I'm still here

screen shot from the film Frequency: “I’m still here, Chief” etched into a wooden desk

After months of blogging about living through the pandemic I took a break from writing to pull myself out of persistent melancholy.

 

For my birthday Greg and I ordered crab legs and lobster tails from Red Lobster. We avoid dining inside restaurants due to COVID yet we live too far away to carry freshly prepared seafood back to our home so I joked about tailgating in the parking lot. Fortunately Greg has access to a nearby storage unit he shares with his friend Ken so we dined there instead. Greg had mentioned our plan to Ken, who surprised us by setting out a table cloth and candle for ambiance. It was our first date night out in months.

 

The next day I participated in a peaceful demonstration at the Greensboro, NC home of postmaster general Louis DeJoy. There had been a large gathering over the weekend which I almost attended but chickened out at the last minute due to fear of contracting COVID from strangers in the crowd. The organizer encouraged folks to keep the movement going so I made a sign and set up a folding chair to occupy a small area outside DeJoy’s gated mansion. A few neighbors stopped by to tell me they support protests to protect and restore the USPS. Some folks driving by rolled down their windows to share encouragement with friendly waves; not a single person gave me a middle finger salute. Only one person chastised me, a young (early 30s) pregnant woman walking her dog cursed at me as she passed by. A few minutes later a police officer stopped to investigate an anonymous complaint that I was blocking the sidewalk and entrance into the property. I was actually in the grass out of the way though I asked the officer if I needed to move. He said there was plenty of space for people to pass by and wished me well before driving away. A dear friend joined my micro protest mid morning, then afterward we enjoyed a safely distanced afternoon visit with another friend across town. It felt like old times sitting in a back yard among progressive women talking about life and politics.

 

Perhaps the boldest action Greg and I took over the summer was purchasing a van and outfitting it for camping trips. Our first excursion to Hanging Rock State Park in August yielded mixed results. We enjoyed our camp site and fishing in the nearby lake. However, we made the rookie mistake of assuming we could start a camp fire. The bundle of wood we bought at the local camp store would not light, despite wadding every scrap of paper we could find including our printed camp reservation, receipts from our wallets, and the sacrifice of an entire roll of toilet tissue. We had planned to roast hot dogs and make s’mores though we settled for summer sausage with havarti cheese on buttery crackers after giving up on the fire. No sooner had we finished eating when rain drops began to fall. It had been a beautiful day with only a 20% chance of rain, which turned into a 100% downpour for 2 full hours. The rain didn’t dampen our spirits though. We quickly stowed our gear and relaxed inside the van where we slept comfortably overnight.

 

When we got back home, Greg researched fire starter options and ordered a box of 100 online. A few days later I noticed a container of what looked like coconut cookies sitting on the kitchen counter. Greg doesn’t like coconut so I was puzzled. Turns out fire starters made of saw dust look an awful lot like coconut cookies. They smell strongly of lighter fluid though so there is zero chance of eating one by mistake. He placed a few inside an old wonton soup container for use during our next camping trip, and stored the rest.

 

In mid September Greg and I joined his sister Tonya and her husband Peter for a beach vacation on Topsail Island. The condo rental overlooked the ocean and was a short walk to the beach. There were more people vacationing than we expected, and most of them didn’t wear masks, so we kept a safe distance as much as possible. The highlight of the trip was a steam pot dinner of shrimp, crab legs, lobster tails, corn and potatoes from Topsail Steamer – delicious and oh so much fun!

 

We had planned to camp near Ocean Isle beach a couple nights until Hurricane Sally necessitated a change in plans. We were able to get a refund on our camp reservation and drove home early to weather the storm.

 

While Greg and I relaxed at the beach, our beagle Minerva vacationed with friends at the No Goats No Glory farm and pet kennel. When we picked her up she was happy and wagging her tail as she walked to the car. We stopped at Biscuitville on the way home, picked up a dog biscuit for Minerva plus breakfast for ourselves. She slept the rest of the day and remained low energy the following day with little interest in eating. Diagnosed with a tumor on her spleen a month earlier, we knew she wouldn’t be with us much longer, but we weren’t prepared for such a sudden decline. We endeavored to give her extra attention and cuddles, and to make her as comfortable as possible over the next few days. Then on a rainy Friday we drove her to the vet for her final appointment. I had envisioned being in the office with her and holding her paw as the doctor medicated her into unconsciousness, but COVID made that impossible. Instead, a masked vet tech met us at the car and gently carried Minerva inside, out of sight. Over the weekend we washed her bedding, packed up all her belongings and called the local humane society to coordinate plans for donation drop off. Greg tends to be more tender hearted and I tend to be more pragmatic so I thought I would be strong for him. We’ve both cried buckets as we mourn the loss of our fur baby.

 

Over the summer I signed up to be an election worker. NC was the first state to mail out ballots in September. In person early voting starts October 15th though I was called in early to help with data entry. Being a retiree, returning to work full time has been an adjustment. After more than a year of napping whenever I want, now I wake up at 6am so I can shower, pack a lunch, and leave the house by 7:30am to be at a desk by 8am. I leave work at 5pm, eat dinner with Greg, then crash.

 

I'm one of 20 temps called in to help the regular Board of Elections staff in Forsyth County. About half the temps are on a supply team processing incoming mail and preparing outgoing mail. The rest of us are on the data entry team.

 

Mail is delivered twice a day, morning and afternoon. A mail clerk noticed the post office did not "cancel" post marks on a large batch of mail. He said hundreds of dollars worth of stamps could be removed and reused but I don’t think anyone bothered. It doesn't seem to be a huge issue of concern though some in the office are worried mail without proper post marks could be challenged.  

 

Monday we received 1,300 pieces of mail, Tuesday only 29, and Wednesday morning 420 more. Someone sorts the mail by type (voter registration, request for ballot, ballot, etc.) and date stamps every piece. Then papers are scanned for input. Temps are allowed to open and sort regular envelopes containing voter registrations and ballot request forms but we are not allowed to open special envelopes containing actual ballots. Those are stacked and processed separately by trusted permanent staff to protect the integrity of each vote. 

 

My initial task was processing ballot request forms. There are at least half a dozen different forms due to various organizations sending ballot request mailers to NC voters. Some of the forms are easier to read than others. Some are printed so small that we have to zoom in to read important information. The scanned forms are in batches of 20. We match info from forms to registered voters, verify mailing addresses and other info, compare signatures, and then someone else reviews what we did to verify. A reviewer sitting near me said approximately 80% of forms are fine with 20% needing some additional attention. Common issues I've seen are people requesting ballots who are not in the system as registered voters, name changes, address changes, and missing required info. Most can be easily corrected and hopefully will be. 

 

I'm in a large room with people spaced apart due to COVID. I can see and hear staff on the phone, receiving incoming calls from people wanting to know where is their ballot among other things. I'm mostly hearing calls coming in from voters, plus a few outgoing calls to potential election workers. I've heard staff tell voters over the phone that once a ballot leaves the BOE office, it is taking 7 to 10 business days to be delivered. That seems awfully slow to me for intra-county mail. 

 

Staff and temp workers here work as fast as they can while also being meticulously careful to do everything right. The majority of people in the office seem genuinely good hearted and helpful and honest, dedicated to protecting our democracy and supporting all voters, regardless of party affiliation. 

 

There is one woman, bless her heart, who talks loudly and doesn't think masks are helpful. Her voice is like nails scraping a chalkboard. Some days I wear ear plugs to block out office distractions and help me focus on data entry.  

 

There aren't enough work stations so some of us are (were) awkwardly sitting in hard wooden chairs at folding tables, not ergonomically beneficial for 8 hour data entry shifts. Monday night I came home exhausted, stiff and sore. Tuesday was a little better. Wednesday I brought from home a proper desk chair which helps a bit. 

 

Week 1: Monday was my first day learning what to do, not sure how many request forms I processed. Tuesday I kept track: 280. Wednesday: 300 total. Monday we were processing forms that had been date stamped the week prior. We are now caught up and processing same day date stamped forms, though there is a backlog of thousands that need to be reviewed and verified before next step in process. Thursday morning we received 4 baskets of mail. I was caught up on data entry so I helped sort the mail and date stamp forms. Friday was slow so I left early to accompany Greg and Minerva to the vet’s office.

 

Week 2: Forms are being processed quickly now that the backlog has been handled. Monday morning I organized and archived 8 boxes of scanned forms to make room for more incoming mail, then processed 5 batches of voter registrations in the afternoon.

 

Some of the BOE staff are tired and worn down already. Most of them won't have a day off until after the election. I've been told I can work as many hours as I want but 8 hour shifts are all I can manage right now. Some of the staff are concerned about escalating tensions, voter intimidation, and recent election news stories. A temp election worker in PA tossed some ballots which triggered allegations of vote tampering and fraud. It appears to have been a mistake which was corrected, not fraud. In NC the 2 republican members of the 5 member state level board of elections resigned in protest after consenting to ease voting rules. Their resignations open the door for republicans to challenge NC election results, adding to the chaos Trump and Barr seem determined to foment. 

 

There will inevitably be more shenanigans reported between now and election day. Still, I trust there are enough brave and honest people in positions of power to check and balance attacks on our democracy. I trust enough votes will be counted to legitimize the results. And I am hopeful and encouraged by all the people voting early. 

 

Here in NC more than 1 million absentee ballots have been requested. To date more than 200,000 mail in ballots have been ACCEPTED in NC: 

54% from registered democrats, 

30% from unaffiliated voters, and 

16% from registered republicans. 

 

There is more good news like this in several red and swing states. People are voting, and donating, and mobilizing to prepare for mass peaceful rallies in November if necessary. 

 

I am cautiously optimistic about the first presidential debate Tuesday night. I plan to take a nap after work so I'll be awake to watch and text with Reid. 

 

Reid is 1 of 2 candidates being considered for a web developer job near where he lives in CT. Hopefully he will know soon. Unfortunately Austin lost his job Friday but quickly found a new job with a landscaper and enjoyed his first day Monday.

 

Of all the things I’ve done over the past 2 months, I am giddy with excitement to report a small accomplishment: successfully refilling our tiny hand sanitizer bottles. Two years ago I had purchased 2 itty bitty 2oz bottles of Purell for use during a camping trip to Brazil with son Reid. Afterward I stowed the half empty bottles in my trusty travel back pack for future use. When the pandemic struck I gave one to Greg and placed the other in my purse. As the bottles emptied I was determined to refill them rather than throw them away though the task proved difficult at first. After several frustratingly failed attempts I finally struck upon the idea of utilizing a pastry bag to pipe the gooey gel, like decorating a cake. Worked like a charm! NOTE: some hand sanitizer products have been found to contain toxic levels of methanol or 1-propanol so please check the FDA list before purchasing.

 

 

COVID UPDATE

 

27 Sep 2020	Cases		Deaths		Recovered
12:53 GMT*	Mon 7/27	Sun 9/27	Mon 7/27	Sun 9/27	Mon 7/27	Sun 9/27
World	16,442,487	33,101,265	652,608	999,425	10,064,736	24,452,178
US	4,371,992	7,288,094	149,852	209,180	2,090,231	4,524,383
CA	459,195	807,578	8,455	15,587	141,211	411,134
TX	397,992	768,869	5,144	15,826	229,107	663,408
FL	423,855	698,682	5,855	14,023	41,866	276,975
NY	439,885	488,970	32,689	33,206	281,625	391,607
NC	112,771	206,090	1,813	3,440	78,707	176,422
CT	48,776	56,587	4,413	4,501	22,872	41,822

 

*Worldometers     Coronainusa     https://ncov2019.live/

 

During the past 2 months, confirmed cases of COVID-19 doubled and the global deal toll reached nearly 1 million. Nearly every nation on the planet has been impacted while 4 countries (the US, India, Brazil, and Russia) account for roughly half of all cases.

 

Globally, 4% of closed cases resulted in death. A moment of silence for all the souls we’ve lost to coronavirus, including the first 100 in the US, the first 100,000  and others documented by the Faces of COVID project and the NY Times.

 

 

IN THE NEWS

 

Even though I don’t blog about news anymore, I continue to scan multiple news sources and carefully scrutinize social media for additional perspectives. Fact checking remains an obsession. Historian Heather Cox Richardson began recapping daily news last year, prior to the pandemic. I find her analysis and historical context of current events helpful in making sense of the current political landscape. She also live streams video chats about history and politics twice a week.

 

COVID, the election, the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett, and Trump’s taxes have dominated recent news cycles. I’m just as concerned about the 2020 census though it isn’t getting as much attention.

 

2020 also is noteworthy for multiple natural disasters. In a single week NC was hit with a hurricane, tornado, flooding, and an earthquake. A rare derecho devastated parts of Iowa and Illinois. A heat wave, fire tornado, and a series of wildfires broke records in several western states. East coast and gulf-states face an exceptionally active hurricane season. Murder hornets threaten the US as locusts have swarmed East Africa, India, and Pakistan. Our global climate crisis continues unabated. And an asteroid is expected to pass near Earth ahead of Election Day in November.

 

These are the reasons peaceful sleep eludes me some nights. But sleep I must, at least a few hours before I go back to work in the morning. Enough typing for now. More later, when I have the time and energy.