Taking Care to Take Care

I’m still relatively isolated. I see people, seldom less than twenty feet away. I wear my mask whenever I’m walking through the lodge for a shower and whenever I sit to visit with someone on my patio or a neighbor’s. This has been more important to me since my 84-year-old brother-in-law tested positive last week. And he lives out in the country with very little exposure to anyone else. He and my sister are now in isolation, even from each other. Treatment for the problems that were either triggered by or resulted in the COVID-19 test results have improved slightly but he’s still pretty weak from insulin reaction and gastric problems (bleeding). Thanks for keeping them in your thoughts.

It’s easy to stay isolated when my trailer is air conditioned and the temperature outside is like this. It’s been in the upper 90s all week and we’re hoping for a gradual cooling this weekend. I cancelled my grocery shopping trip to Coeur d’Alene this week because it’s too hot. Now, with luck, my forwarded ballot will get to me before I head into town Monday or Tuesday and I can get it in the mail before Tuesday night.

I saw an interesting bit of news that is the kind that will just make you nod and think ‘that makes sense’ but upon a closer look gives me a pain. A poll on 7/23 indicated that mask wearing has jumped to 58% approval among Republicans over a mid-July poll of 45%. Not surprisingly, this jumped occurred just a couple of weeks after POTUS appeared in media in a mask as he visited Walter Reed Military Medical Center. And the 45% was up from just 35% in late June. It makes me happy that more people are taking it seriously. https://www.newsmax.com/us/masks-republicans/2020/07/14/id/977048/

It also indicates a disturbing implication. If POTUS had taken the threat seriously and donned a mask in April, we might have had the same success rate in flattening the curve as most of the rest of the world. (I don’t expect we would ever be as successful as New Zealand, but we can dream.) Instead, when he announced the recommendation of the CDC on April 3 to wear a mask, he discounted it by saying “So it’s voluntary, you don't have to be doing it. This is voluntary, I don’t think I’m going to be doing it.” https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-task-force-update-covid-19-response-watch-live-stream-today-2020-04-03/ What it points out is that a huge number of people take their cues from POTUS, even if they disapprove of his performance.

According to a Fox News poll, national approval of Obamacare went from 47% in April of 2019 to 56% in June of 2020. Approval of POTUS response to Coronavirus has dropped to 44% even as Dr. Fauci’s has increased to 72%. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/fox-news-poll-voters-say-yes-to-face-masks-no-to-rallies

Here’s the big take-away as far as I’m concerned. You don’t need to be POTUS to have an effect on how people respond to this. People observe and are influenced by our actions. Wearing a mask in public may well remind someone else that ‘It’s a good idea. I should do that.’ In the past six weeks, the number of positive tests has increased to roughly 7.5% of tests, even as the number of tests dropped in the past week by half. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/covid-data/covidview/index.html

Now here’s some fun news. I am disappointed that I’ve now watched all the episodes of “Midnight Diner” available on Netflix. Not only are the stories touching, the simple dishes and cooking lessons have been an inspiration and I’ve tried several. With luck, tomorrow will see not only the arrival of my ballot, but also of my tamagoyaki pan. I’m having limited success with rolled omelets at the moment but hope to improve vastly when I get the right pan to cook them in.

It’s a silly extravagance on my part, but I’m really looking forward to learning this art. On YouTube, search “Midnight Diner Recipes” or follow the link to my playlist to get started. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL54JVjPqRWsFtPoaOy3Ae1xKaIzZnGVt5

And that brings us to one final wish of good tidings. Happy Lugnasad.

First harvest is in and we celebrate the death of the Corn King. Also known in English as Lammas, it is the cross-quarter pagan festival halfway between the Summer Solstice (Litha) and the Autumnal Equinox (Mabon). It is celebrated as the first day of Fall (Litha having been ‘Midsummer’). It comes with my wishes to you for a prosperous and healthy Autumn season.

Blessed be!