Hymn to the Sun – Hiking in Shenandoah National Park – How hiking induces a mood of calm – The prediction of the evangelist Matthew – New mandate on masks – Declining hospitalization rates – States categorized by rising, static, and declining death rates – Evening statistics
Can it be that a remote ancestor of mine in Eretz Yisrael strayed from the faith of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and subscribed to a sect of sun-worship instead? Whatever the reason, it is certain that a bright sun-drenched day like today makes an appreciable difference in my state of mind. I went with AD, RH, and two others on a hike within Shenandoah National Park, starting at the Dickey Ridge Visitor Center, taking the Dickey Ridge Trail to the Snead Farm Trail, completing the loop, returning to the Dickey Ridge Trail, and going all the way to the junction with the Appalachian Trail. From there we went south on the AT briefly and then took a spur trail back to the junction, followed by taking the Dickey Ridge Trail all the way back to the visitor center. On the way back we digressed about ½ mile down a fire road to have lunch at the Land’s Run waterfall. The total distance covered was about 12¾ miles, with 2900 feet of elevation gain. The air was of crystalline clarity and the sky was of an unusually saturated hue of blue. It was cold when we started – barely above 20 degrees – and yet it was a sort of coldness that did not chill, on account of the brilliance of the sunlight. It warmed up later in the day, but happily not much above freezing, so that the ground, which was frozen in the morning, never thawed to the extent of becoming soft and muddy.
It is amazing how much difference a hike like that, particularly when completed with the society of others, can make in one’s outlook. Yesterday I was depressed by the sorry degeneration of the Republican Party. Now my attitude (for the present, at any rate) is, more or less: if the Republican Party is no longer viable, let it go. Political parties have come and gone before now. If the Republicans eventually fall by the wayside, they cannot complain that they haven’t been warned, especially considering how closely they are associated with the religious right:
“For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and pestilences and earthquakes in various places. . . . At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold.”
(Gospel According to Matthew, Ch. 24, 5-12)
It is difficult to see how one can be warned more plainly not to put one’s trust in false Messiahs. When all is said and done, the Bible really has a lot of good advice to offer. The evangelical Christians should try reading it sometime.
However, I am wandering absurdly from the point: whatever the failings of our political parties, they were powerless to interfere with the enjoyment I received during this morning and early afternoon. Fresh air, radiant sunlight, branches of trees achieving lace-like patterns against a background of azure-blue sky, clear water plashing over rocks, deer browsing amid the folds of the hills: that much at least they have not yet be able to take away.
On a different note: As a sign of how the current administration is regarding the virus seriously, the CDC has issued a mandate requiring the wearing of masks on virtually every form of public transportation: airplanes, trains, buses, taxis, ride-shares, subways, ferries and ships. This regulation is one of the first executive orders that Biden signed. Noncompliance will constitute a violation of federal law, which should make such a regulation much easier to enforce. Previously any travel restrictions were formed on a state-by-state basis, a source of no inconsiderable amount of confusion.
Hospitalizations on account of COVID have been dropping in recent weeks. Oddly enough, the day with the greatest amount of COVID-related hospitalizations was January 6th, which seems almost too appropriately symbolic to be true. Since then, the number has declined by slightly over 20%. Part of the reason, no doubt, is that the peak created by the aftermath of the New Year festivities has now subsided. But also, the fact that our new President is himself setting the example of wearing a mask in public and acting in concert with the medical experts is exerting some influence. Death rates are falling in some states, although they continue to rise in others. Here are the states thus categorized:
States with falling death rates: Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Utah, Wyoming, New Mexico, North Dakota, Minnesota, Missouri, Louisiana, Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Rhode Island (17 total)
States with static death rates (less than 10% fluctuation on a day-to-day basis): Idaho, Nevada, Arizona, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Iowa, Arkansas, Illinois, Mississippi, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, Georgia, Florida, Massachusetts, and Connecticut (18 total)
States with rising death rates: Hawaii, California, Montana, Colorado, South Dakota, Kansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maine, New Hampshire, Delaware, and District of Columbia (16 total)
Today’s (overall) statistics as of 8:00 PM – # of cases worldwide: 103,105,493; # of deaths worldwide: 2,227,675; # of cases U.S.: 26,655,740; # of deaths; U.S.: 450,381. Officially the U.S. is 11th on the list of countries with the highest death rates, but most of these “countries” are micro-states such as Gibraltar and Andorra. Only four countries whose population exceeds 10,000,000 have death rates higher than our own: Belgium, the U.K., Czech Republic, and Italy.