Basalt columns and a waterfall – A break-through infection – Resistance to CDC mask guidelines – Giuliani speaks definitively about the next world – Evening statistics
The morning began ominously: rain came down periodically during the night and the sky was gray and overcast, threatening more rain to come. But in Shenandoah National Park, at any rate, the rain held off all day and eventually the sun emerged from the clouds, while the recent rainfall reduced the temperature to well under 80 degrees. Five of us met to hike along the Appalachian Trail from Jenkins Gap to view the basalt columns close to Compton Peak. This site is one of the finest examples of columnar jointing, the formation of regular polygonal columns as a result of cooling lava flow. In this case, the columns are hexagonal in shape and consist of metamorphosed basalt from lava that flowed in the area about 800 million years ago. From there we continued to Lands Run waterfall via the Dickey Ridge Trail, and then backtracked, taking the Spring House trail on the return to the AT. The waterfall levels were rather low, unsurprisingly in view of the previous series of hot, dry days. Afterwards we snacked on fruit and cheese in the Jenkins Gap parking area, sitting on outdoor foldout chairs and chatting comfortably about various topics. The sky did not exactly clear, but it became less overcast and the atmosphere was less humid than it had been in the morning, so that it felt like sunning on the beach on a warm but not sultry summer afternoon. The virus did not loom large in this conversation; and indeed, under such circumstances, it seems very remote and far away.
Still, the day did not pass without reminders of the increase in infections. RK texted me about a mutual friend of ours who has become one of the “break-through” cases, i.e., someone who has caught the disease even though he has been vaccinated. He is in his late seventies and has undergone considerable breathing difficulties as a result of the illness, but so far hospitalization has not been found to be necessary. No vaccine, of course, confers 100% immunity. That has been one reason that, as of last week, I have taken to resuming the wearing of facemasks in places such as shops and banks, even though Fairfax County has no mask mandate as yet; the increase in COVID cases is too rapid and widespread to be ignored.
The CDC guidelines about wearing facemasks is, as might be expected, meeting considerable resistance. The communities that are the most vulnerable are the ones least likely to be cooperative. Washington DC, as I have noted, has recently re-imposed its mask mandate for public indoor activities. It currently is seeing about 8 new cases per 100,000 on a daily basis. But Springfield, MO, which has a much lower rate of vaccination and is currently seeing 77 new cases per 100,000, has flatly rejected the CDC’s recommendation for a mask mandate, saying that such a measure would only discourage people from getting vaccinated.
In view of the legal jeopardy that is impending over him for his actions as Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani has announced that he is willing to go to jail if convicted but that those who place him there will “suffer the consequences in heaven.” The statement is somewhat puzzling: does Giuliani believe that his accusers will be sent to heaven as a punishment? If so, he can be assured that he is not at all likely to encounter them there.
Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM – # of cases worldwide: 198,970,331; # of deaths worldwide: 4,239,621; # of cases U.S.: 35,767,126; # of deaths; U.S.: 629,380.