Monday, November 2, 2020

The View from the Hermitage, Day 231

We're 33 weeks into the pandemic as timed by this blog. Are we better off than we were back then? In some ways yes, and probably in more ways no. Virginia was just starting to record covid-19 cases when I started writing in March. Today, the seven-day rolling average of the number of new cases here hit an all time high of 1,289. We know more about the novel coronavirus and how to mitigate its spread, but that doesn't mean enough of us are doing those things for there to be a real effect. The public, or at least a fair share of it, is now numb to the effects of the virus. They've heard so much that they are now tuning out any reports they hear, particularly if those reports are urging a behavioral change. It's only going to get worse--much worse--before it gets any better.

My Halloween t-rex surprise fell pretty flat. Perhaps the standard Ralph the Rex t-rex costume is too well known. The kids were sort of "meh, why is that person being so weird?" It felt good to have the costume on again and to wonder around doing weird-ass t-rex stuff, but I'm not sure the more than an hour in costume waiting for the kids was really worth it. Win some, lose some, sort of like this whole pandemic.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced that England is entering a second lockdown, this time for at least a month. Not good for small business, or perhaps not for any business, with Christmas looming. It appears that the lockdown does not cover schools or higher education establishments, meaning there will still be an avenue down which the virus can move. I've been wondering if the governor will do anything to try to slow the covid case increases here in Virginia. I fear he will concentrate on just one region, which I don't think will be enough to have a significant effect. 

Our US government is on hold pending the results of the election the day after tomorrow. Washington, DC has its police on full alert for the unrest anticipated following the release of any election results. They've already announced something similar for the January 20 inauguration, which assumes we get that far with a still-president or a president-elect. Several major media outlets have released what they said would be their final poll results before the election. The ones I saw all had Uncle Joe ahead of The Orange Foolius, but I'm not getting my hopes up, especially not after the crashing of expectations four years ago. 

In going through a box of things this morning, I came across a small container that holds two extra batteries for my hearing aid, the one that attaches to the screw in my head rather than sitting inside the external ear. This container needed to be in my purse, where it was supposed to be. As I put it in my purse, I found myself wondering just how much I would use a purse again. The only times I've picked it up in the last 33 weeks were the couple of times I took The Family Dog to her Sunday morning walk in the park while The Professor stayed home. The only times I've even opened it were to get out the checkbook or a credit card. Will purses become relics of some previous age?

1 comment:

Janet said...

Sorry the T-rex costume wasn't appreciated.

As for purses, I think some women have already abandoned them, relying on their phones for almost everything including taking photos and paying for things. Don't know how you carry makeup...