Covid Journal Entry 2 - The Keys and the Puzzle

It's day two of the basement clean up and as yesterday, I found a memory that takes on a whole new meaning.

I hang around with folks who like to help other folks and volunteer in the community. Our reward is an inner one, and our payment is a thanks, a smile, and a handshake. (Today, 2 out of 3 ain't bad.)

From time to time we receive thanks in the form a small gift. Some, like the police patch given to me by the Raymond Police Department, or the woven basket given to me by the Indiginous People of Quebec, are treasures I keep and display.  Others like tote bags or certificates, are no less appreciated, but often are much less visible, and often stored away in a drawer or box.

I found one such gift, but it has new status and meaning to me. It was key ring given to me by the Raymond School District for being part of the strategic planning initiative. At the time, I was struck by the message on the inscription The problem was, I have so many keys. I think I lean to the right when I walk, and they eat through pockets like a caterpillar eats through leaves. So it sat in a drawer in the basement.

Today, when I opened the drawer and read the inscription again, it struck home in a new way. It is now attached to my keys, pockets be damned!

CLICK HERE TO SEE INSCRIPTION

We are all in this together!

COVID Journal Entry 1 - Finding a Long Lost Pet

This is the end of our first week of social distancing. Like most, of us doing social networking our routines have been occasional trip to the grocery store, or for take out food. Up to this point, my days have been nothing to write about and certainly nothing I thought would be of interest or value to others. I think that changed today and I would like to share it. 

Jill is a neat freak and I'm not. (Monumental understatement)  Our home looks like a magazine spread unless you open the door to my office or walk into the basement.They contains 60 years of my life and my "stuff". (Insert George Carlin routine here.) Organizing it would normally be a multi-day job that probably wouldn't get done until I died, but thanks to COVID 19, it is on my radar.

I announced to Jill I was starting Phase 1 of organizing the basement and my office and that I hoped I could finish all the phases before I ran out of numbers. If it wasn't for social distancing, I think she would have thrown a party. Aside from her expressions of joy, she had only on directive. "Don't throw out any of my stuff."

It's turning out to be a silver lining and a break from the daily chaos. I away from the TV and the computer, though I just took a break to write this.  I'm reminded about how much I have and how rich my life has been in memories and experiences. I'm  finding memories on every shelf and in every box I open.

For example, I had a pet back in the 70's, but you know how pets are.  Sometimes they run away and sometimes they get lost. I'm not sure which it was, but when we arrived in NH, in 2009, Mergatroid was not with us. I searched high and low to no avail and mourned him for almost a year. 

Just about that time, I was walking along the Lamprey River in Exeter. It was there I found my new pet Horatio. He has been by my side ever since.  Then today, while cleaning the basement, I FOUND MERGATROID!

He and Horatio are getting along famously, and living together on the memory shelf above my desk.

Why the Coronavirus Panic?

There will be books written about our response to the Coronavirus and why supermarkets shelves all around the nation look like a category 5 hurricane is knocking at the door. The answer is complicated, but I'm certain every book will point to conflicting information coming from the White House as a major factor.

Right or wrong, good or bad, there is a significant portion of the population that believes little or nothing that comes from the president and an equally significant portion that believes most or all that comes from him. 

When it comes to an election lies result in a significant portion of the population being pissed off. In the case of a global pandemic, false information and conflicting statements results in a significant number of people DEAD!

This is a link to a timeline of Trump statements about Coronavirus. I'm sure every book written have a tweetologist who will analyze the impact of these denials and obfuscations, but I would like to take it to an extreme to make a point about how the decisiveness in this country.

Below is the same set of statements with a bit of word substitution that is admittedly, extreme. As extreme as it is, there are still way too many people would would believe none of it and and equal number that would take the words as gospel.

 

January 22: “We have it totally under control. It’s one missile coming in from China. It’s going to be just fine.”

February 2: “We pretty much shut it down coming in from China.”

February 24: “The bombing is very much under control in the USA… Stock Market starting to look very good to me!”

February 25: “Defense and my Administration are doing a GREAT job of handling the bombs.”

February 25: “I think that's a problem that’s going to go away… They have studied it. They know very much. In fact, we’re very close to a defense.”

February 26: “The 15 (bombs in the US) within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero.”

February 26: “We're going very substantially down, not up.”

February 27: “One day it’s like a miracle, it will disappear.”

February 28: “We're ordering a lot of supplies. We're ordering a lot of, uh, elements that frankly we wouldn't be ordering unless it was something like this. But we're ordering a lot of different elements of defense.”

March 2: “You take a solid missile, you don't think that could have an impact, or much of an impact, on their bombs?”

March 2: “A lot of things are happening, a lot of very exciting things are happening and they’re happening very rapidly.”

March 4: “If we have thousands or hundreds of thousands of people that are safe just by, you know, sitting around and even going to work — some of them go to work, but they are safe.”

March 5: “I NEVER said people that are feeling sick should go to work.”

March 5: “The United States… has, as of now, only 129 bombings… and 11 deaths. We are working very hard to keep these numbers as low as possible!”

March 6: “I think we’re doing a really good job in this country at keeping it down… a tremendous job at keeping it down.”

March 6: “Anybody right now, and yesterday, anybody that needs a shelter gets a shelter. They’re there. And they are beautiful…. the shelters are all perfect like the letter was perfect. The transcription was perfect. Right? This was not as perfect as that but pretty good.”

March 6: “I like this stuff. I really get it. People are surprised that I understand it… Every one of these generals said, ‘How do you know so much about this?’ Maybe I have a natural ability. Maybe I should have done that instead of running for president.”

March 6: “I don't need to have the numbers double because of one ship that wasn't our fault.”

March 8: “We have a perfectly coordinated and fine tuned plan at the White House for our defense against the bombs."

March 9: “This blindsided the world.”

March 13: “I don’t take any responsibility at all." *

Wash Your Hands

Keep Your Distance

Conserve Toilet Paper

Carry on!

 * If this post give you the idea to publish a book of Trump Tweet Mad Libs, I would appreciate a cut of the profits.