It's Time to Say Goodbye to 2020

 It's time to say goodbye to 2020.

I'm not sad to see you go.

A year of an out of control pandemic that took the lives of over 1.8 million lives worldwide, including approaching 350,000 here in the United States.

A year when an out of control narcissist and dictator-wannabe tried to challenge our most cherished institutions (you know, like Democracy).  Ultimately, he was not successful, but that's not to say he didn't do considerable damage on his way out the door.

A year of the weird and the wild, including murder hornets, mysterious monoliths, the Tiger King, and so much more.

A year when we discovered the brave, courageous hearts of so many of us, as so many risked their lives to maintain our healthcare system, to protect us, to keep us in groceries and basic supplies, to educate our children.

A year when we discovered how horribly divided we were, as 74 million voted for the most unfit leader in American history, one clearly responsible for the severity of the pandemic we have and are experiencing here.  They ignored all that and voted for him anyway.  Worse, millions ignored health protocols, refusing to wear masks, and insisting on gathering together, exposing everyone to greater danger and death. For these people, personal liberty was more important than social responsibility. And that is the most monstrous truth about 2020.

Some of the things that faded in 2020 and may or may not come back, at least not to where they were - movie theaters, indoor restaurant dining, cruise ships, attending worship services.

Some of the things that increased in 2020 - restaurant drive-thrus, grocery pick up and delivery, ZOOM meetings, Netflix and chill, absentee ballots and early voting.  

As we come out of the pandemic in 2021 (fingers crossed), I think some of our changes will stay.  The trend towards fast food pickup and delivery increased before the pandemic - it just accelerated already existing trends.  A new model for opening movies, via streaming services, was discovered, and it may replace movie theater attendance, at least enough to make it difficult for many movie theatres to remain viable.  Cruise ships were disease Petri dishes even before the pandemic - they should fade away, but I can't say for sure.  Attending church is, frankly, a developed habit, and many marginal church-goers may have been broken of that habit,

I'm not fond of meetings, period, but ZOOM meetings I have particular trouble with.  I don't like the idea of being seen like I'm part of the Hollywood Squares, and I have a hard time even figuring out when to break in and talk.

On a personal level, I worked part-time, and Alsion worked full-time.  That wasn't much different for us.  COVID-19 swirls around us, closer and closer. We are prayfully thankful that Alsion's parents and other vulnerable people we know have remained safe.  But we do know people who have been sickened and a few that have died.  

Our area has been particularly stubborn about COVID protocols, and as a result, the number of cases here has continued to increase. It was a great joy to see (via GPB - Georgia Public Broadcasting) our local county's school football team win the state championship in an exciting and instant-classic overtime game.  It was heartbreaking to see so many there ignoring COVID safety protocols.

But 2021 is almost here.  A new year, offering new hope that we can turn things around.  There are vaccines.  The orange clown will soon be gone, vanished to one of his crappy resorts, and we can ignore his twittery bellyaching.

Tonight, my family will play board games, fix homemade pizzas and icebox lemon pie, watch a movie or two, try to find something entertaining on to watch the ball drop (usually flipping back and forth between several programs), try to keep the dogs calm while neighbors mess with fireworks, and then stagger in to bed a few minutes after midnight.

Goodbye to 2020!

Don't let the door hit ya where the Trump vote split ya!

Prayers and love to you all from the Strait clan for a better 2021!

A Narwhal Chistmas!

It's a Narwhal Christmas!

The world's weirdest creature* for the world's weirdest Christmas, as we do our best to celebrate together while celebrating apart. 

It's like a unicorn crossed with a whale.  Primarily inhabitants of the Canadian arctic, there are about 80,000 left in the world.  As the planet continues to warm and the Arctic melts, they may find their habitat dwindling.

The distinctive tusk is actually a tooth.  That would take a lot of Crest.  

One of our favorite parts of our favorite Christmas movie, Elf, is when the narwhal says goodbye to Buddy.  

Here is another view of the same quote.

Why am I repeating the same thing twice?

Because it is my blog, and I can get away with it.  Live on the edge, I always say.**

Alison loves the narwhal part so much, I got her this Narwhal onesy for Christmas. She loves it and will probably be wearing it as long as our weather is chilly.

Merry Christmas, y'all!  And don't forget - Christmas continues through Epiphany! 

* several creatures dispute the Narwhal being the weirdest, including the Sparklemuffin

**I don't really say that very much, but it sounds impressive don't it?

Christmas in the Time of COVID: #3

 

On Christmas Eve, I want to take this opportunity to thank all those frontline workers who are doing so much to help us through this pandemic.

Thank you to all the healthcare workers that are doing so much to help us in these times, when we get sick with COVID or anything else.  They are working long hours and are often the only human contact many of our beloved family members see when in ICU or other parts of the hospital.

Thank you to the police and firefighters who continue to protect us.

Thank you for the delivery people, whether it be Christmas packages or fast food, needed medicines or a letter from a loved one. They are keeping us connected during these dark times.  

Thank you to the retail clerks that keep our stores open so that we get food and vital supplies.

Thank you to all those in industry, keeping important products coming, including food processing, PPE supplies, hardware supplies, and so much more.

Thank you to those who are assisting with charities to provide relief for the increased number of Americans living with food and/or shelter insecurities.  

We owe all of these people a great debt of gratitude, but we can repay them with more than that.  We can -

Wear our masks.

Socially distant.

Frequently wash our hands.

Reduce unnecessary travel, including Christmas travel to family and friends.

I know that last one is hard, but hospitals have reached or exceeded capacity in many areas of the country.  The more stress on our medical system, the less we are able to take care of everybody. And that increases the number of people who will die.

It is exciting news that vaccines are here.  But it will take several months for those to really improve things.  Meanwhile, we must do our best to protect each other, particularly those who have done so much to help us.

Merry Christmas, y'all.

Let it be a time of love and joy and caring for one another.

Christmas in Covid Times 2

 

Sphinx-like, our Christmas guardian, Ellie, is here!  Protecting the Christmas tree.  You know, the one that will stay up through Epiphany.  

Early we are, but we're all home.  We might as well get into the Christmas beer.

CHEER!  I mean CHEER!  My bad.

I really don't drink much beer.  Maybe a couple a year.  On average.  And I'm not sure I've had one this year.

Alison and I occasionally have a glass of wine, almost always Moscato, three or four ounces once or twice a month.

We really don't drink much.  A secret about this country is that our history is rife with booze.  Seriously.  A lot of our events have been influenced by liquor.  It would make a Russian blush.

Anyhoo, back to Christmas.

Our plans this year are modest,  We'll only see people we've been around before, and that will be social distanced and well-masked.  

Alison's mother, Benjamin's MeeMaw, will come over Christmas Eve for the annual Potato Soup meal.  We usually have a second soup, but this year we'll have a Boston Butt.  For dessert, we've got a bread pudding made for us by a fellow church member.

We will have the annual viewing of Elf.  This year, we got a preview by attending WACT's wonderful production of Elf: The Musical.

We will attend Christmas Eve Mass.

Christmas morning, MeeMaw will be with us as we open our stockings.  Then we will have a Christmas breakfast featuring Christmas Sausage Pie.

Upon breakfast's conclusion, we have the opening of the gifts.  This used to take a lot of time, as we went one gift at a time.  Now, as Benjamin is older, there are fewer gifts and less production around them.

After that, we will play with the toys we got.  This also has become subdued over the years.  There's only so many games you can play with new socks.

Christmas evening will bring an Italian supper at Alison's Dad's house.  It will just be us, Alison's Dad and Glenda, and Alison's step-sister with her husband and their son, Graham. Every caution will be taken.

Other?  I want to read.  I'm in a huge but interesting book about President Grant, written by the same guy, Ron Chernow, who wrote the Hamiltion book the musical is based on.  I also want to see what Bond movies I can while they're being offered on Amazon Prime (they're taking them away on January 1st).  Currently, I'm halfway through Moonraker, which is in about the middle of the Roger Moore years. Is Moore a better bond than Sean Connery?  No, but the Moore movies are still fun and gadget-filled.  I love the gadgets.

What I don't want to do is think about Trump.  Sadly, he won't go away, continuing to do destructive things that put our democracy at risk. It's hard to ignore him when he's considering martial law.

Nevertheless...

Merry Christmas!

Christmas in the Time of Covid 1

 

I'm not going anywhere.

That's the first thing to know about Christmas in COVID times.

We were going up to the Atlanta area to see my son Doug and my daughter-in-law Paige, but we are putting it off for now after discussing it with them.  It's disappointing, but it is not worth the risk to them and to us.

I normally go to prison on the last day of the year to observe and audit the prison's commissary. Due to Coronavirus concerns, our firm is not doing that this year.  Prisons have been a hotspot for coronavirus transmission.

My workplace is restricted this week due to employee concerns and outbreaks related to a staff member's family, so only a small group covers assignments that have to be covered - I am not in that group and will be home this week.

We continue to go to Church and look forward to Christmas Eve mass.  Our church has been extraordinary in deploying safety measures, and it is much safer going there than in any place in the area (except maybe the public library). 

We go to the grocery store when we have to.  The mask-wearing there is mixed, but we do our best to maintain our distance.  We eat restaurant food only about once a week, and when we do, we bring it home.

Christmas will be just us and Alsion's mother, Rose, with whom we are the only people she is in contact with.

I have not been in plays for quite a while, the last being Murder on the Orient Express well over a year ago.  I don't normally have that long of a break, and it does make me antsy.  There have been at least three plays I wanted to do but passed on due to COVID concerns.

Last night, I had a dream where I was in a play again, and I performed well, except that I did not come out for two scenes that I was supposed to be in.  They were filming that night for a documentary, and I became the focus of it, as an aging actor who should not be performing anymore.  Such are my fears of what it may be like once I can be in plays again.  I fear the theatre has moved beyond me and doesn't need me or want me anymore, that my whole theatre career was nothing more than a forgotten illusion.

In the same dream, I was also going back to college, one that was a couple hours away, and that midterms were going on the same week as the play.  I kept missing classes and realized that I had never studied for the tests and had no idea what was on them.

So, in my dreams, my acting career is a sham, my academic abilities gone.  All the pillars that made me me were disintegrating. 

Fortunately, I woke up before I lost anything else.

I look forward to the virus being under control.  I pray the vaccines work, that new strains (such as the one emerging in Britain) can be contained and vaccines remain effective against it, that people use precautions until the vaccines take hold.  

As a shy person who took months and years to build up the confidence to be around people, I will not rebound back as easily as some. Please be patient with me.

Christmas time is almost here!

Who is to Blame for Holding Up COVID Relief? Saturday Political Soap Box 264

Hopefully, for those who read this on Monday Dec 21 or later, something will have passed.  Probably an inadequate mess, but it will be something.

I've been very upset at many Americans' lack of decency about wearing a mask and social distancing.  Our lack of care has resulted in the United States being the epicenter of the pandemic.  We have roughly 4.25% of the world's population and 23% of the confirmed cases, and 19% of the world's deaths.  Trump and his administration have been massive failures in protecting us.

There is no excuse for not wearing a mask, but I understand why it is so difficult for people to stay apart.  We have to work.  We have to pay bills.  There is no relief in that regard.

Unemployment remains high, and individuals and states are running out of resources.  Much of that will expire soon.

Many of us have no choice but to keep working, even as the pandemic surges around us.

If we're going to make it the next few months, without tens if not hundreds of thousands of Americans dying, with millions falling ill and many of those suffering negative health effects that could last a lifetime, we need help.  Small businesses will go under, people will be evicted from their homes, unemployment will climb, medical bankruptcies will surge, workplaces will be unsafe.

So, we have to have COVID relief, and it needs to be directed to individuals, families, and small businesses.  It also needs to be directed at states and municipalities that are running out of funds and can't just print money. We need to shore up testing, contact tracing, and vaccine distribution.

We do not need to create a bigger slush fund for big corporations and the super-wealthy.  They are doing well enough, thank you very much.  We do not need liability protection for businesses from their responsibilities to protect workers and customers from COVID. What do you think will happen if large businesses, like meatpacking plants, feel like there is no consequence to ignoring COVID safety protocols?

Who is to blame for the lack of action on genuine COVID relief?

It's not Nancy Pelosi and the House Democrats.  Say whatever you want about them, they passed a bill nine months, an outstanding comprehensive bill, and the Senate never took it up.

Trump wants to sign something. He is indeed a horrible negotiator, the very opposite of the dealmaker he played on television, but he'll sign whatever is passed.  He wants to send out checks with his name on them. So, he's not a help, but he wouldn't stop it either.

No, it's primarily one person.

It's Mitch McConnell.  

Yes, he has far-right Republican Senators whom he has to consider, but ultimately, it's him.  He's the hold-up.  He's why we can't feel safe enough to do the distancing that getting over this pandemic requires.

There is some possibility that a symbolic direct payment may be included in the COVD relief bill, maybe $600 a person.  That is only a possibility because McConnell fears what might happen in the Georgia Senate runoffs.  He thinks a tiny bone will placate restless independents in the state of Georgia and give the Loefller Android and Perdue Chicken the margin they need to beat their Democratic opposition.

Please note this.  If the two Republicans win, it will be the last concession to reality you will see. You will have at least two years of gridlock, and America's most pressing problems will be ignored.

The disease is Mitch McConnell.  The cure is Warnock and Ossoff.

 

It's a Holly, Jolly Harley Christmas! A Crowley Story

 

I know what they're saying.

Still, it's Christmas.  And Christmas at the Harley clan means big family gatherings.  There are so many of us that some years we rent out the Dixon Hall out near the lake. 

Not this year.  We're going to meet at Grandpa Harley's farm.  If the weather is nice, we'll meet outside.  We got picnic tables and a tent, a big tent that sometimes our church uses for revivals.  If the weather is bad, we'll just gather inside, screw the precautions.

It won't be as crowded as some years.  Aunt Fresca and her entire family won't be there.  She's our family liberal, and she's a maskaholic.  She's a nurse and overly sensitive if you ask me.  I mean, haven't some of the hospital personnel been vaccinated?  Maybe not here.  I hadn't heard yet.

That still leaves several dozen people who will descend on Grandpa's farm on Christmas afternoon.  My brother Chuck will once again dress up as Santa; Chuck's a big guy, even for Santa, topping out somewhere over three hundred pounds.  It'll be too late to ask Santa for presents, but not too late to hug and kiss him.

Nobody will wear a mask.  Maybe Charlene.  She likes to be dramatic, a real hypochondriac telling us all the time about her diabetes and heart condition, all the while she's shoveling chocolate candy under her mask.

Someone who won't be there is Grandma Harley.  Except in spirit.  Sadly, she passed away two weeks after Thanksgiving.  Did she have COVID?  I don't know.  Grandma had a lot of problems, so it could have been anything. There was a positive test, but there are a lot of false positives out there.  That's what I heard on Newsmax - a lot of unrelated deaths are being attributed to COVID because the doctors are trying to push up the numbers so they can get more money and stuff. 

The funeral was the last time the family got together.  The funeral people, Davis Funeral Home, insisted everyone wear a mask at the viewing.  They didn't have the power to control New Life Baptist Church, where a massive service was held.  After that, New Life closed for a week, but it's up and running for Christmas.  Pastor Dan says it would be ungodly not to hold Christmas services. I confess.  I didn't go.  I'm a devout Christian, I swears, I just didn't go very much.  Yes, sometimes I want to stick it to the libs and atheists and show up, but then it gets to Sunday morning, and I just go, "Not this Sunday.  I'd rather take it easy.  It's been a long week operating the trash truck, and I need a break.  Maybe next Sunday."

Grandpa's children, all six minus Fresca, confabbed about whether and how to hold the Harley Christmas party. Grandpa insisted it was what Grandma would have wanted.  She wanted to look down from heaven and see all her family gathered for the most important day of the year, the day Jesus was born, and began his journey to sacrifice himself for our sins. 

Darlene, the youngest of the bunch (and my Mama), suggested putting up the revival tent and centering outdoors.  Grandpa reluctantly agreed, although he said he would spend as much time as possible in the parlor amidst the photographs and lingering scent of his beloved wife.  And, outdoors or not, he expected people to come to see him and pay tribute to her memory.

Me?  Yeah, whatever.  I'll go anywhere.  Family trumps fear.  Ha! See how I used the word trump?  Ain't I clever?  Just like the name of the one true President who rules us all, the real winner of the election.  Can't believe that Kemp was in cahoots with Hugo Chavez putting in a bunch of rigged voting machines.  What were the machines called?  Dominatrix?  Something like that.  And now there's supposed to be a runoff where two Republicans have to be in a runoff with Radical Liberal Atheist Democrats?  I know.  Warnock is some kind of preacher, I guess, but it ain't no proper church.  Not like New Life.  It preaches socialism, gushing money to the undeserving, and advocating getting rid of our cops.  Well, I'll show them!  The hell if I'm gonna vote in that rigged mess!  Ain't worth my time!

Masks are a show of weakness.  It smells of cowardice.  And I won't be a coward.  I won't have wimps like Pretend President Biden tell me what to do!  I got personal liberty to do and go where I want!  I ain't no health hazard!  I been around people since the start, and I ain't sick!  Well, not right now, anyway.  There was that time just before Thanksgiving, but it wasn't much, and screw you if I was going in for a test. Nobody was gonna stop me from Thanksgiving and seeing Grandma Harley, and you know?  I'm glad I did because it was my last chance to see her.

And now, with our presents opened and our stomachs ready for a big old meal, it was time to go to the big Harley Christmas party.  The weather is a little cold and windy, so we may spend more time inside than otherwise.

But that's okay.  Life is too short to live in fear.

Way too short.

I Have Been a Roamer

 

The Strait Household jumps into the space age!

Quickly becoming a valued member of our family, he gets up and helps vacuum the floors every morning.  He's not the brand name Roomba; he's Eufy, a less well-known brand, but one that has won us over.

Alison had to set an app up on the phone, and it wanted her to name it.  We decided on Roamer.

And that's what Roamer does.  He roams around the house, picking up all the dirt and debris and, yes, a whole passel of dog hair.

At first, the dogs were bothered by Roamer, particularly Ellie. But they got used to it and now ignore it, just like they do the cat.

We have to make sure certain items it could get stuck on are not on the floor, like dog toys and such.  It likes to go under things, like chairs and other furniture.  Sometimes it gets stuck. In fact, it just beeped because it got stuck trying to get under the refrigerator, and I had to stop writing for a minute to get unstuck.

When Romer is finished, and its power is dwindling, it returns to its home base.

Recently, Roamer's battery died.  It was no longer under warranty (having expired just a couple weeks earlier).  Alison contacted the manufacturer, and they sent a battery replacement FREE OF CHAGE even though the warranty had expired!

Eufy may not be number one, but they certainly try harder.

We are grateful to have Roamer as part of our family!

Yeah, this isn't an earth-shattering topic,  But you know, with over 2,000 posts, not all of them are going to be about the fall of civilization or the meaning of life.

Enough Already: Saturday Political Soap Box 263

 Enough already!

The man won by over 7,000,000 votes and the same electoral margin that Trump won in 2012 (you know, the one Captain Bone Spurs called a landslide).

You are just embarrassing yourself now.

And I'm not just talking about Trump.  Trump has an excuse.  He's mentally ill.  He can't process information in the way a normal person can.  He is psychologically incapable of accepting that he lost.

That excuse can't be used by his Republican enablers, the wide swath of Republican officeholders who are endorsing Trump's mad anti-democratic bids to retain power.

It is encouraging the authoritarian instincts of millions of Trump's base supporters. When they see this swill promoted not just by the President, but by Republican politicians and their media mouthpieces (FOX News Primetime, Newsmax, OAN, Parler, extremists reinforcing each other on FaceBook), it gins them up to not accept the truth.  It makes you fear that they will no longer abide by election results if they don't fall in line with their expectations.

It's going to take a while, but demographics do not favor that Trumpeteer voter. More and more districts and states will turn blue, especially if Republicans value white identity politics over governing.

I wish this decisive rejection by the US Supreme Court of Texas's incoherent and vile lawsuit would end this.  I wish that it would be enough already.

But I doubt it.  I'm sure the narcissist-in-chief has more tricks up his sleeve.  He has to because the consequences of leaving office are so dire for him.  Even if he (or President Pence) pardon himself for any federal crimes he has committed, that still leaves him battling local and state courts.  He knows what he has done and what awaits him.  He'll get a jumpsuit that matches the color of his spray-tanned skin. 

Be prepared for him to attempt a military intervention, including maybe the declaration of martial law.  I say attempt because I have enough faith in our military leadership that this effort will fail as well.

Yes, he will fail.  Donald Trump is The Biggest Loser.

But that's not what I'm worried about.

I'm worried about how difficult it will be to govern, how hard it will be to return to normal if millions refuse to accept the legitimacy of Biden's election.  And for me, that will be the majority of the people I run across in this red South Georgia enclave.

Personally, I want the progressive legislative agenda to pass - lock, stock, and barrel with no compromises.  But guess what?  Progressives are not a majority in Congress.  They are an important faction within the Democratic Party, but they don't have the political power to pass anything without compromise.

So, for right now, I accept the fact that I can't get everything I want.  That it will take coalitions and compromises to move the country forward.

And we must move the country forward.  And it will not be the Progressives that will hold that up.  They like governing too much.  

It will be the Trump Rump that holds it up, those who are more loyal to Trump and his white identity politics than they are to functioning democracy.

There is too much at stake to not get things done.  Too many problems are at a critical juncture. We have to work together.  Biden is right in that.

I fear it won't happen.  We have too many in the Republican Party who value power over governance.

Enough already.

Lives are at stake.

Lift your head out of your media and cultural bubble, reach out to your fellow Americans, and let's start to git-er-done.

History of the Trap Vol. 2: Chapter Two - Dance Party Part 2

 

2

 

“What do you think, Lance?  Should they hold new elections?” Ginny, head in her arms as she sat in the cafetorium table across from me.  She had arrived early, ahead of the others.  I was always first to get a head start on notes for The Sands of Loren.  She has been quiet for a while, except to say good morning.  She knew my routine and let me have quiet to write. 

I put my pencil down.  She was still so beautiful to me, Her auburn hair maybe a fraction longer than a year ago, her green flecked eyes wide and expressive, her button nose, her sardonic smile – I had to remind myself that she was with Artie now.  They had been together almost from the time the Trap fell.  I was almost ashamed at how much I was still attracted to her, but after what I had been through with Lisa,  my flair for the romantic had been virtually extinguished.  I was just glad that Ginny was a part of my life.  She was a good friend, and I hoped I would never lose that.

“New elections?  Why?  Is Artie tired of it already?”

“Oh, you know why.  Granni-Knights still dominate the Student Council.  It’ll make it real difficult for your Dad to manage things.”

I understood her fear, but I was skeptical of Granite’s hold on them.  “However, many of them got onto the council, I doubt if they still feel beholden to a convicted murderer.”

“You’d be surprised.  I mean, my gosh, Lance, one of them is Mark’s brother!”  That was true.  Mark’s younger brother, Donald, had won a Sophmore seat (class designations were becoming increasingly meaningless, but there you go – soon we would all technically be adults) in the last election. 

“I don’t know.  Shouldn’t everyone be judged on their own merits?  The sins of one brother aren’t necessarily the sins of the other brother.”

“You might be right, but you might not.  I think we should start with a clean slate.  If any of the Granni-Knights run again and they’re re-elected, more power to them.”

“I disagree.  We should at least, give it some time.  See where their loyalties really lie.”

Ginny shook her head, strong enough for her lovely, slightly curled hair to spin across her face.  “By then, it might be too late. I think we should change things up before the dust settles, before Mark’s defenders can strengthen their rationalization.”

“Or more evidence comes out about what a monster he is” I still held out hope that he would be held responsible for Lisa’s death. 

“Look, I can dig what you’re saying, but truthfully, Artie has told me that your Dad is 99 percent set on having elections by the middle of May.  I can’t believe that Artie has to be the one who has to tell me what your Dad is thinking.  Haven’t you two resolved your differences?  Aren’t you two better now?”

“Better, yes.  But no, we’re not talking administrative policy or Student Council politics.  Sorry.”

“It’s ok.  I understand.  I still envy you your relationship with your father.  My Dad is…well, not much like your Dad.”

From what I knew, that was a bit of an understatement.  William Estill was the owner and pharmacist at Estill Pharmacy.  The rumors were not all the prescriptions made it onto the shelf.  As far as I knew, he wasn’t abusive to Ginny, but he was distant and cold. 

“My Dad is a good man.  I won’t slip up again.  I won’t withdraw from him again, no matter what happens.”

“Will you run again?”

“Run for what?”

“Student Council, silly.”

I hadn’t thought of that.  Mostly because I had no interest in resuming any kind of political career. “I don’t think so.  Nepotism, and all that.”

“Still, if students elected you, then that meant they were accepting of all that.” She grabbed my hands and stared at me with those beautiful, intelligent eyes. My head swam.  It was intoxicating.  I instinctively squeezed her hand.

 I didn’t know what else to say.  I didn’t want it.  But I didn’t want not to support my Dad, or the many students that had been hurt by the Granni-Knights.  So, I deflected.  “What about Artie? Will he run for re-election?”

“I haven’t made up my mind yet.  I’m kinda waiting to see what you and Lindsey do.”  Artie had come up to us while my mind had been absorbed in Ginny. He looked down and saw we were holding hands.  “Hey!  Whatchu doing with my girl?”

I withdrew my hands quickly, and at first, saw a dire look cross Artie’s face.  It just lasted a millisecond, and he promptly brightened with a smirk and a wink.

“How many times do I have to tell you, Arthur Evans Pentler?  I’m not your possession.  I don’t belong to you,” Ginny said, her expression more amused than bothered.

He sat down next to her and put his arm around her.  They kissed briefly.  I thought she seemed embarrassed by that, but it was probably just me reading into things.

“What about the big Dance, Lance?  Do you know about that?”

“No. Not really.”  I had not been involved with student dances since the one just before Lisa’s murder, the one with the violent confrontation with Robert Pelley.

“It’s something your Dad initiated, Lance,” said Artie.  “A celebration of a return to normalcy.”

“Please don’t miss it, Lance,” Ginny urged.  “It will be good for you.”

There were too many bad memories.  I doubted that another dance was capable of washing them away.

Artie stood up and extended his hand to Ginny.  “Come to me to my Kasbah.”

Okay, I wasn’t even sure what that meant.  It felt like I had stepped into the middle of something that I had of no knowledge or part. 

“What, my little Poohbah?” she replied. “Why would I want to be a part of your Harem?  Just another lass for you to fawn over?”

“Ah, but my dear!  You are not just another Harem girl; you are THE Harem girl.”

That was more than I could take.  “You two need to get out of heer.  I can’t take any more of this conversation.”

Ginny laughed.  “Ok, bye-bye, Lance.  But please do go to the dance.”  They started to leave, arm in arm, but after a few steps, she turned and said, “And be sure to save one dance for me,  You know, like always.”

One dance.  Like always.  What could be the harm in that?

I Am Not a Germaphobe

 

I am not now, nor have I ever been, nor will I ever be, a germaphobe.

I started out rocky.  I had all the diseases typical of my generation—mumps, chickenpox, measles, both hard and soft.  I had pneumonia twice.  I had mononucleosis. 

The hard (or German) measles I got as a Kindergartener almost killed me. Our family doctor was worried whether I would pull through.  I just remember being very sick for a very long time.

People with rough childhood illnesses often become germaphobes, especially those who've had scarlet fever (which is one I do not recall having).  

I'm not sure why it didn't turn me into a germaphobe.  Once I became an adult, I've had very few illnesses, except for the type of hepatitis you get from food contamination when I was 27.  Flu and colds have been mild and infrequent.

I have had a strong immune system, and I believe, right or wrong, that my childhood exposures helped improve my immunities.  So, I used less caution than most.

I have been in a number of plays where people all around me were getting sick, and I got nothing.  And that's with taking no special precautions.

I have missed very few workdays in my life.  Well, at least from illness.  My last major flu was in 2000, my first tax season.  For better or worse, I worked through it, even with temps approaching 103.  I finally went to a care clinic, and they gave me a Z-Pac (a rare trip to Antibiotic World).  I asked how long I should stay out of work, and the doctor said I was already past being contagious, and I should just keep going to work. So, back I went, fever and all.

I did not get a flu shot until about three years ago.  I'm not an idiot or anti-vaxxer.  I recognized that, as good as my immune system has been, I was aging and not super-human.  The first two years after the shot, I did develop a mild flu/cold.  Again, nothing that kept me out of work.

So, please pay attention.

I am not approaching the pandemic as a germaphobe.  Right or wrong, I'm not super worried about getting it myself.  But I am deeply concerned about passing it onto others.  

It is a deeply insidious disease.  Many who get it sail right through.  Others wind up with severe symptoms, and some wind up hospitalized. And some, about 2 to 3 %, die.

I am not germaphobic.  I am woke.  I realize the damage this virus has caused, and will cause if it remains unchecked.

I care about other people.  I don't want us to go through a true herd immunity process that will result in the death of millions.

I don't want to put Alison's Mom & Dad, both of whom have other health problems, at risk.

Personal liberty is not the issue.  My immunity system and cavalier attitude towards catching things is not the issue.  

The issue is caring about other people.  The issue is doing what one can to mitigate the harm and death this virus is causing.

So, I do what I can.  I wear a mask. I socially distance.  I participate in no activity where people are not following basic human decency and caring.

Perhaps I should have been more cautious in the past.  I can see that now.  The best I can say, except for the 2000 incident, I've never gotten anything to give to anybody.  But now I understand better about asymptomatic transmission, and I've rethought my former attitude.

This does not make me a germaphobe.  

It means (I hope) I am somebody who gives a damn about other people.

Let the Parade Pass You By

 

It was Benjamin's birthday weekend.

And for his birthday (now 20 - no more teenagers!) he likes to go to Chamblin Bookmine.  I am a bookstore connoisseur, and for my money, the Bookmine is as good or better than any bookstore I've been in, including the Strand in NYC and Powell Books in Portland, Oregon (this is especially true for used books).  Masks are required, and it's not very crowded, so social distancing is easy.

To get to Chamblin in Jacksonville, we travel a road that takes us past the town of Callahan. We had to detour around the town of Callahan because they had a Christmas Parade.  

Yes, for real.  A Christmas Parade, in the middle of the most virulent part of the Pandemic.  A parade where masks were few and far between,  A parade where social distancing was non-existent.

I glimpsed the main drag of the parade, and it was packed.  Thousands crammed together, and all I could think of was a Hieronymous Bosch painting, displaying the horrors of the apocalypse.

In the picture above, two of the paraders have masks on - well, costumes, at any rate.  Few, if any, are detectable in the crowd.

Here is another crowd shot.  Shriners in their funny little vehicles.  And, they're maskless, of course.  As is the vast majority of the packed crowd.

An unmasked 97-year-old veteran rides a bike through the parade.  I admire him.  I admire his service.  I pray that he stays safe. I'm not positive, but I think he may have a mask below his chin.  Perhaps he put it on when people got closer.

Kudos to the girl in front with the candy bucket, who is wearing a mask, and the one person in the audience I could see wearing a mask (you could play Where's Mask-O and see if you could find it too).

No, I did not take these pictures.  I stole from the interwebs, using Callahan Christmas Parade 2020.

And no, this isn't the only Christmas Parade going on around here.  Blackshear had theirs last night. Waycross will have theirs on December 12th.

There are events all over.  Some done safely, others not.  There are plans for an ice skating rink (yeah - South Georgia and ice skating - try not to think about it too much).

And yes, outdoor events, particularly if masked and not too crowded, are safer than indoor events.

But indoor events are going on too. Some area churches have complete disregard for public safety.

If God is telling you to not wear a mask and behave as if there is no Pandemic and that your personal liberty to live and worship as you please is paramount, disregarding the safety and well-being of others - I hate to break it to you - but THAT AIN"T GOD TALKING TO YOU.  You have seriously got your spiritual wires crossed up.

For those of you who still care to protect themselves and others - don't give up!  Let this parade pass you by, and take care of yourself and your loved ones.  

Just because everyone else is behaving like a self-centered lunatic doesn't mean you have to join in.

Wear a mask.  Socially distance.  You don't have to be a hermit. Use caution, and give a damn about others. That's all we're asking.

So Goes the Mighty Oak

Our mighty oak is gone.  

We had it removed this week.

The most defining feature of our lot  was taken out,

It was a tough decision to make, but you can see the rotted part of the tree that had been growing at an exponential rate in the last few years.

If the tree fell on our house, it would come close to "totaling" our residence.

This is a picture of the base of the oak.  The two holes you see there were getting bigger and moved up the tree as far as you could test with a yardstick.

It was a big ol' tree.  It was perhaps the tallest and widest tree in our area.  It towered over our house majestically.  It provided a lot of cooling shade for our porch and backyard.

It also dropped limbs at a pretty good clip.  They would thud against our metal roof, and we would think, "This is it.  This is the big one." One limb did stab through the roof over our porch.  That was fun to fix.

Acorns would drop from the tree, hitting the metal roof with a sharp bang, making us think we were under siege.

Squirrels loved the acorns.  They were pretty bold around the tree.  This would provide great entertainment for the dogs, who, despite their determined efforts, were never quite able to catch a squirrel.  Sometimes watching them interact was like a Looney Tunes cartoon.

I don't know.  Maybe we were wrong.  Maybe the tree would have lasted longer than we thought.  But, given how much we have invested in the home, we couldn't take the chance.

I sure am gonna miss it, though.

 

Taking a Knee Wednesday Wanderings

 

There's my Boss-A-Man, ready to make my day better.  Always my pal.  Especially on those days when I don't go to work.

Interesting experiment here.  Usually, when I retrieve photos from my phone, I post them to Facebook and then save them to my desktop to use them here. I post them to Facebook only to me, so the only way you see them is through my blog.

I didn't do that this time.  I posted the photo to everyone.  It will be interesting to see how many likes and comments the photo by itself gets compared to the blog story.  I think I know which one is going to win.

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Personal health kvetch:  knee pain had receded but is now back with a vengeance.  Everything is painful - standing, sitting, walking, laying down.  I'm back to using Voldemort (Voltaren); maybe that will help in a few days.  I hate seeing a doctor, particularly during the COVID times, but I may not have a choice.

Y'all probably hope I do so I can quit kvetching about it.

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I have been reading the Sally Field book In Pieces, and I am up to the Gidget years.  She has always been a secret crush of mine and has remained beautiful and bright throughout the years.  Her trauma as a child is greater than I thought it was, showing you don't always know what people are going through.

No steaming service is showing Gidget, except for some episodes posted on YouTube.

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I really want to turn my back on Trump, but he and others are not making it very easy.  His delusional rants that he won are coming across more and more insane, and it makes me worry about those who are willing to go along with him.  He is doing one last grift before he leaves, squeezing millions out of his supporters that will help guarantee his lifestyle when he leaves office.  If he leaves office.

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Benjamin is closing up his last week of school, which he is doing from home.  He has a final today and a couple more later this week.  

It has been a strange college experience for Benjamin.  His social skills were really sharpening before COVID,  and I hope he can return to that sometime next year.

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I stumbled into a conversation I did not want to pursue, lest it gets me into trouble. I said something about a change in relationship with a fast food place in association with Benjamin's college food service, and that it was COVID related, and a person hearing this started on how COVID protocols were making a lot of stupid things happen. a lot of unnecessary restrictions (I guess that's what they meant).  

I did not pursue it. But it was a reminder that I live around many people who do not take COVID seriously and think that the restrictions imposed are worse than the pandemic.

That's insane.

First, this area never really shut down.*  It's always been snotty and defiant here. And to me, it's the major reason we still have to deal with COVID for months instead of weeks. The people here do the bare minimum they're required to do (if that), thinking the restrictions are silly and inhibitive.

How much do we have to suffer because people don't take this seriously?

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I should write more, but I do know it hurts to sit too long at the desk.  So, I'll call it a wander, and hopefully, move on to more coherent topics later.

Wanderingly Yours,

T. M. Strait

* Having a first implies there is a second and maybe more.  Alas, there is not.  I should fix it, but that is a thought process that is just too much for me this morning.