9/5/20
Aloha, All! Happy Labor Day!
Life is lurching along here in the islands. First, I’ll get the bad news out of the way. Covid 19 is so bad we are seeing a reversal in opening up. This is particularly true on Oahu, where the stress on the health care facilities has led to a total “stay at home” order and re-closing of non-essential businesses. Here on our island it isn’t quite as bad, but we’re seeing 20-30 new cases a day, and now an increase in hospitalizations and deaths. Fortunately (?) not all the new severe cases have required hospital treatment – about 50 residents of a Hilo Veterans’ Home are being kept in place unless they require special facilities. Those who argue for “powering through it” and going for “herd immunity” should remember that (a) this is who we would be sacrificing and (b) non-covid emergency care for themselves or loved ones would get more and more scarce. Anyway, the only restriction so far here is that beaches are closed again (except for getting to and from the ocean) and gatherings larger than 5 are prohibited. Most of the new cases on our island are still on Hilo side, but an example of why this is only temporary is when a few days ago the police broke up a gathering at a beach park very close to us of about 30 “anti-maskers” who were planning protest strategy against Covid restrictions and also to resist the deployment of 5G cell technology. Also, a large beach party in the fishing village of Miloli, about 30 miles from us in South Kona has produced about a dozen cases so far, traced to people who live and work on our side, not just those in the village. Sigh......
More positive news now. Karen played golf on Tuesday and the weather was very nice. With all the regular once a week practice, she’s been getting better and better. My big house project this week went well – replacing the ballast in two of the fluorescent light fixtures in the garage. Last week I replaced an entire fixture but then decided I might be able to replace and re-wire just the ballast part that actually powers the tubes in the other two fixtures. The parts were readily available at Lowes for about ½ the price of a whole fixture. Turns out the replacement ballasts, though much lighter than the old ones, fit perfectly and had the same wiring scheme. The hardest part was working on a ladder with the fixture above my head, which I am glad to report surviving. Both fixtures work great now and the light makes it much easier to see what I’m doing in the garage. There is a fluorescent fixture in our laundry room I’m going to tackle next......
Since the weather got dry enough to set my rat trap in the fig tree, we’ve been able to pick some very nice fruit for a change and have some fig salads and a fig pizza. Very tasty. It only required the lives of 4 Oxfarts. Normally I might be reluctant to kill something just so we can tickle our taste buds – we don’t need the figs as food for survival, but the rats do. However, the rats here are hosts to a parasite called Rat Lungworm. They don’t die from this, but their poop contains larvae that slugs, snails, and frogs can eat and pass on to humans via home-grown vegetables, Controlling rats as well as slugs, snails, and coqui frogs has some definite justification, in other words.
Finally, I got a new techno-toy this week, a pair of Beats Pro wireless ear pods. This is probably my 4th or 5th attempt to find ear buds that sound good and won’t fall out of my ears. Both Karen and I have ears (particularly the left) that just don’t like them. These new ones have ear loops that go over your ears and ensure the buds won’t come out. My big concern was how comfortable they would be, including while also wearing glasses. So far so good. This long quest may be finally over. I bought them at Costco.com, so if they didn’t fit or if they crap out (like my last pair) I could easily return them. A bit expensive but maybe worth it.
Ok, it is a beautiful morning and we’re off on a modification of our usual Saturday routine. We don’t need to go to Farmers’ Market this morning, nor to Planet Fitness (we went on Thursday instead). Instead of having our picnic at one of the beach parks, we’re stopping at the shoreline house of our Oregon snowbird friends who graciously are letting us use their lanai while they are on the mainland.
Take care everyone. Stay as safe and sane as you can – both are real challenges these days.
3 comments:
Sounds like islanders are no better than mainlanders in handling Covid. I've been wishing I could ask my parents about their experience of the 1918 Pandemic. I recall a few comments, but now I have a context that would make paying attention worthwhile. I thought for a bit that my mother's end of high school might have corresponded with the pandemic, but my calculations were off. I think that was all the school offered (thru Sophomore year). I've filled some of my time with nature journaling, which is sketching, writing painting, calculating and generally paying attention to nature around me. As we've not been home in the spring or late summer in most the last 15 years, we are learning about migrations we didn't see, about residents acting differently and seeing stages of development we weren't here to pay attention to. Our "seasons" are real, but if one only looks at the weather numbers, it wouldn't look like it other than wet and dry.
I think the Pandemic behavior unravels at several points. Trust seems to be one. We want to trust our friends, our relatives and neighbors. I see that translating into being comfortable getting a little closer, physically and a little closer and trusting they haven't "been anywhere bad." I hate the constant vigilance and Carole is not real keen on my tugging on her to step away. Strangers are easier for most of us to distance. And then there are those who don't seem to care and probably haven't even heard of the herd strategy! Haha. I'm sure some of you social psych proteges will piece this together. Maybe they will come up with strategies we can use for the next pandemic. I don't think we're doing anything too successful about this one. Go wash your hands! Your standing too close! ;)
Hey, thanks for the comment. Anyone who lived through the 1918 pandemic must have some interesting and useful stories! I've seen and read some accounts recently and learned among other things that it began in the worst part of the year -- fall. Also, there were "anti-maskers" even then and like now, there were several waves as people became complacent during periods when it seemed to have subsided. So much for people benefiting from the lessons of history.
Your observation about interpersonal trust is right on target, IMHO. Notice also how it reinforces the "in group-out group" dynamic. In addition, from my field we know that most people are lousy at accurately perceiving risk, particularly when a leader seems to be deliberately destroying trust in expert opinion and scientific data so that rational assessment gives way to blind acceptance of authoritarian pronouncement.
Lurching along is a good description. so if things are too crowded on Saturdays, try Tuesday or Thursdays (depending on you local market) instead. Yep, adaptation. It is discombobulating to plan around avoiding high-traffic times instead of when you want to go. I don’t think it does a favor to our already fractionated civility to add to it a generalized fear of other people and what they may be carrying.
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