Morning statistics – Rain and the water supply – “Sumer is icumen in” – Bread-making – The PHT has a setback – Sighting of some Karens – The oncoming football season – Cases in Florida soar – And they do so worldwide as well – Difficult choices for national governments – Evening statistics
Today’s statistics as of 8:00 AM — # of cases worldwide: 8,467,155; # of deaths worldwide: 451,954; # of cases U.S.: 2,234,963; # of deaths U.S.: 119,943.
Dusting, vacuuming, cooking, changing bedsheets, laundry – these do not go away during a pandemic. Indeed they perhaps assume a greater importance than usual, being critical for health maintenance. I had have had to wash clothes with greater frequency, in accordance with the CDC recommendations, and I have also been washing face masks by hand and washing my hands more often. So it is hardly surprising that the water bill for this year’s quarter is higher than the previous ones. It is reassuring to know that the necessary water is available. Not only am I in a prosperous country that has the facilities for collecting and purifying a steady water supply, but I happen to live in an area that receives about 40 inches of rainfall annually. So I must not repine if the weather forecast calls for rain every day over the next week.
It rained last night as well. I have already noted that the aftermath of rainfall can take two forms: the rain can wash away the humidity or intensify it. It was, alas, the latter outcome that occurred today. It was like a steam-bath outside this morning. Later in the day a few breezes alleviated the humidity to some extent and the temperature remained below 80 degrees, making it less oppressive. Summer is approaching, the most difficult season from the hiker’s point of view. One must always be on the alert to the possibility of dehydration. I have been careless from time to time about drinking enough water, and I’ve had to pay for it on occasion. A water bladder is a great help in this respect, since it enables the hiker to take a drink at any time, instead of being forced to stop and remove his backpack in order to access the bottles of water it contains.
Since I was running low on bread I devoted part of the day to bread-making as well. I have some sourdough starter in the freezer still, but this time I made use of the yeast I was able to obtain through the efforts of my aunt and my own purchases. I am bound to say that it is much easier to work with store-bought yeast than with homemade sourdough. There is no need to coax the dough into rising with the addition of baking soda or yogurt, and it rises much more quickly.
I have been attending the meetings of the Potomac Heritage Trail Association, an advocacy group for the PHT. Today the group was invited to a review (via tele-conferencing) of a feasibility study that was conducted earlier this year for methods of connecting the PHT across the gap that currently exists along Georgetown Pike between Scott’s Run and Great Falls National Park. The study had been undertaken with the input from various government groups and citizen representatives, and the previous meeting that was held just before the official publication of the study seemed to have the concurrence of everyone involved. But the meeting of today was somewhat disappointing. The conclusions of the study showed four alternatives and recommended one as being the least expensive and involving the least amount of distance walking alongside Georgetown Pike itself. That recommendation, as may be imagined, was welcomed by our advocacy group. However, at this meeting we were informed that there were yet other agencies that needed to be consulted in order to obtain the necessary funds, and the indications are that one of the other routes that favor walking directly alongside Georgetown Pike will be used instead. We have to be prepared to struggle in order to get the trail along the route originally recommended, and in any case it will take much longer than anticipated to get the project started.
It will be seen that today’s activities were primarily domestic. Tomorrow I intend to get out on the trails again, let the skies rage at me as they might.
A term has been floating about the Internet for some time now: a “Karen,” meaning a pampered suburban woman who thinks herself entitled to every privilege available, as well as several that aren’t. Today I encountered two prime specimens on Main Street. The area of Main Street that borders the shopping area known as the Marketplace has a sidewalk broad enough for four people to walk abreast. And there strolled this precious pair, conversing side by side, busily engaged by the imperative claims of gossip and oblivious to the fact that they were sprawled across the entire width of the sidewalk, making it all but impossible to get around them. To be fair, I had approached them from behind, so they could not have seen me unless they chanced to look back. But had anyone else approached them from plain view in the opposite direction, there can be little doubt that they would have not moved closer together to allow the other pedestrian to pass, nor would they have gone into single file. They would have remained engrossed in conversation, never acknowledging the presence of any other person, and have marched on with the imperious indifference of queens – as no doubt they were, in their own eyes at least.
“We are going to social distance, but play football?! I don’t get it!” That probably reflects the sentiments of a number of people, including several health experts; what is remarkable is that these words emanated from Sean McVay, the football coach for the Los Angeles Rams. Common-sense indicates that it may be just as well to shorten the football season for the coming year until the virus subsides or even to cancel it altogether; but then again common-sense and football devotees are barely on speaking terms.
Florida has shut down its bars and restaurants just one week after allowing them to re-open. It had over 3,200 new cases of the virus just today and its total count exceeds 85,000. Governor DeSantis had previously brushed aside concerns about the COVID-19 on Sunday in response to critics worried about the impact of the upcoming Republican Convention in Jacksonville, but he evidently has been forced to reconsider over the past few days.
In fact, this has been a bad day worldwide. There has been a global increase of 166,000 cases yesterday, the highest amount of any single day since the pandemic began. It has come just as many states here and many nations besides ours are easing their lockdown restrictions.
At the same time, it’s easy to see why governments are easing the restrictions. They have a grim choice between allowing the virus to expand in scope or presiding over the collapse of national treasuries. If our economy has suffered, many countries are much worse off. Colombia’s GNP, for instance, shrank by over 20% in the month of April, the biggest decrease on record. The tertiary sector (retail, public services, restaurants, bars, accommodation and transport) shrank 9.2%,; these account for 67% of the economy. Extractive industries, including oil and mining, collapsed 13.75%, while manufacturing and construction fell by 50.12%. And Colombia is being relatively conservative; their lockdown restrictions will not be lifted until July 1st.
Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM — # of cases worldwide: 8,567,280; # of deaths worldwide: 455,558; # of cases U.S.: 2,262,602; # of deaths U.S.: 120,687.