Pandemic Journal - Day 95

The coronavirus numbers continue to rise in my community. We're now up to 59 cases total, with 16 of them active. We've had four deaths.

The new cases appear to be coming from a bunch of kids who went to the beach and brought the coronavirus back with them (or so sayth Facebook). Several restaurants locally have had to shut down. Apparently, if a server comes down with the virus, the Health Department is making them close and then deep clean and test everyone.

It doesn't bode well for the economy. I know a lot of folks are very anxious about this virus. People are learning they don't need to eat out or go out of their home to entertain themselves. Ultimately this will prove to be a good thing, but in a capitalistic economy, which is what the U.S. has, it means the profits for those at the top are falling.

Economically, we need to make changes.

We can't have that, so it's better to simply let people die. At least, that is how it looks from here. But the public isn't buying it, or at least, not anyone who is a thinking person, and folks are staying home. I know people need to live their life, yada yada, but life can be lived in many different ways. It isn't always about the money.

In any event, 0.1788 percent of our population now has or has had coronavirus. That is, relatively speaking, not a huge number and therefore not enough to ensure "herd immunity," but it is large enough that I don't want to spend time out of my house. Since I know two of the people who have died from it, it makes it easier to convince me that this is dangerous.

Our last week was mostly uneventful. We had another rain and flooding event - we've had over 30 inches of rain so far this year, which is way more than we normally receive. The water has infiltrated both our electrical lines at the substation and somewhere it is seeping into the phone lines, too, so the power and the phones and Internet both go out now when it rains. One day last week, the power went off and on eight times.

Yesterday I scheduled eye doctor appoints and an overdue mammogram. I am not sure I want to keep these appointments but the mammogram is a call back for a spot on my last one. Otherwise, I would not go. The eye doctor is necessary for my husband, who has some kind of issue with one of his eyes that the doctor wanted to keep a check on. I also need an upgrade in lenses, I suspect. I know I'm having a hard time seeing at times, especially when I'm playing the guitar and Bs and Es look alike. The appointments are weeks away, so plenty of time to cancel if things start looking worse.

The demonstrators are still out. I see them masked and unmasked in video footage. How this will play out with the pandemic, I do not know.

On top of this, we have something called a Sahara Dust Storm, which apparently only happens like every 50 years or so, making its way into the United States. This is bringing dust with silica in it, and people with breathing issues should stay inside. I will be staying inside, and I'm worried about my husband, who won't stay inside, "because it's a beautiful day and I need to be out working." It's also hot and humid and they're calling for storms.

I'm finding Facebook and Twitter both to be very bizarre places these days. If my dad's Twitter account read like the account of #45, I'd ask a judge for a TDO and take charge of his finances. #45 posts some really crazy stuff.

All of this makes everybody nervous. I can feel it in the air when I'm out. It's like, one wrong move, and BAM! a sinkhole is going to open up and swallow you. That is what it feels like.

On a more bucolic note, our peas are blooming, so I should have fresh peas soon. I think I saw a bloom on a cucumber plant, too. Fresh veggies will be welcome. We planted a small garden and I can't imagine there will be enough coming out of it to can. I hope that doesn't prove to be a mistake.