COVID-19 – Splattered Brains

They’ve All Come To Look For America

“Counting the cars on the New Jersey Turnpike,
They’ve all come to look for America“
Simon and Garfunkel……………….America

This song was playing in my head as we drove back to Maryland from Massachusetts last weekend – as we headed down the New Jersey Turnpike. Traffic on the roads was normal, not as bad as it can get on a crowded day, but enough to slow you down when you least expected it. You would think that this was a typical day in the USofA at the end of summer. Labor day is over and you get the feeling that autumn is around the corner.People like us are out and about, going about our lives, as if everything were normal.

But these are not really normal times here in the USA. Within a few short days, over 200,000 people would have perished in our country because of COVID-19. Who knows what the numbers will be by election time. About 20% of the global deaths due to the virus are in our country at this time. It is not a record to be proud of. The raw numbers are already much higher than the number of US soldiers killed in the Vietnam war, a war that left its painful mark on the American psyche. How will we remember this particular crisis?

And yet there are those who still believe that this is all a big hoax. No real effort is being made by the authorities, the people in power who know what is actually going on, to correct this mistaken belief. In fact, the misinformed are being encouraged by some to carry on living in their imaginary world. And we all carry on.

Back on the New Jersey Turnpike, at one of the rest stops, there are plenty of cars in the parking lots – but the lots are also not full. Thankfully, the indoor area, where the food court and the restrooms are located, is not completely packed with people – but there are enough of us that we have to keep our eyes peeled in order to maintain physical distancing. Some of us seem to have become somewhat used to performing this particular kind of dance by now. There are also only a few tables and chairs left in the open area of the building for people to dine at. The tables are clean, leading me to believe that they are being more careful in cleaning up after customers. The lines at the eateries for ordering food are long. Our food takes a long time to arrive.

Thankfully, most people are masked. Perhaps it is because New Jersey has already been through the worst of it during the first wave of the coronavirus earlier on, and they know how bad it can get if they are not careful. But the urge also exists to try to carry on as if everything is normal – that there is nothing that is wrong. Yet the virus remains in the air – unseen. We do not know who is carrying it. It could be anywhere.

But, you know, things could have been worse. The virus could have been more virulent. What if it had been able to survive in the open without a host for longer periods of time? What if it actually survived on certain surfaces and under certain conditions for a longer amount of time? What if a higher percentage of the people that caught the virus die? From a very different perspective, what if something like this had happened before we had a robust online system to keep at least some of the systems that maintain our infrastructure still operational, i.e., what if this had happened before we had a well-developed Internet?

These are strange and unique times. And they are not going to end any time soon.

Dear World, We Are So Sorry

Dear World,

We are so sorry we cannot cooperate and work with the rest of you in this time of the COVID-19 crisis. This is because, unfortunately, our government has broken down and become completely dysfunctional. In the past, in times of disasters, we were happy to take on a leadership role – to help with the direction and coordination, to provide support and assistance to the rest of the world as needed. With our outstanding capabilities in science, medicine, and technology, with our robust government structures, and with our access to plentiful resources, we used to be well positioned to respond when needed.

But times have changed. We have a big mess on our hands over here right now. It looks like we cannot even take care of ourselves properly. Our leaders have no idea what leading means, even within the context of our own country. The president is missing in action. We have set out on a destructive path that will lead to people dying in large numbers.

We are incapable of coming up with any kind of real plan to tackle the coronavirus. Instead of doing the hard work that is needed on so many different fronts to fight the fight, the career conman who is in charge is engaged in preening and self-aggrandizement, and in trying to find ways to get a leg up in the coming elections. There is not a concern for the fact that too many people are dying. They are collateral damage. Bluster and bombast and outright lies rule the day. Inputs from scientists and doctors are being ignored in policy decisions. The apparatus of the government bureaucracy that has been so effective in the past has been damaged in a bad way. Politically appointed hacks and yes-men, many unqualified, rule the roost, and they run amok playing their games for the benefit of our master of the con game. There is also nepotism going on at the highest level. It would be comical if it were not so sad. There is no going back for the next few months. It is a complete disaster.

Dear World, I hope you now better understand why we are unable to work with you. In fact, our leader has made it clear that he is not interested in cooperation with any of you in any real sense. Also, quite clearly, many of you are doing a much, much, better job than us in handling the pandemic. I know that all of you are getting restless with the current situation – just like those of us here in the USA. How much of social distancing can one take? You want to break out of isolation, engage with other human beings person-to-person, and get on with life like it used to be. Please keep the faith and do what is right for humanity. Know that many of us in the US are being quite reckless in our behaviors in this regard, unfortunately often at the prompting of our supreme leader and his minions. It is definitely resulting in a death toll that is unprecedented in recent times.

I would guess that even after all of you have managed to get this contagion under some kind of control, we will still be scrambling – flailing in various directions, wasting our time and energies, fighting. Many will probably still be dying. There is no common strategy or set of rules in our country to handle the situation. At some point in time, I expect that neighboring states that have different approaches to handling the pandemic could even end up tussling with each other in order to make sure that their own borders are protected from contagion. Fissures have even developed within state boundaries. These are, in fact, encouraged by our great leader, the “stable genius”. In fact, even after you guys open up your economies and your borders, you are going to have to watch out for us. We are not likely to be as prepared as you are. We may be in a position to cause further worldwide damage.

Do not worry about us. I will admit that the situation is scary, and somehow seems unreal, but we will manage. The mortality rate with this virus being what it is, many of us will still survive in spite of the astounding overall stupidity. People who believe in the science are themselves trying to be careful. We also have some sensible governors. And the percentages are still relatively low.

We are OK. One does not have to dwell on the absurdity of the situation all the time. We can compartmentalize things in the mind. Other aspects of life still go on. For example, there is interesting news on the space exploration front. Did you know that SpaceX and NASA are scheduled to jointly launch the first manned US space flight since 2011 this month? The two-member crew entered pre-flight quarantine (standard operation procedure as I understand it) yesterday.

On a personal note, it was warm enough for me to go running outside the house yesterday. Did so for the first time this year. I had been using the treadmill thus far. Covered 6 miles, and I felt great. It was certainly an endorphin high! There was also less traffic on the road. I think I must have also been breathing cleaner air.

Before I end, I would be remiss not to mention, once again, the major positive that has come out of all of this, which is the response of the many citizens on the front lines who are doing their jobs and protecting the rest of us, all of this while the national leadership flounders. People are stepping up to help others. Citizenship includes working for the common good.

Dear World, some day, after a vaccine is developed, we can join you guys in closer fellowship. Or perhaps the elections will allow us to bring some sense to the conversation more quickly. This too shall pass. In the meantime, we would not blame you, the rest of the world, if you felt it essential for your own safety to maintain a travel ban to and from the USA for a longer period of time than expected. That would be sad for those of us who have very close connections all over the world, but some of us would understand.

Once again, sorry for our mess, and sorry that we cannot work with the rest of you. We have our own battles to fight. We wish you all the best.

With you in solidarity during these troubled times.

Making a Bad Situation Worse

It was a depressing morning. The news is not that good these days. And it was raining. And it is still raining steadily outside as I edit this blog in the afternoon. It feels damp and nasty. You feel like nothing good can happen on a day like today.

I went out early in the morning to the grocery store, just after it had opened. I thought that I had the crowd beaten, especially since the store was supposed to be open only for people above a certain age. Instead, I found a line of customers already waiting to enter. The inside of the store was also more crowded than I had expected. Folks, in masks, were gamely trying practice physical distancing as they did their shopping. It was so crowded that I even managed to crash my cart into another person’s at a busy intersection!

I feel depressed because of the way things are going in our country related to the pandemic. I feel we are headed towards a medical disaster. We are already setting records in terms of the numbers of people infected by the coronavirus, and also the dying. We are Number 1 in a bad sense. We don’t seem to recognize the irony of one of the most advanced nations on earth faring the worst when dealing with the pandemic. Politics leads rather than science, and we are totally inept when it comes to acting in a united way as a nation. And the pandemic is revealing all our flaws rather than high-lighting the positive attributes. One of the great positives is the way some of our citizens have come out to do the front-line work in dealing with this pandemic. People are traveling across the state lines to be of assistance to others. Surely our leaders owe them much more than their current efforts, helping them rather than making their work, and their lives, more difficult.

We are still in the middle of the battle. Even as the numbers of the victims of the contagion increase, and even as we continue to break records (in a very bad way), some of our leaders, some even in charge of places with high risk factors, are ready to declare victory and open up places to business as usual. Some are even willing to call our response to the pandemic so far a great success story. (Statements like these are almost Orwellian in nature.) In reality, our chaotic and confusing approach to confronting the pandemic is only going to increase the time we have with this disease, and also increase the numbers of the dead. It does not seem to matter to the reckless leaders. If you are fortunate, you live in a state with a sensible leader. Other leaders play with the lives of the people. You can also forget about national leadership in the present situation.

I expect that it will take a while for the world to recover from the pandemic. Life will not be the same for many people after the worst of the disease is over, even if some leaders promote the idea of a quick and complete recovery. It is a high stakes con game that is going on.

Another Spring Week in the Time of COVID-19

It was Easter, and we wanted to get back home from our Sunday morning walk along the canal before the live Easter service taking place on the Internet at noon. I felt a little rushed because of the time constraint. We ended up walking a little less than what we would have done normally. The weather was also not ideal, but this was compensated for by the fact that there were a few more, even different, signs of Spring from the previous weekend. Here are a few pictures.

We see squirrels in the park frequently, and we have sometimes even mistaken the noise that they make to be that of birds. This particular one was observed just after we left Riley’s Lock. I don’t think I have ever seen a squirrel carrying a bunch of leaves in its mouth like this. Perhaps somebody reading this blog has a better idea of what is going on. OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA The dogwood flowers were out by the trail.These flowers of Spring in the picture below are called Trillium. There are other varieties of Trillium, with other colors, but this particular variety dominates the towpath. I could not remember the name of this flower for the longest time after I first saw it. I fear that my mind is becoming like a sieve. I have had the hardest time recollecting names of the flowers that I saw last Spring. I am too dependent on the Internet! OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA We could hear beautiful music in the air as we approached the Horsepen Branch campsite. The culprit was this wren sitting on a dead tree stump. This was as close as I could get to it before it flew away. What a wonderful bird – entertaining us in the morning! Puts Pavarotti to shame! OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA If you look carefully at the picture below, you will notice that the ducks’ heads are actually pointed towards the camera. They are turned around 180° from where they would normally be pointing. Maybe somebody knows why ducks behave this way.Of course, Spring would not be complete without the dandelions. OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Meanwhile, our world continues its adjustment to the presence of the coronavirus. Many of us are getting more and more getting restless with the need to stay home bound. Many, many, people are also unable to make a living in the current environment. Bills need to be paid. Food needs to be placed on the table. It becomes harder and harder with time to continue to accept that what we are putting ourselves through makes sense, especially in the context of the common good, but like it or not, that is a fact. The first responders, health care professionals, and those ensuring our safety, continue to put their lives, and even the lives of their families, at risk. Politicians are still being politicians, and are using all of this as an excuse to fulfill their own agenda. People in power are also quite happy to deflect responsibility and play the blame game instead of solving problems. Chaos, and a lack of will to take charge and do something concrete on a national scale, seems to reign at the highest levels of our government – even as the individual states struggle without adequate support from above. In a time of trouble, when you think we would come together, we are falling apart, not just in the country, but as a global community. I fear that this is all going to continue for a while.

Some of us that are more fortunate like to complain about how the coronavirus has impacted our lives. We are actually the lucky ones. There are others who are really suffering, and are going to continue to suffer for a long time – much more than us. I might worry about when I will be able to get a haircut, getting my car serviced, being able to meet my friends, or something else, but others have more basic needs that are not being fulfilled today.

I have to note that the last time I went to the food bank, there was not enough food for all the people who needed it that day. We had to reduce the amount of food for each family from what they would normally have gotten. I felt a little dispirited when I returned home that day. I hope that this was a one-time event. It would be hard to sit by without action if this continues.

The Grim Reaper

It happened a few nights ago. It was shortly after midnight. There was a phone call coming through on her mobile phone. It must be the governor with some urgent message, I muttered groggily, as I stirred from my deep sleep. It was actually a phone call from her place of work. Her colleague had called to pass on the information that one of the other workers at the facility had caught the coronavirus and was in the ICU with COVID-19.

The part of my mind that was awake actually froze. I had this picture in my mind of the grim reaper paying his visits to the neighborhoods in our county. Maybe he (always a male!) had found a way to our specific neighborhood, and was hovering around our street (or sitting on the curbside), waiting patiently. This was the closest we have been to somebody who had actually been diagnosed with COVID-19. The mind turned somewhat irrational. There was fear. I was resigned to not being able to sleep the rest of the night. Azrael was waiting! Thankfully, sleep came a few hours later.

I became more rational about the situation in the light of the morning. I could accept the situation for what it was without feeling fear. Whatever sequence of events had already been put into play would take place. We would just have to be more careful. Whatever will be, will be. No point worrying about it. And we are OK so far.

It was last week that the musician John Prine died from COVID-19. I did not know who John Prine was, but I was curious to learn more about the kind of music that he created. I was very pleasantly surprised. It was the kind of music that I would have liked. I was actually surprised that I had not heard of him before. He was a folk musician who sang about the life stories of ordinary people. He sang about the human experience – of love and hate, of suffering, of relationships, of joy, of war, of religion, of addiction, of what he had learnt of the human condition in America. He had a remarkable gift for words and for poetry. Each line was effective. It just flowed out of his very soul. He was a natural. He served in Vietnam, and worked as a mailman for some time after that, before he started singing. He was also extremely funny. You just have to watch some of his live performances on Youtube to know that. So, I will end this blog with his songs. It was somewhat difficult to pick a particular one from among the collection of songs I have been listening to the last few days. So I picked two. These are performances from more recent times.

In good news, the person with COVID-19 whom I had mentioned at the beginning of this blog is getting better. But the full story of the impact on the facility is still being written.

A Happy and Holy Easter to all of you of the Faith.

Flying Back to China During The COVID-19 Crisis – SamChui.com

The most interesting part of the travelogue for me was the description of the steps being taken in China to combat COVID-19. What they are doing must be having an impact based on the numbers we are seeing. We look like relative fools here in the USA. Our leadership is failing. Soon we will be number one, and it will not be a positive thing. Shame on us.

via Flying Back to China During The COVID-19 Crisis – SamChui.com

Living with Contagion

Most of us have never experienced anything like this during our lifetimes. But one should also understand that smaller outbreaks of similar nature have been taking place all over the world even in recent times. Fortunately, those were contained. It was only a matter of time.

It has been just a few weeks since the spread of this contagion started.

Already, almost everything that we took for granted in our societal interactions and in our consumer behaviors outside of the house has had to be rethought.

Lifestyles have already changed.

National economies have already been altered.

Some people’s lives have already been shattered – even if they have not fallen ill. People need to eat even when the economy shuts down. It is a matter of survival for the weakest of our lot.

Some of the changes that have happened may be here for the longer term.

And the worst is yet to come…

The people who had a responsibility to anticipate and do something about the spread of this contagion early enough in the process, to try to limit the damage, failed us miserably. They are still failing us.

I have often wondered what would happen in the world if some of the things that we took for granted go away. How would we survive? (What we are experiencing now is not the worst case of something like this happening.) Ironically, being better off as a society does not necessarily mean that we are better prepared to tackle something like this. Events like this might bring out the best in some people, but, as a group, stupidity seems to reign to a greater extent in places where people are more comfortable and well off. When your mind becomes far removed from the basics of surviving, and the less you are interested in understanding how things really work, the more stupid one seems to behave. Perhaps the brain hurts from the effort. A special mention needs to to be made of the President of the richest country in the world, and the behavior of some of the youth of the country. They have no idea what a pandemic means, and how to behave responsibly in these circumstances. And what about the people who do not seem to care for the truth, to the extent that deliberate lies and misinformation spreads, stuff that can make things worse. And then there are the stories of complete incompetence. (I am not really that surprised about this particular case. I have experienced similar frustration with the system in the past.)

Meanwhile, one is overwhelmed with information, information being forwarded from all over the Internet. A lot of it is from well-meaning people. Every vendor that has my e-mail address has also sent me a message on how the contagion has impacted their business and interactions with their customers. A lot of what one is hearing is repetitive. How much of this can you take? How much of it can you absorb? Better to watch some late night comedy shows once in a while.

In the middle of all this, we cannot forget the people who are fighting this disease on the front lines. These are the doctors, the nurses, and the other hospital staff who are taking care of the sick. They are taking a lot of risk, and they are putting in a lot of time already. They are being stretched. And their job is about to get more difficult.

It is going to get worse before things get better. A few us may not be here at the end of it all. All we can do is take care and try to be prepared. And perhaps it is good to remind oneself once in a while that one does not live forever.