The Road goes ever on and on ... Day 95 (595)

Happy Halloween! There are finally enough kids in our subdivision that they can go trick-or-treating here. A few families that don't want to respond to door-knocking are leaving candy in bowls or baskets at a designated spot. Since there's always a parent with the kids here, candy theft does not usually take place. Actually, I'd love it if someone took the whole bowl here; leftover candy is too tempting to have around the house. 

It seems that one in six New York City workers remains unvaccinated. This means that they will be put on unpaid leave tomorrow. This could result or already has resulted in some closed fire stations, fewer police and ambulances, and mounting trash. Departments have drafted ways to handle this; sanitation, for example, is having vaccinated workers working longer shifts to cover the loss in people-power. The fire and sanitation departments each have 23 percent of their workers unvaccinated; 16 percent of police are still unvaccinated. 

I think I mentioned a short while ago a statement in support of vaccination that included "Don't be an ass." That was from Fox News host Neil Cavuto, who has multiple sclerosis, had open-heart surgery, beat state 4 cancer, and then got covid. Probably not in response to Cavuto but to the national vaccine mandate, Fox News now requires all workers to be vaccinated or be tested daily. Caputo has been getting death threats, some not so subtle. One voicemail message: "I admire your remarkable strength through so much adversity, but let me give you some advice. Shut up and enjoy the fact you're not dead. For now." And another: "It's clear you've lost some weight with all this stuff. Good for you. But I'm not happy with less of you. I want 'none' of you. I want you gone. Dead. Caput. Fini. Get it? Now, take your two-bit advice, deep-six it and you."

I think this division that the coronavirus has brought is just as bad as the covid it also causes. I can't say I like the idea of vaccine mandates, but I do think we need them. If the front-line workers in New York Coty don't want to get vaccinated, don't make them but also don't let them stay on the front line, where the odds they might infect someone else are higher. And death threats should hold no part in it all. A comeback to "Don't be an ass" of "Don't be a sheep" or "Don't be a chicken" gets a message of disagreement across without threats.

US intelligence agencies are now saying that the coronavirus was not designed as a bioweapon, and most say it was not genetically engineered. How it initially started--animal-to-human transmission or lab accident--may never be known unless China is more forthright in providing information. 

I'll be putting on a clown wig and a mask with a clown nose attached for giving out candy. Anyone else in blogland dressing up to offer goodies?

The View from the Hermitage, Day 214

I've been talking about Halloween and the possibility it might be cancelled. I had my final Halloween canceled, and I was not happy. We were living in Morehead, Kentucky, and there was an age limit on Halloween. Once you turned 12, you were not supposed to be out and about for Halloween. The year I was 11 years old, I had walking pneumonia over Halloween. I did not feel all that bad, but I was not allowed to go trick or treating. The last year I would be allowed to go! I was not at all amused.

So far, one other family in the subdivision has gotten on board on having treats for costumed kids. And it was a family I would not have picked as participating. Sometimes it's nice to be proven wrong. I'm still pondering what kind of candy(ies) to offer. Son #1 has been ordering our groceries from Whole Foods. They're delivered to him, and he brings them out to us. He said he would check what sort of candy they had the next time he orders something. I need to make sure it's something The Professor and I will eat in case there are leftovers, a guilt-causing consumption to be sure but better than throwing it away.

The Professor has not yet decided if he is up for watching either town hall tonight. Uncle Joe's (I figure if The Orange Foolius gets a nickname so should his opponent) is 90 minutes log; that of The Orange Foolius is 60 minutes long. Son #1 has offered that The Orange Foolius has a higher probability of letting some horrible profanity slip out. I haven't read anything about real-time fact-checking, but you know there will be some untruths put forward by The Orange Foolius, probably more than some when it comes right down to it. 

So far, The Professor's trial run of some sort of thing has yielded no explosions. It turns out that whatever might explode is sitting in a trash can full of water, meaning I might not even hear anything. No explosion is what he and his graduate student want to happen. They want to see how high they can get the pressure in some sort of container. I think there is an upper limit they want to hit, but that's just my guess based on things The Professor has said. It turns out that The Professor and his graduate student will be busy with this into the evening hours, meaning that I'm making frozen pizza to go with the already made salad and that I can eat whenever I want to. 

On the unpacking front, I today managed to empty two boxes of random things. Nothing made it into the donation box, but I have one bag of paper to recycle and one bag of trash. I'm trying to get boxes in the basement cleaned out in hopes of finding my kindle. If I can't find it, I'll add one to my Christmas wishlist.

They're locking London down again as covid rates in Europe go even higher. I can't imagine any locality here going into total lockdown again. I understand that people are very tired of this. There are days when I am tired of being a hermit. Then I remind myself how little contact it can take to transmit the virus to someone else. I haven't hermitted as long as I have to make it for nothing in one short fix of the outside world. Son #1 has done so much to keep me safe; I will not disappoint him. 

Fortunately, I was not planning on a wedding or other large-scale event during this time. I know people are tired of the pandemic, but I cannot understand how a large-scale event is important enough to put so many people at risk. The motorcycle rally in Sturgis, South Dakota. The wedding in Millinocket, Maine. I just don't get it and probably never will. Even harder for me to get are the virus-deniers or science-deniers. This is not a conspiracy of any sort. Perhaps I should remind myself of something The Professor's brother has said more than once: The average IQ is 100, and most of the people with whom I associate are above that average.

Maybe for something different, I'll watch the nightly network news. And maybe not.

The View from the Hermitage, Day 213

I'm getting bored with using "He Who Shall Not Be Named" for the current president. I'm going to try out Orange Foolius, one older son used recently. I also discovered the subreddit for Trump nicknames, so the possibilities may be endless. I think for fun I'll change up some of the cast of characters' names as well. The husband will become The Professor not that Gilligan's Island has anything to do with it. Older son would probably appreciate my making him Son #1 and his younger brother Son #2. The family dog is getting capitalized, Family Dog..

It appears that tomorrow night's canceled Presidential debate has been replaced by a Joe Biden town hall on ABC and an Orange Foolius town hall on NBC.What do you want to bet that it's all about the ratings to the Orange Foolius? He'll have an edge since his town hall will be shown on three networks, NBC, CNBC, and MSNBC. Coverage of both town halls starts at 8:00 pm, meaning that I may actually be awake. The Professor likely will argue for watching Perry Mason on FETV. If we watched a candidate, I expect it will be Biden. The Professor says the Orange Foolius's voice makes him ill.

From tomorrow back to yesterday, last night's rally. Evidently, the Orange Foolius again suggested he could enter the crowd of supporters and kiss men without infecting them with covid-19. I did not hear if he included "beautiful women." It appears that his doctors did give him the more accurate PCR test and, while the results suggested he no longer carried a significant amount of virus, they also did not definitively say he had none. In other words, he may still be contagious or he may not be. I would not take a chance on that choice. 

The local university is going to start testing every student living on campus every nine days. These tests would be conducted by the university. The procedure would be to go into a dorm and test everyone there, somewhat like my mother's assisted living facility's testing everyone there on the same day. Students living off-campus will be given kits with which they can test themselves and return the sample to a vendor. They may also be required to do saliva tests on campus. Tests are mandatory, though I did not hear what the penalties might be for refusing to be tested or missing a scheduled test. Students with schedule conflicts or already in quarantine due to possible exposure can reschedule tests. 

As for unpacking, putting away, and/or organizing things, I declared today a day free of any of those activities. I may declare tomorrow one as well. The Professor and a grad student were setting something up out in the yard, and I didn't want to have to walk around all day wearing a mask. I just told them that I would be in the basement and if they needed a bathroom or supplies, to use the main floor. Tomorrow they will be running some sort of tests using the stuff they set up today, tests that I understand may run into the evening. I'm told only that if I hear anything explode, that is not good.

Two of the neighbor families I emailed yesterday have let me know that they would love to take me up on the offer to leave a bowl of candy on the porch for Halloween. One dad said his daughter had been asking over and over if she'd have to give up Halloween. I just emailed everyone in the subdivision and told them my plan. I noted that we are all giving up so much during the pandemic, and I didn't want the kids to have to give up Halloween. I did say that people should knock on my door to let me know there's someone out there. I want to be able to look out the window and see the costumes.  Maybe I should put my Ralph the Rex t-rex costume on for the occasion. 

I feel like I'm not living up to the good citizen standard. I have been actively not watching television news. I read the two papers we get, the local rag and The Washington Post. I check a few websites in the morning, typically The Guardian followed by The New York Times. I check out some of the news notifications that come in on my cell phone, but by no means all of them. My stress level has gone noticeably down since I've been doing this.

Finally, I may not be up with current pop culture since I just learned earlier this week that just as some women want their breasts to be bigger and will undergo surgery to make that happen, making one's butt bigger is also possible. What's that song? "I like big butts and I cannot lie"? From what I read, the butt enlargement surgery is more likely to go horribly wrong than the breast enlargement surgery is. I had larger breasts when I was pregnant and nursing, and that was entirely a long enough time for me. I felt self-conscious when people were looking at me above the waist. And as for butt enlargement, I've been working hard during the pandemic to get mine smaller. "No big butts, and I cannot lie" is the plan around here.

 

The View from the Hermitage, Day 212

So HWSNBN did a rally in Sanford, Florida last evening. He told the crowd that he felt "powerful" and was not contagious. He felt well enough he said, to head into the crowd and "kiss the guys and the beautiful women." I would never be in the crowd at a Trump rally, but if caught in that sort of situation would do my utmost to look as ugly as possible. As Air Force One was taking off on the way to Florida, HWSNBN's doctor released a statement that HWSNBN had tested negative on two tests a day apart. Never mind that they were supposedly rapid tests, the ones with an unusually high rate of false negatives. 

I think HWSNBN is heading to a different state each night this week. Pennsylvania, Iowa, and North Carolina are on his list so far. His staff is evidently not happy about his schedule fearing it might overtax him. He wants to prove, I am sure, that he is younger than Joe Biden in real age as well as energy and alertness. It would be too bad if he wore himself out and again became symptomatic. I know his doctor says that he is over covid-19, but that guy has seemed squirrely from Day One. 

The Senate Judiciary Committee is in the second day of interviewing Amy Coney Barrett. An interesting point I saw in an essay was that Ruth Bader Ginsburg's last request was not that she be replaced by another woman but that her replacement be nominated by the president inaugurated in January 2021. I wonder what Ginsburg would think of Barrett. Actually, might they have known each other professionally? I wonder.

A friend posted on Facebook an article excerpt covering Barrett's life and career but as if she were a Muslim, not a Catholic. Would she even have been considered for the job? The author held that she would not. I would hold that it would have been hard for a Muslim woman to get an academic position equal to the one Barrett has. I expect the doors that were opened for Barrett would have been shut tightly against a Muslim woman of similar biographical elements. 

I have decided to embrace the idea of setting very finite tasks for each day of unpacking and putting away. Stress reduction at it finest. I rewarded myself this afternoon with a bit of practice with the needle-felting machine that has yet to be named. My sewing machine is Xena the Warrior Bernina. I wonder what name would be appropriate for a Janome needle-felting machine.

Today's tasks were to peruse the boxes in younger son's bedroom. The ones I could safely get to were his stuff, not ours, so they stayed put. I also took the pins, bracelets, and necklaces I separated yesterday and did a first pass of keep, donate/gift, or toss. I will do this a second time tomorrow and possibly a third time the next day. Don't ask me when I'll get to the earrings.

I just emailed the three families in the subdivision who have kids of trick-or-treating age. The CDC has defined trick or treating as a high risk activity, and I know some localities have banned it and some parents have forbidden it. I want the neighbors to know that if they want their kids to do some safe trick or treating, I am quite willing to put a bowl of treats on my porch from which they can choose. I don't want, though, to get candy and then have no one come. Older son does not eat candy, and the husband would not consume it fast enough to rescue me from eating too much of it myself. 

The View from the Hermitage, Day 191

When the husband's mother lived in British Columbia, we tried to visit her every year or two. We would combine visiting her in Kamloops, BC with touristing. One year, we planned on taking the coastal ferry from Vancouver Island up to Prince Rupert then driving south to Kamloops stopping along the way at a restored old West town called Barkerville. While perusing a BC guidebook, I learned that by going 137 miles (one way, so 274 miles round trip) out of our way, we could visit the easternmost town in Alaska, Hyder. Hyder sits just across the border from Stewart, British Columbia. Even more exciting, we could do this on the weekend in which Canada Day, July 1, fell on Friday and Independence Day, July 4, fell on Monday. How could we not do this? We'd be able to check Alaska off the list of states we had visited. 

I explain all this because Hyder and Stewart are in the news again. When we went there, you could wave at the border patrol station and go between the two towns. People went back and forth at will. Both Hyder and Stewart are small. Hyder's population is under 100, and Stewart's is 400. There got to be so few children in Hyder that the local elementary school closed. The elementary-aged kids started crossing the border and going to the school in Stewart. 

As you might have thought, border crossing has become problematic in the age of covid-19, but it's not the US causing a problem. Canada closed its border with the US, and that includes the border between Hyder and Stewart. One person from each family in Hyder may cross into Stewart for three hours once each week to obtain needed supplies, meaning that the kids can't go to school. Stewart has asked the federal government for an exception given that exceptions have been added to a couple other towns in similar situations. So far, no exception has been granted to Stewart. The residents of Stewart may cross into Hyder with no problem; however, they must quarantine for two weeks when they cross back into Stewart.

And we're worried here about in-person vs. hybrid vs. all virtual school. At least the kids here have a school they can get to. The city schools here may move to hybrid early in October rather than wait until the end of the nine-week grading period in early November. It's not clear yet how parents and teachers feel about this. For those for whom all virtual is working well, it may not be a big decision. For people paying for a program in which their kids are monitored and connected to complete their virtual learning, it might be different, especially if they're paying for multiple kids. Some of the programs I saw mentioned were in the neighborhood of $300 per week for each child. That adds up fast.

It's becoming pretty clear that HWSNBN will get whoever he wants named to the Supreme Court. Mitt Romney and a senator from Colorado were seen as the most likely to join Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski in not supporting a decision made by anyone other than the winner of the November election. There were two op-ed pieces in today's Washington Post proposing a term limit of 18 years on justices. The justice could be re-appointed, but the proposal does away with automatic lifetime appointments. What is so scary about appointments now is that they are until death do us part. Academic tenure is one thing; lifetime appointment, another.

The local university just put up their new covid-19 numbers. They do not look that bad. The concerning thing, though, is that I don't think they've added the positive cases found in the testing done by the athletics department. And if they are leaving those out, what else might be missing. I need to do some digging and find out what the policy is for students who test positive on an outside-the-university test. Are they expected or even required to report that result to the university? This inquiring mind wants to know.

My cell phone just sent me a notification about the CDC's warning to parents about traditional Halloween activities. They warn parents not to let their kids go trick-or-treating door-to-door. They also advise not attending crowded indoor costume parties. Some localities have already banned trick-or-treating. When Los Angeles tried to do so, though, public outcry prompted them to reinstate it but encourage parents not to allow it. In skimming the article, I saw no mention of what some churches do here, trunk-or-treating car-to-car in a parking lot. That would have the advantage of being outdoors. I will likely have some candy on hand in case the few kids here come knocking as they did last year. All in all, though, another reason to be glad our kids are adults ... even if they don't always act like them.