Reunion with several Wanderbirds – Post-hike socializing – Wineberries and blackberries – A local fruit stand – Cancelation of Fourth of July events – Youtube illogic – Dangers of relying on polls – Evening statistics
Up to this point the weather, although warm and humid, has been relatively easy for activities requiring some exertion because the breezes provided a measure of cooling and dispersed the moisture. In the shade it was quite comfortable. But today there were few breezes and one felt the heat more readily than before. Nonetheless several people from the Wanderbirds, including me, met with AD at the American Chestnut Land Trust and we hiked along the trail that runs between the north parking area and Prince Frederick. At the start of the hike we were a group of seven. AD had to return early in order to attend to her husband, who is still convalescent. Three others, who were getting tired as a result of the heat, returned with her. I went with MB and RH to the end of the trail and back. We covered ten miles in all.
AD left behind some fruit and drinks for us to snack on after we returned to our cars. This was a pleasant reminder of old times. Before the virus prevented our riding together in a chartered bus, the Wanderbirds would eat and drink and chat with one another after we hiked while waiting for everyone to assemble. I have also been on numerous trips that small subgroups of the club took together and on the hikes we completed during those trips we would do the same. During the time of the pandemic I have felt reasonably confident to risk hiking together with others, provided that we keep at a distance from one another. I have been hiking with the Vigorous Hikers throughout the last several months, and in the past two weeks I have taken advantage of the current arrangement to see some of the other members from the Wanderbirds again. The Vigorous Hikers have always been a somewhat less cohesive social group; it was never their custom to spend much time with each other once the hike of the day was completed. The fact that we traveled in different cars to the trailhead and could depart at different times meant that there was no need for everyone to wait until the last hiker had arrived at the endpoint. I have done some hiking with various members outside of the official club hikes, but very far from the same degree that I have done with other members of the Wanderbirds. This afternoon gave me the first opportunity I have had since March to eat and drink and converse after a hike with some of my companions. It represents a distinct advance in the resumption of social life. At this point people are resuming interactions with each other, but tentatively and for the most part out of doors; it will be quite some time before any of us feels comfortable conversing with one another in an enclosed room.
Another pleasant factor about this hike is that the wild berries are ripening. The wineberries are displaying the beginning of fruits ripe enough for eating. Only a few isolated blackberries here and there were ripe, but they will be available within another week. The blackberries fresh off of the bush are much more flavorful than the ones bought in the store; as for the wineberries, one cannot eat them any other way, since they are too fragile for transporting.
After the hike I went to a fruit-and-vegetable stand that AD recommended, and there I picked up some plums and cherries. It has been many months since I’ve had a good plum – again, the ones bought in the stores tend to be disappointing compared with the ones bought locally.
As has been happening so often lately, the placidity of my personal activities forms a vivid contrast to what has been going on regionally and nationally.
Various local Fourth of July events have been canceled, including the parades and the fireworks displays at the various towns and cities in the area. It is a disappointment, of course, but we cannot ignore the warnings we have seen in other states that rescinded the lockdown restrictions too early; we do not wish to undergo a second wave of the virus here.
As a follow-up to my observation about our reliance on euphemisms yesterday: anything sillier and more absurd can scarcely be imagined – I have no doubt that many people who read this will not believe it – but it is a literal fact that Youtube forcibly removed a podcast yesterday about the progress of a chess tournament on account of the commentator’s overuse of the words “white” and “black.” Such are the Hercules’ pillars of insanity that can be reached by craven kowtowing to malevolent zealots and the use of a computer algorithm as a substitute for a governing intelligence.
The polls at this point are very much in Joe Biden’s favor, but It actually would be better for them if the polls at this point were more evenly balanced. The Democrats must not rely on the polls at this point if they hope to win. That was the mistake they made in the last election: they were lured into complacency. I hope that at least some of the strategists operate on the assumption that Trump’s winning the election is a genuine possibility, and that they must work strenuously to avert that outcome.
Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM — # of cases worldwide: 10,237,543; # of deaths worldwide: 504,075; # of cases U.S.: 2,636,550 # of deaths U.S.: 128,426. Our case rate is just under 0.8% of the population, or one in every 120. Florida has had more than 8,500 new cases today. It will be interesting to see whether the state will be able to get its rate of increase under control by the time of the Republican National Convention, which is to be held in Jacksonville less than two months from now.