😷 Back to Covid… Surprising at this point with the Delta Variant surge that so many companies are still timid about “mandates” to vaccinate. Microsoft does, most of the other big tech companies only encourage vaccination or require vaccination for people to return to the office. This seems to assume that people want to return to the office, which I think is wrong.
Covid is now a disease of the unvaccinated.639,000 dead at this writing. Fox Media morons are advocating violent overthrow of the government because of masks and vaccines and “the other side” can’t take a stronger stance on enforcing vaccinations and mask mandates? Turn off your TV, get off Facebook, and wake up!! Public Health is not the same as fascism. People are so deluded about what freedom and responsibility and government truly are. There is no “alternate truth”. Freedom is about responsibility and consequences.
Just get vaccinated. If you are in a position to require people to get vaccinated, then do. If you choose not to, that is your choice, and you must deal with the consequences of that choice—your “freedom” may mean losing a job, illness, isolation, and death. It’s not about endangering those around you, and leaving them to pay for your bad decisions.
Info and updates for friends and Loved Ones—It’s no joke, things are getting better! The older folks socially distanced, jibber-jabbering across two tables at the café this morning: A doctor, a fund manager, a former teacher, all retired, all extroverts. They have lots to say. Loudly. Covid and vaccines. They’ve all had at least one shot, most are fully vaccinated. Now they’re comparing notes about their children and grandchildren. Who got which vaccine? J&J? Pfizer? Moderna? “The stuff’s all the same,” says one fellow. “We’re hoping to get back to Europe in the Spring,” says another. “Not looking good for that,” says the female former pharma exec. They briefly debate why New Jersey’s infection rate is so high, why “certain people” won’t or can’t get vaccinated. Is there a genetic susceptability to Covid? “They’re gonna make you laminate your vaccine card, and then when you get the booster, you’ll get an official ‘passport’.” And so on. The tone is cautiously optimistic. Everyone agrees they will still wear masks, especially in public places, and with the important stuff covered… they move on to discussing Major League Baseball and the unusual architecture of Fenway Park.
551,638 (USA) dead at this writing.
Everything Has Changed, Sort of—At last! I’ve received an “invitation to schedule” my vaccine from every site where I was able to get on a list. Remarkably, even the pathetic, trundling, NJ StateProgram offered to schedule me. Some sites are even smart enough to make it easy to cancel, to free up the slot for someone else. There’s enough vaccine. Everyone I know who wanted the vaccine has received the first shot, or is about to. Next week the state makes even more groups eligible including Age 55+.
Communication has improved dramatically—We now have Newsletters, web site, blogs, Twitter feeds, and vastly improved tracking on pages of most major media. I won’t even list them here. (If you need help, see my previous posts.)
Which means, I can step back, I think, and stop trying to curate everything! Is it possible to get back to one page posts? I hope so!—Christo
Many ‘Long Covid’ Patients Had No Symptoms From Their Initial Infection – An analysis of electronic medical records in California found that 32 percent started with asymptomatic infections but reported troubling aftereffects weeks and months later. 03/08/2021— Read on www.nytimes.com/2021/03/08/health/long-covid-asymptomatic.html
Find peace. Seek stillness. Practice your T’ai Chi. All you need to know is in my previous Covid updates: wash hands, (properly) wear a (multi-layer, well-sealed) mask, social distance, isolate, and quarantine if you’re sick or exposed to someone who is, and test – but don’t rely on tests because you can be sick and contagious for 3-5 days before you test positive.
Hang in there!! Stay Healthy and continue to #WearAMask!!
Your goal is to get vaccinated. Mine too!! Call me a “WV” (Wannabe Vaccinated). I am “1B” qualified, and so far am on a bunch of lists, but have not received my first shot. If you aren’t offered a vaccine through your work, and no one else has contacted you to offer you one, then expect to be last on every list. If you don’t want to wait, you can try to get vaccinated. You probably know people who have done this, successfully. Right now, as I write this, it’s unlikely that any vaccine distribution site will actually schedule you, immediately, at the time you contact them. However, if they know what they’re doing and want your business, they will have a waiting list.
This process is in constant flux. It will change. Here’s how:
In a few weeks or a month, not only should there be more vaccine, hopefully slots will open up because the vaccinators have over-estimated the demand because so many of us have signed up on multiple lists! That’s good.
But, it might turn out a few weeks or a month from now, that ALL the people who are trying to get their second shot will be the priority at all the locations, and there still won’t be any appointments for the rest of us. I know, it’s a frustrating mess.
Caveat Lector—The information below will undoubtedly change. Sites will be improved, processes streamlined, all good stuff, I hope. I won’t be chasing those changes. (It’s too much work!!) If you stick to the basic guidelines, you’ll be fine…
To be clear, apply only at sites that will:
🗒 Put you on a waiting list and
📞 Reliably contact youwhen they do have vaccine or
📅 Schedule a vaccination appointment immediately. They should also make it easy to…
📆 Schedule your second visit preferably when you schedule the first visit, or at least, when you get your first injection. (Until the J&J Vaccine becomes available, full immunity REQUIRES TWO INJECTIONS). You want to sign up with a site that is smart enough to schedule you for both. They should not expect you to go through this whole quest all over again for the second shot.
Got it? You can go with that, or read on for more details. We’ll start at the “top”…
The CDC Guidelines— The CDC has set guidelines to prioritize vaccinations for the most important or most vulnerable groups, people who ought to get vaccinated first. Unfortunately, states and distribution sites are inconsistent in applying the guidelines. And, a lot of states have “opened” up vaccinations to lower priority groups long before they’ve received or distributed enough vaccine to the groups that were supposed to be vaccinated first. I can’t change that, President Biden will try, meanwhile I’m just telling it the way it is…
The NJ State Program —In New Jersey (and maybe in other states, but I’m talking about New Jersey here) you can sign up for the state distribution program. They will screen you and let you know whether you are eligible based on state guidelines. Don’t waste your time. Once eligible, they tell you to go find your own vaccine. Which means you have to register somewhere else, and all the distribution sites do their own screening. So skip the state, and get on with your search. (There’s a huge list of sites where you can get vaccinated in New Jersey—you just have to find one with vaccine.) And I have more time-saving advice…
Hunterdon County Health Dept. (My top choice) 🗒📞📅📆—For me, and maybe for you and your county health department, this is the best bet, because after a month of flailing around with “Survey Monkey” and no waiting list, the Hunterdon County Health Dept. has become transparent and organized. They have a list of 5000, confirm that you are on the list via email, “guarantee” if you get on the list you will get vaccine when they have it, sending out notices each Wednesday as they get vaccine, and automatically schedule your second visit when you receive your first shot. Period. Be patient and try to get on their “list of 5000”. https://www.hunterdoncountyvaccine.org/ (908)788-1351
Nobody’s perfect, the Health Department server got overwhelmed on the first day, but I did get a confirmation that I was registered. Be patient!
Hunterdon Health Care, our local Medical Center ? ? ? ?—These guys are a big disappointment. After several previous web-only fiascos, they announced a clinic with dial-in. This began at 8:00 am, with no online access, no waiting list, just call supposedly and schedule an appointment. I made 53 Calls in 30 minutes. Never got through, never spoke to a human. As I’ve said, if they can’t even manage a waiting list, don’t bother. On their web site, it doesn’t even look like they are getting any more vaccine. I’m sure they’ll do better, but when? https://www.hunterdonhealthcare.org/when-can-i-get-the-covid-19-vaccine/
Other Hospitals, Medical Facilities—By word of mouth, I heard about several sites that seemed to be organized, maintain lists, and actually vaccinate people. Of course, by the time you hear about these, so have thousands of other WV’s . Although I’m still waiting, for all my readers in Beautiful Western Central New Jersey, I will share my secrets:
St. Luke’s University Health Network 🗒📞📅📆 —Headquartered in Bethlehem, PA, they do serve clients from New Jersey and have a location in Philipsburg, NJ. Sign in to their “My Chart” program, they maintain a list and they will stay in touch after you pre-register for the Covid vaccine. I know people who succeeded in getting vaccinated here. https://www.slhn.org/
Virtua Health 🗒📞📅 ?—Virtua runs the Moorestown “Mega Site”, the only one I list here. After experiencing the frustration of some of the more inept sites (see CVS and Rite Aid, below), this one will give you confidence. I know several people who have been vaccinated there after signing on to the list on this web site. https://www.virtua.org/services/covid19-vaccine-info
CVSPharmacy ? ? 📅📆—This sounds like a great idea! Search for the first dose by trying different locations until you find a pharmacy with timeslots available. Then, immediately try to schedule. Whoops! If you ‘re not fast enough, the open slots disappear, and now you have to search for another location! If you actually get an appointment, they “hold” that slot for you, Hooray!!
But you must schedule your second dose before they even take your name! You must go through the process again, locate a pharmacy with vaccine, quickly select a time, and click the [Continue Scheduling] button.
Almost there!! And you wait. And wait. And nothing happens. The site seems to be locked up. But what about all those timeslots they are holding?? Sorry…
Remember: they don’t have any of your information yet. If you click [Cancel], or refresh the web page, or click the browser “back” button….POOF!! It’s all gone, and you have to start over. That happened to me twice! And I gave up. This is just BAD DESIGN. The Good News is that when CVS doesn’t have any available slots, you can’t even search for a location—at least they save you the trouble. No list. (Psst: Someone told me if you go on at 4 AM, you might find some open spots. Have at it!!) www.cvs.com/immunizations/covid-19-vaccine
Rite-Aid Pharmacy ? ? 📅📆—This sure sounds like a great idea! Another convenient pharmacy with vaccinations! When CVS doesn’t have vaccine, they don’t ask you to pick a store and see if there are appointments. BUT that’s exactly how the Rite Aid site works! Enter your location, and they’ll give you a list of ten nearby stores. Then, you have to pick one, to see if it has vaccine. You have to go through the whole search to discover there is no vaccine available. BAD DESIGN. If successful, they will schedule the second appointment right away. Nothing available AFAICT, but I hear a rumor today that you should try at 5 AM. 🙂 If you get an appointment, let me know!! http://ritea.id/newjersey
Remember that every site screens you for eligibility? On the Rite Aid site, if your medical condition isn’t on their list, DO NOT select “None of the Above”. Do that, you will be immediately considered “not eligible”.
Walgreen’s Pharmacy 🗒 ? ? ?—This sure sounds like a great idea! Another convenient pharmacy with vaccinations! You have to sign up with Walgreen’s and/or download their app before they will even tell you if they have vaccine available. They get you on their list before you get any information. Pretty clever!! I will just say, no vaccine, no list, no thank you. Your mileage may vary. https://www.walgreens.com/findcare/vaccination/covid-19?ban=covid_vaccine_landing_schedule
? ? ? ? —Shoprite Pharmacy—This sure sounds like…oh never mind. I wasn’t going to include Shoprite, because after having vaccine early on, now they don’t seem to have any at all. At least they don’t make you wait online or bother with a list. They just tell you, “We don’t have any, all slots are taken.” https://vaccines.shoprite.com
So there you have it Christo’s helpful summary of the current status of getting a vaccine in New Jersey (and elsewhere in the USA). Remember the basics, be patient and do your T’ai Chi. If you haven’t had enough already, I’ve included links to more vaccine info with suggestions and guidance. Good luck, Stay Healthy, and Keep Wearing a Mask!!
— Christo
Vaccine Articles and References:
🦠 FLASH!! – THIS JUST IN‼️ (FEB. 25, 2021) VaccineFinder.Org (CDC)— The CDC now supports a “curation” site that pulls much of this COVID Vaccine info together in one place. My impression is it might save you a little time, but results in a “tease” – informing you that CVS in Trenton has vaccine, but when you click the [Schedule] button, you get the same “No Appointments Available” result that comes up when you go direct to their web site… Give it a try. https://vaccinefinder.org/
Why Some Who Are Vaccinated Still Get Coronavirus – The New York Times Experts say cases like these are not surprising and do not indicate that there was something wrong with the vaccines or how they were administered. — Read on www.nytimes.com/2021/01/31/us/covid-19-vaccine-coronavirus-positive.html
Covid-19 Vaccines – The latest news and resources about the coronavirus vaccines to help you better understand and navigate the path to life after the pandemic. — Read on www.nytimes.com/spotlight/coronavirus-vaccin
Info and updates for friends and Loved Ones— It’s a new year and for many of us a brand new day. 🙏🏻 In the USA we now have an actual national leader who believes in science and cooperating with state and local governments to save all our citizens and defeat Covid. He even has a plan. Imagine! Unfortunately it’s going to take months to enact an actual plan and weed out the ineptitude, indifference, stupidity, and magical thinking that have characterized much of our country’s response so far. The irresponsible and arrogant will refuse to wear masks or take other precautions. People will continue to get sick, and to die.
418,000 dead at this writing.
How long can this go on?? Longer. Quite a bit longer. Last month I wrote: “…people, friends, loved ones, businesses big and small, are going to be having a very hard time at least into the summer of 2021.” I’ll stand by that.
The short summary is this:
1)Masks, Social Distancing, hand washing, and all that sensible stuff – CONTINUES TO BE EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. In fact, with the new more transmissable variant(s) of Covid, now is the time to double down on proper and careful mask use — wear multi-layer masks, wear N95s, and be sure you’re wearing the mask properly, not “chin diaper” or “mask slipping” like Bill Clinton, and other men. 2) Get the Vaccine if you can. But you probably can’t. Be patient. Try not to judge those who have been vaccinated, seemingly by their own devious means, when others are more vulnerable. Be patient.
I signed up for the vaccine— In my case, I got an email stating that I am “on the list” for “Phase 1B” (see the chart below). In other words, I am qualified as an “essential worker” BUT it would be some time before I could get a vaccine. A week or two after that, I got another email, notifying me that I can now schedule a vaccination! EXCEPT, there is no vaccine and no appointments for which they can schedule me. BUT I might also be able to get a vaccination at one of the local medical centers, or Shoprite supermarket pharmacy, or local Health Department, or even through my employer if it’s in healthcare, all of which (apparently) get their own supplies of vaccine. (There’s a huge list of sites where you can get vaccinated in New Jersey—you just have to find one with vaccine.) I called, and checked web sites to find out… there is no vaccine! Does this sound like a cluster f***? Because it clearly is.
I’m sure it will change and get better, but until then? I can wait to receive an email from the state program, or I can keep checking the sites on the list. As I said, be patient.
Find peace. Seek stillness. Practice your T’ai Chi. All you need to know is in my previous Covid updates: wash hands, (properly) wear a (multi-layer, well-sealed) mask, social distance, isolate, and quarantine if you’re sick or exposed to someone who is, and test – but don’t rely on tests because you can be sick and contagious for 3-5 days before you test positive.
Vaccines:
Covid-19 Vaccines – The latest news and resources about the coronavirus vaccines to help you better understand and navigate the path to life after the pandemic. — Read on www.nytimes.com/spotlight/coronavirus-vaccine
CVS Pharmacy COVID Vaccine (COVID-19 Immunization Updates) – This is great, but for now, only if you live in IN, MA, NY, and PR. I hope that eventually getting a vaccine will be easy at any CVS, anywhere! Let CVS help guide you through everything you need to know about the coronavirus vaccine. Get all your questions answered and learn how to schedule your vaccine online or through the CVS Pharmacy® app once available! — Read on www.cvs.com/immunizations/covid-19-vaccine
The “New Variant”:
What You Can Do to Avoid the New Coronavirus Variant Right Now It’s more contagious than the original and spreading quickly. Upgrade your mask and double down on precautions to protect yourself. 2021/01/19 — Read on www.nytimes.com/2021/01/19/well/live/covid-b117-variant-advice.html
European countries mandate medical-grade masks over cloth face coverings – President Biden has enacted a mask mandate for all federal properties, public transit, airlines, and elsewhere. But some countries now have even stricter mask requirements… Confronting new, more transmissible variants of the coronavirus and a winter spike in infections, a number of European countries are beginning to make medical-grade face masks mandatory in the hope that they can slow the spread of the disease. 2021/01/22 — Read on www.cnn.com/2021/01/22/europe/europe-covid-medical-masks-intl/index.html
Long Covid:
What If You Never Get Better From Covid-19?— We’ve looked at “Long Covid” before. There are a couple of articles in this week’s NYT Magazine.Some patients could be living with the aftereffects for years to come. Recent research into another persistent, mysterious disease might help us understand how to treat them. 2021/01/21 — Read on www.nytimes.com/2021/01/21/magazine/covid-aftereffects.html
Info and updates for friends and Loved Ones—We’re just about into a NEW YEAR!! Vaccines are all the rage, but if you were paying attention, it was pretty clear that vaccines are not going to FIX the PANDEMIC in a hurry. Really, they won’t be making a big difference for months. Months!! And to quote the Eagles, “There’s a New Kid in Town -I don’t want to hear it!!” (I’m not talking about Joe.) Sorry, viruses mutate, and there’s one COVID variant that seems to be MORE contagious – although so far, probably no more deadly. We don’t know yet if the vaccines will protect us from the new guy, but probably.
“Things” – meaning, people, friends, loved ones, businesses big and small, are going to be having a very hard time at least into the summer of 2021. Be patient. Find peace. Seek stillness. Practice your T’ai Chi. All you need to know is in my previous Covid updates: wash hands, wear a mask, social distance, isolate, and quarantine if you’re sick or exposed to someone who is, and test – but don’t rely on tests because you can be sick and contagious for 3-5 days before you test positive.
Covid-19 Vaccines – The latest news and resources about the coronavirus vaccines to help you better understand and navigate the path to life after the pandemic. — Read on www.nytimes.com/spotlight/coronavirus-vaccine
Covid Vaccine Rollout and Where Research Fell Short, “Fresh Air”, NPR Interview (Podcast) overcast.fm/+Ys_kvI_nU
After the Vaccine: Sore Arm, Yes. Headache, Maybe. Regrets, No. – Here is what some of the first Americans to be vaccinated against Covid-19 are saying about how they felt afterward, with some side effects but no second thoughts. — Read on www.nytimes.com/2020/12/28/us/vaccine-first-patients-covid.html
Here’s Why Vaccinated People Still Need to Wear a Mask – The new vaccines will probably prevent you from getting sick with Covid. No one knows yet whether they will keep you from spreading the virus to others — but that information is coming. 2020/12/08— Read on www.nytimes.com/2020/12/08/health/covid-vaccine-mask.html
Vaccinated? Show Us Your App – The New York Covid-19 health pass apps could help reopen businesses and restore the economy. They could also unfairly exclude people from travel and workplaces. 12/13/2020 — Read on www.nytimes.com/2020/12/13/technology/coronavirus-vaccine-apps.html
TESTS— Testing is becoming more readily available and convenient.
Remember: 1) Testing is no substitute for being careful—washing, wearing a mask, social distancing. It only indicates your state at the time the sample was taken. You may have been exposed and infected since then. 2) Antibody Tests don’t mean much—A positive on an anti-body test doesn’t mean that you won’t get Covid (again), nor, that you are not currently spreading the virus. A negative doesn’t mean that you never had Covid.The jury is out on this. 3) All Tests have “false positives” and “false negatives” – pay attention to your symptoms (if any).
Try the CastLight Testing Site Locatortool. This looks like it should be a CDC tool, but I can only find it on my New Jersey State web site. Enter your location and it provides a map and summary of testing locations, including if screening is required, and if “regular lab testing”, “rapid testing”, and if antibody testing is available. I located testing sites in Nevada, and I live in New Jersey, so try this tool, no matter where you live!!
So why isn’t this tool on the CDC site? They’ve been pretty devastated by the anti-science morons of the Trump Administration who didn’t believe that a federal government is supposed to protect all its people, and preferred to push the responsibility and cost onto the states… This will improve once the Biden administration gets moving.
In my county (Hunterdon), the Health Department offers free, “Test At Home” saliva kits available to all qualified residents over the age of six. They send you a kit, you complete the sample using a remote telehealth visit with Vault Health. Results are sent to you within 2-3 days after they receive your sample. You are still looking at 7 or more days, unless you already have the kit ready to go. But you don’t have to leave your house! That’s in my county—check with your local Health Department.
Labcorp Home Test Kit —AFAIK, anyone in the US can order one. You have to pay for it – so check with your insurance first.
Walmart and CVS offer drive-thru and other testing options. Expect at least 3-4 days after you test to get results. Some CVS’s offer “rapid testing”, but these are few-and-far-between, and I’m not sure how to identify them in advance. I scheduled on a Thursday for the next available test, tested at CVS on a Saturday and got results late on Tuesday. Your results may vary.
Covid: Post Exposure Anti-body Protection Trialed, BBC, Think of it as a “morning after” medication – for someone exposed to Covid. Read on: www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-55438758
Info and Links for Friends and Loved Ones Wow, I lost a whole month! Where did it go? (I wasn’t sick, just working, and living..) And that’s life in the pandemic. I like to keep this information hopeful and upbeat, if possible. Honestly, things are going to get worse before they get much better. All you need to know is in my previous Covid updates: wash hands, wear a mask, social distance, isolate, and quarantine if you’re sick or exposed to someone who is, and test – but don’t rely on tests because you can be sick and contagious for 3-5 days before you test positive. As the imposter in the People’s House has proven, relying on testing alone can get everyone sick. VOTE if you haven’t. There is still time.
Why this is not the time to ease up, as much as we want and need to –
“As of Sunday morning <snip> at least 224,800 have died…The national trajectory is worsening rapidly. Wisconsin has opened a field hospital. North Dakota, which not long ago had relatively few cases, has grown so overwhelmed that it has now ended most contact tracing. Cases have reached record levels recently in more than 20 states, including Illinois, Tennessee, New Mexico, Nebraska and Utah.”— 10/25/20—https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/coronavirus-us-cases.html
‘I Just Kind of Lost It’: As Coronavirus Cases Soar, One Montana Town Reels – The New York Times. In the Mountain West, an outbreak has revealed the danger that the virus poses to jails and rural communities. 10/16/20—Read on www.nytimes.com/2020/10/16/us/rural-jails-coronavirus-mountain-west.html
How the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally may have spread coronavirus across the Upper Midwest: Within weeks of the gathering that drew nearly half a million bikers, the Dakotas, along with Wyoming, Minnesota and Montana, were leading the nation in new coronavirus infections per capita. – The Washington Post 10/17/20—Read on www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/10/17/sturgis-rally-spread/
Info and Links for Friends and Loved Ones New tests and testing info! More relatively current updates about Life in the Age of Covid arranged roughly by topic with newest articles first. Explainers about transmission in the air. Should I wear a mask? Is that really still a question!? The big question: Will the Pandemic ever end in the USA? Answer: If the current administration remains in power, the pandemic never EVEN happened. With actual leadership, Covid-19 should be under control within 18 months. PLEASE REGISTER TO VOTE, VOTE EARLY, AND DON’T COUNT ON THE USPS TO DELIVER YOUR BALLOT.
Get Tested for COVID-19 at Home! Mail-in kit from Pixel by LabCorp (Not an Antibody test. A test to see if you are currently infected. You will have to come up with a reason for being tested if you don’t have symptoms.) 8/25/2020 — Read on – www.pixel.labcorp.com/covid-19 Read on
Europe lockdown: New coronavirus rules country by country (Americans stay home until you can manage your Covid better.) 8/20/2020 — Read on BBC NEWS – www.bbc.co.uk/news/explainers-53640249
Nurses Who Battled Virus in New York Confront Friends Back Home Who Say It’s a Hoax (I include this because to me it is unfathomable that people could believe this is a hoax. You probably have neighbors, as I do, who still treat it like it is a hoax. RANT FOLLOWS: And that the wing nuts could think this is a Leftist Conspiracy? When the damage, the death, is being wrought on the most vulnerable and disadvantaged populations—seriously, the “Democrat”, liberals, poor, seniors, and people of color— those populations. While the government is compensating giant corporations and banks and billionaires? Who is benefitting from this disease? People on Social Security? Sounds more like a conspiracy of the Republicants to wipe out their troublesome opponents. But, NO, I don’t believe that. “Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.”—Christo) 07/07/20 Read in NYT: www.nytimes.com/2020/07/07/us/coronavirus-nurses.html
“This rotten time wouldn’t seem so bad to me now. If I didn’t die, I should be satisfied, I survived. It’s good enough for now.”— “Sky Blue Sky”, Wilco
Winding down the summer of 2020. It’s 86 degrees in Western Central New Jersey with 98% humidity—that’s pretty swampy weather, even though it’s cooler by 5 degrees than most days for the last few weeks. I’m listening to the Goldfinches chirp as they fly overhead in between feeder stops. A Kingfisher chatters his way north up the river, while the nattering Nuthatches explore the walnut tree from every angle—upside down, sideways—jerkily walking the bark in three dimensions without hesitation or fear of gravity. They do sidestep the big yellow wasps, who have a nest in a hole in the tree. While one guards the entrance, wings buzzing incessantly, the others come and go quickly with a sense of purpose.
Too late to go for a cool morning ride.
We’re six plus months into this Covid thing. I haven’t been to GIANT market, where I now appreciate leisurely strolling, relaxed, picking through the corn chips, looking for the healthy ones, and trying to find the sliced wild salmon with no sugar or flavorings. In all this time I haven’t returned to the gym where I taught T’ai Chi—not since that last Saturday morning, right before lockdown, when only four students showed. I haven’t met my friend Pendar for dinner at Bell’s Tavern, a habit we’ve maintained for over thirty years. No tuna sub from Valpariso’s for lunch on work days. I have bought a few dozen bagels from Hee San at Bagel Delite, had a few TLT Sandwiches from Jess’s Juice Bar, sushi from Ota Ya, and the grilled chicken pesto panini at Liv and Charlies, all from curb-side pickup of course, no sit-down restaurant meals anywhere. Not happening. I miss the social ease of dropping into Rojo’s coffee shop and reading at a table, or treating myself to cookie-dough ice cream at Oh Wow Cow.
I wear a mask whenever I go out, and ALL DAY at work – and a bandana when I ride my bike. I used to say I did it to set a good example, which is still true, but I really do it because it’s the right thing to do. I don’t need to hear or make any arguments about it. My mom was an O.R. nurse. I know intuitively this is the right thing. I get pissed at people who don’t wear masks – including my neighbors with their small children. But I don’t say anything. When someone sneers some comment at me for wearing a mask, I resist the urge to shove them into the canal, where they belong. And to be fair, I have recently witnessed my neighbors and children rolling the downtown sidewalks, all masked. Not consistently, but at least around town.
This is serious business, and most of us will get through it – eventually – and some won’t.
Do what you need to stay sane and healthy, be excellent to one another, and for God’s sake, vote and vote early!
Info and Links for Friends and Loved Ones
More relatively current updates about Life in the Age of Covid: As businesses open, valiant warriors peacefully confront racism and Police Violence, and the unwanted visitor in the People’s House relishes any #Diversion as he refuses to #WearAMask.
The Risks – Know Them – Avoid Them — Successful Infection = Exposure to Virus x Time It seems many people are breathing some relief, and I’m not sure why. An epidemic curve has a relatively predictable upslope and once the peak is reached, the back slope can also be predicted. We have robust data from the outbreaks in China and Italy, that shows the backside of the mortality curve declines slowly, with 5/20/20— Read on www.erinbromage.com/post/the-risks-know-them-avoid-them
Amid the Coronavirus Crisis, a Regimen for Reëntry | The New Yorker A four-part strategy of hygiene, distancing, screening, and masks will not return us to normal life. But, when signs indicate that the virus is under control, it could get people out of their homes and moving again.
5/17/20— Read on www.newyorker.com/science/medical-dispatch/amid-the-coronavirus-crisis-a-regimen-for-reentry
Every morning the blackbirds fly to the east in long arching streams. A continuous band comes over the condo project across the street and disperses in a scattered line that breaks up the failing pink of the dawn as they head, approximately, for the ocean.
All winter, as I crossed the street, the wind cutting cold through my trouser legs, my cheeks red, scraped by the raw, I suspected that the blackbirds had set some dubious course for their migration and it was taking them to the coast before they turned south. Through the entirety of that season they persisted, crowding their sky-lane silently as their path intersected the man paths below. Did they ever actually leave? Were these the same birds? Every day?
One late afternoon I thought I’d discovered at least part of their secret.
I was waiting near the Brigham hospital for a bus. An agitated whirring drew my attention to the bare trees in the neighborhood nearby. Blackbirds filled the boughs, hopping about, leaning and looking, as if waiting for some imperceptible signal. One or two birds in the highest branches of each tree tested the air, springing free, five, ten, fifteen feet vertically; their greatest leaps mimicked by as many as five or six converts from the lower realm. These preliminary sortees gained in frequency and magnitude, clusters of birds circling the trees and then lighting again. And then springing spontaneously from the midst of hesitance and confusion, one bird shot with urgency and conviction into the darkening sky. Others followed at virtually the same moment, and then more, in ranks, one after the other, filling the air again with that dark scattered stream. The winding, blackbird cloud, swirled its way to the south, yet the buzzing, whirring remained. Many birds were left in the trees. Some, unsure, had peeled off from the original departing flock; others, anxious but not yet ready, never left the limbs.
Gradually the performance was repeated several times by those remaining, each a near duplication of the last—except for the deepening background of evening that was making the performers indistinguishable from their perches. Finally they all took wing, vacating the last trees in an instant, rushing to some goal beyond the approaching gloom, seeking companionship on the journey, or shelter in the night.
Gone. Activity and noise receded like a wave, leaving a brief and sudden silence, until the #69 bus surged through the darkness, illuminating flecks of rain in the soft sphere of yellow light it pushed before it.
“The Delta variant has upended office return plans. Here’s when large companies expect to have employees back at their desks.”
Winding down the summer of 2020. It’s 86 degrees in Western Central New Jersey with 98% humidity—that’s pretty swampy weather, even though it’s cooler by 5 degrees than most days for the last few weeks. I’m listening to the Goldfinches chirp as they fly overhead in between feeder stops. A Kingfisher chatters his way north up the river, while the nattering Nuthatches explore the walnut tree from every angle—upside down, sideways—jerkily walking the bark in three dimensions without hesitation or fear of gravity. They do sidestep the big yellow wasps, who have a nest in a hole in the tree. While one guards the entrance, wings buzzing incessantly, the others come and go quickly with a sense of purpose.
christoplummer 