Prescient......

I just finished a library book. I've read this author's work before and always found it interesting and thought provoking. As I started and went through the book page by page there were several sentences that literally jumped off the page for me. And, as I continued through the first few chapters I thought that this was probably not the novel I should be reading at such a stressful time in our country....but I was hooked. And so.....

"The CorpSeCorps always substituted rumour for action, if action cost them anything. They believed in the bottom line."

"Then I had to get past the wall," she said. "What wall?" "Don't you watch the news? The Wall they're building to keep the Tex refugees out just because the fence wasn't enough.....it's a CorpSeCorps wall. But they can't patrol every inch - the Tex-Mex kids know all the tunnels, they helped me get through."

"Only braniacs talked like that: not answering your question up front, then saying some general kind of thing as if they knew it for a fact."

"There was another minor epidemic, they were saying, but nothing to get alarmed about. Viruses and bacteria were always mutating, but I knew the Corporations could always invent treatments for them..."

"The minor epidemic they'd been talking about earlier wasn't behaving in the usual way - a local outbreak, one they could contain. Now it was an emergency. They showed a map of the world, with the hotspots lighting up in red....it was like watching the planet being spraygunned. It was an eruptive plague, they said, and the thing was spreading fast - no, not even spreading, breaking out at the same time in cities far apart, which wasn't the normal pattern. Ordinarily the Corps would have called for lies and cover-ups, and we'd hear something like the real story only in rumours, so the fact that all this was right out out there on the news showed how serious it was - the Corps couldn't keep the lid on."

"As for the adverse publicity, they could squelch it at the source, since the media Corps controlled what was news and what wasn't."

Half way through I wondered just when the book was published?

The Year of the Flood
Margaret Atwood
2009

Sadly prescient.

Just Numbers......

It's almost August and the drumbeat of COVID statistics continues.....numbers going up and up every day. I listened to an interview on NPR the other day and the expert was saying that Americans are sort of suffering numbers fatigue. Most people still don't know anyone who has died from the virus and so it isn't personal to them. There is the debate/argument about to mask or not. The science keeps changing (as science does) and people are just exhausted by it all. She went on to say that when we face a short term emergency we can keep attention on the problem and work to avoid or stop it....but when it goes on for this length of time the human brain just sort of shuts it out. Then she gave it an interesting "twist"....another way to think about the numbers.

As of today 151,000+ American citizens are dead due to COVID-19. So instead of thinking of those individuals spread out all across the United States, what if you woke up this morning and found that one of the following cities with populations around 150,000 was wiped off our map.

Rockford, Illinois - gone

Springfield, Massachusetts - gone

Belleview, Washington - gone

Syracuse, New York - gone

Pasadena, California - gone

Patterson, New Jersey - gone

Savannah, Georgia - gone

Naperville, Illinois - gone
Dayton, Ohio - gone
Or let's lump two Wisconsin cities together, Sheboygan and Green Bay - gone

This image probably won't change how anyone looks at this American crisis, or change anyone's behavior....but it is quite sobering. An American city....gone. 

How many more?

Highway C......

Many of my trips from Port take me over to stores in Grafton. One intersection boasts a COSTCO, the Target, my hairdresser, a Starbucks, an Aldi, the Kohls department store, Pet Smart, Michaels and several other places that may help me check things off the day's list.

I usually drive from our little town along county highway C. It's a quiet back road past open fields, a horse farm, a few homes and a pond. I can almost always spot some kind of wildlife....usually birds. I see a flock of turkeys, or several sandhill cranes, geese, guinea fowl or deer. My eyes continually rove from one side of the road to another.

Driving yesterday I realized that July decorated "my" road with lots of color and beauty. The proud orange day lilies, the tiny yellow birdsfoot trefoil.

 

The soft blue chickory and the brown eyed susans.

 

 

The crown vetch and always beautiful queen anne's lace waving in the breeze.

  

"My" country road. I almost never take the highway because look what I would miss. Beauty along the road....July in full bloom. Thank you Hwy C!

Helping......

Wisconsin has a primary election scheduled for August 11th. We got our ballots in the mail the other day. Sadly we live in a very gerrymandered district and the chances for an opposition candidate to be successful are slim. Most of the positions on the ballot don't even have a candidate listed for the democratic party. So the republican incumbents will walk right back into their current jobs.

But those of us who now vote "blue" make an effort. My effort is smaller than many but I do help mail out postcards. The Ozaukee County Democrats can't do any door-to-door canvassing due to the pandemic, so phone calls and mailings are the way to try to reach out to voters.

I know what I do when I get this kind of information in the mail.....I rarely read it and most often toss it in recycling on the way up from our mailbox. But still.....addressing postcards, putting on the stamps, adding my signature and a short note makes me feel like I'm doing something besides yell at the TV screen.

Sigh....my sadness for what is happening in America is so deep and I am so concerned about the years it will take for our society and economy to recover. I want a bright future for our adult "kids" and our four grandsons.

If mailing out a few postcards might make  any difference at all I will do so until my fingers cramp.

You go Emily......you are a strong woman to stand up and say "I want to make a difference!" I hope my postcards reach a few interested voters on your behalf.

Helping.....just a very little.

600

So a small complaint that, once again, makes me scratch my head! Dealing with on-going sinus stuff and my doctor called in a prescription for a new nose spray. He wanted me to try it for two weeks to see if it made any difference. That was four days ago.

I keep calling my Walgreens and get the recording saying "They are working with insurance but the prescription isn't ready yet." So yesterday I called and talked to the pharmacist. The new spray is not one of the one approved by my health insurance. So, since I really would like to start it, I asked how much it would be if I just went ahead and paid for it.

$600.00

For. A. Nose. Spray.

Needless to say I didn't order it and called my doctor's office to see where to go from here.

Still waiting.

$600.00

For. A. Nose. Spray.

What on earth do people do if they don't have any health insurance????? Not just for the "little stuff" like nose spray....but for the serious health issues.

$600.00

For. A. Nose. Spray.

Wandering Through A Maze.....

I have a good friend who lives out east and is facing some major health challenges. She is due to start some new therapies but needs to get a fast-result COVID test first. She can get one....if she takes a two hour drive and then drives two more hours to get back home. She's been on the phone trying to find a location closer to home where she can get the test. One frustrated call was to a family member who is a nurse a bordering state. That state (Delaware) has a supply of 35 fast-result tests available per day. She doesn't live in Delaware so can't get one of theirs.

35 tests per day....for a state with a population just under one million people.

So I was curious about Wisconsin and went on-line to try to find how many are allocated for my state. I googled and clicked and moved my mouse from health site to health site.....and just went down a black hole and never did find an answer. I don't know how many fast-result tests we have.

Hmmmmm......State of Delaware.....35 fast-result tests available per day.

Three cheers for our American health care system.

In a pandemic.

Sigh........

A Broad Brush.....

Friday evening Port was home to a second Black Lives Matter gathering. The demonstrators met in Veterans Park across the street from our condo, gathering in front of the bandstand. We were on our deck with friends....sitting eight feet apart to enjoy conversation and time together. It was a beautiful evening.

We could not hear the program from our place, but there were a few speakers, a few chants and then the group made its way down the sidewalk. They were headed south to walk around downtown Port before coming back to the park to kneel for eight plus minutes in memory of George Floyd and then disperse.

Sadly, this time, a Facebook post went out earlier in the day that BLM planned to burn an American flag and the opposition came out of the woodwork. Comments saying "This won't happen!" and "I am bringing my crew!" made us concerned that what was supposed to be a peaceful gathering might turn ugly. During the event there were several pick up trucks revving engines and going up and down the street with American flags flying off the back....and a few noisy motorcycles disrupting the quiet hour over and over and over. Other than that we didn't see any real confrontations.

It wasn't until the group marched past our building heading for town that we noticed about 20 men and women in small groups and I said "Is that a gun!?" Yep.....long guns, more than one, on full display across puffed out white chests. White people proclaiming "This is our park"....or whatever. It was really strange, sad and such purposeful intimidation. One guy even looked like he was dressed as a policeman want-to-be.

As a 73 year old privileged white woman I know that American's can buy guns....but stupidly, it never occurred to me that they could carry these long guns right down the main streets through Port and into our parks. Wow. Just wow. Wondering what these people would have actually done with their guns if anyone had shown any disrespect to their flag? 

I sit here this morning re-thinking the evening and reminding myself not to paint with a broad brush. Every individual has a family history, an education, a reason for feeling the way they do....just as I have my reasons. I shouldn't look at these guys as one group ....they are individuals....but I can't help it. My immediate broad brush is "What a bunch of jerks."

So I am part of the problem......

She Helps.....

Mid-July and the pandemic continues.....and the DC craziness continues....and the stresses continue....and the worry continues....and the day-by-dayness of this all just continues. I've stopped counting the days since we began our self-quarantine back in March and continued our careful socializing week after week....month after month. And I remind myself I am fortunate....we are fortunate. We are retired and not trying to homeschool any children, or work from home while balancing parenting, or put food on the table, or pay the rent. We are fortunate.

But reminding myself of that doesn't seem to stop any of my worries, concerns and head scratching as the stories and claims change day to day. The health care rules are debated...over and over and over. The to-mask or not-to-mask camps are at a standoff. "Leadership" from the Oval Office is confusing at best....and fanning the flames of anger at worst.

For me, aside from some regular TV or radio news coverage during the day, I turn to one source of information that helps to explain things and offers an educated explanation of day-to-day events.
I turn to Heather Cox Richardson. She is a professor of American History at Boston College, an author and she sifts through dozens, if not hundreds, of sources to track down information and provides a daily letter to all of her followers. In it she explains the events from the day before....and puts them in context for me.

Her letter pops up on Facebook every morning during the work week and sometimes on weekends. She also has two live video chats every week. On Tuesday she answers three or four questions sent to her about current politics and what the hell is happening. She provides analysis, explanation and answers with historical perspective. On Thursdays she presents a series.....currently I am on week six covering "The History of the Republican Party" and feel like I am sitting in a college class and should be taking notes. I am learning so much.

Heather Cox Richardson. If you haven't listened to her or read her posts I suggest you do so. Just pretend you are back in college, sit and listen to the professor at her podium You don't have to accept all her facts, and she invites you to challenge her but if you do, be prepared with facts to support your arguments.

Go to Youtube and put in her name. All of her video classes are available. Go to her Facebook page and read her daily letters....track them backwards for several months if you can. Fascinating reading.

Heather Cox Richardson.

Comfortable Shopping....

During the time of COVID I don't do much in-person shopping. Frankly the only stores I generally go to are the grocery store and the pharmacy. I don't need anything else and if I do come up with a must-have I can order on line and the box shows up in our building's lobby. When I do shop I wear a face mask and move quickly.

But a few weeks ago I did go to the fabric store to get yardage to finish a quilt for our area quilt museum and while at the mall I skipped into TJ Maxx looking for some shorts. Since the changing rooms were closed off I paid for them and headed home. Unfortunately the shorts did not work out so needed to be returned.

Yesterday I drove to a second nearby TJ Maxx thinking they might have something and I'd make an exchange. This store is southwest of me in Brown Deer, WI. I parked in a semi-busy lot, put on my mask and stepped out of the car with my bag. I noticed several shoppers approaching the store ahead of me....all wearing masks. I entered the doors and was greeted by a masked employee asking if I needed a cart and then wiping one off before pushing it toward me. I could sense the smile behind the cloth.

The store was super clean, had signage encouraging social distancing. While it wasn't terribly crowded, there were a number of customers pushing carts and all seemed to just generally look for the least crowded path. And they were wearing masks.....at least 80+% of my fellow shoppers were wearing masks.

I checked out and again....all staff behind the registers were wearing masks and the floor was marked asking people to stand on the circle to take turns and practice social distancing. I complimented my cashier at just how well-run the store was and how much I appreciated the efforts. I felt so comfortable while in the building and was just so impressed by the friendly staff and the caring customers.

It was a very hot day.....and frankly my glasses fog up when I wear my mask. So I'm sure no one really wanted to add this extra "garment" to their summer wardrobe. But they did....and I thank them. Thank them for caring about others....and for accepting a little discomfort to try to help stop the spread of this life-altering-interrupting damn virus.

I don't usually take the time to fill out the store surveys advertised at the bottom of the receipts, but yesterday I did. Kudos to TJ Maxx.....I will be back.