Confinement

We have been confined for the pandemic. For over 4 months. Our apartment is 1140 square feet with two bedrooms, two baths, and an ample living room, dining area, and an eat-in kitchen. Plenty of storage. Hallway to elevator, open lobbies with mailroom and access to the gang garage where our car is parked in its assigned spot. We can move freely around the building.

From our fourth floor windows we can watch the town function. We are on Main Street next door to City Hall, across the street from the Metra station, next door to a museum, and across the street from stores and shops. The railroad is busy 24/7 as are the passing police and fire vehicles. The Hospital is two miles away so ambulance traffic is also common.

We have great cable TV, strong Wi-Fi, and use our computers throughout the day. We are connected to the world and we use it fully.

Early in the pandemic we avoided going to stores and ordered on-line or by phone. Groceries were delivered as were basic household supplies. Medications and prescriptions we picked up at Walgreens' drive up window. We ordered take out dinners either delivered or curbside pickup.  We used McDonald’s drive-thru. Walgreens even offered to deliver our meds and goods without our leaving home.

In June we began shopping at grocery stores again, but now we have delivered prepared meals for four dinners per week. Our shopping lists are small and contained. We eat out very rarely and that pays for the prepared meal service.

We still don’t attend church in person. They have opened the sanctuary for very limited attendance; the services are streamed live and recorded over Facebook. We us the live-stream method. If we miss a service, we can always watch a recording of it at our convenience.

Having said all of this, we do not feel closed in. If anything, we feel limited to what we can do outside of home were we to venture out. We used to take car trips or rides frequently. Most of those were to interesting small towns in Illinois and southwest Wisconsin. We would do an overnighter sometimes but not often. Such travel is not wise these days so we remain home.

We use our time to read, view documentaries, write, and follow Facebook. The latter is so negative these days we are pondering a vacation from it. Because my blog is posted on Facebook for local readers, I hesitate to drop Facebook. Our decision is still pending.

Meanwhile we feel our wings are a bit clipped, but that’s it. Rocky is more fearful of the virus than I, but he is more at risk. Both of us are candidates for the virus, but so far we have been just fine.

One improvement that would help our quality of life is the passage of the November election. With that done and over with, we know we will feel much better. If our candidates win, all the better. Just getting it out of our life for a while, however, will be a huge plus.

As summer begins its slow fade toward fall, we are aware that we missed spring and summer seasons. We wonder if fall and winter will be also missed?

We shall see. From our perch we will watch all the changes closely.

August 5, 2020

Legislative Shame

40 million people are out of work. This is the result of a health pandemic. Families are in deep distress financially. Poverty is worsened. Middle class lifestyles are uprooted and sinking into poverty. Home mortgage foreclosures are emerging. Tenant evictions are looming. Homelessness threatens to add to the already high level of despair.

Yet Congress twiddles it thumbs while unemployment benefits and bonus payments recognizing COVID-19 expire. No decision to continue those benefits has been made. Congress frets about its summer recess. Policies affecting the well-being of the common good are placed on hold.

This is the face of a government without heart or soul.

I don’t much care what political parties have done or are doing amidst this crisis. I do care that those who need help aren’t getting the help.

Shameful. Cause. Effect. Result. A virus runs among a populace. People get sick. People die from this virus. The economy is shuttered to control spread of the virus. People lose jobs. Money stops flowing. Food, housing, healthcare and other necessities become unaffordable. In a hurry this happens. Governments go into action to help but the largest government now sits on its hands doing nothing for its people.

Yes. Shame. In America.

Political parties can be a good thing. They can also be a bad thing. We are witnessing the bad today.

Shame on each and every elected official for not finding a way through this issue.

Your people are waiting.

August 4, 2020

Divisions

I read a Facebook posting and running comments the other day. The topic was who Joe Biden’s running mate should be. Seemed most favored Kamala Harris. The discussion quickly turned into stories on how camps in the Biden campaign were shutting out Kamala in favor of someone else, and how tacky that was.

I stepped in with a comment that selecting a running mate is Biden’s decision alone and picking a fight with others over this point would be divisive. My point: we should all be aiming to remove the current White House incumbent. Let Biden do his job, support him, and beat trump in November.

Well! You would think I was the Ogre of the Year! Who was I do shut down debate? What kind of old white man power group was I representing? And so the comments progressed down to the sewer.

This, folks, is the power of division within our own society. A person cannot have an opinion without others taking offense. Debate is one thing, argument is another. Discussion sharing ideas freely without harsh judgment is yet another. The latter is preferred I think however, I’d likely hear opposition to that.

I Have long held that debate is divisive. It is all about winning points and not about cogent, accurate thinking. Debate is also about winning. How that is done is rarely examined. The damage done is evident.

I prefer a calm, clear discussion of an issue with its surrounding points to best understand both the issue and its ramifications. Creating animosity is pointless unless the aim is to disrupt and confuse the issue. Emotions follow and resentment from that is another, long lasting result. Damage is done. Logic and calm is lost.

Biden’s running mate needs to be an experienced person in governance at the highest levels, clearly someone with credentials and expertise in foreign affairs, or economic policy, public policy or legislative dueling. I prefer a woman for this role. I also prefer someone of color. Kamala Harris fits the bill. But so does Susan Rice and others under consideration.

My preference is Susan Rice, but I will support anyone Joe chooses. After all, the point of Joe Biden is his willingness to do battle with trump in November. The winner of that contest is the result we should be focused on.

August 3, 2020

Problems With China

There was a time when we rejoiced to speak directly with the Chinese government. The détente of Nixon’s era was a major achievement. And welcome. Decades later we had built a working relationship that bode well for both China and the USA. With the current white house occupant, the relationship turned decidedly sour.

The fault rests on both sides. China disrespected Obama; racial reasons? Trump simply doesn’t understand diplomacy. Instead, he plays power games constantly. Yes, China is guilty of stealing intellectual property from American inventors and corporations. Their theft and deep corporate spying allowed them to catch up with America in many tech fields. When they couldn’t get progress faster, they resorted to buying the American companies with the patents and then transferred them to their own economy.

China has stolen much of their technical advances. They have adapted to it well, however, something America seems to have trouble with. Our people do not do technology well over all the generations. Young, yes; elder, no.

China is now in position to handle a lot of what they once lacked. Now they desire a naval force to rival American strength. They build islands in the South China Sea from which to observe the passing world, and over that world they wish to press claims of control. Nonsense, China. That’s preposterous. If you are spoiling for a fight, you’d have a rough go of it. And oh so very wasteful of your own resources and your people’s lives.

Once we get a new president that understands diplomacy, we can work out the kinks with China. But the reality is China needs to sit down and re-examine what cooperation and collaboration look like. The result of those investments will be well worth it for them. And the global village will enjoy the peace from such efforts.

Teaming up with Russia and fellow dictator Putin is not a good decision on China’s part. I think China already knows this. Time will prove the point. We already know that point: Putin is not a leader or an international star. He is selfish and image obsessed. Wonder what his mirror looks like in the Kremlin? Does he talk to the image? His hubris is showing. We know; we have a ‘leader’ who is self-appointed and suffers hubris to the max.

America helped empower China’s economy massively. Now it uses that ability to harm the very people who helped them. I know, trump sends mixed messages that make no sense to China. That’s a large part of the current problem. But China should know better. It’s pathway to hegemony will be disappointing in the end. Why waste time, lives and assets on a futile objective.

Better if China collaborates with the global village and helps everyone become the best they can be. Peace is so much more rewarding than war, hot or cold.

August 2, 2020

August!

Good Grief! Another new month. Just the other day was February. Then March and COVID. And a death of a good friend. A death in the time of COVID but not of COVID. No, his death was of age, failing health, falling, broken hip, surgery and lung and organ failures. Still, he died alone at the beginning of the pandemic’s quarantine. And his wife with dementia is in a nursing home; originally it was respite care while husband was in hospital; now it is permanent. I often wonder how the paperwork will get done. And how she is doing in a facility that is in lockdown. Family visits only at the window outdoors.

The quarantine continues. We have three cases in our condo building now. Quarantine contains the spread here, but it is still unnerving. Hoping they stay strong and healthy to survive the threat.

Meanwhile we carry on doing what we can – writing, mentoring, more writing, and eating. Napping of course, but eating, too.

We are on Factor meals sent weekly to us from a Batavia kitchen. Small portioned meals that are healthy. Extremely tasty and of good quality. Cheaper than eating out. If we curb our grocery bill and eliminate eating out, Factor is not only affordable, but better on the budget and the waistline. It also eliminates a lot of dishwashing and cooking. I’m not much of a cook in the first place; Rocky is the cook here, but this is now very difficult for him to perform. Factor meals are a blessing.

This will be the fifth month of quarantine. We have exhausted most of TV binge watching. Now working on obscure documentaries and movies. Some old; some new. Watched Rear Window from 1954 with Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly; and Wendell Cory! Remember Wendell Cory? I remember watching this movie with my folks at a theater in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Great movie. Alfred Hitchcock. Took me back when I was 11 or 12.

Weather watching through a window. Air conditioning on since April 1; expect to turn it off November 1. Our normal routine to keep allergies at bay. Meanwhile, storms come and go, bright sunny skies come and go. It may be hot outdoors but inside it is 75. All the time, and dry.

Rocky’s first eye surgery was successful. In another few days the second eye gets its new lens. And then new glasses. Once healed, I think I’ll take him to his hearing doctor for a new set of hearing aids. Our insurance now covers this and Rocky is pretty deaf even with his current hearing aids. We shall see if we can get him communicating better with those improvements.

Until then we converse via hand signals, lip reading, a lot of shouting (me) to overcome his hearing deficits. He does not write notes well due to Parkinson’s. He is also reluctant to write emails or notes on his computer or I-pad. Communications. I have a master’s degree in it. Under these circumstances, the degree means nothing. We have retreated to the Stone Age.

Well, this is August 2020. Wonder what will be happening on September 1^st?

August 1, 2020

Feeling. COVID?

Recent mood shifts have accelerated. Impatience has been a personal hallmark of mine for a lifetime. Attention to detail mostly a constant. Slip ups with details unnerve me. Escalating irritation with lack of progress in any venue or issue is cause for anger.

Anger spills out of frustration and impatience. Those nearby see it. I am powerless to contain the disturbance. I lash out in word. Vocabulary instantly blooms into ugly. Spent, I sit back and stew but calmly.

Technical glitches instantly create helplessness. Feeling of incompetence looms like a geyser. Whether it is TV, cable connection, Wi-Fi, computer, Facebook, email or internet browser, if it works, I’m OK; calm. If it doesn’t function well, I’m instantly in a stew.

Politics nauseates me these days. Facebook is full of misinformation and skewing. Propaganda spawns like maggots. News becomes as bad as Facebook. Learning to mute objectionable pieces, but often not quick enough. Trigger finger is a new malady for me.

Aging has many symptoms. Aching joints, muscles and back. Painful walking. Shifting posture accompanying movement. And pain. Expected and accommodated, but it still irritates. Mood is colored by this. And the spirit tires.

Advertising on TV is constant, maybe 50% or more of all TV time? When did this happen? Or is this my imagination? Anyway, what is advertised is no longer needed by me. Luxury cars are not in my future. Vacations are not in my future, either. At least, not vacations involving hiking, swimming, zip lining or even basking on a beach. I’d prefer southwestern United States, sitting in or driving my car through beloved landscapes. Smelling the desert air and feeling the balm of its dry air. Seeing mountains again and vast, empty spaces. Other than that, there are no European cobbled streets in my future. Too wobbly and uneven for my aching frame.

These images conclude that the future now has limits for me, for us. Sometimes this is a startling realization. On the other hand it doesn’t startle because other interests have replaced them. I get more out of reading, or a movie, or a smell, a whiff of breeze, or something else ignored when younger. It is the little thing that attracts my attention these days.

Keeping my mind busy and writing is a tonic. Maybe that’s why anger is quick and molten when the keyboard freezes or the computer refuses to follow orders. My orders!

So, all of this is to say I am not the most pleasant person to be around right now. Maybe this is COVID? Maybe not. Probably aging.

Rocky’s Parkinson’s on top of his surviving a debilitating cancer surgery (twice) and his diabetes, makes him more dependent on me. I’m not always the best person for that job given my own issues. But we are all we have. More adaptation ahead.

Yes. More adaptation. Ahead. Today. And tomorrow.

uly 31, 2020

Work Ahead

Regardless of today's work list, much remains to do. I offer this blog to provide perspective on what we think ails us today. There is always much more for us to manage. Balancing many important issues at the same time should give us pause. Pause to weigh just how important things truly are.

Schooling: for a long time we have loaded up our public schools with tasks parents ought to have done. Then too, courts have added more assignments. Public health measures are part of the scene as well. Soon the kitchen sink and animal husbandry will be added. When will we get back to teaching our kids what they need to know to become self-sustaining adults, capable of adapting to many needs and changes they will encounter throughout all of life? Isn’t it about time we focused on how to do this job better and allowing teachers and schools to excel at their special talents?

Healthcare Delivery: there are doctors and nurses and medical technicians. Then there are the medical labs and researchers. Medical colleges, too. And hospitals; let’s not forget hospitals and all the clinics that dispense medical services at the moment of need. Emergency responders, too, are in the mix and pick up the ailing wherever they are and deliver them to hospitals in a flash. This is the work of the healthcare industry. Not included here are insurance companies. They soak up millions of people and their salaries, plus balance sheets and income/expense reports, lawyers, accountants and actuaries. Lots of overhead to keep the insurance companies in business and healthy. Yet they do not produce one speck of medical assistance to the patient. Or nation. Only function they have is spend money, our money, and inflate the cost of medical care. Isn’t it time to eliminate this waste and provide universal healthcare via the central government?

Open, Fair Elections: democracies rely on an informed electorate with full access to voting on election day. All adults have the right to vote. There ought not be any hurdles in order to vote. Open, free and fair access to the voting booth. John Lewis was right. Voting rights should be guaranteed. No exceptions. In time, let’s do this electronically so weather, illness and age do not impede voting. Until then, eliminate all blockages to voting.

Infrastructure: physical infrastructure allows society to work efficiently and safely. Dams where they ought to be. Electric utilities up to the job and unhackable. Roads and bridges where they need to be and in the condition to safely allow people, goods and services to travel through all conditions. Telecommunication systems including computer connectivity to all wherever they live and work. Full systems in full working order and maintained as such. Replacement with new technology and materials when such are available. This is what a modern, fully functioning society requires to be competitive with the global village. Isn’t it about time we built a process to maintain our infrastructure without wasting years arguing about it politically?

Free Markets: America claims to be a free market society. They say this is the foundation of capitalism and democracy. This may be true in principle, but it is not true in action. America has tweaked and twittered with free markets for so long that they are anything but free. If we truly believe in free markets, let them be free to set their own price by the law of supply and demand. Labor, utilities, goods and services, even government. Let the free market determine what prices should be. Right now we have government of, by and for special interests. It needs to revert to government of, by and for the people. We The People are the creators of our nation and government. Isn’t it about time we got back to being that? How is that done, you ask? Well, by providing tip top schooling, healthcare, fair elections, up-to-date infrastructure and guaranteed free markets.

Surprising, isn’t it? How far we have strayed from original principles and intentions. Thank special interest groups and sick politics for that. 

The time for change is now. The pandemic is important. But it is not the only task on our plate to do.

July 30, 2020