Sunday morning meditations

“Bad Virus Rising” is a Creedence Clearwater Revival parody written by Catherine Holcombe, performed by her friend and fellow ukulele enthusiast Rebecca Causey. 

 “Bad Virus Rising” CCR parody written by Catherine Holcombe, performed by Rebecca Causey

In the spirit of spreading happy, positive, and/or silly vibes:  

•     Wholesome videos and acts of kindness from Reddit.

•     Dr. Fauci fandom leads to market for bobble heads,  merch, swag.

•     Creative and strange personal protective equipment ideas.

•     Adam Sandler debuts song thanking doctors and nurses.

•     Baby deer and mom reunited.

•     Watch Conan O’Brien and Andy Richter virtual hug.

•     Mostly good and funny news from the Daily Show.

Daily pandemic update:  

The number of coronavirus cases globally surged past 1.2 million as deaths reached 65,000. Spain reported a third day of declining new cases, with the death toll in the European country with the most recorded infections rising to 12,418 amid 130,759 cases. With over 300,000 cases in the US, President Trump warned of new deaths to come. In Iran, the worst hit country in the Middle East, the outbreak continued with the death toll reaching 3,603 amid 58,226 cases. Despite this, President Hassan Rouhani said that "low-risk" economic activities would resume from April 11.  Aljazeera.com timeline

5 Apr 2020	Cases		Deaths		Recovered
12:26 GMT*	Yesterday	Today	Yesterday	Today	Yesterday	Today
World	1,113,453	1,217,724	60,379	65,832	236,000	253,744
US	277,607	311,637	7,406	8,454	12,283	14,828
NY	103,476	114,775	3,218	3,565	6,662	11,163
CT	4,914	5,276	131	165	0	0
NC	2,328	2,509	28	33	40	61

*Documenting time of day because real time data updates continuously.
Tracking specific states:  NY is US epicenter, son Reid lives in CT, and I live in NC. 
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/               https://www.coronainusa.com/  

A moment of silence for those we’ve lost to coronavirus, including the first 100 in the US.

In the news:

•     California and Washington state successfully flattening the curve.

•     Kentucky quarantine violators must wear ankle bracelets.

•     The word “quarantine” derives from Italian phrase meaning 40 days.

•     #AfricansAreNotGuineaPigs and #AfricansAreNotLabRats trended after French doctors proposed testing coronavirus vaccines in Africa.

•     Turkey facing steep trajectory of new cases, poised to become next hot spot.

•     Attorney General Barr ordered prisons to increase use of home confinement and to expedite the release of eligible inmates for their health and safety.

•     Trump reportedly coordinating with Vladimir Putin in Russia and Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, AKA MBS) to control global oil supply and prices.

•     Food supply vulnerabilities linked to logistics complications.

•     Fox News coverage of public health and the economy drawing criticism.

•     Through the #MasksNow grassroots coalition, lots of people are making home crafted masks.  

•     Law enforcement conducted Operation Circle of Hope to thank health care workers.

•     Neighborhood scavenger hunts conducted from a safe distance.

When I’m calm I feel empathy toward Trump’s supporters. I rationalize that they truly believe in their hearts and minds he is trustworthy and effective as president. Americans are obligated to support the president no matter who they vote for and despite any character flaws, especially during a crisis. Most citizens rallied around FDR during WWII and we need to rally around our wartime president now. I understand why people believe this.

Also, a lot of people are frightened. Change is scary and we’re dealing with a lot of it right now. Perhaps some of the changes are temporary, but it might be extra scary to think some of the changes could be permanent. Some people live paycheck to paycheck, or worry about losing their job. For folks whose self identity is strongly linked to their career or vocation, what they do for a living, it is probably comforting to go to work every day, to continue their normal daily routine. Some people may not have hobbies or much else in their life to occupy their time so maybe they don’t know exactly what to do other than what they’ve always done which is go to work, make money, spend money, rinse and repeat.

Sometimes fear morphs into anger, sadness, depression, anxiety, and a variety of negative emotions. Maybe the people who have been thinking the virus wasn’t a big deal, maybe they still honestly believe that, maybe they want and need to believe it because that would be better than acknowledging we have no control over it. This silent enemy spreads rapidly but we can’t see it with our eyes, can’t hear it or smell it. But if we accidently touch it or breath it in, maybe we’ll get sick or maybe we won’t. Maybe we’ll win the lottery some day, or hit a slot machine in Vegas just right. What are the odds?

For me it is oddly comforting to immerse myself in information to help me better understand the virus and what’s happening in the world around me. For others it is the last thing they want to do, to read about it in a blog or keep up with the news of how many more people have the virus or have just died. I won’t judge those who can’t or won’t deal with it right now. A few weeks ago I was in denial too. Maybe eventually more people will face this new reality, or maybe not. I don’t know. All I know today is that I’m going to keep reading and writing and living my simple and strange life until I eventually stop, whenever that might be.

Following Kenny Beck’s lead to share a few signs of hope:

To purchase home crafted reusable machine washable cloth masks, visit https://www.instagram.com/misskellymock/. If you're not on instagram then leave a comment here on the blog so I can connect you with Kelly by email or phone. She can mail masks to your home and the prices are very reasonable. 

In my personal life…

I’m super excited 3 people have commented on my blog so far! The first was Greg, because he knew I was thirsty for reader interaction. Next was colleague and transportation planner Ray in Portland, OR. The third person posted anonymously so I have no idea of their identity. It’s probably a friend, but it could theoretically be someone I’ve never met, a stranger who somehow stumbled upon the blog and liked it enough to leave a comment. I’ll probably never know unless they post again to identify themselves.

Minerva and I are taking longer than usual walks this weekend. It’s beautiful here, ideal spring weather, moderate temperatures, low humidity, sun shining in a Carolina blue sky, and pollen everywhere. *achoo* Our walks are more accurately described as pup crawls because our beagle is way more interested in sniffing than actually walking. Lately she’s been rooting her snout in the grass and nibbling on tiny treasures in the dirt. Greg thinks it might be bunny pellets because rabbits are active around our house, frequently setting off our Ring security cameras as they hop through our yard. We’re running low on doggie doodie bags so I’m happy when she does her #2 in the no-man’s-land behind a neighbor’s fence where no one will see it. This morning she delivered her morning constitutional in a front yard so it had to be bagged.