Hopes for restoration of the Wanderbirds – Hiking with friends from the group – Trump’s strange interview with Fox News – Evening statistics
The Wanderbirds website has been updated some time ago, taking note of the fact that the last time the Wanderbirds had to cancel the club hikes was during World War II, when gas was rationed and bus trips for leisure activities were out of the question. This message actually is encouraging, in my view. The club activities were interrupted once before, for a considerable period. But after the emergency that caused the interruption ended, the club returned to its former status. If the club was able to do this once, it can do so again; so I’m in hopes that the club will return to what it used to be once the coronavirus crisis is over. In the meantime the club is setting up an Email notification system that will provide announcements of various hikes organized for small parties by club members.
I was at one such hike today. I was feeling the after-effects of going up Maryland Heights and Stone Fort yesterday, very weary upon awakening, with a slight headache in addition. I had planned to meet AD and RH to hike, but I was not at all certain whether I would be able to complete it, especially since the heat is continuing without a break. But it all worked out well. Initially I felt rather stiff and easily tired going up hills, but eventually that wore off and I was revived by the exercise. As the hike continued I felt fit and energetic again, and I ended up by covering 10 miles without strain. That is not especially unusual. They have been occasions in the past – not numerous but sufficient to form a recognizable pattern – when I have awoken in the morning just before a hike feeling, if not exactly ill, at any rate “seedy,” and after the first mile or so into the hike all symptoms of malaise have vanished. It would appear that meeting one’s supposed ailments head-on is a preferable course to coddling them and indulging them by taking to one’s bed. The hike was not uncomfortable once I adjusted to it, despite the heat. There were not many breezes, but at least most of the hike was well-shaded. Some blackberries were ripe on the bushes, although one had to choose carefully when picking them; many were still not quite ready and a bit on the sour side.
Afterwards we gathered together in the parking lot, and snacked and chatted together, just as in former days when the group congregated alongside the bus while waiting for all of the hikers to return and assemble. AD provided fruit and cold drinks, and I contributed some cookies I had baked the previous evening. They contain three types of chocolate – unsweetened, semi-sweet, and chocolate chips – and they went over well. Since the cookies were stored in the car during a hot summer day, the chips they contained were on the verge of melting, and that actually enhanced their flavor.
As happens so frequently, the tranquility of the day I spent seems strangely out of tune with the headlines on the national news. However, there were no events that were especially startling. There were several articles that focused on President Trump’s interview today with Chris Wallace of Fox News. He complained that his request for a “big rally” in Michigan was turned down, just as similar requests were turned down in Nevada and Minnesota. The administration in all three states is Democratic, and he attributes their refusal of his requests to political antagonism. The thought that some state governors are not willing to host an event that could pose a significant health risk does not seem to have occurred to him. I admit, however, that it is possible that there is a personal animus against him as well. He has treated the state governors in general very badly, and few of them at this point regard him with favor. The Democratic ones in particular have received no support whatever from him during the coronavirus crisis; so in all likelihood they are not especially anxious to host any kind of event that is designed to get him re-elected. Curiously, however, Governor Whitmer’s spokesman has said that no one has contacted the state administration at all about such a rally and that they have had no opportunity either to prohibit it or sanction it. Can it be that Trump simply imagined the entire episode? It wouldn’t surprise me if he did. At times he seems to dwell in an alternate universe, with only the most tenuous connections to the one that exists in reality. Perhaps for the sake of accuracy I should say “almost all of the time” instead of “at times,” but I am feeling in a charitable mood today.
Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM – # of cases worldwide: 14,633,027; # of deaths worldwide: 608,539; # of cases U.S.: 3,896,855 # of deaths U.S.: 143,269. Another day with a case count increase of more than 60,000 for the U.S. One encouraging statistic is our mortality rate. which continues to decrease, albeit slightly; it is now down to 3.6%. Mexico is having difficulties. Its case count is now greater than Chile’s and will surpass Peru’s within a week.