Pandemic Diary Day 39: Things We'll All Remember About 2020

Dear Diary,

It's early to be summarizing this year, but with four months in I can't help myself.

Look at what's already happened:

The year started with a bang as Congress impeached Trump.

Then Trump was alerted that a deadly virus poised a major threat to the US economy, and every American life, and didn't do a damn thing about it!

Leaping into inaction, Trump stalled the scientists, healthcare professionals, and even his own team (think Navarro's report) in an effort to see if the problem would just "magically disappear."

Then the Senate acquitted Trump, and he went on a revenge tour, which continues to this day.

But, the coronavirus didn't go away and Donny had a new problem. America went on to have more cases and deaths from the coronavirus than any country in the world. And here we are... still counting.

Historians will be slapping their foreheads when they read (and watch videos) of Trump protestors demanding states re-open in the middle of the pandemic.

You want crazy? 2020 will be remembered for odd shit like when a physicist was hospitalized for putting magnets up his nose and...

when the INSANE CLOWN POSSE demonstrated a better understanding of epidemiology than the president of the United States!

And the merry-go-round continues...

**The American Oil Boom ended with a whimper as shale oil markets dried up this month.

**As of this entry, there's 26 million Americans who went on unemployment - literally wiping out all the job gains since 2008

**Oh Yeah! This just happens to be a presidential election year!

Right now, the soon-to-be-confirmed Democratic nominee, Joe Biden, is beating Trump in crucial swing state polls. Hopefully that trend continues and widens into increased support for Joe in November.

We're one quarter of the way through the year after next week. 

On the Homefront - Medford, Oregon

In Jackson Country, where Shirley and I, live there's been 48 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and NO DEATHS from the virus. Better yet, it's been four straight days with no new cases!

The folks around here hunkered down quickly after the governor's order to stay at home, and it seems to be working.

For the record, there's been 3,533 coronavirus cases in the state, and 78 recorded deaths. On the plus side, there's not been any new deaths statewide for two straight days.

My concern is that Oregon is among the bottom four states in testing. I don't know what to think about these official stats. Good? Bad? Ugly? I'm going to have to think about it some more in the coming days.

As I ponder the question there's another very serious threat to Jackson Country - it's been declared a local disaster due to drought conditions.

Quote for the day; "No matter how bad things are, you can always make them worse." - Randy Pausch

Q

Pandemic Diary Day 38: I'm back! I See That Things Are Worse

Dear Diary,

I'm up to writing again.

Been battling dizziness. I went to the hospital, and I've got medication for my battle with my balance. 

Still adjusting to it.

Meanwhile...

My head is spinning metaphorically at some of the recent news. I'm still catching up with things now that I can read without vomiting!

I knew politics would eventually interfere with facts about the coronavirus. It's plain to see what's happening now. States with Democratic governors are suddenly under assault by fringe lunatics (from white supremacists to militia groups like the Oath Keepers) to open up the state and forget about people's safety, and just plain scared people.

Conservative groups for Trump are becoming more organized daily as they turn the protests into Trump re-election rallies.

Trump and Fox News hosts are colluding daily on the messaging - Open Up America and fuck people's safety! Signs claiming COVID-19 safety precautions are a hoax and a liberal conspiracy have showed up at every protest thus far since they started last week.

Republican governors are opening up parts of their states, even though they don't meet Trump's own guidelines for re-opening. Trump's response has been to encourage their activities, and to lie on TV about the protestors practicing social-distancing.

I see doctors and scientists talking about COVID-19 being worse than they fully comprehend yet. Reports of the virus affecting other parts of the body - beyond the lungs - are surfacing daily. Heart, liver, kidneys, and even the brain are affected by the deadly bug.

It's apparent that healthcare experts are only slowly learning about everything the coronavirus does to the body.

Is America going to survive all of this? I'm really starting to wonder. With five more months of Trump in office we can expect things to get worse. Trump want's to be re-elected and there's nothing he won't do to achieve that aim.

On the Homefront - Medford, Oregon

**The good news is at least 595 coronavirus patients in Oregon are now fully recovered from COVID-19.

We currently have 2,059 COVID-19 cases, with 78 deaths reported.

**Don't ask me why, but Oregon waited for the Supreme Court to invalidate an 85-year old law that allows defendants to be convicted by a non-unanimous jury of any felony short of murder. 

The state law was rooted in racism. The question is why didn't Oregon legislators do something about it before now?

**The City of Sublimity (and surrounding areas) has a volunteer project going where every resident will get free face coverings.

Quote for the day: "The tougher the comeback, the better the comeback." - Bernard Osei Annang

Pandemic Diary Day 34: I Need to Take a Blog Break

Dear Diary,

Still dizzy.

I'm taking the day off, and I'll see how I feel Monday.

Shirley is calling Monday to set me up with my prime caregiver (VA) to get this crap sorted out! I'll probably get an appointment in a few days.

One way or the other I'm getting to the bottom of this condition. And, I'm going to beat it!

Enough said. Damn head is spinning...

Pandemic Diary Day 34: A Dizzy Day - Still Fatiqued

 Dear Diary,

I'm weak, but a little wiser on why I've been so damn dizzy it's hard to walk the last couple of days.

Shirley hooked me up with a teleconference with a local doctor (amazing technology) yesterday. He doesn't think I have the COVID-19 virus. That's the good news.

The bad news is the doctor thinks I had a small stroke two days ago when I got out of bed and my whole left leg was numb, and I kept falling trying to get to the bathroom.

The doctor suggested I go to the ER and get an MRI, or whatever. I didn't go for a couple of reasons. 

One, with my luck I would be sitting in a waiting room of undiagnosed COVID-19 carriers for hours. And two, the effect of my little incident hasn't been that bad.

As a matter of fact, my hearing (which has been terrible for decades) suddenly improved! No kidding. It's been weird. I can't remember when I could hear so well in my one good ear. I've been deaf in the other ear after six surgeries since the Nam. That's a story for another day.

Imagine my surprise, and Shirley's surprise. It turns out that one of the effects of small strokes is something called auditory overload (or something like that). I certainly don't understand the biology of my brain. I just count myself lucky to have one. And now, a better ear.

I hope it's not a temporary effect. When my head quits spinning every time I stand up, and I don't feel like I just got off a 20-mile forced march, I'll have to research the subject.

Writing this is exhausting me. Time to lay down and catch a few winks. Tomorrow is a new day.

Quote of the day: "Come tomorrow, I'll wake new." - Chad Sugg

Pandemic Diary Day 33: It's Happening... Politics Over Pandemic is Costing Lives

Dear Diary,

It was inevitable with the Trump regime.

Partisan politics are once again pulling the country apart when we should be uniting under a common cause, to defeat the deadly coronavirus ravaging America.

I couldn't believe my eyes yesterday when I saw Trumpies (on TV) - carrying AR-15s - blockading streets in Michigan's state's capitol, and cavorting on the courthouse steps like they were in a Trump rally. Trump signs popped up like poisonous mushrooms.

Why? A couple of conservative organizations in Michigan decided there doesn't need to be a state-wide lockdown to fight the coronavirus … despite the fact that Michigan is tied for third in the nation with the most cases and deaths to date!

What was accomplished? Absolutely nothing! Unless you look at the very real possibility that those morons who were clustered together without masks cause another outbreak!

More stupidity in Kentucky.
About 100 batshit crazy protestors (photo left) disrupted the Democratic governor's televised pandemic briefing update by chanting, blowing horns, and shouting in a megaphone outside the window of the briefing room, nearly drowning out his comments to Kentuckians.

About 100 protesters in Ohio gathered outside the statehouse sporting Trump hats. In Utah 100s of residents marched around protesting the states closures. About 100 protestors (without masks) gathered in Raleigh, North Carolina, in violation of the state's stay- at- home orders. One red-capped moron was arrested.

Yesterday a coalition of right-wing idiots gathered in Virginia's Capitol Square. "Re-Open Virginia;" "End the Lockdown in VA;" and "Virginians Against Excessive Quarantine." 

And yes, they are all right wing groups who would rather see people go back to work, even if it means countless more cases of the deadly coronavirus.

Trump is encouraging his cult members by talking about opening the country up on May 1st; a totally unrealistic proposition. He's calculating on putting the blame of the pandemic onto state governors, thus absolving him of accountability.

It's a sick tactic. But classic Trump. Divert. Cause chaos. Divert some more.
                                               ---

On the Homefront - Medford Oregin

**Oregon coronavirus layoffs approaching 300,000. Frankly I'm waiting for Oregon's alt-right nuts to start protesting the state's stay-at-home-orders. They're probably organizing as I write this!

**I'm feeling weak and dizzy again today, but it isn't quit as bad as yesterday. I noted that I didn't have any COVID-19 symptoms in yesterday's entry. 

Upon further reading today, it's possible that I may have some neurological aspects of COVID-19. My lethargy, fatigue, and dizziness have been reported as subtle signs of the virus.

But because there hasn't been any studies on the neurological aspects of COVID-19, it's a reach to suggest that I have it.

I just know I feel like crap, and this post is the last thing I'm going to do today. I'm tired. Going take a nap. Tomorrow is a new day.

Quote for the day: "You were sick, but now well, and there's work to do." - Kurt Vonnegut

Pademic Diary Day 32: The Heart of Darkness - Coronavirus Peaking

Dear Diary,

I'm having trouble trying to document what's happening daily because there's SO MUCH going on.

National and global pandemic stories of desperation seem to get worse daily. Here's a smattering:

** There's a zoo in Germany that's going to have to start feeding some of it's animals to the other animals because no funds are coming in! Hoping for a government bailout!  

**Farmers are dumping milk - up to 20,000 gallons a day - In Wisconsin because of a precipitous drop on demand from schools, restaurants and food service providers.

**New York now has over 10,000 deaths, and counting. Nearly 30,000 Americans nationwide have died from COVID-19, and counting.

**A group of ignorant Trumpies gathered on the steps of the Michigan capitol building with their beloved guns, to protest because they didn't like the safety orders the governor enacted to protect the people of the state. 

The group was organized by a Michigan Conservative Coalition and the Michigan Freedom Fund, a DeVos (as in Education Secretary DeVos) family-linked conservative group.

**Trump's trying to stop US payments to the World Health Organization because he's decided they're going to take the blame for what he didn't do - shut down the government when warned by his own healthcare experts.

But the orange ape is in for a fight with Congress, who rightly assert he can't change funding which has already been granted by Congress.
                                              ---

On the Homefront - Medford, Oregon

**The death toll from COVID-19 has increased to 58. 1,663 cases of known virus across the state. Still only 47 cases in Jackson Country where Shirley and I live. No known deaths in the county either.

**Gov. Kate Brown announced a framework, but no dates, for loosening coronavirus restrictions. 

**I was a bit under the weather yesterday, a problem with my balance and feeling dizzy and weak. No warning signs of COVID-19 however. Shirley is watching me like a hawk today. I am feeling somewhat better though.

Quote for the day: "Health is the greatest possession. Contentment is the greatest treasure. Confidence is the greatest friend." Lao Tzu

Pandemic Diary Day 31: Coronavirus Coloring Book Could Be a Big Hit With Bored Public

Dear Diary,

It just came to me one day.

There's millions of Americans sitting around in their homes bored beyond belief when they could be enjoying the Zen of coloring.

Forget about the traditional coloring book themes however. Instead, consider some of the following suggestions to spice up your coronavirus coloring book experience:

The Pandumic Task Farce Follies 

Color Trump Orange and his minions yellow. 

Explore page after page of the Task Farce doing dumb shit like standing shoulder-to-shoulder when talking about social-distancing. 

Color in each member with shades of gray as they try to keep their reputation and not piss off Trump at the same time. Want an even more dramatic Trump? Use neon orange. 

The Adventures of Donnie and Mike 

Check your color inventory of orange crayons because Donnie is on every page! He shares some pages with his boob-in-waiting Mike (color him brown nose with tints of yellow) who is seldom seen standing. 

Most of Mike's appearances are on his knees. Ready to please. The dweeb duo are shown walking down a beach together... Mike several feet behind Trump in a dramatic montage of pages that you'll want to color immediately after vomiting!

Trump's Book of Magic

Make sure you have a full set of crayons with every imaginable color because Trump is like a chameleon, changing colors to con people daily.

Orange and Red Trump at WH Task Farce Briefs. Blue Trump sitting around the Oval office wishing he could hold campaign rallies. 

A jealous of Dr, Fauci Green Trump. Yellow Trump afraid to admit when he's wrong. Purple Trump straining to take a crap on his throne.

Have fun!

                                                  ---

On the Homefront - Medford, Oregon

**Three's company - Bob the Cat, Mollie, and Butters sharing scraps (bits of egg) from my breakfast plate yesterday morning.

Not sure if Bob thinks he's a dog, or if the dog's think they're cats? Who cares? There's no species shaming around this house.

**State stats - 1,633 known cases of COVID-19 - 55 deaths attributed to pandemic.

**Testing, testing...Oregon has been testing about 1,300 people a day. The state epidemiologist, Dean Sidelinger, said the state needs to have to capacity to test 15,000 a week before we can even think about lifting stay-at-home protocol.

**Making progress outside - Shirley and I have been staying busy with outdoor projects during this stretch of mild weather which has been perfect to garden in. 

I suppose when the gardening is all done, I'll just have to lay around on a lounge chair in the yard and drink beer every day while keeping a sharp eye out for new weeds! Things could be worse...

Quote for the day: "Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet." - Aristotle

Pandemic Diary Day 30: Trump Trys to Re-Write History During Daily Breifing

Dear Diary,

I quit watching the Task Farce briefing/aka daily campaign rallies a week ago, but a friend called and suggested I watch yesterdays spectacle...so

I tuned in to see a scene that shocked me (I didn't think that could happen in the Trump era).

Propaganda on steroids! Trump minions had put together a campaign ad and the WH press corps was forced to watch Trump's attempt to re-write history as selected videos flashed before their astonished eyes!

Attacking reality. It was the most blatant attempt at brainwashing Americans I've ever seen. By anyone. Let alone the president of the United States. It was sheer gall with a twist of rattlesnake venom.

It happened. The emperor doesn't care if he has no clothes on and the world knows it. He's without shame and drunk with power after escaping being convicted for his abuse of power by a gutless senate. Unchecked. A revenge tour against inspector generals for doing their job.

Serial liar. Cheater. Fraud. Crook. Coward and bully. An egotist like the country has never seen before. A sociopath who set out to destroy democracy - and to remake it in His Image.

He's getting worse every day. He's becoming more brazen by the hour, yet the GOP leadership remains quiet. They're. Afraid. To. Stand. Up. For. The. Country. I hope voters remember that. In November.

On the Homefront - Medford, Oregon

**Latest stats on virus - 1,600 known cases - 1 death overnight brings the total to 53.

**Oregon is joining Washington and California to pledge to coordinate reopening from coronavirus shutdown. It's a damn good idea. 

Especially since Trump thinks he can tell the states when to reopen - when in fact, the Constitution calls bullshit on his orange ass!

**Shirley and I have successfully avoided getting into too many routines by being spontaneous about our day. 

That's simply done by going into the day with no plans... other than completing some "missions" (defined as almost any completion of an act). 

Dishes. A dip in the hot tub. Emptying the trash. Vacuuming. Weeding the garden. Making meals. Playtime with the pets. Taking a shower. The possibilities are endless. Stir in a sense of humor and these days of confinement aren't so bad.

Today's Quote: "If you are going through hell, keep going!" -Winston Churchill

Pandemic Diary Day 29: All I Have to do is Blink 3 Times Rapidly to Bring Back Reality, Right?

Dear Diary,

It took me a while to figure it out.

I'm stuck in an alternate universe. 

All that time believing an orange blob slithered into the Oval Office with the help of hard core Apprentice fans, Russia's help, and a Republican party that was castrated in 2016, had to have happened in another universe.

Right? All I have to do is rapidly blink my eyes three times and I'm back in the real world.

That was just a bad dream, America being hit with a deadly epidemic with no leadership to guide the nation. Thousands dying needlessly because no plan was in place.

All I have to do is blink three times and the pandemic will go away. Right?

Isolation is a funny thing. It leaves us with too much time to think. To imagine. To dream out loud. I find myself in a zone where the real and the imaginary are at odds, because I don't like the reality that has crippled this country. 

I hate what Trump is doing, and has done to this nation. The harm that he's inflicted, that in some cases will last a generation. I hate seeing the country so polarized it can not even unite to fight a common enemy - the coronavirus.

It hurts my head to know the worst president the USA has ever had, is killing people because of his greed and stupidity. His inability to listen to experts in any field. It's like living in a badly written novel with little hope of a happy ending.

All I have to do is blink three times and everything will be okay. Right?
                                               ---

On the Homefront - Medford, Oregon

**COVID 19 update - The Oregon Health Authority announced 80 new cases of COVID-19 Sunday, bring the total number of known cases in the state up to 1,527. There's been 52 deaths to date.

**Parks are closed right now in Oregon. 

I thought it would be nice to share 30 photos of Oregon waterfalls. 

I feel so lucky to live in such a beautiful part of the country.

This photo was taken by Jami Hale/The Oregonian. Beaver Falls plunges into a pool at the end of a short trail in Oregon's north Coast Range.

                                                  ---

**Finished weeding in our front yard on Easter Sunday. Our son and his girlfriend came by and busted out like a couple of migrant workers! They made short shrift of what would have taken Shirley and I another week of work.

Todays quote: "In three words I can summon everything I've learned about life: it goes on." - Robert Frost

Pandemic Diary Day 28: Easter Sunday - Don't Kill Someone Else to Prove Your Faith

Dear Diary,

Faith is a good thing. 

We all need to believe in something. 

It doesn't matter if we're Christians or Muslims, faith is central in all world religions.

But faith without common sense, or accepting scientific facts, can be misplaced. 

When a religious group ignores the global pandemic and continues to meet in-person for services, the consequences can be deadly.

Look what happened in South Korea; when a religious church sect - Shincheonji Church of Jesus - continued to ignore the government's social distancing rules. The results were catastrophic. Most of the nation's cases have been traced to 8,000 of those stubborn believers.

So what's the answer to stopping church-goers from infecting their community today when they have regular services together?

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear has come with an answer on how to deal with the stubborn parishioners. Authorities are recording license plates in church parking lots with mass attendance today. 

Tomorrow Quarantine officials will be contacting violators who will be subject to a mandatory 14-day quarantine at home. I applaud the effort because it's a compromise (depending on how you look at it), but mainly because it will save lives that may have been lost due to their faith.

I don't even want to go there about how many people have been killed in the name of some faith. Out of respect for the day, I'll leave that argument for another time.

On the Homefront - Medford Oregon

**COVID-19 Statistics - The death toll in the state is now 48 with nearly 1,400 known cases of the coronavirus.

**Pandemic poems - Oregon's poet laureate, Ken Stafford (pictured), has been writing about the pandemic since it started.

**Pet therapy - Shirley and I feel blessed to have a handful of pets/companions to make the days more pleasant. They entertain us and love on us relentlessly.

Pictured - I'm loving on my fur babies - Mollie and Butters - on a typical day.

Dogs are a real blessing. They love you without reservation, and are always happy to see you.

Feeling sad? Or, depressed? Love on a dog and let them love on you. Their spirit revives yours. Their very presence is therapeutic.

                  ----

"The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it." - Neil deGrasse Tyson

Pandemic Diary Day 27: NO! We're Not ALL in This Pandemic Together!

 Dear Diary, 

 I'm sick of hearing that phrase "Americans are all in this fight against COVID-19 together."

It's just not true. Especially when referring to unity in the fight against the coronvirus spread. Who gets priority screening testing? Who doesn't? The wealthy have had no problem getting tested first.

The daily Trump Task Farce is so full of misinformation that most news outlets have wised-up and decided not to run the two-hour presidential rally in it's entirety. 

Trump's lies have sown confusion throughout the government, and the country, in a time when we desperately need factual reporting.

Minorities are suffering the most - per capita - because they tend to live together in tighter space restrictions - such as mulitple families in one home. Poor communities filled with a dense population, have been helpless against the coronavirus spread.

States are bidding against each other to get needed medical supplies like ventilators. The bigger states have more bargaining power to win private bids, leaving states with lesser populations to seek other sources.

I reject the idea that Americans are in this pandemic together after witnessing the daily cluster fuck that's happening to our polarized society.

The wealthy have more options to successfully survive this murderous virus. That's a fact. The rest of America is suffering economically and physically.
                                              ---

On the Homefront - Medford, Oregon

**The good news - no new deaths reported yesterday.

**Everyone is on the "front line" if their job requires being out in public during this pandemic. I read about Oregon child welfare workers reporting cases of COVID-19, and that made me wonder about all of the rest of the public workers with lesser profiles than doctors and nurses who are risking their lives in order to do their daily jobs.

**On job security... there's some professions that are pandemic proof. Like plumbers. We required the services of a plumber yesterday. He required $100 per hour. We paid without complaint for his two-hour visit.

**Humor is the best medicine - it's really helpful that Shirley and I have a good sense of humor. Otherwise we would have been at each other's throats long ago during this stay-at- home phase in the country.

Our top 3 coronavirus parody picks are:

1) Toilet Paper 

2) Friends in Low Places

3) *Die, Die *Coronavirus

                                              ---

Quote for the day - "I don't trust anyone who doesn't laugh." - Maya Angelou