happens when they turn red.  Who gets them first?  Us or our wildlife competitors?  Hopefully us, but we shall see.

Here's my bi-weekly wide shot of the garden and it's progress.  Added to the mix are some carrots.  There is no sign of them yet, but we have high hopes.

What's up, Doc?

Not our carrots.

But our tomatoes?  Oh, yez!  They is on the way!

I'm Tired: Keeping Your Distance 24

I'm tired.

Tired of trying to fight the madness.  Tired of trying to advocate for what should have been evident since...well, forever.

But my heart is broken...again and again.

So, let me say it once again, as loud as I can...

Donald Trump is not fit for public office.

Never has been.

Never will be.

It's true. Many of us have fundamental disagreements on where this country should head.  Some of you have lips that curl even at the word 'government.'  Others get wound up at the thought of 'millionaires and billionaires.'  Some think religion is all about personal sexual morality.  Some think it's about how we treat others.  

But no matter who you are, whatever economic or political or religious theory drives you, I don't understand why we can't agree on one thing -

Donald Trump is a dangerous incompetent.

Did Donald Trump create the coronavirus virus?  No, but he created the deadly mess we're in now.

He delayed our reaction to it.  We are still scrambling to catch up.

Now he is pushing us to reopen faster than even his own health advisers recommend.  It will result in many more falling sick and more subsequent death.

This is what is tiring me out the most this morning.

There was a poll mentioned on a morning news show this AM.  It said that only 36% believed Donald Trump was telling us the truth about the coronavirus virus and how we are or should be dealing with it.  He lies and lies and lies.

Then they gave the kicker - that Donald Trump's approval rating was 45%.

That is horrifying.  That means there is a 9% gap of people who knows he's lying but still approve of him.

My question to those in that group - 

WTF???????

What the hell is WRONG with you???

I'm tired.  So tired.  I'm a complete loss as to how to wake my Trumpeteer friends up.

It's exhausting.  I want to stop.

But I'm not going to.

Too much is at stake.

Works Matter

From today's morning prayer:

John 14:10-12

Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.


Belief and faith are important.  Having belief and faith in the Way is crucial. But it ultimately means nothing if it is not reflected in your works.

Examine yourself and ask...how am I following the way?  Expressions of dogma do not answer it.  Judging others by their personal sins misses the mark big time.  Personal piety is nice but not the real answer.  It's in love.  Love God.  Love your neighbor.

Find ways to be the hands and feet of Christ.  Seek ways to make this a better world for all. 

I am aware of how much I fall short in this regard.  I have stepped up to be treasurer to help the financial needs of the church.  I speak out for causes that defend the poor and disadvantaged.  I support these things financially.

But I need to do more.

And it is an essential part of my faith journey to figure out how to do more.

 "The one who believes in me will also do the works that I do."

These are dark times.  It is hard not to despair.

Lett's look for the light.  Christ has lit it for us.

We need but to look, to believe, and to act.

Run, You Idiot, Run

Man on the Run: Flash Fiction

At the end of the trail, the DeMarcos brothers gave up.

They would never find him.  The dogs had lost the scent. They circled around, sniffing desperately, unable to determine where he had gone once the trail ended.

The brothers hesitated. Neither one wanted to plunge willy-nilly into the Westervelt Woods.  Was there dangerous wildlife in there?  Valukian Swamp Kats and rats the size of cocker spaniels? Yes, but the worst were the insects - murder hornets and the VW wasps among them.

If that's where Georger had gone, more power to him.  The odds of him ever being seen again were pretty low on the Rister Scale.

"I ain't going in there after him," said Reedly, the fat, and oily brother.  "Chance is, he's done for."

"Maybe," said Porter, the skinny and pock-marked brother.  "But are you gonna tell that to Raylen?  He's gonna have our hide if he can't have Georger's."

"I'd rather get a tongue lashing from Raylen that get et up by the VWs."

The DeMarco brothers heeled their dogs and then left.

A half-hour later, there was rustling coming from the woods at the end of the trail.  A man emerged wearing a beekeeper's suit.  He had a large backpack,  and he used it to put back his foldable beekeeper outfit.

Now he just had to hope the idiot siblings didn't double back.  Georger doubted they had that kind of foresight.  Patience, stealth, intellect - none of those were DeMarco's strong suits.

The trail led to Whisper Lane, one of Crater County's many backwoods dirt roads.  He would only have to pass three widely separated country estates (double wides on large weedy lots).  Then he would come to Maddy Lynn's palatial mobile home, where she kept a car he could use for the getaway, a thirty-year-old Rivian Pickup, colored in rust.

First, he had to pay Maddy Lynn his respects.  Then he helped her make the bed, gobbled a strawberry toaster strudel, kissed her goodbye, and then drove off into the sunsets.

Georger saw the fuel tank was full.  Good.  That gave him enough to get to Cape Cortez.  It was a busy port, but he was smart and cunning (unlike the DeMarcos brothers), and he had faith in his ability to stowaway.

Time to get off this planet.

Our Mighty Oak: Keeping Your Distance 23

Spread, mighty Oak!  Spread!

The dominant feature of our back yard is this rather large oak tree.

I wrote about it last week and used a picture of it from our front yard, where you could see it looming over our house.

So, I won't repeat all the stuff I wrote in that blog story.  I'll just let y'all enjoy the pictures.

I figured out that if I turn my phone differently, I'll get a different type of frame for the picture.  The first was a wide shot.  This is what I call normal.

There are a lot more settings to take pictures from, but don't press your luck.  Someday I might learn about them.  Today is not the day.

That doesn't even include Snapchat.  Like what?  You want me to put dog ears or a pirate eye patch on this beautiful tree?  I don't think so.

There are two holes at the base of the tree.  I have no idea what they mean,  I think they are slightly deeper than when we first bought the house.  But who knows?  A tree doctor, I am not.

There's nothing in them.  Pixie keeps checking to be sure.

Yes, I'm trying to mix my pessimistic posts with some that ....are not so pessimistic.

Trust me.

In times like this, it ain't easy.

I Am Surrounded by Covidiots: Keeping Your Distance 22

I am surrounded by covidiots.  I don't mean to sound so negative, but it's true.  It doesn't take much observation to realize that few are still taking this virus seriously.

Governor Kemp has decided to make Georgia the world's guinea pig, eliminating social distancing in the state. That may not be what he intended to do, but that's what has happened.  He took his foot off the brake, cracked open the door, and fools rushed in.

We don't have to do this.  We don't have to be lemmings.

Not everyone has a choice.  Many will be forced back to work, whether they want to or not.* Unemployment may not be available to you once your employer reopens.  Your small business may not be able to delay rent once the landlord realizes you have the Governor's permission to reopen.

We are putting many of our service workers into untenable positions.  But what they hey?  They're just marginal people anyways, right?  Burger flippers and people of low education and value.

But that's not the worst of it.  It's the behavior of people around those service workers.  The Governor and Trump have given them the go-ahead to not give a crap about others.  A store security guard in Michigan was shot and killed after refusing entry to someone because they weren't wearing a mask.  In another incident, a woman asks a man in a retail line to move to six feet away and instead moves closer.  Myself, I observed a man in a grocery store (unmasked, of course) making fun of social distancing to his female companion. 

We can't sacrifice for more than a couple of weeks, and then we break.  I honestly didn't know it would be this bad, but it is.

We'll have to see.  In another two to three weeks, we'll know how much this experiment has hurt our state, how many lives we have sacrificed so that we can pretend nothing is going on.

When I post stuff about this on Facebook, all the responses I get back are supportive.  Everyone who responds to me understands how dangerous this is, and are disgusted by the behavior of those not taking it seriously.  But clearly, somebody is going out there.  Clearly, somebody's making up the defiant, unprotected crowds I see out and about.

So, if you're one of those, I have to ask - what is going through your mind?  Do you think it's over?  Does the loss of life not bother you?  Have you wholly drunk the Kemp-Trump Koolaid?  I mean, really, what is going on???

We're all guinea pigs now, all of us in Georgia.  Even those who are trying to be careful are at risk. 

I noticed the numbers reported from the Georgia Department of Health fluctuate strangely.  Sometimes the numbers go down instead of up.  I read articles that indicated that both Kemp and DeSantis of Florida may be attempting to fudge the numbers.  I told this to someone important in my life, and they replied, "Why are you surprised?  Kemp fudged the numbers to get elected.  Why would he stop there?"

Indeed.  Why would he?

Welcome, fellow Georgians, to the status of being Kemp's guinea pigs.

God help us all.


*look, I understand part of why some are worried.  The social safety net in Georgia sucks big time, and the federal government is more interested in protecting large corporations and the wealthy.  The lifting of stay-at-home in Georgia is valuing not just the economy, but also the state budget over human lives, leaving many vulnerable and with no choice but to come back out.  This is not directed at service workers, who have little choice but to expose themselves, but to the a..hole customers who think social distancing is at an end.

The First Act

Christ has died.

Christ is risen.

Christ died on the cross.  On the third day, he was resurrected.

He stayed a while, appeared to a few, spent time with his disciples, and then ascended.

In that brief time, he made it clear to his disciples what he wanted them to do.

What was that?

Well, we can look at the evidence of what that might have been by examining the first actions of the disciples after the ascension.

For that, we can look at today's reading from the Episcopal lectionary -


A Reading from Acts (2:42-47)

Those who had been baptized devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Awe came upon everyone because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day, the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.


Let me repeat one of the most interesting sentences from that:


 All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. 


Some have called this a form of communism.  I don't know. 

I do know what it is not.  It is not the vulture capitalism that we currently live under, and that many advocate for, including many self-identified Christians.

The disciples quickly realized that the people were not ready for this.  They had inadvertently skipped ahead to where we should wind up.  So they backed away and saved that step for another day when more people were far enough along in their spiritual journey that they welcomed it.

Over two thousand years later, we're still waiting.

So, when will Christ return?  Every day, in some small way, we need to bring the Kingdom of heaven to Earth.  We need to make this a better world for all.

Christ has died.

Christ is risen.

Christ will come again.

This is true.  But I also feel that in many ways, Christ is already here.  He is in each and every one of us, and is made more alive as we act as the hands and feet of Christ on this Earth, bringing his vision and hopes and caring and generosity more alive each day.

Christ is here, in each of us.  We just need to recognize it and improve the world on his behalf.

I don't know when, if ever, we'll be ready for what the disciples did for their First Act. 

Think it impossible?

Christ has come again.  He is here.  Wake up, recognize it, and be born again.  Then ACT on that rebirth to make the world a better place.

Looking For a Ray of Light: Saturday Political Soap Box 245

I know.

It seems very dark right now.

And many of the steps we are taking right now feels like plunges into utter madness.

Our narcissistic leader is more concerned about his tv ratings and poll numbers and pending re-election than he is about human lives.  We are short on essential supplies, and he is leading the cry to end social distancing. 

More and more commentators are urging us to choose the economy instead of human lives.  And more and more of us, to humanity's utter shame, are listening.

Our behavior is guaranteeing a devastating second wave.  I don't see how that doesn't happen now.  I pray that I am wrong, but everything about the way we are behaving suggests that we will not make it out of this without greater than necessary casualties.

There never should have been a choice between capitalist greed and mitigating this terrible coronavirus.  We could have easily supported people instead of corporations.  We could not have put people at extreme economic risk, and instead offered more direct support - universal basic income or guaranteeing a significant portion of base salary.

The ray of light?

That this will be enough to finish off the age of greed in the United States.  That we finally recognize the need for a better social safety net, and for a restructuring of the flaws of capitalism.

That we recognize that healthcare is a basic human right and that we need to move away from an employer-based system and move towards a truly universal healthcare system.  The best and easiest to put in place is the single-payer system known as Medicare for All.  At the very least, I never, ever, want to hear another Democratic politician, like Mayor Pete or Senator Klobuchar or Vice President Biden, mutter some inanity about how Americans prefer their private plans.  Yes, their private plans that can VANISH in a heartbeat when employers whim it different or you are laid off or fired.  ENOUGH!

That we finally raise the minimum wage to be a LIVING WAGE.  We all know and respect and cherish the vital work that our medical staff has done.  But we cannot ignore all the working poor and middle class that we throw into the frontlines as well - grocery store clerks, restaurant staff, migrant farm labor, meatpackers, and many more.  If I ever hear someone use the term "burger flipper" again..well, I will mercilessly verbally assault you.  Maybe.  Any rate, I will be very upset, and I will make that clear to you.

That we finally address global warming in a significant way.  We have given the planet a major breather, and we need to figure out ways to NOT resume the horrors of fossil fuel consumption and all the myriad ways we pollute the planet and make it increasingly unlivable. 

That we learn that there is more to life than mindless productivity and unlimited consumption.  We need to reconfigure the economy around people and not things.  I don't want to return to an economy focused solely on making reams of useless and disposable trinkets.  Manufacturing jobs have been preferred jobs because they pay more than other jobs people with a basic education could get.  We need to give the same dignity and pay to service work.

This is the tip of the iceberg as to the rays of light that I hope will come out of the other end of this crisis.

Is it likely to happen?

You don't want me to answer that.

Let's just stick to the rays of light for this one, OK?

As the world around you disintegrates into madness, stay as safe as you can.

Love,

Tom

Under the Shadow's Embrace - Flash Fiction; Keeping Your Distance 21

It was their tree. At least, that's the way he thought of it.  Out in the middle of the glen, a majestic sweep across the sky,  its branches reaching out for what seemed like miles, its shadow casting an ebony coolness, a comforting protection against the hot Georgia sun.

It was here that he had first kissed her.  It was here that they first embraced.  He had brought a blanket, a picnic basket filled with fried chicken, tater chips, and pralines.  He had even brought a cold thermos of her favorite drink, his homemade blueberry lemonade.  They ate.  They talked and laughed. One time, she snorted the lemonade out her nose, losing it during his story of his first muffed line in a school play.

Then they kissed.  They embraced under the shadow of the mighty Oak.

And then, things changed.

He saw her no more.  Even though they lived less than a mile apart, they no longer saw each other.  Except on Facebook Live.  It was not the same.

He ached to see her.  He did not mean to constantly bother her with it. He could not stop himself.

Finally, she gave in.  She agreed to meet him out here, by their beloved tree.

He could see her approaching from the other side of the glen.  His heart sped up.  She was dressed as she often was, blue jeans and a t-shirt that, like today's, most often celebrated her high school band.  Her auburn hair swirled around her, dancing in the slight breeze.

As she got closer, he could see the twinkle in her hazel-green eyes.  But could not see her smile.

That smile was behind her mask.  It was something she had made, designed like a cat, with painted whiskers and a feline pinkish nose.  It covered her, from her chin to the bridge of her nose.  Nothing about it inhibited her beauty.  It just made her stand out all the more.

She got about six feet away from him, and then she stopped.

"Hey," he said.  "Long time, no see."

"Silly," she said.  "I just saw you this morning on Facebook Chat."

"Not the same."  He took a step towards her, arms out, ready to embrace her.

"Stay back!" she warned.  "And please, put your mask on."

He did as he was told.  "It's okay.  I don't have it."

"You probably don't.  But you can't say for sure.  Many people have it, and they don't know they have it, and then they carry it to others."

"But I'm well.  I'm sure.  No one I come into contact with has it.  Where would I get it from?"

He could see a tear forming just below her left eye.  "I'm sorry.  I have to be over-cautious.  We live with Nana.  If I brought it to her and she got it, I could never live with myself."

"But we're both wearing masks.  We should be safe."

"That's the key, though.  We should be.  But no one knows for sure.  I can't take that chance."

He didn't know what to say.  He wanted to hold her so bad, and he kind of thought she might be overreacting, but he had to respect her feelings.  He would not belittle her concerns.

They talked for a good long while.  The shadows from the Oak moved as time passed.  They shifted with them to stay in the shade.

He wanted it to last forever.  But eventually, it came to an end.  She was going to leave.

She reached behind her back and brought out a small manila envelope she must have had wedged into the top of her jeans.  "Here.  I brought you this."  She laid it on the ground in front of her.  "This won't last forever.  Sooner or later, we'll be back here, and we can get much...closer."

"I'd like that," he managed to croak out.

"I won't forget about you," she said. Her tears were flowing freely now. "I'll hold on to the memory of our embrace.  I dream of that day."

And then, she was leaving.

He lay frozen in the shadow.  After a long minute, he got the envelope and opened it up.

It was a drawing, a beautiful black and white portrait of the two of them, embracing, under the shadow of their tree.

He held the picture next to his heart.  Now the tears were coming from him.

Now he knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt.

They would survive the terrible shadow of the virus's embrace. 

And then embrace themselves, under the Oak's shadow, or in the light of day, or anywhere their heart's desired.