Strange Days

Strange days have found us
Strange days have tracked us down
They're going to destroy
Our casual joys
We shall go on playing

~~ "Strange Days" by The Doors

For starters, I'd like to thank whoever it was who walloped the "president" over the head with a sledgehammer and finally got him to realize that this is a serious problem and we most certainly do not have it under control. It's about damn time! 

But for the entire time that he was denying that this was a public health emergency and his propaganda machine ClusterFox was telling people that it was a media hoax, his rabid followers were out there potentially carrying the virus and infecting others. As Austin Powers so eloquently put it, "That train had sailed." 

So that precious little RNA bundle known as the novel Coronavirus has been percolating and circulating and for all we know, tailgating, for a good seven weeks. And it took this idiot until two days ago to publicly say that it was an emergency. Baby jeebus wept. 

He finally told the truth about that, but since he's a compulsive liar, he can't stop himself from continuing to spread lies. He said that he didn't know that the pandemic team initiated under President Obama had been dismantled. "I don't know anything about that," he said. Of course, there is video of him saying that he made the decision because he sees no point in paying these people for "nothing," and if he needed them again, he'd just hire more people. 

Well, it doesn't really work that way, idiot. Surveillance teams must stay active and be funded in order to track emerging diseases. This stuff takes constant vigilance and research and you can't just set it all in motion by hiring people and trying to play catch-up. 

He is also now saying that he knew all along that it was a pandemic, even before the WHO officially declared it a pandemic. I doubt that he even comprehends the meaning of 'pandemic,' but this also a bald-faced lie, because guess what? There is plenty of video of him saying that this was all going to pass, no big deal, we'd soon be down to zero cases. ZERO. 

As of March 17, 2020, at 4 PM, the CDC lists the number of cases in the United States to be 4,226.

That's a lot more than zero. 

Even when he starts taking things seriously and starts taking steps to mitigate this crisis, he just can't stop himself from lying. Even when there's video. Baby jeebus is still weeping. 

States are finally trying to take matters into their own hands and taking steps to close things down in order to slow the transmission. I hope that will be enough but it remains to be seen. I have a sneaking suspicion that this virus is already fairly ubiquitous in the US after seven weeks of unchecked transmission. When widespread testing ramps up, we are going to see a massive, shocking, and downright scary increase in cases. Brace yourselves for that because it will make you think that it has exploded out of control. To be honest, that may have already happened. The better picture will come as we start to see the increase in new cases slow down.

I'm just trying to breathe, keep my sense of humor, and find joy where I can. Like every other person who can manage it, we will be hunkering down at Nutwood and doing our best to be like REO Speedwagon and ride the storm out. I'm sending solidarity to all my fellow healthcare workers who are going to be in it for the duration.

I've been seeing the word 'surreal' a lot lately. I honestly cannot think of a better word for it. In my 25 years in healthcare, I have never seen anything like this.

Strange Days

The outcome of last night’s ND-Michigan game wasn’t what we wanted, but we had fun watching all the same. I’ve learned to not get depressed about losing. I used to, but life is just too short to let something like a football game dictate your mood, you know? I enjoy watching, I love getting into it, but I don’t mourn when we lose. That’s why I have no regrets about going to the National Championship game last year. We got our asses kicked, but I loved the experience of being down there for the game, and loved being there to cheer for my Irish. So last night, I was like, “Well, damn,” but I didn’t get all weepy or upset. I’m just thrilled to be watching football again and excited about going to more games soon!

Today has been extremely low-key, and we’ve both been just chilling and reading stuff on the Interwebz. A Facebook friend posted an interesting article that wondered if President Obama hasn’t thought all of this Syria thing through with focus on the long-term. That maybe he has a strategy in mind here, and his actions are working to that end. I don’t know if that’s the case or not, but I found it an interesting viewpoint. My original comment was pretty much that, nothing confrontational, just a casual comment on the article. Then there was this:

[One commenter]: So, are we striking Syria or not, Beth?
[Me]: How the hell should I know? I'm not the Decider! But based on what I'm reading, my gut tells me that the House will say no, and the President will go along with that. I don't think anyone really knows what is going to happen, though. It's a very fluid situation.
[Another commenter]: Beth go get some knowledge????? If you can actually read you happen to be wrong. Learn your facts! no hard feelings, but you are a moron!

Well, that just cracked me up. I didn’t respond other than “LOL I see,” because that was just silly. Anyone who knows me knows that I try to stay informed, I’m an avid reader, and I don’t think anyone other than a hater would describe me as a moron. As one friend commented, “The minute they start calling you names, they’ve lost.” Very true. I took no offense at the comment, because it was just so far removed from reality that I could laugh about it.

The “no hard feelings, but you are a moron!” part was funny enough, but what really cracked me up was the “Beth go get some knowledge?????” part, with yes, FIVE question marks. I immediately thought of this, and when I read that comment, I hear it in this voice.



These are strange days indeed, and I’m just hanging on for the ride!