Monday, October 12, 2020

The View from the Hermitage, Day 211

Another gloomy, rainy day. The "rain" is as much sprinkles as it is rain. I walked seven miles this morning and only wore my rain jacket for about the first half mile. As I was closing in on seven, it seemed as if it were going to start to rain, but I quickly realized it was just water falling off the trees. It's supposed to stop tonight. Here's hoping it really does. 

Today's unpacking and putting away adventure was starting on my jewelry. No gems or fine metals here, just random things collected over forty or so years. Over that time, or at least over the 35 years in this house, it had gotten split up to various small jewelry boxes, boxes in which jewelry came, and other smallish containers. I need to get it all sorted out so that I can find something specific I want to wear. I have no idea how many pairs of earrings I have. Many I know I will never wear again. A lot are kid-themed from when the sons were in preschool and elementary school. I may keep some of those for random wearing, but I probably don't need all the pairs I have. Sitting on the floor going through it was not too comfortable, so I stopped at the point at which I had necklaces in one tray, pins in another, and bracelets in a third. I also had containers of pendants lacking chains, single earrings, and earring pairs in which one or both were missing the loop to go through my ear. Tomorrow I may do a first pass through the earrings. 

As I noted yesterday, I did read Ross Dhouthat's oped piece "There Will Be No Trump Coup." He makes a good case, but I am not totally convinced. The militias becoming more and more public scare the crap out of me. Living in Charlottesville, I've seen what can go down when militias and antifas and other liberal groups meet. It wasn't pretty then, and it won't be pretty if it happens again. I can't help but think that if a militia wanted to make a statement, they would see Charlottesville as a good place to do so. Younger son and his spouse equivalent plan to stay in place in Richmond, though they may very well relocate their parrot to the cabin the own north of town. They live close enough to where past protests have occurred that it is quite possible tear gas could reach their house. Just like the canary in the coal mine, EmmaJean could keel over from exposure. 

On the novel coronavirus front, Alaska, Colorado, Indiana, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, and Wisconsin set records for the number of new covid-19 cases in the week that ended yesterday. Rates in many other states are rising, just not to record numbers ... yet. Too many people seem to think that we're out of the woods. News flash: We aren't. We're still fucked and will likely continue to be fucked for quite some time.

I guess we could all work to catch covid-19 so we could end up immune and with a protective glow just as has happened with HWSNBN. I doubt we could all get the same treatments he got even if we wanted to. I heard that he wants to hold a rally daily between now and November 2. He could be in trouble. People have made it as far as he has with no real crises then WHAM! They go downhill pretty fast. 

And on the downhill or death front, John McCain's mother has passed at the ripe old age of 108. I remember watching tape of her passing his coffin as he lay in state in the Capitol. Parents should not have to bury their children. I remember, in 2008, as McCain ran against Obama, critics kept saying McCain was too old. He brought his mom out on the campaign trail to attest to the genetic longevity he may have inherited. Damn cancer! It takes way too many people way too early.


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