March 2020 Revisited
It Doesn't Get Better with the Passing of Time
Five years ago, almost to the day, Mrs Dear Leader and I were on our way back from FL when we were made aware of a tiny little change in our (by which I mean our country's) lives. We had spent the night in Champaign IL and in the morning when I went down to take Prudie out and get MDL's morning coffee (our usual routine) the manager was there to greet everyone. Ominously, he said that there would only be coffee and a bagel, no breakfast; the governor had declared an emergency - now everyone go home!
Just like that our odyssey into the unknown had begun.
Anyway, I thought it would be "fun" to re-post a subtle reminder from that "unique" time. Here you go.
Notes from a Prisoner in Solitary Confinement
(Originally posted Apr 6, 2020)
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| Home viewed pre-covid |
So here we are, trapped in our own homes – the horror of it all!
You’d think that a guy who has been retired for a few years would be comfortable with sitting around the house all day and pondering his navel.
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| Same home viewed after lockdown |
But no, one of the verities of life is that there’s a big difference between doing things we want to do and things you have to do – even if they’re the same things. Watch something on Netflix? Ha, you can’t make me! Take a nap? Who says?! How about cleaning the closet after 10 years of stalling? Who made you the boss?! (Besides there’s plenty of time for that later.) Have a cocktail? My god, are you nuts, it’s only two o’clock! Oh, well, if you insist.
Luckily, Mrs Dear Leader is very patient with me. In fact, she’s too patient with me – she just ignores me. She ignores my whining about no jelly beans in the house or that I’m tired of washing my freaking hands or that it’s stupid that the golf courses are closed. (Which the governor wisely soon reversed when he realized it was a very bad policy that angered the all-important golf community.) Her pet name for me became Baby Dougie. Also, I look stupid in a stupid mask. A mask, I might add, that she made and is busy making masks for neighbors and care givers. I know, right? She's just doing it to make me look stupid and whiny! Well, in fact, everything IS stupid! (Well, not the mask – but I do look stupid in it.)
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| You think I'M bored with this crap . . . |
Thank god, the dog hasn’t given up on me; Prudie is the one constant between the pre-pandemic life and the current sad state of affairs. We had a saying when I was in Thailand, lo those many years ago defending freedom from the godless commies (who now make a lot of our clothes) “every day is Tuesday and every meal is breakfast.” The genesis of which is that's what it felt like when you flew missions from 11PM until 5am every day, seven days a week, week in, week out - hey, pass the beer and waffles, will ya!
Where was I going with that? Oh, yeah, that’s kind of the way a dog thinks (I think.) For them, every day is the same, every day is sheltering at home. Get up, go for a walk, go poop, have breakfast, take a nap, have lunch, take a nap - what’s not to like?!
As an aside, I saw that a cat in Belgium caught the covid virus. (And now a freaking Tiger? What's with those felines?!) Yup, all the symptoms – fever, coughing, breathing issues (not sure how you would know with a cat.) Caught it from humans but the cat recovered. Anyway, the larger point is that if a cat can catch the virus, in theory a cat can give you the virus. Now luckily, cats are naturally so good at social distancing that it probably doesn’t matter. In other news, no word that dogs can catch it - thank the god of dogs - score another one for mutts!
Anyway, it’s hard for we humans to embrace a dog’s life no matter how comfortable it might be IF someone is trying make us do it. This seems to be especially true of Americans; we have this independent streak that rears its head at the most inconvenient times. I mean, we put up with a two-party political system that is clearly a total failure without a peep but get mad when we aren’t allowed to infect our neighbors? Sheesh.
Finally, this whole social distancing thing and staying home is a pain but at least we’re all in it together. Well, most of us anyway. So don’t be a whiner like me. If you’re retired, you’re lucky. If you have a good spouse or partner, you're lucky. If you still have a job, you’re lucky. If you have good neighbors, you’re lucky. If you have a dog, you’re lucky. (No comment on cats.) For those that aren’t so lucky let’s try to be as generous as possible in whatever way possible to them.
Neighborhood Mensa club discussing quantum physics while social distancing
If you don’t have the effing virus you’re lucky so don’t be stupid!
Fast forward 5 years:
In hindsight we know that a lot of us were stupid and that includes the government with its many unfortunate, unnecessary or incorrect calls. Which gave ammunition to the shitbirds who resisted every effort to protect them and their neighbors and loved ones in the name of - Freedom! (The same people, of course, who would have been the first to pillory the government for not doing enough had millions more died without some of those rules.)
Well, here we are more or less back to normal with only one of the two main pestilences bedeviling us back then still darkening our country now. Keep the faith, hopefully that one too will be totally eliminated as well in four years - if not sooner from natural causes. (Or if we can find a vaccine for stupidity sooner.)
Songs for the lucky among us . . .
Luckiest People in the World Patrick Davis (If you think YOU'RE lucky, watch this!)
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