So much divisiveness
The protests about the stay at home orders was anticipated, but I'd hoped they wouldn't materialize until at least the end of May. No, for the past couple weeks, they've been in full-force in several states. Hopefully, just a minority of people, but some have truly turned ugly. Meanwhile, this week the nation hit a sobering stat of more than 60,000 deaths, more deaths from COVID-19 in roughly two months than who were killed in the Vietnam War. And we are only in the beginning. Numbers in areas where there were a lot of openings and loosening of restrictions are already seeing spikes of COVID-19 cases, Georgia and Michigan especially. Next couple weeks will be interesting.
Ohio will have a loosening in some areas. Stay at Home has become Stay Safe. Some sectors will reopen between now and May 12, sort of a trial run to see where the numbers go. This seems to be the most sensible option we have, given how little we still know. It's hard to tell, too, with the gaslighting that has already started, and the varying stories and numbers. Honestly, the internet and social media is beginning to wear me out. Had to take a bit of a break from it last weekend, which helped.
One bit of good news: there were more than 100 cases in South Korea where people who had tested positive for COVID-19 had recovered but tested positive again. I mentioned this earlier. Now, personally, I think this bears watching, just in case. But so far it looks like what was happening was the best-case scenario. According to the article I read on this, basically the tests were picking up on fragments of dead COVID-19, but the patients were not reinfected, nor did they seem contagious. If this holds true, this could possibly be good news in two ways. One, is obvious- that people aren't getting reinfected, and HOPEFULLY are not harboring latent virus that could flare up later. Again, we need to watch this with other populations. Also, this makes the idea of a vaccine, or at least herd immunity, looking likely. coronaviruses have been notoriously hard to treat and vaccinate against. Maybe this will be an exception? I've also heard of hints of possible effective treatments. However, with the debacle with that one malaria drug, I'm not holding my breath. I'll believe it when I see it.
One concern is it is showing to have complications, especially for those who are younger, in terms of blood clots. Something about COVID-19 is causing blood clots, which is leading to strokes, heart attacks and the like in people in their 50s, 40s and even younger, at a level not usually seen in this age group.
Schools are closed for the rest of the year (the buildings, anyway), and most districts are opting for virtual graduations. One neat idea is recording the graduation video, then screening it at a drive-in movie theater. That's actually pretty ingenious, makes the best of a bad situation and makes for a memorable shared experience, done in relative safety.
As expected, we are working from home for the foreseeable future. Pragmatically, it makes sense. We're doing well with our current arrangement working from home, and there are advantages.
In some ways, I personally think I'm at least as, if not more, productive here than in the office. If I hit a wall, I can do dishes or throw in a quick load of laundry. Also, in truth, not eating out has been good for me healthwise, I can tell I've lost weight. In addition, I've gotten back to semi-regularly working on my weights and my Theraband. I plan to go out for a bit this weekend, if nothing else than to enjoy the weather and get out a bit, plus treat myself to a Blizzard, perhaps. That will be my first sweet since my birthday. Heh, my diet may improve even more with the situation involving huge outbreaks of the novel coronavirus at numerous meat packing plants. That has been an interesting and worrisome situation.
Also, looking at the makeup of our office, at least two-thirds of us (including me) fall into the category of people who are at risk of serious complications should we get COVID-19.
But it's tough. I really miss seeing people. Miss my co-workers, my friends, my family so much it brings me to tears if I think about it too long. Just glad I live in an age with Internet, Zoom, Google Meets and Facetime because I think by this time I'd be at best completely stir-crazy, and more likely losing my mind.
To pass the time this week, I started my virtual art show on Facebook, which so far has been very well received. That's been fun. I've posted two of my old paintings, and will post a third tonight (in fact I'll probably post something after I'm done writing here). Also, I've been experimenting with video, a new video editing program and Facebook Live for something else: I was more than a little inspired by Sir Patrick Stewart, who has been reading one of Shakespeare's sonnets a day, and doing my own poetry reading. I've started reading the poems from Spoon River Anthology, my favorite collection. I've done the first two, will record the third tonight. I've learned three new tricks on this laptop, which I've had for nine years, just this week! So, there's that.
Also, finished a book recently, first book I've finished in a while. I recently joined a book club started by some of my friends from the theater circuit, and this was actually the first book discussed, back in late March (yes, I'm only now finishing it). The April book, I couldn't get my hands on; tried ordering through Amazon, only to be told that the soonest I'd get it would be several days AFTER the virtual Play with Words meeting. Tried another book store, but the only copy they had in my budget range was in Spanish. Yeah, I studied Spanish for about nine years but that was decades ago. I'm way too rusty. This next book for May, Trashed, I should be getting next week. Also, I've read this before, so I have that going for me, if for some reason this falls through. Yay!
Ah well, enough blather. On to the Book Mouse's Book Report:
7. A Woman of No Importance, by Sonia Purnell. Wow. Purnell's biography centers on Virginia Hall, a woman born to not inconsiderable privilege, who would go on to pretty much organizing and galvanizing the French Resistance during the second World War. If Hall's mother would have had her way, Virginia would have married a wealthy gentleman and settled in a stately abode, raising children and entertaining the upper crust. Hall had different ambitions. After touring Europe during her college years, she especially fell in love with France. When France was invaded, she managed to persuade the American government into working covertly over there, in the guide of a newspaper reporter, to help coordinate a resistance against the Nazi party. What she actually accomplished is just incredible, and went above and beyond her initial mandate, and she did it under incredibly adverse circumstances. Not only was she a woman born at a time where women were usually on the sidelines of the war effort, she used a prosthetic leg (which she nicknamed Cuthbert, and this led to a few funny stories) due to a shooting accident. Despite the prejudice against her, and having to deal with more than a few incompetent chauvinists, she pretty much is responsible for making the French Resistance a force to be reckoned with. One of her greatest achievements was a jailbreak on the line of the one depicted in "The Great Escape." It's a tragedy she isn't better known (although, as reticent as she was in real life, she probably wouldn't mind that). Virginia Hall deserves to be at least as famous as Charles de Gualle. I've heard a movie is supposed to be coming out about her (although with the pandemic, who knows?) It would be nice to see this brave and determined woman get the recognition she deserves.