BRICK WALLS AND SUCH

     Now we are being told that no one is very excited about Joe Biden, but Trump supporters would run through a brick wall to vote for him. Hmmm. Maybe. Could be. Maybe not. In any case, excitement and nutty suppporters who are rabid in behavior do not mean much at this point. In fact, all Trump has to do to insure his  loss at the polls is to continue his self promoting so called news conferences. Last night's was just the pips!
      For two and a half hours that man blustered and stumbled, played a political rally compilation video 'highlighting' his accomplishments and 'adroit' handling of the virus crisis. Ummm. Could someone please show me, in simple terms, no less, exactly where and when he was so capable? Reviewing the conferences and his public statements re the coronavirus pandemic, all I saw was a man trying to be presidential but losing it, major! Reading from a prepared script was one thing but as soon as he went off label, shall we say, he ripped through each and every attempt to make himself look good. To succeed would have been like crossing the Rubicon and no way, no how, can this man ever cover up all his omission and commision steps in this battle.
     Relief checks? $1200. Rent? $1500. Not good. College student? Tough bugs on you. Over 18, living with parents with no job, no income, no insurance? Grin and bear it! Need a loan for small business? Try again  some time next month or next year. Big business needing help? Just step up to the plate and the closer to Trunp, the better for you. Need a mask? Work in a hospital? Missing a loved one in the hospital? Check again some time later for what you and the sick need. And as for unemployment, all 16 plus million of us, keep on truckin' for you might get through some time in the near future. Maybe. Possibly. Don't count on it. Try a food bank if you are hungry. Oh, they ran out of food other than ramen noodles? Tell your kids to grin and bear it. Man up!
    Oh, but wait. Did he not come to the rescue with that drug, the hydroxychloroquine? Yuh huh. The same old crap from his stupid and limited mind. It is a dangerous drug with psychotic side effects and can damage the heart badly. It should be used only for those illnesses where it does help and not for Covid-19 where it most emphatically does not!As for him, our oh so not a leader? Not to worry, for your leader, the one you would go through brick walls for, well, he has the newest tester machine, gets tested seemingly every other minute and people near him are using up a good deal of the nation's testing capacity as they are tested all the time before they get near the 'hero' of ours. But you just keep running through that brick wall. No problem. Brain damage? Uh, already there as evidenced by the insane, blind, rabid support you give to a demented and tormented narcissist who is focused totally, completely, 150% on himself. Just go for it!
     It takes CNN to have the courage to shut him out as he played, at our expense and time, a political video for the entire nation which we paid for! Enough of his bluster. Enough of his nastiness. Enough of his shredding our government, ridding himself of true and dedicated workers and installing incompetents seeking power and money in their steads. Enough, I say and enough more and more people are saying. Even in Wisconsin where he tried so hard to stymie Democratic votes, the position of a judge on the State Supreme Court went to a Democrat! Yup! There is joy in Mudville tonite for us and none for the other side. Yup! Feels good. Gives hope for the future in November. Now if only we can score with the electoral votes we might pull out not only a popular vote victory as did Clinton - and do not forget that - but also an electoral victory and then maybe we can tackle this anachronistic system afterwards.
     There is lots of hard work ahead of us. The media is threatened at its very roots. Reporters are cursed, called names. We are fighting against a man who claims "absolute power" despite all the rules and regulations and the Constitution which disprove that attempt to pull a coup on the American people. Have no doubt about it. This man is a dictator at heart,  a mean, cold, non empathetic person who uses people to inflate himself, uses words of a three year old to match his infantile behavior, and is just so bad for us, the country and the world.
     As for you brick wall people, well, just continue to ignore the deaths of so many. Ignore death, the Angel of Death, as he comes closer and closer to your intimate circle and loved ones. We have had losses of friends but yesterday we were blindsided by the loss of a close friend, an integral part of our lives, especially at important times, and we are vainly trying to absorb this death. We cannot, neither myself or my  husband. The mishandling of this whole virus is criminal, plain and simple.
     In the meanwhile, try to stay well, to be safe. Call your loved ones, contact your friends. Honk a horn for a locked in birthday holder and just care for others. As for that brick wall. The hell with it!!
    Be well. Stay safe.

"SERIOUSLY. ENOUGH!"

   Though I have said these words over and over, this time it was not me. Nope. It was a Fox news person, a host on a weekend show. OOH!   Fox news. That brainwashed channel. Yup! chickens coming home to roost, I guess. The entire statement was at that point about Chris Wallace, accused by he who shall not be named, of being a bad reporter, with 'nasty' questions, and it went like this: "Enough with the 3rd grade name-calling. Chris is doing his job. The news should not be any president's friend, ally, or buddy.... "Seriously. Enough." Ahh, vindicated at last.
      Apparently, that man's only talent appears to be a nasty one. Quelle surprise! Not!! He takes part of a person's name and rhymes it into a schoolyard taunt, or simply tags the name with a nasty adjective that appears to go with it, at least in his tormented, deeply troubled and depleted  mind.
    The other target of Sunday's invective was poor Fauci. Here we have a representative of the elderly population still giving his/her all to society, even as we kill them off in the nursing homes, in hospitals and in beds at home. Fauci warned that man and his imbecilic followers about the necessary steps to take, warned them of the pandemic and got wave offs and insults galore as payment. Now there are tweets to fire the man. That, my friends, would doom us. Quickly. This, even as we find that there is a consortium of knowledgeable people who have texted, advised and pleaded from the beginning, all to be dismissed by our supposed leader, as he turned to medical and health 'experts' such as the Pillow guy, or Giuliani, or Jared! The result: Over half a million cases and over 21,000 dead right here in America by Sunday. Oh, yes, nice to be #1, right Donald!!!!
     Even as experts - economic, societal, health - and plain old sensible people with a modicum of intelligence warn that opening the economy full blast by May 1 is NOT, most emphatically not, the way to go, he persists in that dangerous plan. Yes, not just foolish; far beyond that. No, there is no light at the end of the tunnel - not yet. We must persevere, difficult as it is in so many ways. And despite all claims to the contrary, these people -  "China, the World Health Organization, President Barack Obama, the nation’s governors, Congress, Democrats generally and the news media" -are not to blame for the pandemic and its strongly rooted residence in our country.
     Described as shell shocked, overwhelmed, flattened, by the pandemic, this man is in a leadership position without the traits of a leader. Moreover, he exhibits exactly those traits inimical to a good, smart and strong one. Instead he has turned to threats, to ever increasing onslaughts against the other branches of the government, atacking the state and local levels of government, any and all, other than where the buck stops _ him! Inspiring? Heroic? Clever? Able to think on his feet - or think ever?
     Even as we know and are told that earlier actions would have saved lives on a massive scale, even as we are afraid, we are adapting. We need to do more. We need to worry about our health professionals who are tiring and getting sick. We need to worry about the other guys - the grocery workers, the shelvers, the delivery guys, the mail personnel - all doing their jobs and all endangered, feeling the ever growing spectre of illness and even death. Produce, fruit, dairy, are being discarded as food banks are running out of food for the huge needs of Americans now. People are starving even if we do not see them as we sit home. There are so many problems and who will address them? For sure, not this administration, even as they attempt to complicate the voting process in the mad hope that they will prevail. G-d help us if that were to happen.
    The only cogent and intelligent overall plan I have heard is that of Biden, as he spoke on Sunday. No name calling. No transferring blame. Accepting responsibility to lead, to serve the American people. Not to worry about one's stock or benefits from the economic bill. The Democrats are still, for the most part, the party of and for the people. Not perfect, but a helluva of a better choice than the other.
     We need to be strong, tell our reps what they need to hear, like it or not, and get out there and vote, vote, vote! Save ourselves, the country, the world as well. Realize that we need to prepare for a new world, a world where this virus will be with us, and other ones as well. Realize that the peoples of the world are so tied together that we cannot look away nor  pull ourselves away. There is too much to be lost and is a deep impossibility, even as we do harm trying to prove the opposite. 
     Creativity and gumption. Thinking of others. Voting in November for a fresh attitude. Hope for a future. Hope for our children. Hope for a peaceful end for us. All the time, be well. Be safe.

IT'S A HARD KNOCKS LIFE FOR US

     I find the human spirit amazing. In the midst of tragedy, of anguish, of grief and fear, people reach deep down inside and find ways in which to carry on. Be it mourning alone when the service and the house should have been overflowing with people or finding ways in which to actually meet with others, standing six feet apart, able to converse and share life once again - people are coming up with ways in which they survive. They dig deep down and find out what they are made of and often find that they are better than they themselves had thought.
     Long married couples, together for more hours at a stretch then they are used to, find out new things about themselves as people, as a couple. They learn how to be together for those endless hours at a stretch and they learn how to be separate together, in the same home, be it small or large. Personally, I am pleasantly surprised with my husband as he gets antsy staying in for too long. He has made a routine of a walk, of puttering with things around the condo, finally! straightening some of his'messes' and we talk, watch TV, read the books we had from the library, book dropping them off when done, talk some more and use new technology to speak with the far flung parts of the family. One Zoom session coming up today.
     But here is a warning:Think carefully before starting on some projects which might look doable, but warning! warning! warning! They will test your strength, your stick to it abilities, and you will wonder why the heck you even started this thing going! Too many people are going down this road. Just walk down a street, masked and gloved, and see the piles of discards, of huge black garbage bags, of boxes of gasp! books. That kills me, for one should never discard a book unless it is vile with hatred. Within books are found the wisdom of the centuries. One finds adventures, facts, history, pleasure, thought inducing words, and just plain fun. Books are one good way to pass the time.
     Why did I say too many are doing this? Is it not a good thing? Yes and no. It is fun. One finds old books and memories abound. I find all my copies of the many novels and plays I, together with my students, learned, discussed, saw in plays, and the memories flooded, as I spoke of them. Hours passed, but the books did not disappear by themselves. Nope, not one. Red Alert! This is an endless project. Books seem to replicate themselves overnight and where I had thought to have  a clean shelf to repack with the survivor books, uh oh, there are already books there. How and why remain a mystery.
     Thus one needs patience and strength. One needs to solve the mystery of these replicating books or just deal with it! One needs to be ruthless in pruning the collection and full disclosure, it hurts me to put one in a discard box, especially in quantity. I remember the plots, the characters, their decisions and adventures. I remember my likes and dislikes and so wish them to be shared with others if they are going to lose their homes within my home.
     And so my living room now is a book storage unit. Anyone who comes near the door is asked if they like to read and what do they read and they get some books. My poor kids are going to get piles of their own and we so warned them of that fact last night. Reminder: If you have several days running - as we all do now - of remaining in the home, spread out the work or your back will go on strike! I warned you. Heed that warning and ignore at your own risk. Do you not hear my back screaming at me?
     But now we are stuck. There is so much more to go through. Boxes that never found room on our shelves. Boxes of books that just found their way into my home.Boxes that we ordered, that we bought at sales, religious books that we rescued at swap meets when people had no idea as to what they were tossing on the ground. Boxes and books and now the boxes are piling up and I must find more. And we need to tackle the huge amount of books within  the three chests where we stored them. I cannot wait to rediscover them, discard the minimum (probably) and find room for the rest and hopefully, find new homes for them after the isolation is over. But will it ever be done?
     You answer that for yourselves as I just placed an order for 12 more books and they are starting to come in. Cannot wait to unwrap them, read them! It is a treasure just waiting for me right in my own two hands, no need to travel, to hassle. Just read, immerse oneself in their contents. Then....well where the heck do they go? Ummmm, well.....I'll figure it out. But right now, back to the pruning!
     In the meanwhile, stay safe, be safe,be well, and dig deep down during this challenging time and you will be proud of yourself as you find your innermost strength no matter what you face.
       Be safe. Be well. Read.

HOLIDAY MIXUP

     Passover and Easter most often come at the same time. Both are family holidays, prompting reunions, introspection on life and a sprig of hope and encouragement in times when that sprig is often overwhelmed. It is a time of life, of choosing life, of celebrating life. It is also a time of being chosen for life it seems and hence, the mixup.
     The High Holy Days, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are true days of repentance, thought and the prime question of two parts: who shall live and who shall die, and the second, if death, by what method? And yet today and all the days of recent times and into the foreseeable future, we will be asking those very questions, at a seemingly incorrect time and the wrong holiday.
     Today, these are real questions asked and answered in real time. Who gets the last two ventilators? Who gets the poorer quality masks in the hospital? Who gets burnt out and careless, or bored, and defiantly stupid? Who puts others at risk with their idiocy and who dies because of that? "Mi yamut ooh mi yichyeh?" Who shall live and who shall die.
     As heavy duty as these times and questions are, we do see signs of hope, signs of a spring for humanity. Yes, at times we must look deep, deep down and way off in the future, but there is hope. People are learning to follow proper directions, particularly as these new and difficult rules pay off. People are willing to make sacrifices for others, for strangers, even as they scramble for the next 'hot' item to go missing from the shelves. Most telling are those who are willing to lay down their lives for complete strangers as they work so desperately hard caring for others medically, cleaning hospitals, delivering and stocking food and the groceries for the nation, who keep life ongoing as packages now rule the day. Kudos, the highest words of praise and thankfulness to all these wonderful people. They certainly are doing G-d's work as they go about their days.
     Who shall live and who shall die? Who shall be a slave and who shall go free? Who shall have the right to practice a chosen religion and who shall not? Who shall be persecuted and who not? Who shall have the rights inherent in being human and who shall be denied? All existential questions that usually arise during those other holidays, yet here they are today.
     There are moments of joy and defiance as well. A 97 year old WWII vet, a pilot, dances defiantly and joyously - and not bad at all - to JustinTimberlake's "Can't Stop That Feeling" and it goes viral. There is a definite life spirit in some and we need to learn from them, to have hope in moments of desperation, of apathy, of dark and gloomy thoughts. Dance. Sing. Talk at the door with your neighbor across the hall or across the street. There are ways to mix yet be safe.
     Most important of all, never forget who we are and what we represent to others, to our children and to the world. We are Americans and we need to prove that. We need to fight the attempts to gouge our democracy, to cause deep holes within, to destroy the right to vote even using new methods to voting as the virus hampers us. We must have patience and show the world a leadership rather than a helter skelter current approach. We must be civil, stop with the name calling and false apologies. Stand behind your words or shut up and do not say them in the first place, particularly if one is a public figure. Be a role model for the good, rather than for the opposite and we are sorely lacking there. Cut out the bombasity, the lies, the refusasl to accept the consequences of one's inactions as well as actions.
     There is hope. But we must avoid the pitfalls, watch out for the attempts to increase surveillance in the name of a national coronavirus watchdog program. Uh uh. Identify, trace and remediate, but do not track us. This is not the time of Big Brother - that is, if we stand tall and remain watchful, stand firm in our cherishing of democracy and empathy for others.
     So enjoy the holidays as best we can in these times and celebrate life. Celebrate families. Celebrate friends. Celebrate the sacrifices of others. Be generous. Be warm. Be hopeful. Most of all - Be safe. Stay well.
      Due to the holidays, I will not be posting until this coming Sunday. Please take the time to ead what you might have missed, share your thoughts, and enjoy life.

THEDAYSRUNTOGETHER

     Nope. Not a typo that I did not fix. It is a succint description of the days in these times. Ask people, particularly those staying home in a seemingly endless 'hermitization of life' and they will answer 'who cares' or 'who knows', because it really does not matter. Even Ellen commented on that topic as she broadcast from her home.

    TuesdayrunsintoWednesdayandsuddenlyitis
Saturday. Where did the week go? For many people, running out of patience with books andTV and TV and books, there is a sudden spate of houseclearing. Yes, going through previously untouched piles of who knows what, figuring on taking advantage of the suddenly available time. I, too, have given in to that urge and started with the books, enthusiasm tempered by my back that screams at me after 15 minutes of bending and stretching and lifting.
     Why books? It seems that I have a set of fertile books, for even after I clean them out, brutally, closing my eyes as I pack them for donations, guess what? Overnight they seem to have fertile congregations and multiply - 2 books lead to 8 and 8 leads to 16 until once again the books flood the rooms. The shelves, double packed, groan under the weight as I avert my eyes, apparently allergic to even the thought of ridding myself of a book I deemed worthy of my time. Not such a success either as in over 100 books gone through yesterday, I managed to discard 10 and I tell myself that was a great number - 10% - though as my kids get some shipments of books I believe they should read them too - uh oh! I then get threats that they will adopt me out unless I stop!
     But I will bravely struggle on in this determination to use my time wisely and well, have fun at it as we find weird stuff among the shelves and wonder at how it got there and remember when we first acquired it? I also discover books that I had bought but never read because I had too many others to read and these fell behind, deep into a shelf.
    So why continue on in this apparently endless task, seemingly useless in the long run? Dearie me, but it needs to be done - for where will I put the next bunch of books that sneak onto my shelves and into the corners of rooms unless I make room for them? Not to forget, at least there is some exercise involved!
     It is also a great distraction from reading and listening to the news. That news is frustrating, aggravating, as Iwonderwhywestillhavethatidiotwithus. Worse, that dangerous fool and his truly bad news officials are irritating as all getout. This man and his sycophants have intruded on any and all things and topics, derided a brave man who cared for his crew even as he himself sickened, and as a reward for his stellar career was fired, removed from his position and deemed stupid or at best naive. 
     The apology that followed was as shallow and meaningless as the ones kids are forced to do after a fight. It means nothing, for the truth is in the behavior that led up to it. It means less than nothing when the same egregious behavior manifests itself again and again as the Executive branch of our government has unilaterally decided to crush the Constitution, aided and abetted by evidently brain damaged Senators and a Congress that appears to be blinded as to how much of their Constitutional powers they have abrogated, handed over to the would be dictator, much to our dismay.
     Gee, only 81,000 people might die before August. So much better than 91,000. Yes, but not  really, is it? Donnyboy comes to the fake rescue of Boris as he sends Big Pharma CEOs over to England to find the magic cure for Boris. Well, this proposed cure is as bad as the problem for it can kill or damage him in every body system. Moreover, if it was so clear and so at hand and so successful, why does not every doctor, every hospital, all first responders, every single person who has fallen victim to this virus, lost loved ones - why are they not clamorig for it, demanding it, rioting for it? Simple - it does not work. It is dangerous. And no, even if Giuliani recommended it - it is not medicine and Rudy is no doctor! Truly! It is part and parcel of the continuous lies that we are expected to swallow whole.
    Thus, given a choice, is it any wonder that so many bookshelves, tchotkes, closets and drawers are being cleaned out, attacked within an inch of their lives? However, let me tell you a secret that might just save your back and avoid heartache. When you are sitting comfortably, ensconced in a most wonderful chair, enmeshed in the story line of the novel, or deeply involved in a biography  and you make the mistake of looking up and spotting another bookshelf needing pruning -look away. Get out of that chair immediately, move to another room. If there is a shelf there too - well, find another chair with a different view! There are ways, my friends, there are ways. Be strong and of great determination!
      And as usual - be safe. Stay well. Or better look at it this way:Staysafebewell.
     Either way works.

INCOMPETENCE PAR EXCELLENCE

     We all know that people have differing traits, skills and abilities. Some rise to a challenge while others fall before it, manifestly incompetent and worse, refusing to admit to that, thus endangering many more, no matter the situation. The above statement describes the current situation in America, much to the detriment of our survival, our trust in government and our hope for the future.
     No matter how annoying the British can be at times one cannot deny their stoicism in a time of terror, of national distress. When fate strikes that nation, no matter their previous divisions, they unite, solidly together as a nation, as a people. That has brought them through myriad troubles through the centuries. The foremost uniting factor at this point is a representative of past times and governments, almost a figurehead as far as power goes, yet has the power to inspire that nation - a 94 year old little old lady called Elizabeth II.
     The Queen has channeled her parents, her father, from his famous speech inspiring and encouraging the nation even as it was decimated by bombing raids. The members of the ruling family were involved in the war effort. They were of the people even as they stood tall with them.
     Yesterday, the Queen did just the same thing.
"The Queen speaks for the whole country" said the new Labour Party head. She reassured the nation that they will come through, be able to meet again, but now they are in for a tough time. She inspired, plain and simple.
     On the other hand, what do we have here, in the supposed leader nation of the Free World? We have a nincompoop, to put it mildly, but there is more to follow. He presents a figure of endangerment and cowardice. He does not lead the nation, but rather fractures it at the very moment that national unity is needed so very badly. His supposed briefings are rife with misinformation and downright lies. He pushes medications that are not proven and are dangerous in their misuse, even in their proper use. He stockpiles this medicine, causing a dangerous hardship for those who actually need it for their health problem, but refuses to stockpile, share and fix the necessary equipment to save the people of this nation - ventilators, respirators, beds, beds, beds, personnel, protective gear, and simple and plain words of inspiration. 
     "What do you have to lose?" he said time and time again. What? Only our lives, our trust, our hopes, our loved ones and friends. See, we do not have people following us with rapid tests administered multiple times a day, or have people checked for temperatures if they approach him. See, we, the common people, the poor deluded people of America are left to die by the thousands, be so very ill by the tens and hundreds of thousands, even as his go to guy, G-d help us, Kushner, bolixes the feeble response even more. Governors are left to beg and compete at a time when sharing is the way to go. Clear directions for loans and other aids of the relief bill are missing and the economic crisis deepens to a point almost beyond return. 
     "What do I know?" he asks. Absolutely nothing! That is the awful truth but then goes on to say that he has common sense and when that ever happened no one knows! He cuts off his experts, fires people who followed the law, inimical to him and his beliefs, is closer, ever closer, to shutting the press and media other than for the extreme right wing media, the poison pens of the country.
     There are inspiring words out there. "There were many nights when I've cried and I've never prayed more in my life," Pink said. Here is another, a woman who simply uses what she has to inspire others, send the right words at the right moment and does not ask for anything in return.To subscribe to the service is easy, simply text the word "BRAVE" to 484848 and let the magic begin. And Riley wanted to assure you, this is not spam. This is not a marketing ploy or for personal gain. She simply wants to ignite a spark of courage.  Or perhaps just to help and encourage others to give what they can of themselves. "I hope it helps inspire people to think about what talents they have, and they can use them in this time, because we all have something we can give. And frankly, we need everything that everybody has to give right now,” That is what we need and that is what we are so sorely lacking from this not a leader!
     So as we continue to die, some not even tested before that happens, as we continue to stumble and fumble our way through this, a "Pearl Harbor" moment, it is said, without a modern day FDR, we must fill the vacuum, be our own leaders, fill in the gaps and reach out, to those who help us in a true manner, donate what we can, volunteer to help those in need, present a positive face to the future. And yes, take inspiration from a true leader, that little old 94 year old representative of an anachronistic time, yet who is the best face we can present to the future, telling them that this generation did not fall, did not fail in its duty and struggled through together, learning valuable lessons for the betterment of the world and its population, its very existence. But from Trump? Feh!!
     Furthermore, we now have a question to answer. This particularly affects gated communities here in Florida and all around the country. Watching carefully, obeying the rules, we might stay safe, this endangered population. However, there are those who did not obey or were infected unknowingly. The question: Do we publicize the fact that someone has the virus and moreover, do we state the name so people can  figure out if they interacted at a time of tranfer of the virus. I truly believe we must do that and have had examples here of lack of obedience to rules, death, and lack of information as to those infected. Not good. Wrong, very wrong. This is an existential question and just as we would inform people of a Typhoid Mary, we must inform them of a coronavirus sufferer so as to better keep the rest of the population safe. We are here sequestered from all that we hold dear, so that we might return to our families and do not need endangerment more than is necessary to survive. Publicize the information. Give the data so that others might be safe.
    In the meanwhile, as usual, the new greetings and words of goodbye these days. Be well. Stay safe.

EENY MEENY MINEY MO

     It appears to be that most of us are runnning our lives in an almost childish game of choice. Do we take a chance on shopping at a later hour or a senior hour? Do we rely on delivery? Food Banks? Wear the mask or 'save' them? How do we clean them, redisinfect them? Does the filter wear out? Where is the filter? Can we meet with friends on a lawn with proper distancing? How do we make choices and decisions with proper guidance and knowledge? In fact, is there any proper knowledge and information?
     Eeny, meeny, miney, mo. Catch a tiger by his toe. Oh, yes, have we caught that tiger! And now that we have caught it, what the hell do we do now? That appears to be the question of the day, every hour, every second of the day. We look around and wonder why certain countries and areas within a country are more prone to infection. We wonder why the greatest country in the world is left standing with its thumb up its rear, lacking supplies, having a challenged food and item necessities distribution line challenged. 
     Someone dropped the ball here and is too damned lazy and/or incompetent to go fetch it. Nope, for those responsible are too busy trying to pass off the blame onto others rather than standing up, being a grownup, accepting blame where it needs to go and getting on with the needed programs. And why, have we, the people of this country, allowed such incomptence entry into our ruling leadership and legislators? When the hell did we all  grow so stupid, negligent, gullible?
     We have lost our way. Simple. The truth. We have allowed discouragement of truth and honor, of care for our subordinates, for placing others before ourselves. We punish the honorable, like Crozier, and reward the bad, war criminals, because our imposed upon us President lacks honor, lacks compassion, lacks the wherewithal to proceed in a positive, purposeful and transparent direction.
     Mr. Bigshot of the Hot Air continues to speak lies, misinformation, maintains his nasty and childish habit of insulting opponents, and concentrates on further reducing our Constitution and its safeguards to dust as he appoints unqualified judges to seats for the next four decades, as he insists on scheduling his convention, as he boasts he will not wear a mask even as he tests all who come near him, checks their temperatures, luxuries the workers on the front line cannot do, have neither the time nor the equipment to do so, but there he goes, the "man of the people"! So very much not so!
     Why was the pandemic response office dismantled last year even as we all knew that the day was coming. It was inevitable. Why were there no plans to save retail, to save small businesses, even to bolster big businesses which were so badly hit? Why were there no stockpiles of working equipment, of necessary garbing, of trained epidemiologists available to work with the doctors of the nation? Why is the answer from him always the statement that we had better be given what we need and if we do not get it, well 'we are tough' and will just take it!
      What the hell do we do with that tiger now that it is proving its flexibility and shifting itself around in our grasp, biting and clawing at us, killing one captor after another? Are we supposed to breathe a sigh of relief now that we know that the crazy, confused WH has appointed Jared as the chief boss of this fight? Dear Lord, the same dude who has failed in all his major projects? The one who lies about figures and forces others to conform to his, who says that the stockpile of the nation is not for the states but for "us". It is "ours" he rants, meaning the people on the federal level!! Such a damned coward. Such an incompetent person. Such a growing clone of his father in law. A good example as to why we do not allow nepotism and yet here we are, at a most critical time in our nation's life.
     It appears that the YOU ends on us. We are it. We are the front line nation which was supposed to do better. We were supposed to be ready for anything. We are not. We never were. And so we are dying by the thousands, the numbers growing daily in an exponential manner. And so we are spreading the infection in that same manner, ill in hospitals running out of personnel and materiel. Or we are dying and suffering in quarantine rooms at home, aching, fatigued, alone, alone wherever we are, bereft of the standard comforts of loved ones. 
     All in the name of fighting this pandemic when if we were prepared, if we had done our homework and handed it in on time, we would have been ahead of the curve rather than lagging so far behind, so deadly in that lag, in our incompetence, in our stupidity. In our insistence on allowing this evil clown to boast of nonsense, of danger, on  his new reality show.
      Eeny, meeny, miney, mo. How does one stay well, stay safe, in a childishly dangerous world with a demented one at the helm? How? I cannot think of any which way for whichever path we take we are in danger, existential danger, and we see that right now. Take a properly distanced walk down the main shopping streets of cities, of towns. Feel the echoing emptiness. Feel the despair of millions of people as they watch their world collapse and reemerge as a strange, twisted one. Look at the confusion of the children as they watch their parents and all gownups prove to be unable to answer their questions nor provide a cure for the problems besetting us, all around us.
     Eeny, meeny, miney, mo. Where is Indiana Jones when he is needed, to tame that tiger and give us time to heal our wounds, to protect our citizens and the world? When we need to find a different leader, one with compassion, empathy, and understanding of the situation. The choice might not be optimal, but it is there and we had better fix our choice meme or we will be food for the tiger as well.
     Eeny, meeny, miney, mo. We are all holding that tiger we so stupidly and without forethought caught by its toe. We are all at risk, all responsible for behaving properly, for better preparation for a new world. We have all failed in that task and need to improve - NOW!
     Eeny, meeny, mney , mo. Never mind the rhyme. All are chosen. All must do the right thing. And as usual, be well. Stay safe. May the Lord watch over us, give us another chance.

RELATIVITY AND PERSPECTIVE

     We, all or most of us, are complaining. We are aggrieved. We have to stay indoors.We shop at our own risk. We cannot find daily items, once always available but not now. We whine when doctors close up offices, make new rules, go telehealth, confusing, just strange. Those who venture outside see ghost towns in capitals of the world. Stores are shut down tight, business being done via online sites and delivery sites- maybe - and concerts have taken on new venues as artists sing in courtyards, on the streets, amplifying voices and joined by people standing at windows, at doors, on patios and porches, all singing and moving to the rhythm.
      Our kids are learning on screens, with Zoom becoming a houshold word. Our libraries are shut and books are a precious commodity. Even games are running short as popular ones are out of stock. We wonder about all those masked and gloved people we see in the markets or running in the empty streets. 
     Most of all we wonder and whine: when will we ever get back to normal? When can life be as it was? Why, in the modern world when we send people into space, have them walk around, float, why then can we not fight a virus, one which we knew was comng, one which we had researched before but shut it down? Why were we so unprepared for this and how the hell will we ever pull ourelves, the entire world, out of its mammoth economic disaster, shaping up to be a Great Depression with longer times of survival than ever before.It took a good decade to recover from 2008 so imagine this timeline!
     One of the most plaintive complaints is the one of families, used to celebrate the upcoming holidays together, as huge family groups, or in hotels, with others. Now, we are alone, some truly alone, the lone person sitting at a table reading a Haggadah for Passover and the seder meal. Families cannot go to church together or even to services at all. Danger ahead! And all security is washed away in the cascades of the falling stock markets and people wonder how we will survive, surmount, these difficulties.
     Full disclosure:I am one of those who wonder, who are afraid and question if we will ever get back to at least a modicum of normal life. I wonder and worry as to how we will survive as our retirement funds disappear down a black hole of finance, and how can we then help our kids as they lose jobs or hours and salaries are cut, as expenses pile up? We worry and fret. We obsess and think this is just awful - and it is - and these multiplying numbers are frightening, the predictions of victims and the dead are hair raising, mindboggling,world changing, with no end in sight. Worse, we have no national leader at this point, but rather one who lies and changes narratives from minute to minute within the same speech and then descends to the usual bully behavior, calling people names, denigrating hard pressed health professionals and institutions and is worse than useless.
     Then today it all came into perspective. I realized that all is relative for no matter how bad it gets, no matter how terrible it gets, the depths it reaches, there are worse situations and there is always hope, even in the darkest hours. Why did I feel this way? Where did I scent a whiff of hope?
      A friend sent a small blurry, black and white video of a Passover Seder inVienna, in 1947. Two years after more than a decade of horror, of torture, of mechanized genocide calculated to totally wipe out an entire nation. Millions were killed, tortured, died of beatings, starvation, illness, hangings, drownings, medical experiments, men, women, children, even the aged and the newborns did not escape this madness. Yet two years later after living in a world of depravity beyond all comprehension, when families were ripped apart, when sons were killed in front of mothers, and daughters in front of fathers, when humans were burned as so much offal, when it seemed as if there would never be an end to this other than death - two years later there is a seder. Children had been born. Children were found where they had been hidden. People healed their physical wounds, attempted to deal with their traumas to souls and minds, and once again had faith, faith after a time in which it seemed G-d had turned a deaf ear to His creations, disgusted with them, despairing of and with them.
     Thus it depends on one's perspective and the relativity of situations. Yes, it is hard not being with family. Yes, it is hard not socializing with friends. Yes, it is hard having to accept certain rationings and limitations. But how much worse it was, for Armenians chased and massacred by Turks, for Tutsis killed by Hutus, for Cambodia to be ravaged by their own people, for Rohingya to be purged to the verge of extinction . For Jews to have been persecuted through the millenia and to face today, once again, accusations of Jews causing the pandemic, of Israel profiting from it - this even as people die there as well as elsewhere. 
      Having other people in horrific situations does not make one feel better, but we know that we will, for the most part, survive, though many will die. We will be able to reunite with family and friends, not tramp over their graves as bones and ashes still rise to the surface in the camps and killing grounds of the world. 
     Think about this. Put things in perspective.
In the meanwhile, be well. Be safe. Always.

THROWAWAY PEOPLE

     All sorts of new and/or revived phrases have come about as a result of the pandemic. According to sources, one of the ways we might beat this thing into a kind of submission is to wait for "teflon people", people who had the virus, recovered and are now immune. This is when 60-80% of the population has been hit and recovered, but no one really knows if these newly termed teflon people are really teflon. This is so mysterious a disease that questions arise daily about its survival, its strength, its conferring - or not - of immunity upon its victms, even how to take advantage of this immunity should it actually be.
      Plasma straws of recovered sufferers are being used for those in bad shape. Wacky medicines are being thrown at it in the wild hope of just finding not a cure, but at least a treatment to alleviate the suffering and aid recovery. But truly and honestly, we will need a vaccine to do the trick and that is a great big step to climb, for even with one, the amount of doses needed is staggering, just mind boggling.
     Here is where the throwaway people come in. Who are they? These are people who are the little people, the unimportant people, those who live out their lives without big achievements, without changing the world, simply living, working, and hopefully having a loving family. But these everyday people age. This is normal. They have other issues. That, too, is normal. But what is not normal is the fact that for once, in a truly big way, the USA is at a loss. There simply is not enough equipment to go around, so, some will die. Who is to die? The medical personnel make that choice, but the obvious answer is there - the 20 yr. old or the 75 year old with three other conditions? The 50 year old with the big name or the 50 year old plain old shnook. The answer is obvious, is it not. We throw away those we cannot save, right or wrong or the one who will use up more desperately thin on the ground resources.
      There are more of these throwaways. Stay at home we are told but what does one do when there is no home to stay in other than a cardboard box or a tent if one is lucky, or perhaps a car within which to shelter. What do we do with them? How do we protect them? The answer is that we do not. They are throwaways, plain and simple.
     Multiply these people here, in the thousands, by multiples beyond belief as we take in the rest of the world, countries such as India, Pakistan, China, countries where the populations are so large with so many homeless and/or crowded together that social distancing is not a concept of reality for much of the population. Until we reach some kind of treatment or cure, until we finally have the necessary supplies, until we set up enough hospitals in parks, arenas, conference centers, stock them fully, with lavish hands, there is nothing to be done. Throwaway people indeed.
     That is why we must be so careful. We must understand that all these throwaways are not things but someone's grandparents, siblings, coworkers down on their luck, and simply people. Yet what else is there to do? There is that concept of triage in dire situations and I, for one, even being a throwaway, do not see a way out of it, at least until time passes and we correct the errors that led to this, we fill all supply needs, and develop a vaccine that works and is plentiful in supply. That, my friends, will take at least until Spring, 2021, if by then and until then, life will be changed.
     When will we go back to normal? Truly? Never. I believe that we will learn that we need to temper our lives now in new ways. We need to somehow limit the petri dishes of crowds, limit size. We need to instill some new thoughts on proper living, help people understand that when they flout the rules, thinking they are oh so clever, they are actually turning themselves into murderers. Yes, you read that correctly. The contagion they encourage will hit some people who have done nothing except have the bad luck to cross paths with them somewhere in time and place and then die from that 'gift', that unwanted and dangerous gift. This is thoughtless, selfish behavior with permanent consequence.
     What to do now? First, censor or ban those daily fool shows wherein the American public is given lies, false information with truth being nowhere in sight. These are not news briefings but rallies in disguise, rallies for the ignorant,  for the willingly led people who lean on a damaged man. Yes, Mr, Trump, this is not the flu and do you not think it is time you stopped with that comparision? Is it not time that you actually spoke up and admitted your confusion, your ignorance, your poor planning, your reactive rather than proactive behavior? As for thinking? Well, we cannot expect miracles, can we?!
     Society is  and never has been perfect. The ideal, the Utopia of Greek philosphers or the utopian dreams of social rebels of broken societies, will never be reached even as we strive ever closer towards that goal. We need to understand that. We need to understand the role of society in our lives, the need for physical closeness, the freely given hug, the kiss of affection, the hand of a grandchild within that of the grandparent, but we must also realize that if we do not demand anything of society in good years, then we will be lost when they disappear. It is a concept that we can find in the Bible, when Joseph, a throwaway prisoner of the Pharaoh, explained the ominous dream of Pharaoh and introduced the economic concept of preparation, of good times being the basis of better times in bad years. It is simple, but when there is a foolish and ignorant person at the helm, well, there is nothing to say. The problem and the harsh truth is right there, is it not?
     In the meanwhile, we, the throwaways and the not throwaways, must cooperate, for if we do not work together, we will most assuredly die alone and separate. It is that simple. Heed the instructions, write your reps in DC, vote the correct choice in November. Above all - be well, be safe.

"GET THE STUFF !!!!!"

     Full disclosure: yesterday I gave in and allowed myself a peek into one of the new reality show's episodes, the daily farce of the Trump briefing. What a disaster. What a mess. To use the phrase of one reporter, there is a "storm of misinformation" coming out of these TV spots and no one could be blamed for leaving them confused and dazed, thinking they need a visit to a doctor for a hearing test or a brain check! The contents of these briefing s are so contradictory to each other that one does not know what to believe. Personally, the answer, I believe, is not to believe a word that man says unless corroborated by Fauci or Birx or one of the many governors, Democrat and Republican, who are desperately trying to help their states maintain an even keel and cut deaths.
     One usually rabid supporter of Trump, wrote of his frustration with Trump and his statements, his lack of true attack on the virus. “Don’t give me the MyPillow guy doing a song-and-dance up here on a Monday afternoon when people are dying in Queens,” Francesa said. “Get the stuff made, get the stuff where it needs to go, and get the boots on the ground! Treat this like the crisis it is!”     This, essentially, is the feeling of most as they listen in or read about it. It is a disaster. Get the stuff! Get the masks. Get the ventilators. Get the respirators. Get the beds themselves. Get the medical equipment needed. Get some real help in there and stop reacting rather than being proactive! Get the stuff! Do the right thing!
     Listening in, one was "gifted" with the sight of a man constantly reading, looking down at a paper, speaking in a souless monotone, showing no empathy, no concern for people, only looking to get this part over with and return to his usual nitpicking and complaints about others. Enough! Enough. The TV stations, the cable channels, none of them should broadcast these briefings daily. Report a gist on the news or analytic shows and stop giving this man a platform for his reality TV without a soul.
     We are not making masks by the millions. A refitted Ford factory and a GM facility are making masks level one and face shields on a voluntary basis and are not tuned up yet to maximum, but what we need is more - more of everything. N95 masks, gowns, gloves, on and on. He blocks progress at every point and then blames the companies who were trying to get this done. Yet he reveled in the Monday briefing when each one rose up to praise him. This man is truly like a king of old who demanded groveling, body and soul, from his subjects. Sickening. Useless. Worse than that, for as he dithers around, impressed only with his own importance and grievances, people are dying. Dying. One does not need his imagery of people dying like flies, in subways, in halls. Etc. We know that, we have all of us by now, lost someone to this virus, or at least one who is ailing with it. It is right outside the door, or even inside, as we are not in sterile lab conditions at maximum levels.
     We are now afraid of each other, veering away from others, hiding from them, as we fear contamination. Yet it is a part of being human that one needs the companionship of others. What is one to do? Cannot really tell you, as each and every one of us must make the decision for him/her self. There is no other way. But, a great big but, if we do not bite the bullet now, we will all be shot with that same bullet later on. In fact, even as things - hopefully - return to what might pass for the new normal , we still must be careful. We must watch for new upsurges. We must be careful with flights and flying, with crowding and mob scenes. What hapens to concerts? To theaters? To subways? To ballgames? To simply walking the sidewalks of Manhattan during a workday?
     These are questions that all need to be carefully pondered, answered with care. What to do with our armed forces as the virus spreads? Are we to remain essentially defenseless? What about our first responders, medical and otherwise? What about the highly vulnerable? What about the trauma to our kids as theygo without their friends, develop an actual physically felt longing to be with them in real life and time? How to get the economy rolling once again and somehow get people back on their feet even as their savings and retirement accounts are gutted, as food and other banks run out of material and aid for people in great need? How do we restructure our medical field, the approach to pandemics in the future? We were warned in 2019 that this was  coming and that ass ignored it, havig disbanded the office of preparedness for pandemics the year before.
     Most important, we must sit on this idiot until he cries uncle and is out of office. We need to watch that he does not follow the paths of some in Europe and Asia who are rescinding civil rights and protective legislation in their countries. We msut insure that America remain America, a proud democracy. A strong democracy. A country which remembers her duty to the world and to the entire population, not only the industrialists and financiers of Wall Street.
     Can we get there? Can we restart the engine at different speeds and gears? Can we bring in new accessories that will help us remain safe and as sure as possible? I hope so. I truly do. But am I optimistic? That will take a whole lot more than this at the moment. A whole lot more. From each and every one of us. And then, more than that. And certainly a better leadership of country and world. That is on us.
      Meanwhile, again, stay well, be safe.

THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED

     Music is an integral part of life. It expresses emotions, changes emotions, lights up lives, and can represent challenge where there is supposedly no room fo resistance. Jewish slaves in German camps would hum Yiddish tunes, religious prayers, as they passed by guards. In the harshest of times songs flourished that expressed the emotions, hopes and fears of that time.
    The passing of the writer of "I Love Rock and Roll" hit me, for I remember that song: the defiance it represented, the importance of music to our lives that it implied. Music can hold a nation together so there is a definite lack today of that music, that binding piece of inspired writing that would hit us all in our hearts. Where is it? Buried deep within the divisions of the country as we suffer under the double whammy of a pandemic of mammoth proportions and an incompetent leadership at the top.
      "Lies, tell me lies, tell me lies..." Yes, perhaps that song could be the anthem of the pandemic, though it does reinforce the negativity and mistrust rampant in the nation, so nope, will not do. "The day the music died..." Will that do? Nope, for I certainly hope that music never dies for then humanity will be no longer, having lost its soul. Another blogger suggested "The Rocking Pneumonia" but that will not do as it plays down the seriousness, the deathly gravity of this coronavirus. We need to remember that seriousness, that fatal error so easy to do, to challenge the rules, transfer the virus to others and die. Yes, die. Or cause others to die. And how does one sing about that?
     So what does one do? Do we imagine a stamp of "cancelled" on our foreheads meaning life cancelled, at least as we knew it so few months ago? Do we give in? Or do we play it smart, take the hits now in our lives, as difficult as they are, and buy a better future for, if not for ourselves, at least for the kids. There is talk of a Gen C, for babies born during and perhaps because of this virus and home restrictions, and the talk includes the differences of their lives as compared to ours. Yes, there will be many, for the safety of people precautions, but, a huge but, we must keep an eversharp eye on the political climes of the day and insist on keeping our liberty, our democracy, our gestalt as America.
     What we do not need are the rigors and hardships of the past three and a half years. We should not need to have courts fight to hold the executive branch to the limitations of the Constitution. Even as the full Mueller Report is now in the hands of the court, why is this still playing out? Why is there the disgusting reek of corruption even attached to the name of Barr as he misreported, shall we say, on that Report? This is a tremendous piece of history, a world changing event possibility and yet it is consigned back to the closet for the courts are on recess till April 20 and possibly beyond. So, in a way, that cancelled stamp is both relevant and applicable. How sad for us, as individuals and as a country.
     Thus the country is at sixes and sevens and not the least of all factors, governing, causing and growing this uncertainty and confusion is the man supposedly at the top, Trump. This is the man who accuses his accusers of "not being nice" or out to "get ya" even as he uses racial memes, encourages his aides to physically grapple with unfavored reporters insisting on the truth, and states bold stupidities as words of wisdom.
    Contrary to his words, backed up by unfortunate truths, the response of his administration is not "fantastic" nor encouraging. Even as Fauci and other experts state they "explained" the material several times before they received the proper response, Trump keeps insisting on the wrong language. Accusing the hospitals of somehow, for some esoteric reason , of hiding ventilators and respirators, of hoarding masks from their personnel, - the man is nuts, pure and simple. He is demented,  this, the man running the country.
    His advice is to "ride it through" be like "cowboys", even as the date of what, the roundup, changes from two days to a week, to a month, to a month and a half and now two months, till June 1 when, I guess, like magic, all will be well, all sick swept under the rug and life resumes. Well, some people had better do a whole lotta thinking before we fall deep down into an evergrowing hole and we lose over 2 million of our population. Anybody eager to bang this into a thick skull? Thought so.
    So yes, the music has temporarily died; there is no theme song written for these times. I certainly hope one will be, as we so desperately need something, even a song, to build our unity and our sanity, to reinforce our optimism, our hopes, in a confused time. In the meanwhile, hang in there, isolate, wash those hands, be well and stay safe.

REALLY AND TRULY NO KIDDING

     Evidently it takes a known person falling ill to make it real to Trump, but also evidently, it is not enough for him to shut his stupid mouth and let the experts run the show. There are so many inexperienced, brain short people running around in this particular kitchen that the broth is either undercooked or overboiled, total results being that the broth is not served and people go hungry. Sum total of aid given at the right moment, to the right place, in the right condition? Negative numbers indeed.
    How many more times are we to listen to this man blow hot air, boasting of his accomplishments, changing his stories from minute to minute never mind even reaching week to week. He has alienated every sector of government and private industry, proven his incompetence at running a crisis racked country, and remains a television ratings driven person, still thinking in terms that mean nothing to the people dying in hospitals, alone in their rooms, as couples divide, as couples make plans three and four layers deep as to whom exactly will care for their children should both die in this pandemic, especially if both parents are medical or aid or even grocery personnel. So much for the truth, for this man denies it all and remains mired in some lala land that only he and his benighted followers still see.
      This is much to our detriment, as more and more of us fall victim to the virus and more die as time goes on. We are not making progress, no matter how much this fool pushes a medicine unproven for the virus, now in short supply for those who actually need it for other diseases or rants on about new tests that never materialize. New testing centers are being set up by localities left alone to swim or sink and thank the Lord Above that more of them are proving more competent than the ostensible leader who is aping the march of the Pied Piper rather than the victory march we so desperately need.
     As my nephew now falls ill and remains in quarantine, as his family is left in a void as to the future, we need to walk on the really and truly line if we are to make it through this mess. We need to stop allowing the inmates to run this country. We need to stop listening to the hot air and nonsense spewing forth from the mouths of those who are worse than ignorant. We need to understand the depth of this mess, the time wrenching changes it already has made and the new world, the After, that is coming or rather already here. We need to alter our thinkng, our planning if we are to recover as time goes on. We need to plan for a world more inundated with these threats even as we see that the skies are clearer now, proof that industry does pollute and we need to do something about that. Regulations must return. Care for humanity must return. Aid must be given for long term recovery and survival for this crisis is with us for the long run.
     Most of all we need to behave as thinking and rational adults, beings, who understand the inportance of every step taken or not taken as we battle for our survival. Really and truly, no kidding at all, we need to dig deep into our reserves, personal and otherwise, souls and pockets, if we are to remain viable as the world and society we now have, along with deep changes, changes for the better, one hopes - and prays. We need to choose our leaders with more discernment. We need to look deep within the hearts and minds of those who put themselves forth and see if they actually are helpful or just greedy, selfish, hungry for power. This is true for all countries of the world for none is immune.
      There was an old show that contained a song within it, the song called Ben Adam - Son of Man. It opened with these lines:
     Ben Adam, Ben Adam,
     Son of Man, Son of Man
     Lend your brother your hand
     Tayn yad el yad.
 Obviously it is a mixture of Hebrew and English, what we need today. We need a mix, a good one, one that invigorates the positive and downplays the negative, one that works rather than instigates. Can we come up with such a mix? Can we follow the pleas of the song? I hope so, for otherwise more will fall, more will die, the aftereffects, the traumas, will continue and if we are not careful the underlying foundations of society can be shattered. That is not what we want. Or is it exactly that for some as they calulate foolishly, coldly, and dangerously, what they estimate they can profit from and by. It is upon us to find the right mix, the correct approach, the real and true one - all kidding aside. Only then will that stew, that broth be edible, sustaining and nourishing body, mind, heart and soul.
     I pray for that time. May we reach it soon. May we all learn from this crisis and may we all stay safe and well. Remember your neighbors and be mindful of their needs as well. Leave selfishness out in the cold. Let goodness flow in. That is the only path we need to remember for all else will follow.
   

WALKING THE LINE

     There are lines in life. We are always walking them, or crossing them, sometimes a good thing and other times not so much. Life is often a struggle trying to figue out where the edges of these lines are and what happens when one goes past those edges. Without experiments about that, humanity would never have moved forward, but when done carelessly and without forethought, well, look what we now have.
     Yesterday, in one of the many books I have been reading of late, there was a line: "Pray for me." That was a good request and not a bad idea. We need to pray that those in charge are truly in charge, but in a positive manner. We need strong leaders who, when not there, are leading us not into temptation, but into massive waves and inundations of terror, of panic, of confusion and of death and destruction. 
    Yesterday, last night, I read of a wonderful doctor who has helped many, whom I know, principaled his children, who is lying in an ICU hooked to machines. It is one thing when it is out there, as you praise yourself for being so good and adaptive as you molder in isolation, as you miss your family, but to hear of a real consequence in terms of life and death - well, that is a horse of a different color. Depression descended upon me.
     The global death toll is over 30,000 and climbing with no end in sight. This virus is resilient and strong. It is determined to hang around and jump right in when an opportunity presents itself. There apparently is no escape and sometimes it feels as if we are simply sitting around, waiting for it to hit us, even as life is shutting down around us. Making a decision for a run to the store for groceries has now become a life and death situation. Wear gloves or wash right after or do both? Wear the mask again or even wear one if one has one? How close to be in line and what about the person behind you who edges up too close? Do you help that stumbling young mother with the three kids holding on to her legs?
     There are good moments that we must cherish, recognize for what they are. A parade of cars, honking, with cheering people inside - a parade of teachers in their cars rolling through the neighborhoods of their students, reminding them they are not forgotten, still cherished. Heartwarming and important. As we distance ourselves physically we must draw closer emotionally and socially in as many safe ways that we can. Without that tie, that line of humanity, we will have lost that line, crossed over into there be dragons territory, certainly not a good place to be.
     Yet even as we conform to new rules of life, to new lines to be trodden, we must watch out for other lines, ones that divide, one that are frightening in their future possibilities. These are the lines that are separating us as a people, that are causing us to forget that we are a nation united, the United States of America. Unfortunately, for the past three years we have basically been told to forget that idea, that we are actually divided into growing 'stans' of differences. Just yesterday I read an article wherein one expert whom  I admire wrote of a huge change within the next couple of years if we forget who we are. I have been writing of that possiblity for months already and truly hate the I told you so I am entitled to say. I would rather we turned the other way, reached over to the correct line, the unity line and stay on it.
     Life has changed all over the world. All countries, be it Venezuela or Hungary or Bangladesh or England or America, we have all changed. Are we to come through this crisis as whole people, or are we to be maimed, missing essential ideas of unity, of humanity? Can and will we work together to fight against this resurgent virus and others to come, for certainly, that is a certainty. Just as this was, just as Trump refused to acknowledge that, as he closed any and all agencies prepared to handle and plan for this, just as he is now scaring the bejeezus out of many as he stresses his "military" presidency. G-d help us if he follows through on that, invoking that and calling the troops into the streets of the nation, cordoning off the WH as he refuses to leave after he loses the election - and oh, boy, must he lose!! Our very future depends on that result.
       "These are the times that try mens' souls."
       " It is the best of times. It is the worst of times."
       "No man is an island."
       "Do not go gentle into that good night."
   The lines of inspiration and pleadings are there, not difficult to find but perhaps difficult to act upon. Only we can do this. Only we can pull the world back from the edges of isolation, of peril, of fracturing and back onto a firmer, wider line that will guide us to where we need to be, where we need to go. So yes, pray for us, and then act upon that prayer. Stay the distance. Challenge the depression and despair, the bleakness of a might be not so good future. Yes, there will be, no doubt about it, a Before and an After. We are already deep into that change, but it can also be what we make of it - or what we prevent.
      Here is an  old Welsh inscription that might help one to get back firmly on the line of hope, of a good After.
    "The sun on the hill forgot to die, and the lilies revived, and the dragonfly came back to dream on the river."
      We all await that day. We all need to work towards that day. We all need to stay safe, stay well, keep to the lines of humanity and hope, of optimism, of life.

REALITY APOCALYPSE

     As a fan of apocalyptic shows, movies and novels, I now stare at the screen and look out the window and wonder if this time the apocalypse is real. No Thunderdome. No crazed and crazy gangs organized in brutal turfs. Yet there is an echo here of all of it.
     Here in America we have idiots who have coronavirus parties and of course come down sick, draining supplies from others. We have foolish people who go to the beaches in mobs and even more foolish governors who did not ban that from happening. We also have the first stretch of expanding lines between the states of the United States as one state bans another from citizen crossings. Will it all devolve into little 'stans' American style a la shows such as Jericho, or Walking Dead which is not about zombies by the way. It is about man and development of a new civilization in the face of previously unknown circumstances. And we sure do not come out great!
      We have this isolation on larger scales as countries ban foreigners from entering, as they ban exports of possibly needed supplies, as we hunker down worldwide and go into isolationism on crack! Truthfully, it can be understood as survival is a natural instinct, but we must stand taller than that and realize that only through worldwide cooperation and sharing of brains and resources, will we make it through this pandemic and somehow, at some time hopefully in the near future, lead us back to the Before, but with better creds, stupidity cancelled and hope once again in plentiful supply. Think we can do it? Hmmmm...
     Meanwhile, back at the ranch of the WH, we have that reality TV star pulling down on his creds as he stages nightly chats from the Rose Garden, relating all sorts of home grown stories, all meant to boost his ratings, show his 'kinder' side, if there really is one  and I highly doubt that! We are told ridiculous stories of miracles - that never happened - as he continues to lead Americans astray and waste our resources. He thinks he is the new FDR in updated fireside chats, but wow, is there a difference in attitudes, in trust, in loyalty, in devotion to the people and yes, FDR was not perfect, certainly not with the Jewish refugees, but he did help the people in the USA. Trump has not. Will never do so. It is not within his genetic structure to care for others, to help others, but always to find the point that will help him, get money for him and his blasted family.
     In the meanwhile, even as the bailout was supposed to be passed, we have a Republican, of course, Massie, who is scuttling the whole thing. Senators are racing back to DC to fix the mess, but watchout for the market today at opening. One wonders when, if ever, will we stop with this nonsense and finally pull together as a nation. Other nations seem to have done this in the crisis so what is the matter with us here?
     The plague, and yes, it is that, is spreadng. We have over 1,000 dead and climbing as the virus spreads exponentially. The few remaining experts in the government are demeaned as they try to show the true science of it all even as the moron continues on his benighted ridiculous dangerous path. See, he is protected while we are not. So why not get out there and play the hero? Because he is most emphatically NOT a hero. Ever. Never. 
     Instead, even as the one good part of this pandemic grows, the improvement of the air quality, even now, Trump et al are taking advantage of the emergency times and relaxing safety regulations, suspending them, so as to allow more pollution back in the air from plants and factories, as we still have sweetheart deals in the bailout bill. Will we ever learn? It seems the answer to that is a great resounding and despairing NO.
     So as the world huddles in their respective homes, as the homeless have no homes to hide in, as the sick are growing in number, as we lose touch with our families just when we need them the most, the fools in every leading capital of the world continue to fight over petty items, continue their partisanship, pick petty arguments and as here, forget that we are all members of the same country, the same world, all members of the human race. 
     So what do we have here, in essence? We have a test of the human race. Weird nature and being almost Passover, I am kind of looking around waiting for the first news of water turning red, to blood or something similar, to plagues of locusts, lice, and hopping frogs all over the place. 
      Seriously, G-d promised He would never again destroy us with huge floods but guess what? He did not prohibit human caused flooding, with human stupidity, or with partial destruction and for proof of that, just look around the world. Take a good, long, insightful, realistic look. Then ask yourself: have we truly made great progress in our humanity or are we all puffed up about tallest buildings, about cleaning out that homeless encampment that is bothering the fatcats who live in their former buildings redone, talking up fast cars even as public transportation is crumbling, neglecting the weaker members of society, the needy, the kids, the victims of domesetic violence. The list can go on, but is it not time that we do something about it.
     We need to take this time to think, evaluate, measure, and try new techniques, new methods. We need to stop the most backward opinion here that a woman cannot be president. Why not? Even Third World countries have done so as have great countries of the West as well. Women have a different point of view, think differently, are far more practical than men and know that playing favorites does not work in the long term. So let us applaud Biden's promise, his short list of some very talented and capable women. Let us take this apocalypse in reality to the edge of that growing abyss and trash it!!
    We need to insure that we do not have a bad After. We need to take from the Before, fix it, meld the good with the plans of the After. Perhaps, just perhaps, we will have learned how to do things the right way, how to go about fixing our broken world, how to tamp down hatred and prejudices. Maybe. Just maybe.

K2 - THE MOUNTAIN, THE WARNING

     7th grade English Lit class. Discussing the short story K2. Comparing the three challenges found within: Man vs. Man, Man vs. Nature, Man vs. Self. This story is applicable to so many times of a person's life, especially now during our own troubled times.
     Nature has hit us with a bad one. We are rapidly falling into a pit from which we wonder if there is another way out as the climb back up seems too onerous and difficult, too hard to overcome. We ourselves have helped deepen the depth of nature's wounds by behaving in a careless manner with Nature, challenging it, crushing it, crossing the borders of it too many times and one wonders if this is the one time too many. We have ever more rapidly and voraciously chewed up nature, destroying its many blessings before we even find them.
      Then we have the two categories that deal with man, other men, and the battle that often goes on within the inner depths of a person as needs, principles, and desires are weighed. Even the very question of survival arises in many instances and that is the greatest challenge of all for some. How much and for how long do we fight against the Grim Reaper? How many people must  die in order for others to live?How do we make decisions that condemn people to die as we weigh needlessly short supplies and personnel? How do we look at a presumed national leader, one to whom we look for guidance, for capability to rise to the challenge - and yet that response is dead silent other than with the echo of ever increasing lies, more lies and stupidities that will cost lives. At a time when empathy is needed we get harsh statements that the economy must reopen, never mind the ensuing consequences.
     We argue against each other. One party thinks that we must rescue big corporations, even as this same party did not like it when the other party did that. They wish to give money away without oversight but were finally overruled by the Dems. Thus there was a delay as the economy sank deeper and deeper into, as I once read, "a morass in our own self made abyss".  Yes, we, mankind, has brought this upon itself, whatever we believe. It is a disaster manmade by man's carelessness, selfishness, blinkered eyesight and vision that never took into account the 'collateral' damage we were causing and ignoring, allowing things to deteriorate at an ever increasing rapidity.
     Is this also a message from the Supreme Power, whatever name He is given? Have we allowed the classic infection of hubris to overcome our sensitivities and thinking? Do we, did we, deserve this punishment, challenging the power of man Vs. G-d, building or attempting to build, our own version of the Tower of Babel and failing, disastrously?!
     We here in this country have long thought we were special, separated by oceans, friendly borders, great thinkers and leaders who thought ahead, but we have found out that these were and are false premises.  WHO says that we are set to become the biggest epicenter of COVID-19, even as the numbers grow and the dead multiply. Yet there is hope. Even as some hoard, others volunteer to come out of retirement, or jump into the hot waters even as they just graduate from schools. The little guys we never paid attention to are standing stalwartly at their jobs, risking health and they, not the madman leader of ours, are keeping the economy, such as it is, going. Kudos to all of them. Shame on Trump et al.
     The tantrum throwing man is demanding, mind you, that people go back to work, go to houses of prayer, all by Easter Sunday and during the holiday of Passover. The medical experts are warning against that, but the tantrum continues. He is safe within his nice little cocoon, but the rest of us? He could care less!!
    And so we are caught, hoisted on our own petard. Even as we were allowed time to observe other countries and see what works and what does not, even with that blessing, we fouled up. We did have plans but we ignored them. We did have a group charged with preparing for this, but that idiot disbanded them. Then we ignored safety rules in our cities and states. The federal government took on state governments for power and the states are the ones now trying to save lives, with even GOP governors fighting the insanity of the WH. 
     The results? We are just about under martial law, with curfews, outside activities just about banned, growing fears that the man there in that WH will take advantage and kill the November election in one way or another, and even refuse to leave should the results of the election place him as the loser. That we talk of this in growing disturbing predictions is mind boggling. 
     The experts are finally facing reality and understanding that recession terminology is way wrong for this situation. We are talking a world wide Depression greater than the Great one. Countries are now hoarding their own food supplies. Trade is down to a creep and a crawl. Just imagine, just follow the arrows to the inevitable disaster on a global scale should this be allowed to happen.
    How do we stop this? Way above my pay grade but then again, I never made believe I could do that. I trusted, perhaps stupidly, that the leaders of the country would rise to the challenge, accept their responsibilities responsibly. How dumb that was and is. Truly dumb. So we, the people, are going to have to force the issue, force our leaders to do their jobs. Now!
     Get hold of the story. Read it and understand its eternal lessons for mankind. These are lessons that we have ignored in our haughtiness, in our supreme moments of insanity, thinking that there will never be consequences we cannot overcome or ignore. Well, we have now found out that we are wrong, are basically in the same situation as those who faced the Black Plague, cholera, and the Spanish flu and found out the true depths of their helplessness in the face of deep tragedy.
     Brother, but do we have to shape up or we will be shipped out despite our objections. Heed the warnings, the points of an evergrowing crisis and now right in our own backyards. Our lives depend on our reactions and the time it takes us to ramp up those responses plus their strength against the virus. I hope. I pray. I have every double organ crossed, knocked on all wood, including my own head, and prayed some more. Join me.

WHERE ARE THE TISSUES?

     I know that there have been shortages of items - toilet paper, paper towels, wipes, but I also know that most people have a hoard of these items in their homes even as they continue to buy more. All I wanted yesterday was not the proverbial two front teeth from Santa, but a box or two of tissues as allergy season ramps up. It seems I had not kept up with the growing illogical list of precious items and my search was for naught until 7 last nite when I heard from a friend that a shipment had come in.
     This is ridiculous. This is nonsense. Instead of companies ramping up for masks, for clothing, for health needs, they are spending time, resources and money on things that are really just fine. Instead of using those wartime powers he boasted of, using them to enforce production of these items and critically needed respirators, the idiot keeps fighting with those who insist thereis a BIG problem, particularly Cuomo, governor of NY State, an epicenter of the virus with NY City a particular mess.
     Now, it seems, according to Trump, that there is a person at fault here for the entire coronavirus attacking our country. Who? Why Cuomo of course, he who has met the 'enemy' and found he is Trump!! That man with the powers to act does not, other than to come on in a weak imitation of FDR and proceed to spew more lies and inanities every day, all which lead to nothing good. He even has doctors writing false prescriptions for the meds he deemed miraculous in curing this virus but actually do not - at least at this point. What will cure it is a sensible approach, an orderly approach, an understanding of the needs and necessities of this After period of time in the country and world. This man obviously is lacking all these oh so necessary qualities, capabilities and smarts!!
     So in this uncerain time what exactly are we sure of? Well, we are sure that NYC is bad, bad situation there. It shakes me to the core since New York is my hometown with my daughter and family there and many people I know, love and care about. They are now to be treated as pariahs in the country, having been told they must quarantine for two weeks if they travel outside the state. Not a good or happy situation.
     We are also sure that at some point in time, the way we are going, every person in this country given a test at some point will probably test positive. The virus will be endemic and hopefully it will be like a seasonal flu situation, deadly to some, but with a vaccine and proper behavior can be handled. But will it ever reach that point? Will we ever realize that the tests are not really so necessary, that we should concentrate on building up the supplies before we here in America are forced to set up formal or informal death panels, deciding in heartbreaking conditions who gets the respirator and who does not. We need to stop consigning all the elderly to death as we face these shortages. We need to remember that there is a huge store of knowledge contained within these elderly minds and in the scary situation that faces us, wisdom and knowledge, human lore is important.
      In 1939, C.S. Lewis spoke to incoming Oxford Scholars. He said that catastrophes such as war really serve as reminders, making the situation more obvious, that to live in the shadow of certain death is a permanent human condition. What makes us human and strong, though, is the continued attention to and pursuit of cultural needs. Life continues and we need to keep it so.
     We need to remember that and not become barbarians, savages, as we face this crisis together. The world has surmounted fiercer and more deadly crises, made it through with far fewer advancements to combat the problems. We can get through this too if we ramp up to produce what we need, if we concentrate on making a vaccine that works, as we develop natural antibodies as the population is totally exposed, as we insure a clear and smooth supply of food and critical items to where it needs to go. We need to recognize the courage and importance, the gratitude we owe towards those workers who staff the groceries, the pharmacies, all the places where we go, the truckers who get it there, as well as the medical personnel and first responders. Israel had a nationwide show of appreciation for responders. Why not here - certainly in proper behavior and no snarling in the stores. That much we can do.
     And certainly we can leave at least one box of tissues for me at the store!!! C'mon, people. This is a drastic and perhaps even deadly situation, and I already know of one who has died from this thing, but we can make it through. We can imagine a time when we can be together with our families. We can reimagine a time when life will be normal, perhaps a new normal, but still, better than this.
     In the meanwhile, get those games, get those books, talk with your kids more, love each other and remember we are all in this together. Just leave me my tissues, please.