Category: Journal Entry

Morning statistics – Private tranquility amid public turmoil – A morning visit – Visit to my mother – Increase in traffic – Shenandoah National Park, Phase Two – Republican Primary – The irksome case of Gone With the Wind – Evening statistics  

Today’s statistics as of 10:00 AM — # of cases worldwide: 7,356,287; # of deaths worldwide: 414,436; # of cases U.S.: 2,046,577; # of deaths U.S.: 114,189. 

It will be seen from the foregoing entries that any personal privations I may have experienced as a direct consequence of the virus up to this point have not been great.  Many have died; many more have fallen gravely ill; many have lost their jobs; many have endured economic hardship; there has been rioting in the streets of several cities and widespread political unrest; it is quite possible that historians will conclude that our country was fractured during this period to an extent that has never occurred before since its inception.  But on a private level I have undergone remarkably little.  There have been a few useful items in the grocery stores and pharmacies that at times I had difficulty in procuring and I have been forced to delay purchases of others until the retail stores had re-opened – and that is nearly all.  Money has been spent and renewed; payments from pensions and investments have been remitted regularly; the shadow of ill health has not fallen upon me – indeed I am physically as active as ever.  It seems likely that amidst every epidemic there are various strata of people who are all but untouched by the turmoil that seethes about them.  When I first read The Decameron I thought that the framework for the tales – that of ten well-to-do young people retreating from the plague-stricken city to a villa and passing the time in feasting and telling amusing stories – somewhat far-fetched; now it makes perfect sense to me.

This morning I visited my friends EG and HG, and we used somewhat less caution than before.  Most of the time we spent outside in the shade of their garden by the fishpond, but I was also inside their house briefly.  We chatted about various topics, the upcoming election in November among them.  We are all desirous for a Democratic win, but we know that the outcome is far from certain.  There is the issue of Tara Reade, which is none the less pressing for having been temporarily shelved; there are the remarks of Biden indicating that he takes the black vote for granted, which he will have to smooth away; there is the fact that Biden himself does not generate much enthusiasm.  And we also spoke about the future of the Republican Party once Trump is no longer a power, either as of November or four years from now.  At this point it contains both moderate conservatives and right-wing extremists even more unbalanced than Trump, and it is uncertain whether these fissures within the GOP can be repaired.  It was very warm today, over 90 degrees, but less humid than it was yesterday, and the breezes in the shade of the garden were cool and refreshing as we sat and drank coffee together.

Afterwards I visited my mother in the assisted living facility in Chevy Chase.  It has a new restriction that all visitors wear face masks – which, however, I had already been doing on previous visits.  It was not a long visit, being made chiefly for the purpose of picking up accumulated mail and verifying that my mother’s condition was reasonable.  She is very frail and spends most of her day dozing, but she is still well physically and is tended with care.  Her caretaker tells me that there have been no cases of the virus to date within the facility, which is very reassuring news.

Traffic on the Beltway was easy by the standards of the time before the lockdown restrictions began, but there is no question that it is heavier than before.  In either direction using cruise control was no longer feasible.  On driving to the facility along the Inner Loop I was not delayed anywhere, but when I drove back on the Outer Loop I saw a long backup on the Inner Loop just half-an-hour after I had used it.  Returning on the Outer Loop also presented no traffic issues, but traffic on I-66 was very slow and I got off of the first exit after the Beltway, using back roads to return home. 

Shenandoah National Park will begin Phase Two of its re-opening tomorrow.  Trailheads at the boundary will no longer be off-limits, which means that it will no longer be necessary to re-route any of the hike routes that begin outside of the park. 

The officials of North Carolina continue to hold firm on their demands that any convention held within their state follow the health guidelines mandated by the virus restrictions and their response to Trump’s withdrawal of the Republican Primary to Jacksonville, FL is essentially “good riddance to bad rubbish.”  In their own words: “If the president is genuinely delusional enough to think that demanding a full-scale convention is reasonable, then Jacksonville is more than welcome to host his acceptance speech. Governor Cooper has made it clear that no political event is worth risking the public health of the Charlotte community and the lives of more North Carolinians. Evidently, President Trump’s calculus is different.”  It is just possible that Trump’s overweening desire to hear crowds of people chanting his praises may come to defeat its own end.  Various state delegates are understandably reluctant to travel to Florida, where cases are increasing at a rate of over 1000 per day.  To complicate matters, the business side of the convention and smaller meetings will have to be held in Charlotte to forestall the possibility of lawsuits for breach of contract. 

HBO Max has pulled the Gone With the Wind movie from its streaming library, at least temporarily.  Both the book and the movie are among the most vexatious in American art.  The movie features at least three brilliant performances (by Vivien Leigh, Olivia de Havilland, and Harriet McDaniel), it is the highest-grossing movie in history (when using adjustments for inflation), and in addition it became a landmark by procuring the first Oscar for a black actor in American film.  The book on which it was based was written by an author of great narrative gifts:  a prose style which, if not particularly eloquent, is swift-moving and uncluttered; a background that was carefully researched without ever becoming obtrusive; vivid characterizations, including a heroine with a fascinating blend of courage and conventionality, generosity and meanness, sexual allure and frigidity; descriptions of a city under siege that may be unsurpassed on American literature; and even occasional flashes of wit (e.g., “Mrs. Elsing was . . .a thin frail woman, who had been a beauty, and about her there still clung a faded freshness, a dainty imperious air”).  But the rose-colored views of the values of the ante-bellum South and their aftermath during and after the Civil War become impossible to sustain, even by the author herself.  Margaret Mitchell is a kind of antithesis of the prophet Balaam:  she comes to bless and she remains to curse.  The more she reveals about the morals and manners of that society, even and perhaps especially by what is intended as praise, the more repellent it becomes.  The putative moral anchor of the book, supposedly representing the best that such a society has to offer, is gentle, shy, self-effacing Melanie Wilkes; and Melanie is a racist through and through.  At one point Ashley Wilkes tries to turn down an offer from Scarlett to work at Atlanta in one of her mills, well-aware that she is love with him despite their both being married to someone else and anxious to avoid the awkward encounters such an arrangement would entail.  He intends to find employment in the North instead, but he is dissuaded by Melanie, who uses the following argument for his acceding to Scarlett’s request and living in Atlanta:

“Beau [their son] can have lots of playmates and go to school. If we went North, we couldn’t let him go to school and associate with Yankee children and have pickaninnies in his class! We’d have to have a governess and I don’t see how we’d afford –”

It follows that the black figures in the novel whose lives revolve around pleasing and protecting their owners and who continue to regard them as their owners even after slavery is abolished evoke a very different reaction than Mitchell intended.  No doubt there were many in real life who continued to hug their chains after the institution of slavery was abolished, but figures such as Mammy, Uncle Peter, and Big Sam inspire pity and even a kind of terror in their resolute refusal to live among their former masters on terms of equality.  Especially chilling is Big Sam’s reaction to the Northerners who make at least an attempt to treat him with civility:

“But all dem Yankee folks, fust time dey meet me, dey call me ‘Mist’ O’Hara.’ An’ dey ast me ter set down wid dem, lak Ah wuz jes’ as good as dey wuz. Well, Ah ain’ nebber set down wid w’ite folks an’ Ah is too ole ter learn.”

In general, the presentation of master/slave relations completely represses the brutality and exploitation that was a commonplace feature of the ante-bellum South.  No slave gets beaten; families are never broken up; the masters are all indulgent parent figures and the slaves are all grown-up children.  Mammy devotes her entire life to being nursemaid to Scarlett even when Scarlett is well into her twenties.  Uncle Peter does the same for Pittypat Hamilton up to and including the latter’s old age.  Nonetheless Margaret Mitchell occasionally gives herself away.  Perhaps the most revealing moment occurs when we see Scarlett’s horrified reaction to the recruitment of several slaves, including some from her father’s plantation, for building breastworks to protect Atlanta:

“Oh, Rhett, if there’s no danger, why are they digging these new breastworks? Is the army so short of men they’ve got to use darkies?”

Scarlett may subscribe, theoretically at least, to the notion instilled by her mother of being kind and affectionate towards her slaves, but nonetheless she regards them as a different and inferior species altogether.

“The first thing that we demand of a wall is that it shall stand up. If it stands up, it is a good wall, and the question of what purpose it serves is separable from that. And yet even the best wall in the world deserves to be pulled down if it surrounds a concentration camp. In the same way it should be possible to say, ‘This is a good book or a good picture, and it ought to be burned by the public hangman.’ Unless one can say that, at least in imagination, one is shirking the implications of the fact that an artist is also a citizen and a human being.”  George Orwell’s comments on the art of Salvatore Dali are equally applicable here.  Unfortunately no one is likely to pull down the walls built by Margaret Mitchell and those who have adapted her work to film.  They are both likely to cast their gloomy shadows on our literature and our film for a long time to come.

Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM — # of cases worldwide: 7,444,644; # of deaths worldwide: 418,126; # of cases U.S.: 2,065,580; # of deaths U.S.: 115,129.  Our death toll from the virus is now more than 100 times that of China, where the virus originated.

On the Appalachian Trail In Shenandoah National Park – Encounters with bears while hiking – Prospect of new boots – Mountain laurel in full bloom – A pitiful tale – President Nkurunziza of Burundi – Evening statistics

There were only six of us on the hike for the Vigorous Hikers today.  The hike was a relatively simple one, going on the Appalachian Trail from Panorama to Elkwallow and back, perhaps 17 miles in all and 3000 feet of elevation gain.  I have been on this segment many times and it would be idle to recount all of the memories it holds for me, but there is one worthy of mention.  In the 1990s, when I was just getting back into hiking and was for the most part navigating the trails on my own, I had my first bear encounter.  Shenandoah National Park has a significant number of bears; the estimates range from 200 to 1000.  When going along the AT from the south to Elkwallow, one hits a turn to the left that is almost 90⁰ and in seasons of full foliage (like this one) it is impossible to see what is around the corner.  As I made that turn I suddenly came in full view of a mother bear and two cubs in the hollow below.  I started back in surprise and, I confess, with some alarm as well.  But that alarm turned to relief when they stepped back likewise.  It was clear that they were no more desirous of an encounter than I was.  After some reflection I decided that the best course would be to continue as I was, neither slackening nor increasing my pace, until they were well behind me.

I reacted purely on instinct but I later learned that this instinct was a sound one.  It is very inadvisable to run from a bear; that is a contest no human can win.  Bears can run up to 35 miles per hour.  The fastest a human can run is 15 miles per hour.  The last thing one would wish is to provoke a chase.  There are a few other defenses one can use as well, which I found out about in later years.  I have sometimes found that the sound made from banging my hiking poles together may cause a bear to retreat; bears apparently find the sounds made by metal objects rather intimidating.  I have had a few encounters with bears since, but none of them caused more than a momentary alarm.  I do not set myself up as an expert by any means.  My encounters were all with black bears, the only kind one sees in the East.  I have sometimes traveled West but up to this point I have had no encounter with grizzlies, which are much more aggressive.

I heard news from my fellow-hikers.  Poor BL was not present; he is still suffering from after-effects of the virus, which are affecting his kidneys, and he will have to refrain from activity for a while.  And apparently BF, the surgeon who was on the hike I led two weeks ago, had been afflicted by the virus as well, although he had (supposedly) recovered by the time he was walking with us again.  Still, I think I can claim that not all of the facts were set before me when I agreed to include him in the Great Falls hike.  On a more agreeable note, I found out that REI will be re-opening later in the week.  I have at this point hiked nearly 1000 miles from January 1^st onwards, and I am bound to admit my extreme gratification that I will be able to shop for new hiking boots soon.  The traction in the boots that I currently use is almost non-existent at this point.

The day was very warm, well into the 90s at lower elevations and only slightly cooler in the mountains, and somewhat humid as well.  But it was reasonably clear, and the momentary intervals of cloud cover were actually welcome because they helped to moderate the temperature to an extent.  The early blooms of spring are gone, but there were many flowering columbine plants and the mountain laurels were at their peak.  In several segments the bushes laden with blossoms flanked both sides of the trail for several yards on end; a hiking friend of mine described going through such a display as “walking the bridal procession.”

”I am heartbroken and lost right now, but I have to have faith. Please give us time to work through this, and please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.”  Such were the poignant words of Rodney Wheeler, after reporting the death of his wife from a fall off of a cliff at Grandview State Park, WV, located along the gorge of the New River.  There was only one little problem:  Julie Wheeler had not fallen at all.  Not only was she not dead, but she was hiding in the closet of her own home, while her husband and her son planted items at the park overlook to fake her death.  It seems that Ms. Wheeler had earlier pleaded guilty to the charge of submitting fake forms to the Veterans’ Administration while she was working as caretaker for a patient.  She faced 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and restitution for ranging from $302,131 to $469,983.  As a result of this ingenious stratagem, she and her husband were arrested on multiple felony charges such as fraudulent schemes, conspiracy to commit a felony, conspiracy to commit a misdemeanor, false emergency report, obstructing an officer, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and willful disruption of a governmental process. 

Pierre Nkurunziza, the president of Burundi, has died at the age of 55 of what is described as “cardiac arrest,” but what many suspect to be the coronavirus.  Unlike the majority of other African nations, Burundi has refused to implement lockdown measures and has expelled the WHO’s expert team working on the virus from the country.  It has reported that only 83 cases have occurred; the population is over 11,000,000.  It is simply impossible to obtain reliable data from the country; there is no reliable independent authority to verify it.  It would be interesting if the virus were indeed the cause of death of a national leader who consistently ignored it as a threat.  One could wish such a fate on a national leader somewhat closer to home who also ignored the virus for as long a time as he thought he could get away with it.

Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM — # of cases worldwide: 7,311,510; # of deaths worldwide: 413,000; # of cases U.S.: 2,045,399; # of deaths U.S.: 114,151.  We have had nearly 19,000 new cases today.  Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Kentucky, New Mexico, North Carolina, Mississippi, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah have all seen record spikes.  But Brazil is even worse off, with over 31,000 new cases today.  Belarus, Iceland, Belgium, and Ireland now have a case rate of over 0.5% (more than one in 200).

Morning statistics – Uncertainty about the Hajj – Triumph of New Zealand – Promising news from other countries – Shortages becoming less common – Retail stores – Testing out the new sneakers – Bison attack in Yellowstone – Reminiscence of the elks of Yellowstone – Evening statistics

Today’s statistics as of 8:00 AM — # of cases worldwide: 7,114,817; # of deaths worldwide: 406,650; # of cases U.S.: 2,007,531; # of deaths U.S.: 112,471.  For several weeks Spain and Italy were the two countries with the highest case counts after the U.S., but that has changed greatly this month.  Brazil and Russia both have hundreds of thousands more cases than Spain and the U.K. has nearly as many.  India, which at one point appeared to have matters under control, has already surpassed Italy in the number of cases, and Peru will soon be doing the same.  Chile, Mexico, and Pakistan have also seen continual large increases of cases.    

Saudi Arabia has also seen a spike in the number of cases, so that its count now exceeds 100,000.  No announcement has been made about the Hajj, but its cancellation is becoming increasingly likely.  Indonesia, which has the largest number of Muslims of any country in the world, has already instructed its citizens not to attend, and India will probably follow suit.  Jeddah, the gateway to the pilgrimage to Mecca, is currently under lockdown.  It has a curfew lasting from 3:00 PM to 6:00 AM, a suspension of prayers in mosques, and a stay-at-home order for public and private sector workers.  Authorities are contemplating similar lockdown restrictions for Riyadh.  The Umrah still remains suspended. 

New Zealand now has no active cases of the virus.  All of the restrictions imposed earlier are being removed, except for border restrictions.  Anyone entering the country must undergo a 14-day quarantine.  New Zealand, of course, has the advantage of being an island nation and can regulate its border somewhat more easily than other countries can.  There is still some economic pain:  thousands have lost jobs and tourism, which accounts for 10% of the national industry, has been particularly hard-hit.  But the New Zealanders are now in the enviable position of having no limitations on public events, weddings, funerals, social functions.  Retail stores are fully operational, as are hotels and public transportation.   

Other countries have shown promising declines.  South Korea was reporting between 700 and 800 new cases per day in March; now the number of daily new cases is between 30 and 40.  Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Vietnam also appear to have tamed the virus.  Hong Kong has averaged one new case per day for the past month.  Taiwan has had only one new case in the past three weeks.  Vietnam continues to astonish onlookers.  It has had only 332 cases, of which a mere 16 are still active, and no deaths.  The other success stories are island nations or territories, but Vietnam has a substantial border with China – a border, however, which the Vietnamese government determined from the onset that no one would cross as long as the virus was active.  

I shopped at Walmart today for certain items that I can buy there at slightly lower prices.  It was not particularly crowded, possibly because I arrived at 7:00, just as it opened.  Some of the shelves were nearly empty but most of them were stocked.  Yeast is available again and I bought some to add to the supply I received from my aunt.  I probably am going to be making use of it soon.  I used to make bread during my days as a graduate student, but I fell out of that habit when I worked at a 9-to-5 job.  I’ve began bread-making again some weeks ago when bread was no longer to be found on the shelves, and I probably will continue to do so even though bread is now obtainable. 

On the whole I think I’ve been managing pretty well during the time of the shortages.  I tried to keep my shopping excursions down to one per week, making out a list beforehand.  I did not hoard items and I do not, at this point, have any large amounts of any items that I cannot use.  I certainly bought some items (paper towels, aluminum foil, etc.) in bulk for the sake of economy, but I used to do this long before the virus had any effect on the store supplies.  And I’ve coped when certain items were unavailable – for example, making a sourdough starter when yeast was off of the shelves, eating more vegetarian meals to become less dependent on meat, and so on. 

I then went on foot to one of the local malls, where several retail stores are newly open.  I am not one of those for whom shopping is an art form, but I certainly was pleased to be able to obtain a new pair of sneakers from a shoe store that had re-opened this morning.  I have worn out a few pairs of sneakers over the past several months (I go through footwear fairly quickly, for obvious reasons), and I’ve been anxious to get new ones.  It’s possible to order them online, but it’s much better to try them out first before purchasing them. 

Naturally I had to break in the new pair of sneakers I selected, so instead of going back the most direct way (which would have been about 2 miles) I went via a more roundabout route that brought the total up to 15 miles for the excursion.  The route went along some of the quieter roads and a network of trails, including a segment of the Cross-County Trail.  We are in late spring now. The leaves have lost the translucent quality that characterizes them when they first begin to unfurl and they are now brilliant green in the sunlight, darkening in the shade to a hue similar to that of the skin of an avocado.  It was a brilliant sunlit day, without clouds, and the portions of the walk that went through woodlands presented that distinctive mosaic in the forest scenery of the eastern U.S.:  chinks of blue emerging among the outlines of the leaves with their various hues of green and of the boles and limbs of the trees, with their subtle shadings of brown and grey.

Yellowstone National Park re-opened recently, and just two days afterwards a visitor was attacked by a bison.  I can readily understand how this might happen.  Bison look placid and slow-moving, but this appearance is deceptive; they do not like people to approach them too closely and they will sometimes make their displeasure known, either by ramming the intruder to the ground or goring him or her with its horns.  And they are much, much faster than they look.  They can run at 35 MPH, make turns very quickly, and jump fences.  I remember when I was visiting Yellowstone with various friends how we sometimes had to drive on roads where the bison were crossing; all we could do was wait patiently until the bison chose to get out of the way of the cars. 

Indeed, encounters with wildlife were fairly frequent on that particular trip.  We happened to be there at the height of the elks’ rutting season, when they lose all appearance of timidity that they might display during other seasons.  There was one time, for instance, when three of us were hiking together and, on the very last mile of the hike, we encountered a cow elk grazing directly on the trail.  One side of the trail was defined by a nearly perpendicular rock wall and on the other was a sheer drop, so we could not go around her.  She did not respond to our attempts to shoo her away, giving us a look of languid disdain as she concentrated on the serious business of feeding herself.  It is possible that she felt my fatal fascination and was riveted to the spot in consequence; what is indisputable was that she was not moving.  At long last she espied a new grazing opportunity further up the hill beyond the trail, and as she went there we trudged by.

Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM — # of cases worldwide: 7,189,800; # of deaths worldwide: 408,240; # of cases U.S.: 2,026,425; # of deaths U.S.: 113,055.

Morning statistics – Songbirds in suburbia – Brazil again – Activity in Fairfax – Colin Powell – Evening statistics

Today’s statistics as of 8:00 AM — # of cases worldwide: 6,974,721; # of deaths worldwide: 402,094; # of cases U.S.: 1,988,544; # of deaths U.S.: 112,096.

I have been more conscious of the chorus of songbirds this spring than in any other that I can remember, but it appears my impression that they are louder or more active than usual is an illusion.  If anything, they are quieter than normal, because there has been so little noise from traffic both on the ground and in the air.  It is simply that without other background noises to contend against, their calls are more noticeable.  And in this context I am reminded of the time when we first moved to Silver Spring, when my brother and I were small children.  My parents were both born and bred in New York City; and when they came to live in suburban Montgomery County, in a residential area that had just been created on the site of newly-cleared forest, they were greatly taken aback by the bird chorus that erupted every morning – they were neither of them especially early risers.  In some ways they never really adjusted to suburban life; whenever we visited New York to see our relatives, they were always invigorated, and they left it with visible reluctance.  I, on the contrary, cannot live comfortably in a city.  When I was a student in Philadelphia, the noise of the traffic during the nights and the absence of birdsong in the mornings were constant irritants to me.  My emotions upon leaving Philadelphia after getting my degree and returning to suburban surroundings were not unlike those of someone being reprieved from exile.

Brazil is now projected to have at least 1,000,000 virus cases and 50,000 deaths by June 20 (two weeks from now).  But tracking these figures has become slightly more difficult.  Since Thursday, when Brazil’s death toll became second only to the U.S., the government has stopped publicizing cumulative nationwide totals.  It is now reporting on a daily basis only the new virus cases and deaths within the previous 24 hours.  There are plenty of websites, however, that calculate the nationwide case and death totals by simply adding each day’s newly reported cases and deaths to the last cumulative case and death toll reported by the government, so it’s difficult to see what the government gains by this maneuver.  In the past four days alone, Brazil has reported more new cases and deaths than any other country.  President Bolsonaro’s outlook on this matter appears to be analogous to that of the young male commuter who immerses himself in a newspaper to avoid meeting the eye of an elderly woman supporting herself with a cane nearby who might reasonably expect him to give up his seat to her whenever he notices her plight:  “If I don’t see you, lady, you’re not really there!”

The “downtown” blocks of Fairfax City (both of them) were a good deal livelier today than they were last Sunday – chiefly, ironically enough, on account of the protestors, but also because a number of people simply wanted to take advantage of the fine day and the fact that more and more places were opening up.  Most of the restaurants were occupied, or at any rate their outside seating was.  There was a large crowd of protestors at City Hall, but all was proceeding smoothly, with no violent demonstrations and almost everyone present wearing masks. 

Colin Powell, the Secretary of State under George H. W. Bush, noted for his distinguished and honorable career, has endorsed Biden.  Donald Trumpery – er, Trump (I am always making that mistake) has reacted in the way one might expect, showering abuse on Powell for his management of the Iraq War via a tweet steeped in characteristic petulance, despite his previous resolutions to place a curb on Twitter.  Why people continue to support this man, when he behaves like an infant in diapers towards anyone who ventures to criticize him, is beyond me.  Whenever one tests him he invariably rings hollow, like a false coin.

Perhaps not irrelevantly, the Washington Monument was struck by lightning during the rainstorm earlier this week; observers may ascribe whatever symbolism this event may have that they will.

Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM — # of cases worldwide: 7,081,594; # of deaths worldwide: 405,074; # of cases U.S.: 2,007,232; # of deaths U.S.: 112,469.  Many sad milestones have come about today:  the worldwide case count has surpassed seven million; the worldwide death toll has surpassed 400,000; the American case count has surpassed two million.  Our case count has doubled in a little over 40 days.  The worldwide case count gained over one million in 10 days. 

Morning statistics – Local Farmer’s Market – Bread-making with the starter – Financial statements – The President’s visit to Maine – Evening statistics

Today’s statistics as of 9:00 AM — # of cases worldwide: 6,880,373; # of deaths worldwide: 398,754; # of cases U.S.: 1,967,155; # of deaths U.S.: 111,405. 

Today I went to the city’s Farmer’s Market, which is open for the first time this year.  Normally it opens at the beginning of May, but the various restrictions have caused vendors to lose a month of their marketing season this year.  The results were about what one might expect.  The market did not have the bustle I have seen in previous years and only about half of the usual stalls had been set up, but there were some customers milling about and making purchases.  The wagon is beginning to roll, although at this point not very swiftly or noisily.

Bread is now generally available again, and in addition my aunt has procured a supply of yeast for me.  But the sourdough starter I developed when neither bread nor yeast were readily obtainable is still fermenting in the refrigerator and it needs to be used.  So today I made some bread whose dough was baked in loaf pans instead of being formed into baguettes.  It turned out very well indeed:  firm crust, crumb with good web, and a hint of the “winy” taste sourdough should have, although not especially pronounced at this point.  There were no problems either with kneading or getting the dough to rise, as there had been in previous experiments.   There is still some of the starter left over, so I will keep it in the freezer to reserve it for use in case another emergency like the one that started two months ago arises.

My monthly financial statements arrived today.  To my astonishment the portfolio values are very little lower than they were this past December, before the alarm about the virus began.  I’m not complaining, of course, but I am surprised.  I would have expected their net worth to be lower on account of the shrinkage in our GNP.  I can only conclude that our stock market must be heavily over-valued.

It is slightly reassuring to know that a few Republicans, at least, are not entirely under the influence of the baneful miasmas emanating from Pennsylvania Avenue.  President Trump is paying a visit to Maine to speak with fishermen and to tour Puritan Medical Products, which is currently manufacturing coronavirus test supplies.  He was greeted by Democratic officials who would have opposed him under any circumstances and by numerous protestors at Bangor.  However, Susan Collins, the Republican senior senator of the state, did not stand by his side or give him any support.  She has, in fact, other things to think about.  She is currently in Washington to attend various federal and non-federal events; and she has made it clear that she considers Trump’s visit to the state to be ill-timed and vexatious.  She herself toured Puritan Medical Products a bare month ago, and she does not appear to wish to associate herself with Trump more than what is absolutely necessary.  The forthcoming senatorial election in November is likely to be hotly contested; and she, being well-aware of Trump’s decreasing approval ratings and the aversion he has inspired among many of her constituents, seems to have concluded that Trump is more likely to be a liability rather than an asset to her campaign.  There are a few similar murmurings among the Republican camp as Election Day draws nearer and nearer, and it just barely possible that Republican leaders are beginning to realize that unswerving allegiance to an egotistical, flighty, purposeless, treacherous flibbertigibbet is a bad idea.

Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM — # of cases worldwide: 6,966,412; # of deaths worldwide: 401,607; # of cases U.S.: 1,988,461; # of deaths U.S.: 112,096.  Our case count is now over 0.6%, or about one per every 160 of the population. 

The Appalachian Trail in Pennsylvania – More congested traffic conditions – Medicare – News from India and Pakistan – Evening statistics

Restrictions are continually lifting and travel between states no longer appears to be an issue, at any rate for day trips.  I therefore resumed my goal of undertaking as much of the Appalachian Trail in Pennsylvania that appears feasible.  Today I went to Rte. 325, and hiked between the road and the Table Rock view (the end point of my previous hike in the area).  It was 15 miles round trip; however, outside of the initial ascent to the top of Peters Mountain, it was relatively level:  little ups and downs, some of them steep, but none of significant length.  It was rocky in some areas (the AT in Pennsylvania is notorious for this) but not unduly so; however, it had rained heavily last night and sometimes the rocks were slippery.  Even though it was longer than yesterday’s excursion, I was much less tired at the end.  Yesterday I was hiking in temperatures approaching 90 degrees; today I was in higher elevations – not a great deal (Peters Mountain is less than 1300 feet above sea level) but enough to make the air temperature significantly cooler.  I thought that the number of hikers would be fairly low for this section of the AT, but during the first hour I encountered more than a dozen, most of them going northward as I was going south.  After that I hardly saw anybody for the remainder of the hike, both on the way to Table Rock and on the return to Rte. 325.  Why this was so I can only conjecture; my guess is that several hikers were camping overnight and started their trek for the day fairly early. 

Traffic was heavier going back that it has been during the past three months and it seems likely that we’ll be reverting to our usual congestion in and out of the Beltway over the next few weeks.  Traffic on I-66 between Vienna and Fairfax was moving very slowly indeed.

I received my Medicare bill today in the mail.  During the interval between the beginning of my retirement and my 65^th birthday, medical insurance was one of my largest expenses.  Once I was eligible for Medicare, my insurance bill went down by 80% and in addition I am receiving a supplement from my former employer to defray such expenses.  Medical insurance, then, costs me relatively little.  I mention this circumstance because the current bill contained an enclosure stating, somewhat apologetically, that Medicare payments could not be deferred on account of the economic changes that have come about as a result of the virus.  In my case it did not matter at all, but the inclusion of such an announcement must mean that many seniors will be hard-pressed to make their monthly Medicare payments.  Obamacare, during the previous administration, had been instituted for the purpose of guaranteeing medical insurance for all citizens; but it appears that that the effort towards that goal will be thoroughly undermined by the combination of the strain on our health system imposed by the virus and the hostility of our current president towards the achievements of any administration except his own.

India and Pakistan are both seeing large increases of virus cases.  India has eased its restrictions after instituting one of the most rigid lockdowns worldwide in March.  The new spike has come after the restrictions were lifted and may have been a direct consequence of their easement.  But what can they do?  At least 100,000,000 Indians have lost their jobs as a result of the lockdown.  Pakistan has similar concerns; its Prime Minister mulled over extending the lockdown restrictions but in the end decided against it.

 Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM — # of cases worldwide: 6,839,244; # of deaths worldwide: 397,441; # of cases U.S.: 1,965,551; # of deaths U.S.: 111,375.  At this rate our case count will surpass two million within a day or two.

Morning statistics – Placido Domingo – Nick Cordero – On the Bull Run/Occoquan Trail – Phase 2 of re-opening in Virginia – Difficulties in distinguishing satire from reality – News from abroad – Evening statistics

Today’s statistics as of 8:00 AM — # of cases worldwide: 6,603,139; # of deaths worldwide: 388,502; # of cases U.S.: 1,902,779; # of deaths U.S.: 109,159. 

News about performers whom the virus has afflicted.  Placido Domingo has made a full recovery and is planning to return to the stage in August.  Nick Cordero, unfortunately, is not doing well.  After two months of continual struggle and any number of special procedures, his condition has worsened and the physicians are holding out little chance of his recovery. 

The warmer weather has begun.  It was over 90 degrees yesterday, but not hazy or humid.  Today was slightly lower in temperature but also a bit hazier – not overly humid as yet.  But we can expect the usual torrid temperatures coming soon.  For me, this is the most difficult season in which to hike.  You can always add more clothes in winter, but there’s a limit to how many you can take off in summer.  Today I went along the Bull Run/Occoquan Trail, which has opened again, starting from Fountainhead, having lunch at Bull Run Marina, and then going back:  about 14 miles in all.  An amusing incident occurred:  at one point during my return, a young woman hiker was ahead of me and as she saw me approach she broke into a run for a short distance.  Then she resumed normal walking speed and I started to close the gap again.  This occurred a few times and finally she stopped, saying to me, “Go ahead – I’ve been half-running to stay in front, but I’m tired out now; you’re just too fast for me.”

Virginia will enter Phase 2 of the re-opening tomorrow.  Farmer’s Markets will be operative again.  Retailers can re-open but will need to limit the stores to 50% occupancy.  Pools will be open, but only lap swimming, diving, exercise, and instruction will be permitted.  Hot tubs will remain closed.  Outdoor performing arts and sports venues will be allowed (with certain seating restrictions) but no indoors ones as yet.  Museums, zoos, and aquariums may re-open, but social distancing has to be maintained within them.  Religious services may resume, but people must sit six feet apart from each other; family groups are allowed to sit together, provided that they are six feet from everyone else.  Beauty salons, barber shops, and spas are encouraged to serve clients by appointment only.  Employees and clients must wear masks while inside the building. 

“Study:  Many of Nation’s Problems Could Be Solved by Having a President.”  As so often happens with the titles of Andy Borowitz’s satirical articles, I had to do a double-take to verify that it is only a joke and is not reporting something that actually happened.  I can easily imagine a study of our national state of affairs undertaken in complete earnest coming to such a conclusion.  Numerous military leaders probably would agree; they have turned on Trump in great numbers for his latest conduct during the protests, condemning him for polarizing the nation instead of trying to unify it. 

The death toll in both Brazil and Mexico are rapidly accelerating.  Brazil is now second only to the U.S. and the U.K., and it will overtake the U.K. in a few days.  Mexico is now seventh on the list; its death toll is exceeded by the U.S., the U.K., Brazil, Italy, France, and Spain.  Its death count is still well below the other six, but I believe it will be a different story in two or three weeks.  Belarus’s case count is now approaching the 0.5% mark.  Sweden’s case count is also steadily rising; and, somewhat unexpectedly, its mortality rate is over 10%.  Chile is in a somewhat better position than these others; its incidence rate is high (over 0.6%) but its mortality rate is still low. 

Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM — # of cases worldwide: 6,688,679; # of deaths worldwide: 392,123; # of cases U.S.: 1,923,637; # of deaths U.S.: 110,171. 

Morning statistics – President Bolonsaro in Byronic mold – The Republican Convention – Inexplicable behavior of a Fox News commentator – Ebola in the Congo – Evening statistics

Today’s statistics as of 9:00 AM — # of cases worldwide: 6,483,896; # of deaths worldwide: 383,105; # of cases U.S.: 1,882,148; # of deaths U.S.: 108,104.

“I regret every death but that’s everyone’s destiny.”  Ah, President Jair Bolsonaro, that Byronic figure!  Specifically, he seems a male counterpart of Donna Inez in Byron’s Don Juan:

And then this best and meekest woman bore 
With such serenity her husband’s woes,
Just as Spartan ladies did of yore,
Who saw their spouses killed, and nobly chose
Never to say a word about them more –
Calmly she heard each calumny that rose,
And saw his agonies with such sublimity,
That all the world exclaimed, “What magnaminity!”

Donald Trump has withdrawn the Republican convention from Charlotte, NC, after Roy Cooper, the state governor, insisted on maintaining the option of size restrictions for the number of people occupying the Spectrum Arena.  Cooper has not budged on his conditions and is probably relieved rather than otherwise at the prospect of Trump holding the convention elsewhere.   Trump claims that the convention would have brought wealth and jobs to the state, but he is, I should imagine, likely to prove to be a very troublesome guest.  He is now searching for another state willing to host the convention on his terms:  no limits on crowd size, no face masks.  And even if he finds one there is the matter of organization; normally these conventions take many months to plan in advance.  Nonetheless there are several states vying for this dubious honor:  Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, and Arizona have all expressed interest.  The case of Georgia is especially significant; Governor Kemp evidently has no resentment for the manner in which Trump abruptly let him down in late April.  That is how Trump operates: he deliberately injures people, and they respond by apologizing for having been wronged.

The moon must have been aligned with Jupiter or some other rare astronomical event must have occurred recently, for yesterday we were treated to the astounding spectacle of a Fox News commentator being scathingly critical of Donald Trump – specifically, of his response to the recent protests.  Tucker Carlson, who normally is as obedient to Trump as any owner of a pet poodle could desire, lambasted the president for failing to protect citizens from the rioters and even delivered a boutade* to Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, that outstanding possessor of high connections without any corresponding merit or ability. 

There is an outbreak of Ebola in Mbandaka, a city in the western part of the DRC.  Ebola is much less contagious then COVID-19 and is therefore easier to contain, but occasional outbreaks have continued to plague the Congo from time to time.  The last one occurred in 2018 and there were some fears that it could spread to Kinshasa, which has a population of over ten million.  But it was contained in time.  Still, as the WHO points out, this outbreak is a reminder that there are numerous other health threats diseases besides COVID-19.

Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM — # of cases worldwide: 6,562,481; # of deaths worldwide: 386,784; # of cases U.S.: 1,901,702; # of deaths U.S.: 109,140.  Peru’s case count has just surpassed Turkey’s, making it ninth of the list of nations with the highest counts.  Mexico’s death toll today is the highest it has experienced so far. The following countries, including the microstates, have incidence rates of more than 0.5% (one in two hundred):  Qatar, San Marino, Andorra, Bahrain, Mayotte, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Singapore, Spain, Chile, U.S., Peru, Iceland, Gibralter, Iceland, and Belgium. 

*I am at a loss to find an English equivalent of this energetic French word, which signifies a sudden jerking or kicking from a horse.

Hiking along Little Devils Stairs – Restrictions imposed by Shenandoah National Park – Possible re-opening of REI outfitters – Hesitations about foreign travel – Removal of a landmark in Alexandria – Trump at St. John’s Episcopal Church – Spain’s pension system – Russia and Latin America – Evening statistics

Today I led the Little Devils Stairs hike for the Vigorous Hikers group.  It is the same hike that I scouted on Saturday but the conditions were easier.  Three days of relatively warm temperatures and minimal rainfall combined to make the streams lower and the trails much less muddy.  I did, however, use my water-shoes when crossing the Thornton River – the first time I had an opportunity to do so this year.

Normally when we ascend Little Devils Stairs we do so at the beginning, parking in the lot outside of Shenandoah National Park.  But that cannot be done at this stage, because the current restrictions prohibit parking at such lots and hiking into the park from beyond the boundary.  When I scouted the hike on Saturday I saw several cars in the outside lot, despite the signs stating that it is prohibited.  It seems that the police have taken action since then and that word must have gotten around that cars parked there will be ticketed, for the lot was nearly empty today.  There were only two cars in the lot, and one had already been ticketed.  I was very glad, therefore, that I had rerouted the hike so that it started within the park and thus had not exposed the other members of the group to this risk.  Little Devils Stairs is one of the more arduous ascents in SNP and it is preferable to complete it towards the beginning of the hike if possible, but the situation was mitigated by the fact that we had lunch at the Bolen cemetery about two-thirds of the way into the hike, which allowed us to rest and get the energy for the climb up the rocky gorge.  Initially the weather was cloudy and damp, but it cleared early in the morning and we had a beautiful day.  We noted the effects that the unusually cool spring has had in the higher elevations:  tree foliage is far from complete, and azaleas were still in bloom while the mountain laurel was barely budding.  The low temperatures of the past several weeks have inhibited the butterflies, but now that the weather has been warm for several days they are to be seen flying over numerous portions of the trails.

LH, a member of the group who has been working part-time for REI, gave us a welcome piece of news.  REI has been closed for several weeks as a result of the lockdown restrictions, but LH said that his supervisor called him to ascertain if he was willing to resume work.  Not everyone is willing, on account of the risk of infection.  But an inquiry of that sort must mean that REI is contemplating opening its outlets soon.  His news certainly interested me, for I am anxious to get new hiking boots.  This year I have hiked over 900 miles so far and the traction on my boots is getting worn.  Boots can be ordered online, of course; but I prefer to try them on before I commit myself to buying a pair, which means purchasing them by means of physically visiting a store.

TK, another group member, spoke to me about his uncertainty of the status of an impending trip to France in late summer.  I myself am not prepared at this stage to travel in a foreign country; if I become ill with the virus I would prefer it to happen where I know something about the hospital system and am familiar with the language spoken by the physicians and nurses.  He agreed somewhat ruefully when I expressed this point of view, saying that he himself had similar concerns. 

The statue in Alexandria at the intersection of Prince and Washington Streets has been removed.  It has been something of a landmark since 1889 – a landmark, one might say, of doubtful quality.  It is a bronze statue commemorating the Confederate soldiers of Alexandria.  The United Daughters of the Confederacy, which owns the statue, moved it to an undisclosed location, probably fearing that it would otherwise by vandalized as a result of the recent protests.  It was an interesting sight – a statue in the center of a cobblestoned intersection, cast in the classical style that was popular in the late 19^th century.  On the whole, though, its absence is not to be regretted.  No doubt that the youths whom the statue commemorates freely donated their lives to their cause, but the cause was a bad one.  For all of the blather that is spoken about “states’ rights,” the right for which the Confederacy fought for was the “right” of men to own slaves – a thoroughly repugnant notion, which can only result in the most unfavorable opinion of both the heads and the hearts of the men who championed it.

Donald Trump emerged from his bunker yesterday and I daresay his acolytes were agog to see what bold stroke of leadership he would perform next.  What he did was to arrange a photo-op, displaying him holding up a Bible while standing in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church.  Trump did not notify the church officials beforehand that he was planning to visit, seeking to take them by surprise – as well he might, considering that his church-going has far from assiduous.  Maryann Budde, the bishop of the Washington D. C. diocese, strenuously denied that the diocese received any notification of his visit, and declared herself astonished at Trump’s proximity in the church at all, adding that “The only time that President Trump has been at St. John’s church as president was on the morning of his inauguration.”  Various leaders of other denominations expressed disapproval of the use of the Bible as a prop.  Indeed, even his supporters must be somewhat dismayed by this apparent defection from the service of Mammon, who is of course the chief deity of the one and only true religion.  But I have confidence in our leader.  I have no doubt that he will eventually atone with numerous acts of penitence, such as cheating a contractor, depriving an employee of his wages when they are due, or embezzling some of the Treasury funds.

A strange but not unexpected result of the coronavirus system has been to improve the sustainability of the pension system in Spain.  Spain’s death toll from the virus is estimated at over 27,000, of which 80% consists of people over 70.  This result has in turn affected the old-age dependency ratio, which has gone up from 2.3 in April to 2.56 in May.  Until the virus made its impact, the ratio had been going steadily downward, to a degree that would have made the system unworkable.  In all probability the nations with a high proportion of elderly (i.e., most of the European ones) will ultimately be affected in the same way.

Russia, Brazil, and Mexico have had surges in new cases and new deaths but they are easing their lockdowns all the same.  Putin claims that Russia has now passed its peak of infection; such statistics that are available suggest that there is a fair amount of wish-fulfillment involved in this statement.  But Latin America in general appears to be undergoing the greatest concentration of the virus at this point.  Peru is now tenth on the list of nations with the greatest number of cases.  Brazil’s case count is nearly 30% of that of U.S. – up from less than 25% about a week ago. 

Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM — # of cases worldwide: 6,473,097; # of deaths worldwide: 381,706; # of cases U.S.: 1,880,529; # of deaths U.S.: 108,057.

Morning statistics – Potential second wave of COVID-19 – The new “normal” – The deceptions of nostalgia – Donald Trump takes refuge – Loot and pillage if you must, but stay healthy – Suburban calm – On the Neabsco Creek Boardwalk and the Potomac Heritage Trail – South Korea backtracks – News from other countries – Another Russian defenestration – Evening statistics

Today’s statistics as of 8:00 AM — # of cases worldwide: 6,291,969; # of deaths worldwide: 374,369; # of cases U.S.: 1,837,830; # of deaths U.S.: 106,208. 

It was quite a doleful entry yesterday and I don’t know that today’s will be much better.  There will probably be more clashes between protestors and police over the next several days.  Also, the fact that people have been congregating in swarms during these protests means that an acceleration in the number of the virus cases is likely.  Many states have shown a downward trend in recent days, and the mass gatherings might undo all of the progress made on containing the virus.  For that matter, lockdowns are being eased all over the world, despite the fears of a second wave of COVID-19.  Health officials in the U.K. have issued a plea to the government to defer the lifting of the restrictions, but it is unlikely that the government will comply.  National governments in general are getting increasingly anxious to get their economic structure in place again.  The national debt of nearly every country on the planet has increased to alarming degrees as a result of the pandemic. 

Certainly a modified version of the precautions will continue to be in place for some time to come.  Work has been underway on various possible vaccines, but until one is confirmed to be safe and effective, face masks, hand sanitizer, and standing six feet away from people will be the new “normal” behavior. 

From Ursula K. LeGuin’s “The New Atlantis,” a story set in the future, when its narrator tries to relax by reading a novel from a previous age:  “It was about small-town sex life in the last century, the dear old 1970s when there weren’t any problems and life was so simple and nostalgic.”  The joke, of course, is that the story itself was written in the 1970s, when life seemed anything but simple and nostalgic to those who were actually living in that era.  Still, however strong the tendency is to idealize the past, it seems doubtful that future generations will look upon this moment of our history with longing. 

Donald Trump has taken to shelter in a secure underground bunker in response to the protests being held close to the White House.  During the past several days while the protests were ongoing, Trump made no public address to the nation and instead delivered inflammatory messages on Twitter urging violent retaliation on the protestors, which of course did nothing to subdue their resentment.  Many of the local authorities pleaded with him to stop making a bad situation worse with his provocative tweets.  They might just as well as spared themselves the effort.  So now he is residing in the same bunker that sheltered Vice President Cheney during the attacks of 9/11 nearly twenty years ago.  Cheney, of course, was being protected against potential threats from a foreign terrorist organization; Trump needs to be defended from his own countrymen.  I do not believe that any previous president I have experienced during my lifetime has inspired the degree of hatred that he has.  Even when people passionately disagreed with the policies of Kennedy, Johnson, Ford, Carter, Reagan, the two Bushes, Clinton, or Obama, these men were not loathed and despised by their opponents to such a degree on a mere personal level.  Perhaps Nixon aroused a more visceral reaction than the others, but it was less widespread and less intense; he had many defenders even at his most beleaguered moments, he had not alienated his own political party by running roughshod over them, and once he resigned the resentment against him died down relatively quickly.  It is impossible at this stage to predict how long Trump will be held in odium once his term of power comes to an end (whether it happens in November or four years from now), but I believe people will be speaking of him with abhorrence for a long time to come.

Sometimes medical experts display a naïveté which, if a little surprising, is not altogether unpleasing.  A number of doctors have urged the protestors to wear face masks during their demonstrations.  While the majority of the protestors may be non-violent, those who are taking advantage of the situation to loot stores and torch buildings are not likely to be troubled overmuch with scruples over potential infections.

Life goes on amidst all of this turmoil, to be sure.  I mowed the lawn yesterday; today I brought my car to the local service supplier for a filter and oil change.  When I walked back from the car service to my house (they are little over a mile apart and it is much pleasanter after dropping the car off to spend the interval before the repairs are complete at home than in a waiting room), I noticed that the T. J. Maxx in the local shopping area was opening its doors for the first time in several weeks as a result of the Phase One easing of lockdown restrictions.  Various other stores were showing signs of greater activity than before.  I’ve always admired that touch in Zola’s Germinal when, at the end of the mass demonstration by miners besieging the mine-owner’s home, a pastry-cook’s van follows the gendarmes quelling the disturbance and an errand-boy jumps out to deliver an order of vol-au-vents to the family.  Indeed, probably many of us in the area will be taking advantage of today’s fine weather to walk and bike and hold picnics with their families.  It is doubtful that anyone will be overly perturbed by the image of Trump cowering in a bunker.

In compliance with this sentiment I went out after the car was released back to me, and since it was not returned until the early afternoon, I did not wish to drive very far.  But I went to Rippon Landing and from there I walked along the Neabsco Creek Boardwalk, which has been re-opened.  The creek (wide enough to be accounted a river in England) is now in the full glory of a wetlands in late spring:  cattails in cottony ripeness, red-winged blackbirds soaring overhead in great numbers, large yellow water lilies just beginning to flower, tiger swallowtails and zebra swallowtails fluttering among the reeds.  It was gratifying as well to see people of all races enjoying themselves along the boardwalk, perfectly at ease with one another.  I had thought merely to stroll along the boardwalk and afterwards through the wetlands to the border of Leesylvania before turning back, but the best-laid plans, etc., etc.  When I got to the boundary of Leesylvania the afternoon was still young and I thought I might as well press further onward; and so I did, for several miles, until I came to where this particular segment of the Potomac Heritage Trail ends at Rte. 1 – about six miles each way.  The trail bypasses many private houses and occasionally I saw children of different races playing together in concord.  One would never imagine that protests based on racial issues were being held in a city that is less than 35 miles away. 

And it was as I predicted:  the plight of Donald Trump fleeing to the bunker did not appear to dampen anyone’s spirits overmuch.  Trump’s supporters are said to be somewhat more numerous in proportion as the area one traverses becomes more rural, and I could only suppose that several of the house-owners whose properties I skirted were among this faction.  If there was any wailing and gnashing of teeth on his behalf, however, it left few traces on any of their faces as they tended their barbecues and relaxed in their hammocks. 

Almost everyone was not wearing a mask when being out-of-doors.  The accepted wisdom at this point is that masks are not necessary for activity that takes place outside, because droplets dissipate and disperse much more rapidly than indoors.  We may, however, need to rethink this policy.  South Korea has just closed numerous schools, museums, and parks on account of a new spike in coronavirus cases after easing its lockdown restrictions.  The numbers are not huge – 177 new cases in three days – but they are sufficiently discouraging for a country that had believed to have gotten the virus under control. 

There is good news from Spain:  no deaths from the virus in the last 24 hours – the first time in months that this has happened.  But many countries are showing substantial daily case incidence increases:  India, Pakistan, Peru, Iran, Chile, and those two perennial favorites Russia and Brazil.  Italy’s death toll in the past 24 hours was 60, which is lower than it has been in previous days; but it still has had more deaths than that of any other country except the U.S. and the U.K. 

Russia has had yet another accident involving someone falling out of a window in a hospital:  a police lieutenant colonel who was also a forensics expert.  She was a patient being treated for the virus at the time.  She survived the fall and is now in intensive care.  I think I have the solution to the dangers posed by Russian hospitals.  The government should declare every single hospital in the country a classified area, and as such unable to have access to any windows at all.  Such an approach would have the additional advantage of appealing to that preference for mystification and confusion that among Russians appears to be all but innate.

Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM — # of cases worldwide: 6,361,889; # of deaths worldwide: 377,150; # of cases U.S.: 1,859,451; # of deaths U.S.: 106,923.

Morning statistics – The African nations amid the virus – Racial relations, then and now – Are our legal advances illusory? – Rioting in the cities – A day in spring – Evening statistics

Today’s statistics as of 8:00 AM — # of cases worldwide: 6,188,881; # of deaths worldwide: 371,442; # of cases U.S.: 1,817,409; # of deaths U.S.: 105,575.  Brazil’s case count has now surpassed the half-million mark and Russia’s case count is over 400,000.  For that matter, we are approaching an undesirable milestone of our own; in a couple of weeks our case count will probably surpass two million.  China’s case count is just over 83,000 but at this point it claims to have only 63 cases still active and only 3 of these are serious.  New Zealand at this point has one active case only. 

The African nations have been doing comparatively well, even though most of them have a higher level of poverty than in other regions.  A number of explanations have been suggested for this apparent paradox:  warmer weather (the greater part of the continent is in the equatorial region), a relatively young population, lower rates of obesity, familiarity in handling infectious diseases, etc.  The fact remains is that the hospital systems in African nations have not been overwhelmed the way that other countries have been in every other continent except Antarctica.  This is not to say that they have gone unscathed.  The resources diverted for the purpose of containing the virus put a strain on the capacity to combat other diseases.  Because of the disruption of the routine immunizations, as many as 80 million children are now at risk from diseases that could have been prevented by vaccines.  The lockdown restrictions have already taken their toll, and it is possible that over 60 million people will be driven into extreme poverty as a result.  So far, however, they have fared well in this crisis and most of the national leaders deserve credit for responding to threat of the virus effectively.

There are many riots going on all over the country on account of the murder of George Floyd – there is no other way to describe his death at the hands of the police.  I have alluded earlier to the unsatisfactory of racial relations in our country.  In expanding on the subject now, I do so by way of an episode that happened during my childhood; but in order to explain why it had the impact that it did I have to mention something of my background first.

I grew up in one of the numerous new suburbs being built in the Greater DC Metropolitan area during the late 50s and early 60s.  The houses that we and other moved into had just been built and everyone in the community was by definition a new inhabitant.  A few of the families in the area were black – not a great many, but there was a sufficient number to test the dispositions of everyone involved.  No one seemed to care very much.  Segregation was a meaningless word as far as my brother and I were concerned.  The children of all of the families went to the same schools.  An observer who saw children of different races at these schools playing together and, more importantly, studying together in communities such as ours might reasonably conclude that there was every hope for more harmonious racial relations in the rising generation. 

Children, of course, do not often realize that their circumstances are not universal and in some cases may not even be particularly usual.  At one point my parents took my brother and I on a road trip to visit our relatives in Miami Beach, FL.  As we traveled we stopped at a gas station to refuel and also to use the restrooms.  We went to the area indicated and there we were confronted by three doors with the following labels:

MEN                                   WOMEN                                                 COLORED

My brother and I couldn’t believe it.  We stared at the labels in mingled horror and fascination.  I was nine at the time and my brother was six, but we knew – instinctively, without prompting – that we were gazing upon a great evil.  But how was this possible, we asked, turning anxiously to our parents.  Surely there was a mistake somewhere.  And our parents had to tell us, sadly, that it was not only possible but quite a frequent occurrence in our country.  So we had to turn away, sad, frustrated, repelled, thoroughly infused with a sense of hopelessness.

Even more depressing was the realization that was thrust upon me some twenty years later:  that you soon get used to it.  When I began work as a technical writer for an engineering project I fell into conversation with one of the engineers, who was about my age and who had grown up in South Carolina.  I’m not sure how the subject came up, but in the course of our conversation I mentioned this episode and I was quite unprepared for the nonchalance of her reply.  “Oh, yes,” she said.  “That’s how things were.  I just made up my mind that whenever I left the house I would always use the bathroom first, so that I’d never have to use the public restrooms.”

It is not too much to say that I simply gaped at her.  And the reaction came:  of course, she did the right thing; how else do you deal with a situation like that?  It’s so difficult to imagine such a scenario:  knowing that every time you ventured out of doors you could be brought up against such a blatant reminder that there were people – and one’s own countrymen! – who looked upon you as sub-human.

Eventually, of course, the Jim Crow laws were overturned, the segregation in federal offices introduced by Woodrow Wilson (may his bones rot!) has been eliminated, and the justices of the Supreme Court actually managed to come to the astonishing conclusion, in the Loving vs. Virginia case, that the state has no business in interfering with two people who wish to marry.  Nowadays inter-racial marriage carries no particular stigma; on the contrary, mixed-race unions account for about 15% of marriages in the U.S. Theoretically, at least, the difficulties that confronted black men and women in earlier generations have been smoothed away.  And yet . . .

Various accounts have surfaced after the Amaury case and Floyd’s murder, discussing the difficulties undergone in the course of daily living as a black man or woman in the United States.  For example, one man, a university professor, was held by the police because someone had reported an assault and had given a rather unspecific description of the assailant’s physical characteristics.  Such scanty details that were given could have applied to him.  All very well so far; the police were bound to follow up any leads they had.  But they immediately set traps for him in the course of their interrogation.  At one point he was requested to produce identification.  Now if I had been in such a situation, I would automatically have reached into my pocket to produce the wallet containing my identification cards.  He, however, found it necessary to tell them, as a preliminary, “I will be obliged to reach into my pocket in order to produce what you need,”  and only after he had received explicit permission to put his hand in his pocket to draw out the wallet did he feel it safe to do so.  Had he not taken this precaution, he could readily have been accused of threatening the police – they might have claimed that they thought he was reaching for a weapon and thereby would have justified any amount of violence in continuing their interrogation. 

There is also the account of a white woman with a black husband who, like me, was reared to be perfectly unsuspicious and had to undergo a painful learning process of behaving in such a way as to give the police no excuse to pull them over while driving – making certain, for instance, that the license tags were up-to-date, whereas before her marriage she would not have been overly concerned if they had expired for a day or so.  But after her marriage she became very punctilious in such matters to ensure that the police would not be able to use a trivial traffic violation as an excuse to subject her husband to a cross-examination.

If accounts like these are to be believed, and they certainly seem plausible, black men and women must daily employ various defensive stratagems to prevent awkward confrontations with the police from arising, maneuvers that would never occur to me to use.  My black friends have not complained of such casual discrimination to me, but of course these issues are not likely to come up in casual conversation.  Probably, like my engineer acquaintance during the days of the Jim Crow laws, they regard such matters as the natural state of things and have gotten used to it.  I hesitate to ask them about it directly, for what is the use of making them uncomfortable?  Almost certainly they would shift about uneasily in response and ask me to change the subject. 

It would appear that, despite the legal changes, attitudes in the U.S. are not greatly in advance of what I witnessed in childhood.  Those labels that relegate black men and women to a separate bathroom may no longer exist, but there are only too many people who would be happy to restore them.  And their number seems to be growing daily.

The rioting will make matters still worse.  Whatever the root cause, the protests have become an excuse for unbridled looting.  Store owners have lost their entire stock in cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Philadelphia, Washington, Chicago, Seattle, Indianapolis, and Atlanta.  Violent encounters between the protestors and the police have become commonplace, and the National Guard has been called in to restore order in numerous neighborhoods.  Most of the cities are employing curfews. 

It seems so strange to read and hear reports about these things in an area where there is no hint of violence of any kind.  The weather was lovely today, in the mid-70s, not at all humid, with clear skies and sunlight shining through the chinks between the leaves of the trees.  It was a beautiful day in late spring, to all appearances peaceful and serene, without a suggestion of the violence just a few miles away or of the virus that it still ravaging the country.

Today’s statistics as of 9:00 PM — # of cases worldwide: 6,262,422; # of deaths worldwide: 373,848; # of cases U.S.: 1,837,170; # of deaths U.S.: 106,195.  Peru has just surpassed Turkey in its case count and is now tenth on the list of nations with the highest counts.  Chile’s incidence rate is now over 0.5% (more than one in two hundred).  Mexico’s case count is also increasing exponentially; it is now fifteenth on the list. 

Shenandoah National Park revisited at last – Reminiscence of a winter hike – An adventure on the trails – Shopping for wine – News from my cousin – Plowing through Henry James – Milly Theale and Linnet Ridgeway – Derek Chauvin – Brazil – Evening statistics

I have been taking things fairly easily for the past several days.  It’s been quite a while since I’ve done a hike with more than 3000 feet elevation gain.  Today I got out of my rut and went to Shenandoah National Park to scout the hike that I am to lead on Tuesday.  Going to SNP was rather like seeing a long-lost friend again.  I haven’t been there for at least three months.  It has been closed for the past six weeks, of course, and even before that the Wanderbirds and Capital Hiking Clubs had suspended their hiking schedules.  The route I did today started at Little Hogback Overlook, where I took the Appalachian Trail to Elkwallow, backtracked to the Piney Ridge Trail, followed the Piney Ridge Trail and the Fork Mountain Trail to the Hull School Trail, used the Hull School Trail to ascend to the Keyser Fire Road, took the fire road to Little Devils Stairs, went up the “stairs” (as the very rocky river gorge is called) to the higher junction with the fire road, and took the fire road and the AT to return to Little Hogback:  about 15 miles in all, and perhaps about 3700 feet of elevation gain.

I have hiked in this particular area of the park so often that it is difficult to recollect all of the memories associated with it all at once, but there is one hike that I especially remember.  It was a hike with the Northern Virginia Hiking Club and it took place in winter, just after a fresh snowfall.  Part of the hike involved going over the Piney Ridge Trail, where the snow was about an inch or so deep – enough to smooth away the irregularities on the trail’s surface without being deep enough to impede progress.  No one had walked there since the snow had fallen and as a result it was unsullied, brilliantly white.  It was one of those days we frequently get in this area just after a snowfall completes and the precipitation moves away:  deep azure sky, with air like crystal, and the little bits of ice that form in the snow displaying opaline glints as the snow reflects the sunlight.  It was optimal weather for that time of year:  dry, clear, no wind, temperature in the mid-20s, sunlight untrammeled by clouds.

Not that today’s weather was anything to complain about.  It was a little cool and damp when I began (I started the hike before 8:00 AM) but it soon became clear and the temperature rose.  Even though the Blue Ridge Mountains are not very high, the difference in temperature between the area where I hiked and the lower elevations was at least 10 degrees.  It never went beyond the low 70s where I was hiking, and it was sunny as well.  Part of the Piney Ridge Trail was covered with pine needles, which is the best surface to hike on.  The hike was not without its share of adventure.  At one point in the Hull School Trail I had to cross Thornton River.  It was flowing very swift and deep, and I had not thought to bring water-shoes with me.  (I will remedy this omission on Tuesday.)  The only alternative to fording the stream without water-shoes was to use a blowdown that had fallen across the stream.  My boots had picked up a great deal of moisture by the time I had reached the river and the tree trunk was moist as well, so I could not rely on my boots having sufficient traction.  I sat down on the trunk and shimmied across instead.  It was not easy; the trunk proved to be quite slippery and it contained little branches which, although they had been trimmed to some extent, had to be scrambled over or around.  Once I got past that obstacle and went to the Little Devils Stairs Trail, I had to navigate several stream crossings as well, but these were relatively easy for those who didn’t mind getting their feet wet.

On the way back I went to the wine store, since I was down to my last bottle in stock.  The store was not at all crowded.  When I went to the cashier only one customer was ahead of me and a second cashier beckoned me to come to her aisle instead.  I picked up twelve bottles in all, enough for at least two months.

I also heard from my cousin, who has looked over this diary now that it has become a blog and is available online.  He had a correction to make:  he said that his illness never reached the point that he was contemplating hospitalization, as I had mistakenly thought earlier.  That was certainly good to hear.  He now sounds thoroughly well again.  He does tell me, however, that even though his case was officially a “mild” case, the experience was quite alarming at times – which was no surprise to me, for the case had been the same with my friends PF from Capital Hiking and BL from Vigorous Hikers.  We were in agreement that we are in no particular hurry as far as the re-opening schedules are concerned.  If the country has managed to contain the virus to some extent we have no desire to see this work undone.

After the hike and the shopping excursion afterwards I felt entitled to some less strenuous activity, and so I settled down with The Wings of the Dove.  But perhaps the exertions of the hike and the pleasurable consciousness of having been active did not put in me in a favorable state of mind for this sort of entertainment.  At any rate my re-reading of the novel was somewhat disappointing.  I think Virginia Woolf got it right when she said, “There is a great flourishing of silk handkerchiefs and Milly disappears behind them.”  At any rate, despite James’ elaborate efforts to gain my sympathy for her and to convince me of her rare refinement, I do not like Milly Theale.

I can’t help remarking that the abominable princess myth, which has been a curse for American women for ages, is not, as some might believe, an invention of Walt Disney but has flourished long before his day and of course ever since.  James was evidently a subscriber to it, even though in his more lucid moments he can show some awareness of the harm it causes.  Maggie Verver and Madame de Vionnet seem to be posing on pedestals from the moment they enter the story, but they are shrinking violets in this respect in comparison with Milly.  Whenever the attention centers on her, we’re expected to see her in a kind of luminous haze, as a personification of a sort of divine excellence.  But if one strips her of the mountains of praise-laden paragraphs bestowed upon her by her author and concentrates on what she actually does, the picture becomes much less attractive.

I know, I know – she’s in a difficult situation.  She is quite alone.  She has lost all of her close relatives as the result of illness, including her third cousins on her mother’s side and even the family’s business acquaintances.  (OK, I’m exaggerating a little here.)  The immense wealth she has inherited isolates her to an even greater degree.  And it’s the first thing that people notice about her.  “She couldn’t dress it away, nor walk it away, nor read it away, nor think it away; she could neither smile it away in any dreamy absence nor blow it away with any softened sigh.  She couldn’t have lost it if she had tried – that was what it was to be really rich.”  James has been accused of being unduly obscure at times, but that is certainly blunt enough.

And of course she is ill.  Her illness is generally assumed to be tuberculosis, although James is never very clear on that point.  In general his later fiction is dogged by a lack of specificity which, though his admirers choose to present it as a mark of his unique intelligence, I find a crippling handicap.  Even if one doesn’t expect a chillingly clinical description like the description of Johann Buddenbrooks’ typhoid fever by Thomas Mann, one does ask for more than a few vague hints of disability and for one or two more symptoms than Milly’s anemia. It does seem possible, however, that she has heart trouble as well.  We first see her on the Brünig, one of the least demanding passes through the Swiss Alps.  I know people in their 80s who could traverse it with ease.  She attempts to go over a certain ascent, and her reaction alarms Susan Stringham.  She appears to be sitting perfectly motionless, perilously close to the edge of a cliff and for a moment Mrs. Stringham imagines that Milly is contemplating suicide.  Why does this particular fear take hold of her?  It is hinted that Mrs. Stringham’s alarm has been triggered by Milly’s physical reaction to the exertion of going up a cliff.  A little later we get confirmation that Milly’s health is not good:  she has been seeing a doctor and she is not altogether confident that he has told her everything she needs to know.  Later still, of course, she consults Sir Luke Strett in order to find out what exactly is wrong with her (he doesn’t tell her very much).

And finally, she is the object of a conspiracy.  Her English friend Kate Croy – almost the only friend of her own age that Milly has ever had – is secretly engaged to Merton Densher, a journalist.  Densher has a nodding acquaintance with Milly, having met her during a trip to the U.S. to write a series of articles about American life.  When Kate discovers that Milly is suffering a mortal illness and also that Milly finds Densher attractive, she conceives the idea of concealing her own engagement, arranging for Densher to marry Milly and thereby become Milly’s sole heir after she dies.  Unsurprisingly, given Milly’s frail state of health, the shock of the discovery of this plot by her best friend and by the man she imagines to be her own admirer proves to be fatal.

So if she is such a pathetic victim, why do I find fault with her?  Chiefly because she falls much too readily into the princess role thrust upon her by Susan Stringham (who explicitly describes her in such terms), taking up residence in a Venetian palace, setting up a quasi-court there, receiving homage from her visitors as if it were her due, and in general acting on the assumption that, as a great lady, she has a right to waste people’s time.   Densher, for instance, is dumbfounded when Susan Stringham, evidently acting on Milly’s orders (or at any rate Milly’s hints) tells him “What we hope . . . is that you’ll be faithful to us—that you’ve not come for just a mere foolish few days.”  He is sent almost into stuttering incoherence by the realization that neither Milly nor her faithful lieutenant can conceive the possibility that he might have work to do elsewhere and that it is financially out of the question for him to linger in Venice on a perpetual holiday to dance attendance on them: 

“The way smooth ladies, travelling for their pleasure and housed in Veronese pictures, talked to plain embarrassed working-men, engaged in an unprecedented sacrifice of time and of the opportunity for modest acquisition!  The things they took for granted and the general misery of explaining!” 

Although he might have been prepared for this earlier on, upon his first meeting with Milly after returning to England, when he explains to her that his holiday is over and that he has to resume his usual employment.  Milly’s reaction is:  “I’m sorry you had to take it . . . at such a different time than ours.  If you could but have worked while we’ve been working –“

Huh?  What did I miss?  Did Milly complete her master’s thesis while I was taking a bathroom break?  But, no . . . on flipping back through the pages I find that Milly has done nothing except attend several parties.  That is her definition of work. 

It is curious to go through Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile after perusing The Wings of the Dove.  The resemblance between the plotlines of the two novels is marked, and must have been consciously established; indeed, Death on the Nile might be defined as a retelling of The Wings of the Dove.  Since, however, Death on the Nile is an Agatha Christie novel, the two conspirators take, shall we say, a somewhat more pro-active approach in their maneuvers to acquire the heiress’s money.  The odd thing is that, although Christie is much more explicit about the arrogance of her princess figure, Linnet Ridgeway is in every way a more sympathetic character than Milly.  She is basically well-meaning; her intentions towards others are benevolent most of the time.  If she stoops to stealing her best friend’s fiancé, she pays heavily for it afterwards; and we are made to feel that the penalty exacted from her is excessive.  Towards the end, also, Christie shows us that Linnet, dubbed by the newspapers as the girl who has everything, is in reality the girl who has nothing – nothing that matters, that is:  no parents, no siblings, no genuine friends, and as the events show, no real husband either.  In the final paragraphs one observer says of Linnet that “it didn’t seem fair, her having everything,” and his friend replies, “Well, it doesn’t seem to have done her much good, poor lass.”  Christie may be the lesser writer, but there is more pathos in that brief exchange than in all of the silk handkerchiefs James insists on flourishing.

Well, well – I seem to have gone far astray from the virus and its effects.  However, one is not obliged to think about COVID-19 all of the time, even in a journal.  Perhaps even Donald Trump has moments when he can divert his thoughts to other subjects.  Actually, there is no need for that “perhaps” in the preceding sentence, is there?  Surely he begrudges every second that is taken away from his ecstatic adoration of himself.

 Whatever else may be in store for Derek Chauvin, the man who choked the life out of George Floyd, he has already lost a wife through his ferocity.  Kellie Chauvin lost no time in filing for divorce, while she publicly issued a statement of condolences and bereavement for Floyd’s family.  In such a situation it seems likely that, in addition to any sympathy for the victim she might have, sheer prudence would dictate such a move.  Anyone who discovers that he or she has been married to a murderer is bound to think, “Will the next victim be me?”

Cases are going up precipitously in both Brazil and Russia.  They have left Spain, Italy, and the U.K. far behind.  The death toll of Brazil, in absolute numbers, lags behind only that of the U.S., the U.K., and Italy.  Brazil, of course, has more than three times the population of either the U.K. or Italy, so that the ratio of deaths to total population is considerably lower.  But at the rate Brazil is going, it will not be long before it surpasses either nation in this respect.  Solange Vieira, who leads the Superintendence of Private Insurance, linked to Brazil’s finance ministry and who helped reform the country’s pensions, observed that “It’s good that deaths are concentrated among the old. That will improve our economic performance as it will reduce our pension deficit.”  Which is a comfort, at any rate. 

Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM — # of cases worldwide: 6,150,262; # of deaths worldwide: 370,500; # of cases U.S.: 1,816,601; # of deaths U.S.: 105,551.

Morning statistics – Status of local stores – Plotting out a hike in Shenandoah National Park – Warming weather – Rioting in Minneapolis – Evening statistics – Ominous prognostics for Latin America

Today’s statistics as of 8:00 AM — # of cases worldwide: 5,934,437; # of deaths worldwide: 362,713; # of cases U.S.: 1,768,608; # of deaths U.S.: 103,344. 

I went out today on what might be called a reconnaissance mission.  I visited the certain shopping malls about two miles away to see what stores would be open for me to patronize in the near future.  The answer, it appears is – not very much.  Even though department stores are permitted to open, none of the ones I saw were (although I did see employees inside the stores – perhaps they are preparing for opening within the next few days?).  None of the restaurants had any indoor dining, although I did see a few people eating out of doors at tables.  The shoe stores are still closed.  Several buildings are listed as being available for rent; evidently a number of businesses have not been able to survive the long hiatus. 

Afterwards I went to verify the location of various wineberry and blackberry bushes, which should start bearing fruit within the next couple of weeks.  The mulberries have already ripened but these are not worth gathering, being insipid to the point of tastelessness. 

Afterwards I plotted out the hike that I am to lead for the Vigorous Hikers this coming Tuesday.  It had to be modified from the route that we usually do.  At this point, although Shenandoah National Park is open, all hikes must begin and end at Skyline Drive.  Under ordinary circumstances we generally use trailheads outside of the park and enter across the park boundary, but currently we still do not have this option.  It is rather regrettable, since most hikes from Skyline Drive begin by going downward and end by returning upward, which is opposite from the order one would wish for a hike.  This hike in particular will end with going up the Little Devils Stairs Trail, which is one of the more arduous ascents in the park.  I will be scouting the hike tomorrow just to ensure that the trails on our route are all open and that there are no unpleasant surprises awaiting us. 

It was very warm today, not unpleasantly so; but we are coming to the beginning of the more torrid time of the year.  July and August are the most difficult times of the year to hike in this area; even in the highest and shadiest elevations one has to be on the lookout to avoid dehydration.  Eventually we will be reaching the point when we can relax in various swimming holes along some of the wider streams.  They may be the only places where swimming is available, at any rate for the near future; the public pools will not be opening for some time to come.

More news from Minneapolis.  The policeman who killed George Floyd has been identified.  His name is Derek Chauvin, and he has been placed under arrest.  It is relatively rare for officers to be held accountable for deaths that occur during arrests; but in this case the evidence is unequivocal.  Rioting  has been searing the city for three days, prompting its mayor to impose a curfew from 8:00 PM onwards through the night under 6:00 AM the following morning.  As might be expected, Trump’s idea is to stoke the fire rather than contain it; he has tweeted that the rioters should be shot.  Both the mayor of the city and the state governor are understandably exasperated by the actions of a president that, instead of helping them out, make matters worse. 

Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM — # of cases worldwide: 6,026,107; # of deaths worldwide: 366,415; # of cases U.S.: 1,793,263; # of deaths U.S.: 104,539. It has taken a mere 11 days for the case count to increase by one million.  As the virus expands through Latin America, we are beginning to see how vulnerable Third World nations are to crises such as these.  In Europe, Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and some of the wealthier Asian countries such as Taiwan, it is feasible to recommend keeping shopping trips down to a minimum.  But how is it possible to ask a family to shop no more than once every 5-7 days if they have no means of refrigeration?  The hospital systems in countries such as Spain were overwhelmed.  But Spain is relatively wealthy compared with many Latin American and South American nations.  And the conditions of poverty are aggravated by the number of people who have been forced to stop working as the virus continues.  Moreover, the winter season is approaching in South America.  The virus tends to be more active in cooler temperatures.  Already Brazil’s case count and death toll have been steadily increasing relative to North American and European countries, while Peru and Chile are now respectively eleventh and thirteenth on the list of countries with the highest case counts.

Morning statistics – Trump vs. social media – Russian health care workers – Russian nursing homes – Who needs pants? – Racial relations unraveling – Will the handshake become obsolete? – Lightening of restrictions in Northern Virginia – Dinner at home – Ted Cruz defends his father’s defamer – Brett Crozier again – Evening statistics

Today’s statistics as of 9:00 AM — # of cases worldwide: 5,819,274; # of deaths worldwide: 358,017; # of cases U.S.: 1,746,335; # of deaths U.S.: 102,116. 

I didn’t scan through the news yesterday and now that I’ve gone through it today I almost wish that I had remained in a state of happy ignorance.  The more of it I read, the more depressed I get.  President Trump has threatened to shut down various social media.  Trump, as is very well-known, has been using Twitter continually, far more often than any other prominent politician.  But Twitter has recently issued a fact-checker that appends labels for new tweets, which is considered to be exercising an editorial function.  “The law still protects social media companies like @Twitter because they are considered forums not publishers,” said Mario Rubio, Trump’s staunch ally. “But if they have now decided to exercise an editorial role like a publisher then they should no longer be shielded from liability & treated as publishers under the law.”  And what sort of forum did he use to issue this statement?  Twitter, of course!  Consistency, thou art a jewel; but thou are not likely to adorn Trump’s self-created tiara.

Russia health care workers are facing a challenge unknown to those in the U.S.  In the U.S., the health care workers have generally been lauded as heroes during this crisis.  In Russia they have been treated with fear and disdain; many see them as collaborators with the state in restricting their freedom.  In the meantime thousands of Russian health care workers have contracted the virus.  Official reports say that about 100 workers have died from the virus, but an unofficial tally compiled by the health care workers themselves concludes that over 300 have already succumbed. 

The low death count from the virus in Russia is in part explained by the fact that Russia counts only those who died from the virus directly and not cases in which the virus accelerated other factors.  This effect has been demonstrated by several nursing homes, where the virus has swept through and claimed hundreds of victims; but only a fraction of them are listed as having died from the virus.  In addition, the nursing homes are under pressure to conceal their losses, out of fear of prosecution for negligence.

An odd item from Taneytown, MD:  it seems that some residents have gone walked to their mailboxes and collected their mail without putting on their pants first.  Indecent exposure, in Maryland, is defined as intentionally showing one’s genitals in public, so it is perhaps not surprising that this habit spurred the police to issue a public warning to citizens on its Facebook page.  The good citizens of Taneytown did not respond with the gravity that the police appear to believe such an offense should warrant.  Many posted replies containing facetious GIFs, such as the one showing Winnie the Pooh dancing, captioned “Life’s too short for pants.”

Protests have been disrupting Minneapolis after the death of George Floyd.  He was arrested on a charge of fraud, but there was no sign of his resisting the arrest.  Nonetheless one of the policeman put a choke-hold on him for more than seven minutes, ignoring his cries that he was unable to breathe.  Afterwards a call was made for medical assistance, but Floyd eventually died on his way to the hospital.  This comes after the Ahmaud Arbery murder:  a black man jogging who was shot by Gregory and Travis McMichael, a father-and-son team, while a third man aided and abetted them by driving along and interposing his vehicle wherever Arbery turned to escape his hunters.  William Bryan, the driver, was sadistic enough to videotape the encounter and idiotic enough to post his video to the public.  The three were eventually arraigned, but it took more than two months for charges to be brought against them; the trial has not yet taken place.

The simple handshake may become a casualty of the virus.  Dr. Fauci, for instance, has stated that we should forego this habit to prevent spreading not only the COVID-19 virus but other communicable diseases as well.  Whether this is so or not, we undoubtedly are going to be more wary of touching one another, even after the pandemic is over. 

It was wet this morning, but the rain cleared up by the early afternoon.  It was a little humid but not oppressively so, and there were occasional breezes that prevented one from getting overly heated.  I confined myself to walking locally.  Most of Virginia has already undergone Phase One of the re-opening, but the counties within the Greater Metro area of DC have delayed matters slightly.  Restrictions are starting to ease up now.  There was a little more activity in the city today.  Cafés and delis are open.  They were not doing what I would call a thriving business but they did have some customers.  A couple of them had tables for outside dining, and a few of these were occupied.  People are gradually renewing their outside activities.  Restaurants will be open tomorrow if they confine themselves to 50% seating capacity.  The same is true of retail stores.  Salons, barbershops, and spas will be available by appointment only, and both the employees and the customers must wear masks. 

Today’s dinner, if I may so, was good:  cioppino, with zucchini, rice, cherries, and bread, which I made from the sourdough starter.  The bread came out quite well, but it did not have the distinctive sourdough taste.  The starter is a couple of weeks old, so it should have developed that flavor by now.  We will see if it develops the characteristic winy taste eventually.

Ted Cruz has gotten into trouble – or, more accurately, has stumbled into it – by trying to encourage a reporter to pursue Donald Trump’s far-fetched conspiracy theories about his predecessor, Barack Obama.  Curiously, Trump had floated another conspiracy theory in 2016, when he and Ted Cruz were rivals for the Republican nomination, about Rafael Cruz being involved in the assassin of President Kennedy in 1963.  Now Cruz has become Trump’s ardent partisan, even though the latter has attempted to defame Cruz’s own father.  What love potion has Trump fed Cruz and his like to deprive them of their wits?

Admiral Mike Gilday, the chief admiral of the Navy, received a report from the internal investigation about the debacle of the USS Roosevelt.  This report was demanded by James MacPherson, the acting Navy secretary, after receiving a recommendation that Crozier be restored to his command but who decreed that a report was necessary to address some unanswered questions.  Now MacPherson himself is on the way out, being replaced by Kenneth Braithwaite.  After the report is reviewed by Braithwaite he will send it on to Defense Secretary Mark Esper for yet another review.

It took only a day for an incompetent, corrupt, and foul-tongued bureaucrat to fire Crozier for taking his responsibility towards his crew seriously; and at this rate it will take months to restore him.  If, indeed, that ever happens.

Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM — # of cases worldwide: 5,900,627; # of deaths worldwide: 361,773; # of cases U.S.: 1,768,218; # of deaths U.S.: 103,329.  Brazil’s case count and death toll are now both over one-quarter of that of the U.S.  And that’s assuming that the figures are accurate, which almost certainly is not the case. 

Morning statistics – Increased activity of birds – Prognostics of economic depression – Possible after-effects of the virus – A social visit – Working on the blog – Evening statistics

Today’s statistics as of 9:00 AM — # of cases worldwide: 5,715,075; # of deaths worldwide: 352,901; # of cases U.S.: 1,727,686; # of deaths U.S.: 100,625. 

It is another beautiful day.  I do not know whether I am imagining it, but it seems to me that the birds have been more active than usual this year.  Every time I have gone out for the past two months I have heard them singing vigorously.  During yesterday’s hike they are especially vociferous.  Perhaps I am simply more attuned to them because there is less traffic noise outside. 

The DOW opens today after the Memorial Day Weekend. MC, who is an investment counselor, says that the market is over-valued and has been over-valued for a long time.  I asked about the effects of the economic activity that will occur once all lockdown restrictions have been lifted.  I was doubtful that all of the jobs that have placed on hiatus were recoverable.  He said that 85% recovery is an optimistic estimate, and even at that we would be headed for a significant recession, worse than the one in 2008.  The stock market appears to be betting heavily on the discovery of a vaccine, but even if we get one several jobs simply are going to disappear, particularly in the service industries. 

It is interesting to speculate on the long-term effects of the lockdown.  Now that tele-commuting has been in effect for several weeks, it will become more common in firms that previously relied on employees coming in person to office buildings.  Industries such as legal consultation, investment firms, information technology, and so on, will continue to use to a greater extent than before.  This practice in turn may have a beneficial impact on traffic, which has been a steadily growing problem in many cities.  Air travel, on the other hand, may become more difficult.  Various local carriers will have a difficult time recovering from the long hiatus of people travel both for business and for pleasure.  Services to mid-sized cities such as Sacramento, Birmingham, Cedar Rapids, Syracuse, etc., will probably diminish.

I visited my friends DC and JC again today.  Sometimes when I look at the newspaper articles and compare them with my own life it appears to me as if I’m living in a completely different world.  I suppose sordid behavior makes for more exciting journalism than good nature, upright character, and vigorous intelligence do but – even so.  The friends I have managed to acquire seem to me light years away from the squalid avarice and impenetrable arrogance of our so-called leaders.  This is not merely my own assessment.  When my relatives met some of those who showed up at my father’s funeral they exclaimed to me afterwards, “What nice friends you have!”  How I managed to be so fortunate in this respect I do not know.  The manner in which we spent the afternoon together might not seem very exciting to an outsider, and yet it was extremely pleasurable.  I brought along some brownies made with almond flour – it’s been a long time since I’ve had the opportunity to bake for anyone; we chatted over some tea JC obtained from Taiwan (her home country); we went into the garden, where JC showed me how the bamboo shoots were coming up – she provided me with some before I left; DC and I strolled about together; we dwelt on various memories of the past and also on hopes about the eventual lifting of the restrictions and the restoration to normality.  After that I simply was not in the mood to scan the Internet for news after I returned home. 

I am trying to post these notes onto a blog but I’ve been having trouble with the blog software; so DC, who has worked with blogs himself, gave me some pointers about the issues that were giving me trouble.   I will be working on these tomorrow and I hope to have my blog ready for viewing some time tomorrow.  It’s supposed to rain off and on, so it should be a good day for working on setting the blog up.

Today’s statistics as of 9:00 PM — # of cases worldwide: 5,788,312; # of deaths worldwide: 357,406; # of cases U.S.: 1,745,803; # of deaths U.S.: 102,107. 

Social hiking again – Great Falls – The protective dog-owner – Virginians to wear masks indoors – Reports from Latin America – Evening statistics

Today I was with the Vigorous Hikers.  We hiked together this time rather than going at different paces, or if we got separated we waited at various junctions.  There were many turns to make during the route and it is necessary to keep together to ensure that no one got lost.  BF, who is a surgeon, appeared to be relatively unconcerned about the virus.  He said that the great majority of deaths, at least in Virginia, have occurred among people with underlying conditions, obesity and diabetes being two of most pertinent factors.  That was reassuring to an extent, but only to a certain extent.  As MC pointed out, caution has to be exercised when dealing with the unknown.  He gave as an instance the story of what happened to his son while staying at camp.  A bat had entered the son’s room when he was asleep, and when MC made inquiries he learned that if the bat had rabies and if the bat had bitten the young man or even if the young man had breathed in droplets exuded by the bat, he could contract rabies as well; and rabies from bats can be fatal.  The treatment was expensive, painful, and time-consuming; but MC would take no chances – the uncertainty factor was too great.

It was a lovely day, warm but not overly hot and not humid.  In the shade it was delightful.  It feels so good to have seasonable weather at last after this long period of cool and wet days.  We hiked in the Great Falls area, which is now open to the public.  Nonetheless we started from the parking area which I had scouted the previous week.  The lines for entering the park tend to be long and especially at this time of year, just after Memorial Day.  Actually there were not many people on the trails when we began our hike (we started a little before 8:00 AM) but after we had gone along the Matildasville Trail past the Visitor Center and covered several miles in Riverbend Park, we encountered numerous visitors upon our return via the River Trail.  We also went to the confluence of Difficult Run and the Potomac, where to our surprise we found some people swimming.  The Potomac is very swift and has deep currents; they were staying in the area where Difficult Run drains into the Potomac, which is somewhat calmer, but it was still a risky thing to do.  It was a splendid day, covering over 16 miles and perhaps 1500 feet of elevation gain.  We all moved swiftly and returned to our cars will before 2:00.

An episode occurred in Central Park today that illustrated both the poor state of racial relations in our country and the overweening arrogance of dog-owners.  A black man was strolling through the Ramble in Central Park where a white woman was allowing her dog to roam freely, although there are signs everywhere stating that dogs have to be leased.  The dog tearing through the various plantings placed in the park for replenishment and racing after any wildlife that caught its fancy.  The woman was of course looking on indulgently and never doubting that all passersby felt a reciprocal enjoyment.  So when he requested her to put her dog on a leash she refused, immediately whipping out her cell phone to call the police to complain that a black man was molesting her.  That turned out to be a costly mistake.  As it happened, he videotaped the incident and posted it, where it immediately went viral.  She was an employee of Franklin Templeton, an investment firm, and when the incident came to their attention they promptly fired her.  So justice was done for once, but it will have little impact on dog-owners who persist in treating their pets like spoiled children.

Governor Northam has announced that Virginians are to wear masks on public transportation and in public indoor places such as retail stores.  Compliance is voluntary, since the governor says that criminal prosecutions will not be made against those who fail to observe the guideline. 

Formerly the discouraging reports came chiefly from Europe; now Latin America is becoming the focus of unwelcome attention.  The number of new cases in Brazil, Peru, and Chile has accelerated.  Chile’s case incident rate is already over 0.4%, about one case in every 250 of the nation’s population.  Two prominent members of the Chilean government have tested positive for the virus.  Peru had taken several precautions and at the onset appeared to have the virus under control, but the ubiquitous crowded outdoor food markets and the fragility of their medical care system defeated all of their preventative measures.  It is now twelfth on the list of nations with the highest case counts.  The travel ban for people from Brazil entering the U.S. goes into effect tomorrow; Americans currently in Brazil are frantically scrambling to get out while there is still time.  Brazil has had more deaths today than the U.S.  It may lose as many as 125,000 by early August. 

Today’s statistics as of 8:30 PM — # of cases worldwide: 5,678,021; # of deaths worldwide: 351,667; # of cases U.S.: 1,725,150; # of deaths U.S.: 100,579.

Morning statistics – Donald Trump and social distancing – Sa’di’s advice to rulers – Sad news from the U.K. – Plight of Mexico City – Aftermath of Memorial Day festivities – Evening statistics

Today’s statistics as of 9:00 AM — # of cases worldwide: 5,525,299; # of deaths worldwide: 347,114; # of cases U.S.: 1,686,807; # of deaths U.S.: 99,311.  Russia’s case count continues to increase and the number of its cases still active is second only to the U.S.  The mortality rate has risen slightly, but it is still low – slightly over 1%.  It has been estimated that its medical workers are 16 times more likely to die than their counterparts in other European countries. 

Deborah Birx has stressed to journalists that there is clear scientific evidence that facemasks are an effective prophylaxis for the virus.  When she was thereupon asked why President Trump refuses to wear one whenever he goes out in public, she assured her interviewer that he is “able to maintain social distancing.”  And indeed, I don’t see why anyone would go nearer than six feet to Donald Trump if he can possibly help it.  Living as I do within 20 miles of his proximity is punishment enough.

In this indulgent mood towards our esteemed leader I must protest against the criticisms some have directed at Trump for enjoying a game of golf during the Memorial Day Weekend.  The man is entitled to his relaxations like everyone else.  There are other considerations besides.  “An unjust king asked a holy man, saying. ‘What is more excellent than prayers?’ He answered: ‘For you to remain asleep ’till mid-day, that for this one interval you might not afflict mankind.’”  (Sa’di, Gulistan)  Trump, as I noted earlier, is well past 70 and doubtless spends fewer hours in sleep than he did during the days of his youth; but a game of golf will answer the purpose just as well.

I received a sad Email from a friend in Great Britain.  He has lost several friends in the course of four weeks:  one from a cancer that had previously gone undetected, one from a fall, one from a brain tumor, one from pancreatic cancer, and one from an auto accident.  Even though none of these are attributable to the virus, the conditions created by the pandemic make matters even more stressful for mourners than usual.  He has been permitted to attend only one of the funerals, and funerals are not allowed to include a wake or any kind of physical contact.  There is need for a great deal of caution in the U.K., which has one of the highest mortality rates in the world:  14% of its cases have been fatal, and only Spain and Belgium exceed it in the proportionate number of deaths for the country’s population.

Mexico City has issued over 8,000 more death certificates than the average for the same period in the past this year.  They may not all be due to COVID-19, but this figure suggests that the number of deaths due to the virus is seriously under-reported.  The number of deaths from the virus for the entire country is reported at less than 7,500.  Mexico has one of the lowest numbers of tests per population globally, which means that a significant number of people could have the virus without being aware of it.

Memorial Day weekend is over, and now it will be seen whether its celebrations have impeded the decline in the spread of the virus.  There have been crowds at numerous beaches, in Florida in particular, and at the Lake of the Ozarks, where tourists flooded restaurants and bars, as well as in the lake itself, with no attempt at social distancing.  St. Louis and Kansas City both have residents with vacation homes there, and when they return to these two cities the number of cases is almost certain to surge.  In this area, at least, celebrations were muted, but there were still several large gatherings here and there.

Today’s statistics as of 8:30 PM — # of cases worldwide: 5,584,211; # of deaths worldwide: 347,613; # of cases U.S.: 1,706,226; # of deaths U.S.: 99,805.  The number of deaths worldwide appears to be decreasing, so that is to the good.  Brazil is steadily gaining.  Its case count went up by nearly 3.5% today, as opposed to our 1.1% increase.  Chile is also having difficulties, despite having the best economy of all of the South American nations.  Its healthcare system is under strain from the 70,000 virus cases In Russia, Moscow has a strict lockdown.  People have to download a QR “pass” onto their phones if they want to go more than 100 yards from their homes.  Police are monitoring the streets to ensure that people don’t travel beyond prescribed limits and cameras are tracking drivers to verify that they are on the routes that they declared they were going to take when they downloaded the pass.  This is quite an ominous development inasmuch as the Russian government is learning a great many lessons in how to employ technology to ensure authoritarian control. 

Morning statistics – Unreliable CDC data – Memorial Day – Eid al-Fitr – Lockdown easing in Europe – Fairfax City pending the release of the stay-at-home order – Evening statistics

Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM — # of cases worldwide: 5,429,234; # of deaths worldwide: 344,488; # of cases U.S.: 1,667,284; # of deaths U.S.: 98,691.  The U.S. at this point has nearly 40% of the active cases worldwide.  We have joined that undesirably exclusive club of nations whose case incidence is more than 0.5%, or one in two thousand, Spain and Singapore being the two others, as well as various microstates (San Marino, Qatar, Andorra, Luxembourg, Mayotte, Bahrain, and Iceland). 

For all of the criticism directed at data collection from other countries, and from third-world countries in particular, our home-grown data collection may not be very reliable either.  Recently it has been reported that the CDC has been conflating the results from the viral tests and the results from the antibody tests.  A negative result has a different meaning for each test.  Anyone who gets a negative result from the viral test is not currently infected with COVID-19; anyone who gets a negative test result from the antibody test has probably never been infected.  In addition, the antibody tests tend to be less accurate on an individual level.  The skewed metrics that result are more than simply a theoretical error; state governors have been using them to determine their policies for re-opening guidelines.  At the very least the CDC has been over-stating our ability to test people who are sick with COVID-19.  The results from the antibody test drive down the positive rate, which means that our nation’s case count may be under-reported as badly as many other countries. 

It’s Memorial Day weekend, and many beaches, boardwalks, and other attractions are just as crowded as they might be any other year.  Some restrictions are still being enforced in this area.  The Memorial Day Parade through DC has been canceled, and the Memorial Day Concert is available through livestream only.  The Rolling Thunder event has been canceled, although a few thousand riders have been rolling through anyway.  Many of the motorcycle drivers who would ordinarily be here are restricting themselves to riding through their local communities instead.  Arlington Cemetery is allowing pass holders only to enter its grounds.  DC remains a “hot spot” as other areas are showing declining rates of infection; the number of new cases each day is sporadic, sometimes going up, sometimes going down. 

Today is the first day of Eid al-Fitr as well.  Many Muslims are spending this day under strict stay-at-home orders.  It’s a melancholy way of celebrating what is usually the most joyous of holidays.  In Turkey a lockdown has been imposed for the entire weekend.  Saudi Arabia and Egypt, two of the Mideast region’s nations hit hardest by the virus, have implemented overnight curfews.  Mosque services have been canceled in many countries, and homes are confining their festivities to immediate family members only.  Not all of the countries with Muslim majorities are showing such restraint.  In Amman, Jordan, queues of people swarmed the bakeries and nut retailers (sweetmeats and nuts are used in large amounts for the usual festivities) as if the virus did not exist.  Mosques have been closed in Iran, but prayers are allowed just outside the mosque buildings, provided that social distancing guidelines are observed.  Pakistan has recently lifted various lockdown restrictions and has only the usual guidelines; no special precautions are being enforced.  Worshippers in countries such as Sudan, Indonesia, Afghanistan, and Israel have been congregating in crowded mosques without any regard for the guidelines for social distancing.  It must be added that the incidence rate in all of these countries is relatively low.

Lockdown restrictions are gradually being lifted in various European countries.  The details are too numerous to be listed here, but in general terms:  border controls have been relaxed, shops have been allowed to re-open, people may attend funerals (but only 15 for any single interment), visitors are permitted to go to beaches, social visits to other households are permitted, restaurants under certain conditions can allow dining again, some museums are now accessible, religious services are no longer livescreen only. 

It will be a few days still before similar restrictions are lifted here.  I went through downtown Fairfax today, and it had surprisingly few people for a weekend, and especially for a Memorial Day weekend.  Restaurants still are not allowed to have diners on the premises but the take-out places (Subway, Potbelly, etc.) are operating on more or less the same basis as before.  Still – the city under ordinary circumstances would be bustling at this time of year. 

Today’s statistics as of 9:00 PM — # of cases worldwide: 5,497,650; # of deaths worldwide: 346,675; # of cases U.S.: 1,686,436; # of deaths U.S.: 99,300.  Brazil’s case count continues to go up even relative to our own.  President Trump has banned travel from Brazil into the U.S., and although I do not in general share his opinions, in this case I find myself in the disagreeable position of approving his decision.

Morning statistics – End of Ramadan – Eid al-Fitr – Ending the stay-at-home orders – Shenandoah National Park – Warm weather at last – A productive day – Re-opening of local parks – Culinary pleasures – Brazil is the country of the future, and always will be – Evening statistics

Today’s statistics as of 8:00 AM — # of cases worldwide: 5,329,722; # of deaths worldwide: 340,537; # of cases U.S.: 1,645,646; # of deaths U.S.: 97,663. There is a kind of seesawing between Russia and Brazil at this point.  Russia’s case count has shot up again, inching it over Brazil’s.  That will change again by the end of the day.  There is one mitigating factor for Brazil and for Latin America generally:  the average age of the population is considerably lower than that of Europe or the U.S.  Younger people have more resistance against the disease, which means that the mortality rate should be lower.  But that won’t do much good if the case count continues to multiply the way it is currently doing.  The African nations are doing much better in containing the disease.  South Africa has the highest case count of the African countries, and it is only 35^th on the list, with barely over 20,000 cases, and its number of active cases is already beginning to decline. 

Ramadan ends at sunset today, and tomorrow will begin Eid al-Fitr, the three-day holiday that marks the breaking of the month-long fast.  Usually this festival is marked by going to mosques to pray together and to greet friends there, as well as parties (frequently quite lavish ones) with a great deal of feasting.  Attention is focused on children, who usually get gifts of new clothes, shoes, and cash, so naturally they look forward to the holiday for the greater part of the year.  As with the Easter and Passover celebrations, all of this will have to be modified.  The holiday will be something of a test for the countries with Muslim majorities as to how they are handling the pandemic; but in general they seem to be acting much more prudently than the predominantly Christian ones.  The Hajj begins on July 28^th, but Saudi Arabia has not yet ruled out canceling it – which is quite a sacrifice, considering that the influx of visitors to the Hajj accounts for 5% of its GNP. 

Dr. Fauci announced that it is now time for the stay-at-home orders to lift and that prolonging them to undue length can do as much damage as ending them too soon.  States have been easing the restrictions, for the most part gradually.  Today Shenandoah National Park has re-opened to a certain extent.  Hikes must begin from Skyline Drive; parking is still shut off from the boundary trailheads.  Old Rag and its associated trails, and the Whiteoak Canyon/Cedar Run loop with its associated trails are still off-limits.  All other facilities, including visitor centers, picnic areas, campgrounds, lodges, gift shops, and restaurants are closed. But all trails except the ones mentioned above and all overlooks are open.

The forecast for today couldn’t have been more mistaken.  The rain passed away yesterday and the temperature rose, making today the first really warm day for about two months.  I wished to mow the lawn but the grass was too wet in the morning for that.  So I went to the Workhouse art studio complex, picked up the Cross-County Trail from there, went south to Occoquan Regional Park and went on the loop around there, went north to Laurel Hill Park, did the loop around Giles Run, and then returned to the Workhouse – perhaps nine miles in all.  There is a great deal of vetch in the area; from its purple color and smooth stem, as well as its proximity to land that once belonged to a farm, my guess is that it is cow vetch.  After I returned home and had lunched, I mixed the ingredients for a lamb and lentil stew, put it on low heat to simmer gently, mowed the lawn, took the stew off of the heat, and refreshed the sourdough starter that had been in the refrigerator for several days and was starting to separate.  Not an exceptionally busy day, but a reasonably productive one.

People are becoming less cautious.  I wore a mask while I was in Occoquan Regional, which I knew would have several visitors; but I was one of the few who did.  And when I left the park I took off my mask as well.  I encountered hardly anyone during the remainder of my route.  For local walking I still am wearing the mask continually.

Many local parks are open now.  The parking area at Occoquan Regional had several cars and I saw as I drove past it that Burke Lake is open.  That means that all of the ingenious routes I worked out to circumvent the entrance closures are unnecessary now.  But every silver lining has its cloud.

Making a stew is satisfying.  One is not bound to a specific recipe but can toss in as many different vegetables and roots as he likes, as well as any combination of herbs, and it can provide a balance of protein, starch, and carbohydrates in a single dish, making it sufficient for an entire meal.  It’s economical as well.  I used a pound of meat for the stew, and I will have enough dinner for three days, perhaps even four. 

“When the biggest science denier in the country is the president himself, what can we scientists do?”  This remark may sound like another complaint against Donald Trump but it actually comes from Brazil.  Brazil’s case count has surpassed Russia’s again.  The disease is sweeping the favelas, which account for more than eleven million people.  In Rio de Janeiro alone they comprise nearly one-quarter of the population.  It seems almost frivolous to recommend social distancing in areas where the population density is about 100,000 per square kilometer.  The only way people in these areas can quarantine themselves from their neighbors is vertically.  One person who experienced difficulty in breathing, expired in one of these neighborhoods and his body lay in the sidewalk for 30 hours.  Someone placed a sheet over the corpse and arranged traffic cones around the body so that people wouldn’t trip over it – such a touching display of thoughtfulness – but no one could be bothered to take charge.  The city ambulance service said that its responsibilities did not include the removal of corpses.  The police said that they could interfere only for criminal cases.  It’s like the Russian joke about the police’s response to a man who complained of being threatened with murder:  “Threats do not concern us.  If he kills you, come and tell us.”  Finally some relatives contacted a funeral home that was willing to undertake the removal.  In addition, there are 900,000 indigenous people who are dying off at an alarming rate.  Few of them have access to hospitals or health care of any kind.

Today’s statistics as of 9:00 PM — # of cases worldwide: 5,401,222; # of deaths worldwide: 343,799; # of cases U.S.: 1,666,828; # of deaths U.S.: 98,683.  Brazil officially has about 20% of our case count and slightly over that for its death toll.  If the estimates of its under-reporting are correct, it has already exceeded the U.S., possibly having two or even three times as many cases.

Morning statistics – Biden vets Amy Klobucher – The need for a third party – Travel along the Beltway – Dangers of public restrooms – Evening statistics

Today’s statistics as of 8:00 AM — # of cases worldwide: 5,220,599; # of deaths worldwide: 335,162; # of cases U.S.: 1,622,333; # of deaths U.S.: 96,363. 

Joe Biden’s campaign is now vetting Senator Amy Klobuchar as his vice-presidential running mate.  She is a moderate and would probably go over reasonably well with the electorate, but the vetting process is highlighting some of the weaknesses in the Biden campaign.  The choice for vice president is arousing much greater interest than it ordinarily does during presidential elections, because Biden is now 77 years old.  He has already hinted that he plans to be a transitional president who would serve only one term.  That is a half-hearted way of approaching an election, and I greatly fear that it makes Trump being elected for a second term more likely.  Whatever else may be said about Donald Trump, he cares passionately about winning and makes no secret of his desire to retain as much power as he can for as long as he can. 

Nor is Biden without a degree of arrogance on his own.  Today he said in a radio interview that anyone who is black and who voted for Trump in 2016 “ain’t black.”  I can think of no more effective way to alienate a large bloc of voters than to tell them that you take their votes for granted.  Many black voters have already in response expressed their indignation, as well as a determination to have nothing to do with Biden.  Who can blame them?

Biden is 77 and Trump is 73.  For all of the rhetoric that both the Republicans and the Democrats have made about the need for change, the best that either of them can provide are old men who aspire to prominence well after the age that most people have retired.  When will a third option emerge that will provide an alternative to these ossified parties?  We have never had a greater need for one.

I went again to my mother’s place today.  She is neither any better nor any worse.  I picked up some accumulated mail and chatted a bit with MB, her caretaker, for whom I signed the reports she needs to turn in to the long-term care health provider.  It was curious driving back and forth on Beltway, which I have been long trained to regard as an invariable source of traffic jams; traffic is still light and there were no tie-ups, with one exception.  There was an accident close to the Connecticut Ave. exit, so I had to get off on the Wisconsin Ave. exit instead.  On my return I saw that the accident had not yet been cleared from the Inner Loop and there was a long line of traffic backed up much further than it had been earlier.  It was just like old times, in fact.

Health officials are warning against using public restrooms.  For my own part, I have been avoiding them for some time.  Various porta-potties have been available for use on some of the trails, but I have not ventured into them.  There is hardly any need for them when hiking in secluded areas, because at this season the foliage is dense enough to provide adequate cover.  I believe it will take several months before I feel confident enough to venture into a public restroom of any description, no matter how frequently it is cleaned.

Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM — # of cases worldwide: 5,297,989; # of deaths worldwide: 339,413; # of cases U.S.: 1,644,878; # of deaths U.S.: 97,635.  Brazil has triumphantly shot up to second place.  The way President Bolsonaro is behaving, at any rate, indicates he at least appears to consider it as a triumph.  The country has had nearly 20,000 new cases today and nearly a 1,000 deaths.  And we can be pretty confident that both the case count and the death toll have been under-reported.  One research team has suggested that the number of infections is about 16 times higher than the official figures, which would place it well in the lead of the U.S.  The WHO has declared that South America is the new epicenter for the virus, a verdict for which Bolsonaro’s policies are largely responsible.  However, he’s in good company; Sweden, which has had a similar policy of ignoring the obvious, has one of the highest mortality rates in the world for the virus.  China has reported its first day without any new cases or deaths from the virus. 

Along the southern bank of the Potomac in Loudoun County – A new face mask – Possible accelerated schedule for vaccine – Desperate remedies – Evening statistics

Today I went on a combination hike/exploring expedition with RS to determine possible routes of extending the Potomac Heritage Trail.  It was about 12 miles in all, with perhaps 1000 feet in elevation gain.  This hike had everything:  fording Catoctin Creek, climbing over a few fences, a fair amount of bushwhacking, and even a brief sally along a field full of grazing cattle.  I took the lead in fording Catoctin Creek, where the water was deep enough to come more than halfway up to my knees – which doesn’t sound like much, but can be troublesome when the current is both swift and strong.  I looked chiefly for – not where the water was the most shallow – but where the surface underneath provided rocks instead of silt to walk on.  I threaded my way through without too much difficulty.  It was worth the effort to get the opportunity to go alongside Catoctin Creek up to the point of the confluence with the Potomac River, and afterwards to continue east and south skirting past Beaver Island.  Loudoun County at this point has no formally designated trails going alongside the Potomac – which is rather curious.  Some of the land in the vicinity of Beaver Island has been designated as a future public park, but when it will actually become one is still rather uncertain.  

We had parked in the back lot of a gas station and afterwards we visited their convenience store, where I picked up another mask.  I was glad to obtain one, since the face mask I have been using for some time now is getting worn and probably has become less effective in shielding me from infection.  No one at this point is able to say when the recommendations from wearing masks upon leaving one’s home will no longer be issued.  In some areas it is more than a recommendation.  In at least a few of the cities of California people are fined for not wearing them in public places.

Dr. Fauci has given encouraging reports about a vaccine becoming available, perhaps as early as January.  It is of course uncertain at this stage whether such a time-table is feasible, but if a vaccine can be developed then it will appear that the coronavirus will be reduced to a status similar to that of the flu:  a disease that can be serious enough and that will account for some fatalities every year, but at any rate containable. 

In the meantime, of course, people are turning in desperation to other methods:

“Zinc, Zinck, zinco:  they make tubs out of it for laundry, it is not an element which says much for the imagination; it is gray and its salts are colorless, it is not toxic, nor does it produce striking chromatic reactions; in short, it is a boring metal.”  Such is Primo Levi’s verdict in The Periodic Table, that wonderful collection of stories that are each based on a single element.   If it has no particular appeal to a professional chemist, however, it has been hypothesized that zinc can help in staving off the virus.  Zinc lozenges have sometimes been recommended for inhibiting colds in the past.  The evidence is conflicting as to whether or not they have been effective.  At the very least, however, they can do no harm.  The same cannot be said about hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malarial drug whose virtues have been extolled by that far-famed expert, Medicinae Doctor Donald Trump.  It has virtually no effect as far as mitigating the disease is concerned, but it does have other features, such as the promoting of heart arrhythmia – not a condition that is particularly helpful to a body already tasked with fighting off a virus.  Some studies have suggested that COVID-19 patients ingesting this drug have a 37%-increase risk of death. 

There have been other supplements that have been touted as well, such as Vitamin D, ultra-violet light from exposure to the sun, and so on.  Even cannabis has been suggested as a possible treatment.  (There’s no evidence that it has any effect one way or the other, but those who smoke it don’t seem to care.)  And of course there are all sorts of fringe theories about various foods.  The WHO has already gone out of its way to debunk the notion that eating lots of garlic or adding hot peppers to one’s soup are effective virus preventatives. 

Today’s statistics as of 8:45 PM — # of cases worldwide: 5,189,178; # of deaths worldwide: 334,072; # of cases U.S.: 1,620,457; # of deaths U.S.: 96,295.  Our incidence rate is now nearly 0.5% — that is to say, nearly one in every two hundred has been infected by the virus.  Brazil’s case count has shot up enormously today.  At this rate it may catch up with Russia within a day or so, making it second only to the U.S. 

Morning statistics – Food for a week – China’s data suspect – Unreliability of the WHO – A sad loss – Local excursion – National parks – Appalachian Trail – Evening statistics

Today’s statistics as of 8:00 AM — # of cases worldwide: 5,011,361; # of deaths worldwide: 325,454; # of cases U.S.: 1,571,131; # of deaths U.S.: 93,558.  Cambodia, of all places, has been reporting no new cases for several days.  Its last patient being treated for the virus was discharged from the hospital, which means that it has no active cases.  It remains vigilant, however:  no easing of the restrictions on school closures and border entry.  Anyone who travels to the country must carry an approved certificate stating that he is free from the virus; and even then he is required to quarantine himself for 14 days after arriving in the country.  Gatherings in large groups are still discouraged.

I got up early today and could not go back to sleep, so I spent the hours of dawn doing laundry and going out for grocery shopping.  I drove to the local Safeway instead of walking there, contrary to my usual habit.  I have not been in a grocery store for over a week and I knew that I would have to purchase more than I could carry. 

After all of the reassuring news from China, it has done an abrupt reversal and announced that the Jilin province, which contains about 27 million people, may be forced into a lockdown as a result of a new spike in virus cases.  This news, of course, casts doubts on the numbers that they have been reporting over the past several weeks.  Even now they claim to have only 87 active cases left, but in light of the recent report this figure cannot be trusted.  The WHO is also a co-conspirator; it has excluded Taiwan from participating in the World Health Assembly at China’s insistence – as if the virus heeds political distinctions.  China may regard Taiwan simply as a rebel province, but there is no reason that the WHO should follow suit.  Much as I hate to credit Trump for doing anything sensible, his hard-line attitude towards the WHO may not be a bad idea; if it puts political considerations over those of world health, it is unfit for its designated role.  This policy of fawning on China could easily help to promote a second wave of the virus.

We have had another loss among the health care workers.  Dr. James Mahoney, 62, purposely delayed his retirement when the virus came to New York City, to continue leading the Intensive Care Units at King’s County Hospital and SUNY Downstate.  He had worked frontline during the 9/11 attacks and the AIDS epidemic, and was known for his constant concern for patients.  He came down with fever during the second week of April, but continued consulting with patients while isolating at home.  Dr. Mahoney began to have difficulty breathing and could barely walk when he was admitted to the hospital April 20^th.  He died on the 27^th.  When our attention is occupied by politicians and pastors and corporate executives scrambling for all that they can get out of this crisis, it is easy to overlook heroes such as this man, who quietly and unobtrusively risked his life daily in order to minister to others.

It was cloudy today, not as dreary as Monday but a bit more oppressive than it was yesterday.  It was cool and windy as well, never getting above 60 degrees.  It was not an especially bad sort of day, but it is a bit unexpected for the second half of May.  I did not wish to drive, so I walked locally.  But I went along some dirt paths I had not covered before – the city has been carving out new ones to make the area more pedestrian-friendly – and it was the perfect time of year to stroll past people’s gardens, now in the peak of their bloom.  I also went by two shopping areas that are under construction. The old areas that they occupied were rather rundown and the buildings were unattractive; these have been torn down and new ones are being built.  I’m not sure, however, how quickly the shops will fill up once the construction is complete.  We already have several empty retail buildings scattered among the shopping areas of the city, and the economic climate is not going to be favorable for new businesses in the months to come.  When I began the walk I was a bit discouraged by the weather, but eventually I got into stride and ended up walking about eight miles or so.  Later in the day, though, it cleared up considerably and became warmer, so I went out again.  I felt that I might as well enjoy it while I can.  Tomorrow is supposed to be rather gray again and the next two days will be wet.

Many national parks have been re-opened.  Yellowstone opened its gates yesterday, although it is still not allowing overnight lodging or camping within the park boundaries.  Visitors have entered the park in shoals and, apparently, hardly any of them wore masks.  Shenandoah remains closed, with no date set for re-opening.  The Appalachian Trail Conservancy has relaxed its guidelines slightly.  It still prefers people to avoid the trail altogether, but it has resigned itself to the inevitable; it simply is not possible to prevent people from accessing a trail nearly 2,200 miles in length.  It now says that people may hike the trail if they have no symptoms of the disease, are not planning to hike in an area where the AT is closed, and have the appropriate protective gear (masks and sanitizer).  The ATC wants hikers to 1) stay local, so that they won’t have to stop for gas or meals anywhere; 2) not use privies, shelters, or picnic tables, since their surfaces may harbor the virus; 3) hike in groups of six or less.  Through-hikers have been asked to postpone their plans.  Staying in local communities is impossible and requires frequent stops in towns for resupply and shuttles to/from communities, creating multiple opportunities for contracting or spreading the virus.  Hikers planning to stay anywhere overnight must carry their own tents instead of using shelters.

Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM — # of cases worldwide: 5,082,083; # of deaths worldwide: 332,233; # of cases U.S.: 1,591,415; # of deaths U.S.: 94,933.  Brazil has registered over 20,000 cases in one day and as a result is now well ahead of Spain, placing it in third place of nations with highest case count.  It may overtake Russia as well later this week. The mayor of Sao Paulo says that the city’s health care system could collapse in two weeks.  Many nurses have already died from the virus.  Russia’s numbers are beginning to stabilize.  Restrictions are beginning to be lifted, but cautiously. 

Morning statistics – An unusual lawsuit – The American Chestnut Land Trust – Manna from Heaven in the form of yeast – The last of the easy traffic conditions – A delicate matter of terminology – Evening statistics

Today’s statistics as of 8:00 AM — # of cases worldwide: 4,915,587; # of deaths worldwide: 320,520; # of cases U.S.: 1,550,539; # of deaths U.S.: 91,985. 

The American judiciary system has seen its share of odd lawsuits, but the one brought about by Sylvia Driskell must be one of the most unusual.  She brought a suit against all homosexuals – not merely the ones in this country but all homosexuals on the planet.  Her petition is written entirely in cursive and cites no case laws, although she does quote the Bible and Webster’s Dictionary.  She claimed to be an ambassador of God and His Son, Jesus Christ; in which case, no doubt, she would have been able to produce the appropriate letters of accreditation when called to depose.  It’s difficult to understand what she expected to gain by this suit, even in the very unlikely event that it had been decided in her favor.  She said that she wants the judge to rule that homosexuality is a sin, seemingly unaware that no judge can determine the sinfulness or virtuousness of any human activity; he can only determine whether or not it is legal.  Judge John Gerrard dismissed the suit in a rather strongly-worded response, declining to recognize her self-appointed ambassadorship, rejecting the notion of a suit against a group of unidentified individuals, and saying outright that “the United States Federal Courts were created to resolve actual cases and controversies arising under the Constitution and the laws of the United States. A federal court is not a forum for debate or discourse on theological matters.”  He did not allow her to amend her complaint for the purposes of re-submission, doubtless feeling that he had already wasted time enough on this silly, vain, addle-pated woman.

I learned from AD about a hiking area that I had not known about before:  the American Chestnut Land Trust, a lovely park close to the Chesapeake Bay with 22 miles of trails.  The weather prophets turned out to be beautifully wrong about today’s forecast.  It was cloudy, but not dark and gloomy as it had been yesterday.  At times the clouds overhead became pearly-white in color and glimmerings of sunlight periodically shone through.  I hiked about 16 miles in all, with about 2000 feet of elevation gain.  The trails are not at all rocky, which meant that even though I took time to verify at junctions that I was going in the right direction and also to stop for lunch, I could complete the route in just under five hours.  It is not a very long drive either – a little under an hour and fifteen minutes from my house.  It undoubtedly will take longer once traffic conditions are restored to normal.  It is little-known; during the entirety of the hike I encountered only four hikers and one ranger working on a blowdown. There were, however, a couple of people just getting out of their cars when I was returning.  It’s not clear to me how much hiking they expected to do when they were just getting started at 3:00 PM.

My indefatigable aunt discovered a health food store that had a supply of yeast and she sent some to me in the mail, which arrived today.  It is an amount sufficient for making enough bread for two months.  By then yeast should be somewhat easier to obtain, or so one hopes.  In any case, I have a working starter as well.  It is even possible that the bakeries will resume bread-making again, but that is not to be counted on.

The relatively benign traffic situation will probably be coming to an end soon.  Metro will be shutting down parts of the Orange Line and all of the Silver Line starting from Memorial Day and lasting through all of the summer in order to accommodate construction.  This change will force more traffic on the roads just as the lockdowns in Maryland, Virginia, and DC will be lifting. 

Nancy Pelosi has drawn criticism for referring to Donald Trump as “morbidly obese” during a recent interview with CNN.  Trump is 6’3” and 243 pounds, according to his most recent physical less than a year ago, which gives him a body mass index of 30.4.  This would put him in the “overweight to moderately obese” category.  Trump’s partisans have chastised her for this inaccuracy (one is tempted to say “for this gross inaccuracy”) and point out that Trump would have to gain at least 77 additional pounds to be considered “morbidly obese.”  As someone who loves to promote social harmony I suggest that both parties come to an amicable compromise by calling him simply “fat.”

Today’s statistics as of 9:00 PM — # of cases worldwide: 4,985,656; # of deaths worldwide: 324,889; # of cases U.S.: 1,570,583; # of deaths U.S.: 93,533.  Brazil’s case count is now about 7,000 less than that of Spain’s.  It sounds like a great number, but at the rate that Brazil is reporting new cases every day, my guess is that it will overtake Spain by the end of the day tomorrow.  This past weekend many revelers were out in Rio de Janeiro, most of them not wearing face masks.  There have been more deaths in the state of Sao Paulo – the most populous in Brazil – than in all of China, at least all that China has reported officially.  Bolsonaro has approved a relief bill that grants aid to informal laborers and unwed mothers; but since they are lining up in long queues at the bank to put in their claims, their risk of contracting the virus increases.  Mexico has been 17^th in the list of nations with the greatest number of cases, but it now appears to be on the verge of overtaking Belgium.  Yet it will be lifting its lockdown restrictions tomorrow, which will probably aggravate matters.  Russia’s case count is just under 300,000.  Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has recovered sufficiently to resume his responsibilities.  The death toll is suspiciously low – still under 1%.  Alexander Gintsburg, the head of Russia’s Gamalei Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology, has said that Russia’s population has acquired herd immunity.  But that doesn’t explain why the same is not true for other countries – Germany, for instance, which has a much more robust health care system than Russia’s. 

Morning statistics – Encouraging news from New York – Leisure activities of football players – A common fallacy – Comic opera president of Brazil – Unpromising weather again – Evening statistics

Today’s statistics as of 8:00 AM — # of cases worldwide: 4,821,561; # of deaths worldwide: 317,004; # of cases U.S.: 1,527,951; # of deaths U.S.: 90,980. 

The outbreak is ebbing in New York.  Hospitalizations have fallen by more than a third.  This is welcome news, for New York State accounts for about 30% of the number of deaths nation-wide.  Restrictions have been eased in central and upstate New York, where construction and manufacturing work has been allowed to resume.  Retail businesses offering curbside pickup or in-store pickup for orders placed ahead have been allowed to reopen.  New York City and the more densely-populated regions are still under more restrictive guidelines until May 28^th at the earliest. 

As the NFL season remains in doubt, several football players are turning to robbery as an alternate profession.  Cody Latimer, a wide receiver for the Washington Redskins, has been arrested in Colorado for illegal discharging of a firearm, as well as of second-degree assault, menacing, prohibited use of a weapon and reckless endangerment.  NFL cornerbacks DeAndre Baker (New York Giants) and Quinton Dunbar (Seattle Seahawks) were at a house party in Florida where several attendees allege the two football players stole thousands of dollars in cash from them as well as valuable watches while armed with weapons. 

I had a rather disturbing conversation with a friend when we discussed the growing pressures confronting the majority of Americans as a result of the pandemic.  He was advocating a course of action that would have the Government give more and more handouts, and I had some difficulty in getting him to understand that if the Government simply prints more money and increases the national debt to unwieldy amounts (it has already, as I noted earlier, exceeded our GNP), the currency will eventually be devalued, resulting in a decreased purchasing power of the dollar and a return to the very impoverishment that the suggested handouts are designed to solve.  And yet he is an educated man, and he had even studied for a while in Heidelberg – an experience that should have given him some knowledge of the history of a country whose inhabitants at one point saw their life-savings rendered worthless by spiraling inflation.  It seems only too probable that the majority of voters are in a similar state of ignorance of economics, and that they will push for policies that must impose a crushing burden on the generations to come.

I have complained about President Trump a great deal in these pages, but the example of Brazil shows that we could be worse off.  Brazil’s case count has overtaken that of the U.K.; at this point only the U.S., Russia, and Spain have more.  Sao Paulo now has nearly 40,000 cases and its hospitals are now nearly out of beds.  Yet President Bolsonaro not only refuses to work with the various state governors to contain the virus; he flouts social distancing guidelines, fires health ministers when they do not tell him what he does not want to hear, and participates in protests against the lockdown procedures.  Thus Brazil presents the bizarre picture of a president leading a protest march against his own country’s government – that is to say, against himself. 

It’s been dreary today – not merely cloudy, but gray and dingy and dim, without a trace of sunshine.  It was so gloomy that I was inclined to remain indoors all day, “but that way madness lies, no more of that!”   The more-or-less continual solitude enforced by the restrictions is bad enough; never stirring out of the house can only make matters worse.  In any case, the weather is supposed to be like this for most of the week, culminating in rain on Friday.  Fortunately there were a few errands to do and all of them within walking distance.  Tomorrow I will hike somewhere no matter how the weather turns out, unless it’s a complete downpour.

Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM — # of cases worldwide: 4,887,842; # of deaths worldwide: 319,960; # of cases U.S.: 1,550,083; # of deaths U.S.: 91,976.  At this rate Brazil’s case count will overtake Spain’s in two days, at which point it will be contending with Russia for the position of the country with the second highest case count.  The number of new cases in Russia appears to be declining, although it is still high.  Spain’s death toll is steadily dropping; it was well under 100 today.  Its number of severe cases is now encouragingly low, so that there is less strain on its health system than in earlier weeks.  For that matter, the virus appears to have spent its fury in most of the Western European nations.  The U.K. is still struggling, though; it had over 2,700 new cases today.

Morning statistics – Eric Trump, naïf – Lori Lightfoot’s priorities – J. B. Pritzker restricts the movements of every family except his own – Hiking in Great Falls and Riverbend – The hurricanes begin – Nigerian reaction to air flight violation – Evening statistics

Today’s statistics as of 8:00 AM — # of cases worldwide: 4,744,867; # of deaths worldwide: 313,738; # of cases U.S.: 1,507,798; # of deaths U.S.: 90,113.  Russia’s case count now exceeds that of Spain; it is second only to the U.S. at this point.  China maintains that it has only 87 active cases, 10 of them severe; yet it has doubled the number of tests for the virus in Wuhan after it revealed that a new cluster of infections emerged after the release of its lockdown on April 8^th.

Eric Trump has claimed that the coronavirus – which at this stage has killed well over 300,000 people and possibly many more not officially ascribed to it – is a ploy devised by the Democrats to discredit the administration and that it will “magically disappear” after Election Day in November.  This statement brings up an interesting question:  the familiar issue of nature vs. nurture, in fact.  Has Eric Trump arrived at such conclusions because he is inherently credulous or because he has been taught by example and upbringing to believe whatever is most convenient for him, regardless of evidence?  Either way, it shows that inanity is a family trait.

Lori Lightfoot appears to be light-hearted and even a bit light-headed in her attitudes towards homicide.  Forty-six people were shot during the first weekend in May in Chicago, four of them fatally.  During that same weekend, there were rumors of half-a-dozen parties being held without proper social distancing.  It was these latter offenders whom Lightfoot scolded in her most recent press conference.  “We will shut you down, we will cite you, and if we have to, we will arrest you,” the city mayor said.  “Don’t make us treat you like a criminal, but if you act like a criminal and you violate the law and refuse to do what’s necessary to save lives in the middle of a pandemic, we will take you to jail, period.”  The Cook County Jail has recently released over 1,300 inmates, several of them convicted rapists and murderers. Perhaps a slightly more effective way of saving lives, whether during a pandemic or not, would be to restrain people with a history of violence; but that aspect of the matter does not appear to have occurred to her.  However, she doubtless will be able to obtain solace for the city’s loss of human life by means of another private haircut from her personal salon stylist.

In fairness to the mayor, she has the excuse that J. B. Pritzker, the governor of Illinois, has evidently decided that the stay-at-home order does not apply to him or his family, and has reinforced precept with example by sending his wife to Florida, in violation of the restrictions on travel that he has laid down for the entire state.

Today I went via the Cross-County Trail at Leigh Mill/Ramey Meadows along Difficult Run to the Great Falls National Park and to Riverbend State Park.  The park entrances are closed but trails themselves are open.  It was cloudy today but not wet and the temperature was agreeably cool.  The falls are as glorious as ever, being especially full as a result of the recent rains.  I have never seen spiderwort in such profusion and the mountain laurels, with their distinctive ten-sided blossoms and petals fused together, creamy white tinged with pink at the edges, are just beginning to open.  Many birds were flying overhead, each species making its distinctive call.   I saw one species of sparrow, with metallic green feathers covering its head and back, eating at one of the bird feeders in Riverbend.  The hike was about 14 miles in all, with perhaps 1200 feet of elevation gain.  My total mileage for this year is now over 800.  I did just under 1750 miles last year, but this year I may reach as much as 2000.  I went on this hike in part because BL was supposed to lead the Vigorous Hikers on a route in this area on the 26^th.  Since he has been ill, I agree to lead it instead, which is why I scouted it today.  It appears that we can hike using the original route; we will merely be starting and ending at a different place.

The hurricane season has begun.  Tropical Storm Arthur is evolving several miles ashore from the Southeastern states.  It will be close to the North Carolina shoreline by Monday.  It is not expected to do a great deal of wind damage, but it will end up by dumping a great deal of rain in the area.  We may get as much as 3-4 inches of rain this coming week.

Nigeria has impounded a British airplane for breaking the coronavirus restrictions imposed by that nation.  Passenger flights into the country, with the exception of ones to evacuate people or repatriate Nigerian citizens, have been banned for weeks. The ban will remain in place until at least June 4.  Flights conducted for humanitarian purposes (shipment of medical supplies, for example) are permitted, but no others.  Aviation Minister Hadi Sirika has said of the matter, “The craft is impounded, crew being interrogated. There shall be maximum penalty.”  One hesitates to imagine what the maximum penalty can be.  Nigerian law can be fairly severe.  Terrorism-related offenses are among the crimes considered capital, and so is robbery; the crew will have to hope that they will not be charged with one or the other.

Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM — # of cases worldwide: 4,798,952; # of deaths worldwide: 316,514; # of cases U.S.: 1,527,352; # of deaths U.S.: 90,973.  Brazil’s official case count is just barely under that of the U.K.  It’s still fifth on the list of nations with the highest count, but the real incidence is probably a great deal more.  For instance, it possesses over 13 million people alone living in favelas, where accurate testing is virtually unobtainable.  Sao Paulo’s hospital beds are already filled to 90% capacity.  Cases in Mexico continue to spike, but its lockdown is ending tomorrow all the same.  Even though the number of active cases in Spain is declining, its incidence rate is close to 0.6% of the population.  Russia recently became second on the list of nations with the highest count, but Sergey Sobyanin, the mayor of Moscow, states openly that the actual infection rates are about three times higher than reported.  He has made it clear that he has no intention of ending the lockdown in the capital.  In comparison, Putin remains strangely passive, confining himself to his private residence and delegating the work of easing lockdown restrictions to the various regional governors.  Some officials have announced that the impact of the virus there is stabilizing, but the validity of this claim remains to be seen.