Pandemic Journal - Day 145

Last night we watched the final episode of season one of Stargirl, a DC comics character. The show is on the CW channel.

It is basically Buffy the Vampire Slayer in hero costumes and not with vampires. Which is to say, it isn't like that show, which was much darker, but in many ways it is.

Stargirl starts out as Courtney, becoming the "chosen one" when the staff of the long-dead Starman, in the possession of her new stepfather, picks her to be the new superhero. Formerly there was a Justice League in this comic world that consisted of Starman, the Flash, and a bunch of other superheroes, but the Injustice Society killed them all about a decade ago.

Courtney is moved to a new school, so she has no friends, and she sits at the table with the other no-friend kids. (Yes, this is very much like Buffy's beginning.) Eventually, her mentor (aka her stepfather) shows her where the Justice Society used to meet, and she takes items belonging to certain former members and hands them out to her new friends, who then become superheroes, too.

The villains, the Injustice Society, all seem to have settled in this peaceful little mid-west Nebraska town where Courtney and her family have moved. The Injustice Society's evil plot is a massive mind control over most of middle America. The goal is to get them to "think properly." They must acquire a huge satellite to make this work, but before that happens, Stargirl and Brainwave (bad guy) have a meeting and Stargirl puts him in a coma for a lot of episodes. In the end, Stargirl and her super friends defeat the bad guys.

I will be watching season two, and my husband I both agreed that Stargirl has much more promise that last fall's Batwoman, which began well but was so poorly written that in the end it was a relief when the season ended. The lead has been recast and a second season slated for that show as well, so we'll see how it goes.

As the pandemic rolls on, the viral numbers locally have climbed. 0.65 percent of the county's population now has the virus. That doesn't seem like a lot, but I know of at least three people who have died and I suspect the number is higher. In the nearby city, they've reached more than one percent of the city's population. I don't know how many people have died. The numbers are strange, and I blame a lot of that on the federal government and its mismanagement and manipulation of facts. The CDC and public health officials should be in control of this, not politicians.

Schools are starting in varying ways. Some are solely online, some are going a few days a week. Some in other states have started and already had to shut down because of coronavirus exposure. Many teachers don't want to go back to the classroom out of fear of getting the virus, and I can't blame them. Who knows who will have an asymptomatic case, and who will catch it and die a horrible, lonely death? What a roll of dice. How much more must we ask of these professionals, who now must not only try to keep children from getting sick, but decide if they should close the door to let in fresh air or shut it to keep out gunmen? It seems a bit too much.

Speaking of school, my niece went off last week for her freshman year at college. Fingers crossed it goes well for her and that the virus doesn't interfere too much with her studies.

Some civil rights protests continue but none locally that I am aware of. The local government in July created a committee to study the Civil War monument at the courthouse. This has upset many people. My great-great-grandfather was a Dixie soldier, and my opinion is the monument should be moved. The public square should be equal to all. Moving it would also keep it safe. It has already been vandalized once, in June, when someone threw paint all over it. If it were moved out of the public square, perhaps in front of the history museum or in a cemetery, it would be less likely to be destroyed. A similar monument in the city was knocked over and broken. While I understand that this obelisk is not history, it is, at over 100 years old, historic in its own right (especially if put in the appropriate context). So my vote would be to move it to achieve equality in the public square while protecting the monument. Not that I have been asked, but I am allowed an opinion on things.

At home, my husband is enjoying his retirement. He sleeps later (fewer 5 a.m. mornings, anyway), and he seems much less stressed. He's always been kind of happy-go-lucky in his attitude, and now he's happy-go-luckier, I suppose.

I've had my usual sore throat/laryngitis/earache issues since August 3. It has eased somewhat, although my brother informed me on the phone this morning that I sounded awful. I am staying in because I don't want to scare anyone who might hear me speak if I were in public. Somebody might throw garlic or holy water on me or try to put a stake in my heart, like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, thinking I have coronavirus.

Being home suits me. As long as I don't stress about "doing" and focus more on "being," I find I am calmer. While I would like to find a project of some kind, I am not ready to commit to anything long term. For the moment, I am happy to play catch-up on paperwork, clear out some old papers, play my guitar, and listen to lots of Melissa Etheridge concerts and other music online.

I finished a book called The Tethered Mage, which I recommend if you like fantasy combined with political intrigue. It is the first part of a trilogy, but stands alone okay as a first book. I just started an audiobook by Debbie Macomber. It's a Christmas romance set in Alaska. My reading habits vary greatly depending on my mood, although to be honest I chose this one simply because it was only seven hours long and I didn't want to listen to anything longer right now.

The Democratic ticket has been set as of yesterday, with Joe Biden choosing Kamala Harris as his running mate. I have thought all along that she would be his choice.

Let the games begin.