It is 7 below zero F today. We are on a warming trend. Never mind things have been boiling hot for weeks.
It is a sad day
We aren’t terrorists. Domestic or otherwise. We are mothers and fathers We are sisters and brothers
Poets and authors Dancers and singers Teachers and nurses
We are you We are the faces of America We love our country We believe in our laws We cherish our rights
What is wrong with us? Are we the only ones to see?
1965 On March 7, 1965, an estimated 525 to 600 civil rights marchers headed southeast out of Selma. The protest went according to plan until the marchers crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge, where they encountered a wall of state troopers and county posse waiting for them on the other side. The county sheriff had issued an order for all white men in Dallas County over the age of twenty-one to report to the courthouse that morning to be deputized. Commanding officer John Cloud told the demonstrators to disband at once and go home. Rev. Hosea Williams tried to speak to the officer, but Cloud curtly informed him there was nothing to discuss. Seconds later, the troopers began shoving the demonstrators, knocking many to the ground and beating them with nightsticks. Another detachment of troopers fired tear gas, and mounted troopers charged the crowd on horseback.
1970 Four unarmed college students were killed and nine wounded by the Ohio National Guard on May 4, 1970. The shootings triggered immediate and massive outrage on campuses around the country. It increased participation in the student strike that began on May 1. Ultimately, more than 4 million students participated in organized walk-outs at hundreds of universities, colleges, and high schools. The shootings and the strike affected public opinion at an already socially contentious time over the role of the United States in the Vietnam War. Eight of the shooters were charged with depriving the student of their civil rights but were acquitted in a bench trial. The trial judge stated, “It is vital that state and National Guard officials not regard this decision as authorizing or approving the use of force against demonstrators, whatever the occasion of the issue involved. Such use of force is, and was, deplorable.”
This is our history. We have been here before.
Have we become so fat and happy Are we so detached We don’t believe our own eyes?
It is a sad day. Say their names Rene Good – Poet, mother of three Alex Pretti – VA ICU Nurse
I was going to meet a friend in the parking ramp. She was giving me a ride to a Friday night event. She was late. I was standing inside by the elevators and I watched a guy drive by in a white van and park in a space that was not a parking space. It was just off to the side by some pillars. People have parked there before and blocked my space and I had trouble getting my car out or could not get it out. He got out of his car and walked towards the elevators. When he tried the door, he found it locked but he had a fob and was able to gain entry.
When he came in I said, “Just so you know, that is not a parking space. It could block my way.”
He seemed confused and said it was guest parking.
“No, it is not a space. If you have guest parking, you should have a space number to park in. All the spaces have numbers.”
He fumbled around and then called somebody on his phone and that person was clueless as well. Then he went back outside. When he came back in he said,
“I’m not blocking anybody. I’m not blocking you. You are just a complainer. You just love to complain. I bet all you do is complain. You f**king b**ch. What a f**king b**ch. Complain complain. B**ch You f**king b**ch”
At first I tried to explain to him what I was talking about but he was having none of it.
“F**king b**ch you are a f**king b**ch all you do is complain, complain”
“Yep, I just complain. Complain.”
Then he really started to get riled up. He was carrying a very old mangey tiny dog that looked like it was on its last legs. This big guy with a big mouth and a tiny sad dog. I refrained from commenting on that. Thought better of it.
He got right up in my face, “f**king b**ch, you are a f**king b**ch, what a f**king b**ch” and on and on.
I finally looked him right in the eyes and said, “Are you going to hit me?”
I thought he was going to hit me, he was so riled up. Practically foaming at the mouth.
There was a split second flicker in his eyes, an almost undiscernible pause. He stepped back.
“I’m not going to hit you. You stupid f**king b**ch. What a stupid f**king b**ch.”
“Yeah, and you are nasty”
“I’m nasty? You are a nasty f**king b**ch. What a f**king stupid b**ch …” this went on for a while longer and I just looked away and ignored him without making further contact of any kind.
Eventually he went back outside and called his friend on his phone and I could hear him telling the person what a f**king b**ch I was.
I gave up on meeting my friend and went back to my apartment. I was shaken. I just wanted to get someplace safe. Away from the crazies.
I thought maybe I should have tried to film him or take his picture or take a picture of his van. But after seeing how the ICE agents react to that behavior it was probably not a good idea. Who knows how he would have reacted to that.
An hour a later a friend checked and his van was gone. After all of that, he moved his van.
It was strange that he didn’t seem in any hurry to leave. I thought he would just get on the elevator and go see his friend. But he didn’t. He just stayed in the parking ramp. Why? What was he really doing?
I’ve come across some crazies in my time. I go into survival mode. I try to calm them down. But the vitriol hate this guy was spewing was something new to me. He was truly a hater.
That time of year again. I spent Christmas Day watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Seems to be my new holiday ritual. I always see new things in it. This year I paid particular attention to the landscape since I have just been to New Zealand. I did recognize some of it. That was fun. Of course it always ends well which is another plus.
This year was pretty eventful. I went to Mexico in January. Enjoyed the good food in Oaxaca. I was surprised by how hot it was, though. Oaxaca is at 5000 feet and I would have thought it would have been cooler in January but not so. Did some traveling around the countryside and saw some ruins and some textiles and some art. All good.
I was called for Jury duty. One boring day of sitting around and then nothing more. Big disappointment. I was hoping for a juicy trial.
May took me to Miami and Key West. Another hot one. Nice to see the ocean and old friends.
In August I went to see Taliesin in Spring Green, Wisconsin. This was where Frank Lloyd Write lived and worked. He was quite the eccentric. It is a beautiful setting.
At the end of August my book came out but I had to postpone my launch until December. The launch went really well and I am pleased with the book. You should read it!
In October I went to Fiji and New Zealand. Wonderful trip. I had to go to Fiji because my father always said it was his most favorite place to visit. I would concur, it was pretty great. And New Zealand was beautiful plus I got the bonus of seeing a couple of old friends.
November was my son’s wedding. It was a lot of fun and I am happy for him.
I have three book ideas I am working on. Actually I think I have narrowed it down to two. It is kind of slow going but as the days get lighter so do I. The brain is churning away.
Looking forward to Florida, Spain, and Belgium in the new year. And who knows what else. Anything can happen!
Summer is half over. Moving along. I don’t have much to show for it. I’m hoping my book will come out the second week of August. Fingers crossed.
Books I have read recently. Brazzaville Beach by William Boyd. Kind of a weird book about chimpanzees attacking each other in central Africa. It was really three stories in one and I found I was skipping over one of them because I didn’t really get how it was important to the rest of the book. I don’t know, I wasn’t crazy about it.
The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichl. I have read several of her books and I usually find them entertaining. She mostly writes about food but this is a novel about a dress. The history of the dress, the people surrounding the dress. All set in Paris. It is very light reading but good for a distraction.
I forgot all about doing the Monday photo thing. I just get distracted. The news is so disturbing lately. There was an article in The NY Times today about the couple who were caught out at the Coldplay concert. They were having an affair and the camera caught them embracing at the concert and then everybody filmed them ducking out of the camera trying to hide themselves. Of course it exploded all over the internet. The point of the article was that the guy actually did the right thing and resigned. He took responsibility. He probably didn’t have much choice and I’m sure he got a good severance package since he was the CEO of a company but these days it seems so few people are taking responsibility for their actions. People just do whatever they want and think it doesn’t matter how it will affect others. Pointing fingers directly at congress and the orange one. I really wonder how they can live with themselves.
In order to rid ourselves of all these pesky immigrants, ICE has 10,000 job openings. Can you imagine? What will this country look like this time next year? I shudder to think. And the food banks are already becoming bare. The poor are getting poorer by the minute. And they are erasing our history, taking down information from websites and information posters. Are we just waiting for the storm troopers to march down our streets?
This whole Epstein thing is ridiculous. The orange one has already been convicted of how many felonies and sexual harassments. Does anybody really care if he cavorted with a pedophile? I really wish somebody did. But I’m sure the orange one will get to Ghislaine first and shut her up. If there is anything there.
To the question whether there is any hope outside this world, since life in this world seems to be without hope, Kafka answers: ‘Plenty of hope—for God—an infinite amount of hope—only it is not for us.’
I know I have said this before. I pick up a lot of books and don’t finish them. I either get bored or I don’t care about the characters or the story line is too convoluted. Sometimes I make myself skim it to the end just to see where it goes. Sometimes I skim through it so I have something to say at book club.
I just finished reading Atmosphere by David Scott Moyer. I had none of those problems with this book. I read it in two days, couldn’t put it down.
Atmosphere is a sci-fi story that takes place on a planet light years away from Earth. Twelve humans are sent to scope it out for possible settlement. Moyer has created a whole world for them to find. He includes all kinds of details to set the stage. Maybe he has been there? There are back stories for all the humans and some of the aliens they encounter. There is history, biology, science and emotion. It is a loving environment but through the whole book there is an underlying feeling of dread. I kept thinking, something is wrong. Something is not as it appears. There must be a twist. I was constantly looking around, on edge, eager to get on to the next page. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the Trilogy.
I’m running out of photos. When I lived in Boston I went to see the Mayflower. I couldn’t believe how small it was.
I recently decided to check out the relatively new dating app on Facebook. I’m in my 60’s so looking for age appropriate men. Most of them look like old men. I mean, okay, I’m not young. I shouldn’t judge. But seriously. I guess it must be the genes. Of course I live in the midwest so lots of photos of fish, motorcycles, dogs. People who camp, fish, hike, kayak, cycle, swim, hunt, and generally love the outdoors. People who are “fit” and go to the gym everyday. A lot of emphasis on “fit”. Cycling hundreds of miles. Seriously? I started going to the gym three times a week cycling through the weight machines. It has changed my life. I can’t believe the difference. But it doesn’t define me. It isn’t who I am. I wouldn’t put it in an ad. The most promising ads say “no trumpers”. At least you know where they stand. But it’s not enough. I think I’ll just go back to fantasizing about my exotic latin lover who swoops me up and takes me off on a wild adventure. I guess I need to write a novel.
Last night I watched some of Masters of the Air, a TV show on Apple+. It is about US B17 pilots based in East Anglia. It is pure Spielberg. Drama, bravery, love, loss, emotions, and lots of battle scenes. Okay in small doses.
I also watched some of Shantaram which mostly takes place in an Indian slum. It wasn’t the greatest. I think I might have to read the book.
So all in all kind of a glum Friday. In an effort to turn it around, I will leave you with this….
I am featuring random photos each week that pertain to my upcoming book, Echoes of a Global Life. Here are a few from Europe during the 70’s.
With my teenage passport photo thrown in.
Other things… I had Jury Duty this week. I spent all day Monday sitting in a windowless room with a bunch of people I didn’t know. Then I had to check the website twice a day to see if I needed to go back in. That was the extent of it. I was glad I didn’t have to go back and sit in there but I was kind of looking forward to being on a Jury.
Books.
There has been a lot of talk about The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store. Several people told me I should read it. I’m sorry to say I couldn’t finish it. I just couldn’t get into it. It seemed very long and drawn out. Same with This is Happiness. It seemed to go on and on and nothing happened. There were parts I liked and enjoyed but they were broken up with lots of nothing. Just my opinion.
I really liked Miss Benson’s Beetle. It was a real mad cap adventure and held my interest throughout. Of course it was subject matter I could get into, relate to on some levels. I Hope This Finds You Well also held my interest and I enjoyed it but I think it could have been shorter. It kind of dragged in parts. It was almost funny but not really. Sad/Funny. It is about office dynamics – good, bad and ugly.
I read From Here to the Great Unknown by Lisa Marie Presley and Riley Keough. It is a memoir of Lisa Marie’s life. I found it hard to read. It kept jumping back and forth from Lisa Marie speaking to Riley speaking and it was often hard to tell who was talking. Not very well edited. And when it started to just list all the celebrities they spent time with, I jumped to the end. Actually I just looked her up on Wikipedia to find out what happened.
So that brings me up to the current book I am reading – The Chancellor – about Angela Merkel’s life. So far very interesting.
There are five types of dictatorships in the world. Military, Monarchy, Personal (one man has all the power), Single Party and Hybrid. In 2024, there are about 60 countries around the world that would qualify as being ruled by dictators or authoritarian regimes. Most of these are in Africa, followed by the Middle East and Asia with one or two scattered around other continents. An oligarchy is where a country is governed by a few powerful people. Russia and China are the most obvious examples. The United States is considered an oligarchy by some but is mostly known as a constitutional democracy or a democratic republic. Today there are about 23 full democracies, and the rest are variations.
The World Population Review describes the impact of an oligarchy on its people as:
“When oligarchy governments become more self-serving, they typically become more authoritative and take on controlling, sometimes even oppressive or exploitative governmental policies. Income inequality tends to increase as wealth is funneled towards rulers instead of those in the working class. The middle class shrinks as the rich get richer and the poor grow poorer. Additionally, a soured oligarchy tends to inhibit economic growth and creative agility due to a ruling class focused on maintaining the status quo, typically at the expense of actions that would benefit the middle and lower classes. Lastly, an oligarchy can result in puppet leaders—weak politicians who present as strong leaders, but are in fact mere figureheads controlled by the oligarchs who funded their election campaigns.“
Think on that for a moment.
The difference between oligarchies/dictatorships and “democracies”: Freedom. Civil Rights. Respect for human life. When I lived in Russia I came to understand the fundamental differences between the USA (and the West) and Russia. Today the gap between the USA and Russia is closing. People in Russia live in fear. They have to fight just to get through the day. Anything they say against the government or what the government is doing could land them in jail. And if their neighbor is acting up, they will turn them in without a thought. It is them or me. Always. If you have nothing, you have nothing to lose. There is no respect for fellow man. There is no freedom to speak out, to tell the truth. Hate and fear rule.
So how to stay positive? How to go on? Fear is creeping in. I knew the orange one would win this election because I could see it in my neighbors. I could see it all around me. People hating people. Fear. Social media is so full of conspiracy theories that no matter what you believe or what “side” you are on, there is a conspiracy theory for you.
The orange one is a felon. He should be locked up. He sees women as objects. He is a racist. He lies. He has dementia. His only love is power. And revenge. He is insecure. He could become a dictator and probably start a war, or many wars. Yet, people flock to him. They love him. They voted for him. What does that say about the country? About the people? I knew he would win. It was right in front of my eyes. All around me. His short comings were okay with this followers because he was able to instill fear in them. He identified an enemy for them to fear. The immigrants. Those people who come across the border and kill and rape and steal. Steal jobs. We have to arm ourselves against them. We have to do something about it. He will be our savior. He will take good care of us. He will get rid of all those horrible people we fear. One woman told a reporter “He will keep us safe”.
It is really pretty simple.
If you just believe what you are told and don’t check the facts or the details, you can be easily railroaded. There are many, many people in Russia who still love Stalin. What a great guy, right?
Nothing I say will change anybody’s mind. We just have to let it play out.
The building I live in contracted to have all the balconies painted this summer. About six weeks ago a team of guys showed up on my deck. They started moving around my patio furniture, they made themselves at home. Not a word to me. Just there. Day after day. The window in my office looks out onto my deck so there they were in front of me wandering around day after day. They were not painting my deck. They were painting the balconies above me. Everybody was told to be sure everything was removed from their balconies. Made sense. But I didn’t think that referred to me because I don’t have a balcony.
They trashed my patio and broke my table. They propped it up and leaned it against my sliding glass door. Thank god they haven’t broken my windows…. yet. Still not a peep out of them. When I complained to the Board of the building, I was told they had sent out several notices to remove everything from all balconies. Ahhh. A sticking point. Too bad for me. I didn’t haul my furniture into my bedroom for the indefinite future in order to save it from destruction. Now I have to pay to have it removed. Icing on the cake.
Well, the summer was ruined anyway. I haven’t been able to use my patio at all. Between the rain and the construction site, it has been pretty sad.
I think I mentioned I found a publisher for my book so I have been spending most of my time re-writing and tweaking, and writing. I think I am mostly done with my part for now. It is time to get back to doing some art. Neglected for way too long.
In March, COVID-19 came to town. I am working from home, having food delivered, going for occasional drives in my car and trying to avoid people on my way to mailbox. I have discovered it can be difficult to stand six feet away from people on an elevator.
–I have discovered YouTube aerobic workout sessions. There are thousands of them. They closed the gym in my condo so now I am forced to workout in front of my computer. It’s not that bad! I do miss the cross trainer though.
–I have plenty of projects. Working on genealogy, editing letters, drawing, needlepoint, reading, writing. But honestly, there is so much stuff on Netflix, Acorn, Prime, and TV, who needs projects? I watched an excellent documentary on Boris Pasternak – The Real Doctor Zhivago – the other day. See I’m educating myself!
–By the way, everybody, there is no shortage of toilet paper, just an overabundance of hoarders.
APRIL
–Buzz word is testing. Testing testing testing. Antibody testing. I read an article about mass graves in New Jersey. Over 55,000 dead in the USA. Photos of people swarming the beaches in California makes one stop to ponder.
–Some days I think. Oh this isn’t so bad. Things will open up, things could be worse, we can get through this, they will find a vaccine soon enough. Then I read an article about a study in northern Italy where they found the virus could linger in air pollution and spread through the air. Or I read about the hospitals that are still crowded with dying people. And I get freaked out. Moral of the story is stop reading news articles. Or just be more fatalistic.
MAY
–It’s grocery day. Woohoo. I actually haven’t been going to the grocery store. I get my groceries delivered. It seems more efficient somehow. And less immediate contact with people. There is a confirmed case of COVID19 in my building. Ugh. Some days I think, maybe it would be better if I just got it. But then I read about all the complications and people dying. Immunity/death, immunity/death. Que sera sera.
–Yesterday was very exciting. I put on my mask and went to the drug store where I happened to come upon a bottle of hand sanitizer they had just set out on the counter. First time I’ve been able to snag some. And it is a big bottle, too. Then I was feeling very sure of myself and ordered curbside pick up at a local restaurant. My first burger and fries for two months. It was delicious.
–Can’t complain, still breathing. Just the other day Trump said the virus will go away on its own and we don’t need a vaccine. So no problem. What virus?
–One day just smushes into the next. Sometimes I feel like I’m moving in slow motion. Sometimes like time has stopped completely. “Memories” come up on my Facebook page. One year ago I was doing this or that. One year ago? Feels like it was at least ten years ago. Another era, another place, another life. It feels like I have moved to a new place. I want to see people but they are gone. I want to go places but they are not there. I want to do things but those things are not available.
–I’m addicted to the news but it sickens me. Sometimes I cry all the way through the CBS evening news. I probably shouldn’t admit to that. But the things that make me cry are the stories about what people are doing right. The random acts of kindness. The fact that we are really good people living under horrific circumstances. And then I think about all the people around the world who don’t have any water to wash their hands or the space to social distance. I don’t have any reason to complain. I’m not complaining. I’m lucky.
–Yesterday was rough. The other day I mentioned all the good things people were doing. I’m not feeling it today. The people who are talking about their “god” given rights and are violating the stay home and mask rules are disturbing. Yes, people need to work and I understand that there are two sides to every coin, but why put others at risk? There are guidelines and safe ways to proceed.
–Lots of news as usual. Still a virus. The orange one is taking malaria pills to prevent it. We always took malaria pills growing up. Maybe I’m immune. (kidding). I think I need to get out of the house. Maybe a drive this evening.
–Six days of rioting and curfews after the death of George Floyd
JUNE
–More protests and curfews following the death of George Floyd.
–Day 90. 13 weeks. I’m waiting to see what happens in the next couple of weeks. Should be telling. Don’t see a lot of social distancing. See some masks but many people without. It’s a marathon….
–114,000 deaths with over 2 million positive cases. And the numbers go up.
–Did you see the clip of the orange one saying he didn’t know what the 19 stood for in Covid-19? He was all confused. What could it stand for? 19 million stupidities?
JULY
–John Lewis died. A hero of the Civil Rights movement of the ’60s and a strong member of the House of Representatives. He will be sorely missed. We need a new generation of John Lewis’s to step up.
–I went to put gas in my car on Saturday. This was the second time in five months I needed gas. I pulled into the gas station and I actually had to stop and think about where my gas tank was. Luckily I guessed right.
–Is this like the longest year ever? It just drags on and on with basically nothing to look forward to, nothing to pull you through. No light at the end of the tunnel. Just more of the same. I guess there is one thing that is pulling me through. November. The orange one is down in the polls. Let’s keep it that way. Vote.
–Only 95 days left. I noticed a running theme at John Lewis’ funeral yesterday. People remembering his life and what he worked and lived for. One person was most eloquent when she ended her speech with “For the love of god, vote!”.
AUGUST
–The new news term you hear all the time now is “pre-pandemic”. Something happened pre-pandemic, things were done this way pre-pandemic, people did this pre-pandemic. So how will we differentiate between “pre-pandemic” and “post-pandemic”? PP and PP. I’m hoping we can just call it AO, “after orange”.
SEPTEMBER
–This is page 169 in my covid19 journal. I guess I didn’t think this through. Looks like we are only about halfway there. It’s hard to be positive about all of this. Pandemic, economic crisis, flu coming soon, elections, civil unrest, rioting, hurricanes, shootings, vaccine controversy. Of course the really big news is that Carole Baskin from “Tiger King” is going to be on Dancing with the Stars starting in September. Let’s keep things real, people.
–Maxine Maxine Maxine, where is my vaccine? The orange one says next month. The CDC Director says another year. “Trump says CDC Director made a mistake when he said that”. Who to believe, who to believe. My mask will save me.
–Ruth Bader Ginsberg died yesterday. Very sad for all of us.
OCTOBER
–I got an automated call this morning that said something like – “This is a test. Stay home. Stay safe and stay home”. Creepy
–This week is crawling by but we have now entered my eighth month. Happy October.
–So it finally happened. The orange one got the virus. Anybody surprised?
–Much obsessing about the elections
NOVEMBER
–So the end has come. Joe Biden wins by a landslide of electoral votes. Exactly the same numbers as the orange one had. kismet
–Covid is out of control. All the beds in Minnesota are full. The governor is asking all 18-25 year olds to get tested. Everything closes by 10 pm. Who let this happen?
–Now there are three vaccines with good results. There is hope.
–They keep saying vaccines could be here by the end of the year. But do they actually know how long the vaccines protect you for? Actually they don’t. They don’t know if vaccinated people can still carry the disease. They don’t know if the vaccine works on the most severe cases, those people who get very sick and end up in the ICU. They are just now starting the peer review so maybe some answers will come from that. Obviously it is better than nothing and gives us hope but questions linger.
–Yesterday was the first day I really felt okay about our future. I became quite emotional while watching Biden introduce his nominees for Foreign Policy and National Security. It was a mature, intelligent event with qualified intelligent people. What a refreshing change.
–So we are in the middle of a pandemic. We are in the middle of a disaster film. We should all be running around screaming and panicked. Sirens should be blaring across the nation. People should be walking around in hazmat suits. Propaganda should be blaring from loud speakers.
–Instead we sit in front of our idiot box and watch people on the news tell us about hospitals that are at capacity and cooler semis full of bodies. And wonder why people are resisting wearing a stupid mask. And watching an orange reality tv host continue to deny reality. We have a clear definition here of the surreal.
–This would be a good time to crawl into the cave and hibernate.
DECEMBER
–It looks like vaccines are real. There is light at the end of the tunnel.
–A 90 year old woman was the first person in the UK to get vaccinated for the Coronavirus today. People in the US could be getting them within a week or two. It’s a process.
–New super spreader mutation has been found in 17 countries outside the UK including the USA. Where is my vaccine? Will it work for this new version? Apparently it is no worse than the original, it just spreads easier. What does that mean? No idea. Wear a mask and don’t breathe if you can help it.
JANUARY
–430,000 deaths from Covid19 in the US. But it is finally leveling off. But California just found a new strain. But Moderna is coming up with a booster for new strains. But there are not enough vaccines. But the previous administration left a horrible mess and the CDC can’t figure out what is what. But Father Joe is in the White House. But why hasn’t he fixed everything yet? After all he has be there for six days….
–21 million vaccinated in the US
–We are inching up to close to 450,000 deaths. 23 million vaccinated.
FEBRUARY
–Life is pretty boring these days. I am tired of Covid. I am tired of being cooped up. Of not going anywhere. I Zoom with friends but we don’t have a lot to say because we don’t do anything. I need some comic relief.
–Did you ever imagine you would ever know so much about a vaccine?
–Over 492 thousand dead. 36 million vaccinated
–Lost track of the days. Thought today was Wednesday. Nope.
–Now on day 312, I am running out of steam. I am tired of it. I am anxious for it to end. I wonder if our world or our lives will ever return to “normal”. We will all be changed.
–500,000+ dead in the USA. More than any other country. And still dying. I could say a lot about the orange one and what I think of the whole thing but the fact is, this isn’t over yet. We have months to go. Mask up. Be safe. Be aware.
MARCH
–55 million vaccinated. Things are starting to open up. I don’t think I’m ready yet. I’m sure it will be a few more months before I get my vaccine.
–Jury selection for Derek Chauvin’s trial starts today. Peaceful demonstrations.
–I’ve fallen into a time warp. All the snow has melted. I think the rain washed it away. There are people wandering around on the deck in shirt sleeves. Spring is coming. People are starting to talk about traveling. Changes.
–Apparently 100 million people have been vaccinated in the US. I wasn’t one of them.
–I am really going stir crazy. I feel like I live in a cage. I am re-watching The Crown. They are kind of caged as well. Very isolated from the world. They flit from castle to castle but that is about it. It is kind of annoying to watch. I was amused to hear Prince Harry say in a recent interview that The Crown is, of course, all fiction so not as worrisome as the tabloids. Obviously it is fictionalized but I imagine it is anchored in the truth. The tabloids feed off of them and influence them as well. Anyway, nothing to do with me… I have basically stopped watching the news. I get bits and pieces here and there. I saw Biden’s news conference yesterday. All very civilized. Lots of good ideas. Wonder if they are just dreams.
–The Derek Chauvin trial starts today.
–My odyssey is over. My official jab is scheduled for tomorrow.
APRIL
–I had a reaction to my vaccine. Light headed, very tired, a bit nauseous. Slept for a day, all recovered.
–Fully vaccinated with two week waiting period over.
–575,000 plus dead in the USA. 25% of all Minnesotans have been fully vaccinated, 38% have had at least one dose.
