The View from the Hermitage, Day 6

Once again, every article on the front page of The Washington Post is about the covid-19 pandemic. The Monday through Saturday Sports section is no more, sports having been relegated to be the last pages of the Style section except for on Sunday. When the husband comes up from the bedroom, his first priority is coffee. The next is checking various news sources on his smartphone. I could not escape all this if I tried.

As older son and I walked the family dog this morning, we discussed the current administration in general terms. Older son is reading a book about Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. He said he'd had to pause reading the description of FEMA's arriving and trying to normalize things as much as possible. We agreed that we never thought we'd say it, but we both miss President George W. Bush. He, or at least his advisors, knew what circumstances needed. Bush's speech at Ground Zero was what the country needed to hear at that time. Obama's comments after a number of school shootings (Aside: I should not be able to write "a number of" there.) showed his compassion as well as his belief that things should change. Obama's breaking into "Amazing Grace" at the funeral in Charleston--it was what was needed at that time.

And what words or acts are needed now? Certainly not yesterday's incident in the press room, Peter Alexander's question about what the president would tell people who are scared. The President's answer? Words to the effect that the question was a "very nasty" one and Alexander was a "terrible" reporter. The quizzical look on Alexander's face was priceless. It was not a bad question. In fact, it was a softball question that the president could and should have hit out of the park. A gimme presented on a silver platter. Alexander later posed the same question to Vice President Pence, who gave a very appropriate answer: "Don't be afraid. Be vigilant."

What do I need? One in five Americans has been told to stay home; the rest are supposed to distance themselves socially. While many are, I'd like to hear that at least more if not all of the others are doing the same. The photos from Spring Break scare me, as does a photograph the husband showed me of thousands of people in Bangladesh, crowded cheek to jowl to pray for the end of the virus. I know that Bangladesh ranks 10th in the world in terms of population density, but still, can't they do better? Older son says that the people in the house diagonally across the street from him are having nightly barbecue parties on the front lawn. People come and go, and social distance seems a foreign concept.

I need to know that the people leading the federal efforts are the right ones. Vice President Pence may know what people want to hear, but he does not have the appropriate knowledge and experience to direct the federal task force in charge of it all. And don't get me started on Jared Kushner's involvement. If Anthony Fauci dies or gets fired, we're doomed.

I need to know that contract or wage employees are not being sent to a poorhouse or, worse, left high and dry. Our gym is waiving the dues due on April 1, but members who want to can pay their dues, with the money going to help staff in need. Three guesses what we are going, and the first two don't count. I need to know that kids who are too young are not being left home alone because their day care or school has closed.  Paychecks vs. children. A reporter on NBC News last night noted that many people are facing Sophie's choice right now.

And I need to know something that no one can say right now, that this is not the new normal. There are so many walls between cultures, genders, religions already; physical distance only magnifies those differences. I need to know that hugging will someday be okay again. I need to know that one day I will get up and be able to read five or six articles on The Post's first page that are not all on the same subject. I need a Sports section, damn it! I need so many things I used to take for granted.