Hearing stories from around town…horror stories. It’s one thing to not respect the CDC and WHO guidance about wearing masks and social distancing, to not credit the countries, cities, and states who did this (and here, I shout out to New Zealand) and managed to keep infections and deaths down. It’s quite another matter for people (who claim to be for freedom, don’t you know) who aren’t wearing masks to attack others.
Yeah, attack them. We’ve heard about the shootings and the stabbings. Locally, there are people without masks going around coughing on those with masks and verbally abusing them.
Yeah, this is Trump’s America, a sorry state where bullying undermines intelligence, where childishness and immaturity is applauded as protest.
To close the loop, then, I was thinking about understanding, which lead to a song riff and remembered lyrics, and then the song, “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding”. I’m more familiar with the Elvis Costello cover, so I went with it as your Sunday theme music offering. Like the dash of humor at the start. Cheers
Reading news of dysfunctional America, where political leanings can almost be discerned by who is wearing a mask and practicing social distancing, the Green Day song, “American Idiot” flooded the morning’s musical stream.
Written in 2004, the war in Iraq, election of George Dubya Bush and the U.S. political scene inspired “American Idiot”. Seems like we’ve gone from bad to disastrous. But, as always, just when you think you hit rock bottom, some new madness will emerge.
I’m waiting, breath not held, so see what that is. “Welcome to a new kind of tension, all across the alien nation, where everything isn’t meant to be okay.”
Went out shopping yesterday, Trader Joe’s and Costco in Medford, OR. We were masked up. We heard it wasn’t bad…
They were wrong.
Costco won’t allow entrance unless you have a mask ‘on’. Everyone wore a mask, but not properly. Several had the mask down below their nose and/or mouths. The store has signs up about keeping social distance, and people around with signs. Signs won’t ever deter the ignorant or self-absorbed. Those who ‘know better’ don’t give a shit about signs. Frustrating Costco experience.
It was bliss compared to Trader Joe’s.
TJ’s controlled entrance; one shopping unit out, one group in. Separation was begun on the sidewalk outside. Tape marked off six feet segments.
Most folks outside were not wearing a mask. Why wear a mask? They’re outside. The man in front of us was eating a sandwich. That seems safe.
Inside the store, about three-quarters were masked. Not all of them practiced six-feet of SD; either they didn’t care, were self-absorbed and didn’t notice, or thought all of this was trumpshit (you could see that by their actions).
Yeah, it pissed me off, but I remembered people. Doing the right thing is hard. It requires mindfulness, practice, and patience. Few U.S. citizens are ever accused of being those three things.
Finally, worse though, in both stores, were the employees. Focused on work, they frequently blew through the idea of being six feet apart.
I can only imagine the shit that they’re saying about me at home. I was a senior NCO in the military. My eyes can express a great deal of anger and contempt when it finds its way in me. Yeah, I’m not a patient and tolerant person, especially when I think someone is being stupid.
As an addendum to the whole thing, groups are organizing together in freedom rallies. What cracked me up is that they said, “a military mindset” must be used. A ‘military mindset’ to me means order, structure, discipline. It means listening to your intelligence in the sense of the experts who gather and analyze data. It does not mean asserting your will to do something else in the face of the intell provided.
From all of this, a fave song by The Offspring jumped into the stream. From 1994, here’s “Come Out and Play”. Obviously, it’s chosen for the line repeatedly employed, “You gotta keep them separated.”
By the way, our county had been steadily reporting no new cases. We went ten days, I think. But guess what? New cases of testing positive are being reported.
Trump’s comments about people dying were infuriating to hear. He couldn’t do anything about it. So powerless, isn’t he?
Yeah, infuriating. Watching him, thinking about that, and remembering children in cages, and the way he seems to think — certainly the way he acts in general — an old Foreigner song, “Cold As Ice” (1977), came into my mental music stream.
Not like the COVID-19 deaths (or the children in cages) is the first time he’s demonstrated a lack of empathy. Remember his call to the family of the U.S. soldier killed? “He knew what he was getting into.” Jesus wept. There’s also the lack of caring demonstrated in dealing with Puerto Rico and their issues. Unless it’s about him (and his numbers) or, lordy, the economy, he just doesn’t give a shit, demonstrating nothing but contempt, anger, and hatred as far as emotions go.
Yep, cold as ice. He’s willing to sacrifice anything to make himself look good.
Lots of science-y info has been in the news recently. An argument that started in the last century continues as people claim that the science behind climate change and human influence on it is wrong! That’s not why the glaciers are melting! They’ve always been melting, and the sea is not rising, and you’re not allowed to say, ‘climate change’ in some states because it’s fake science! Meanwhile, scientists tracked an asteroid that passed our planet. Surprisingly, no one yelled that it was fake science. Maybe they did, and I missed it.
Science has been in the news more frequently about COVID-19 and the difference between the novel coronavirus and the flu, and whether mitigating by SIP and closing businesses is worthwhile, or should we just sacrifice whoever needed to develop a herd immunity. Science! It’s everywhere.
No surprise that my morning musical stream featured “Blinded Me With Science” by Thomas Dolby (1982).
Doing yard work yesterday, looking at the dreadful state of the side yard.
Things have been planned for years. Yardwork is a low priority, but I thought this shit (I’m using the formal shit here to indicate improvements) would’ve been done by now. Stepping back, I thought of all the things that’ve occurred that I employ as excuses.
Friend dying of cancer. Cat dying of cancer. MIL dying and being moved into a nursing home. Wildfires and their smoke. Drought and water rationing. Extreme heat and poor air.
This year, it’s a novel coronavirus, wearing masks, social distancing, and SIP. (Yeah, a drought is also widening and extending, so it’s not looking good – and the wildfire season started early because of the extremely dry conditions. I also hear some murder hornets are on the way…)
Of course, that sort of stream gushes with vows not to take time for granted and do things when the chance comes, because that chance may not come again.
Long way to say that today’s theme music is Bryan Adams and “On A Day Like Today” (1998). Cheers
Have news and events finally done it to you? Are you, like me, comfortably numb from it all?
Pink Floyd put it to music back in 1980 as part of a little-known album called The Wall. Here is “Comfortably Numb”.
I remember when this was released. In the U.S. Air Force, stationed at Randolph AFB in Universal City, Texas, I lived not far from family. One cousin was a huge Pink Floyd fan. I’d not heard of any of it but he’d already bought the album. He brought it to my house and played it for me.
Admittedly, I slightly prefer the original studio recording, but David Gilmour playing at Pompei moved me, so here you go. Enjoy the light show. (Hey, it’s Pink Floyd. Well, David Gilmour.)
Seriously, enjoy the lyrics. Enjoy the powerful guitar solos. Enjoy the band members’ interaction with one another.
Listening to the news from various places but mostly the U.S., I’m hearing a lot of calls to open up businesses and start up the economy. I thought they needed theme music. I’m recommended the Rolling Stones with “Start Me Up” (1981).
As a point of order, I’m not in favor of most places in the U.S. starting up. Insufficient testing is in place, tracing has huge gaps, and not enough is known about COVID-19 at this point. It seems like many places are taking a shrugged shoulders, fingers crossed, half-assed approach. While plans don’t need to be perfect, half-assed rarely succeeds. History will be our judge.
