Morning statistics – Household chores – A virtual memorial service – An example of the eighth and highest degree of charity – Phèdre in a modern dress – Odd behavior patterns in Michigan – Encouraging news from New York – Claudia Meza – The disproportionate role professional sports play in the U.S. – President Trump’s priorities – Evening statistics
Today’s statistics as of 7:00 AM — # of cases worldwide: 4,121,778; # of deaths worldwide: 280,868; # of cases U.S.: 1,347,318; # of deaths U.S.: 80,040. The virus now appears to be advancing in Eastern Europe and Latin America. Russia is getting more than 10,000 new cases every day. The death toll in Brazil is several hundred per day. The figures from African nations, however, are still low. Many of these have taken extensive preventative steps, so there is hope that they may be able to contain the virus and emerge relatively unscathed.
Today has warmed up at last. I had to go shopping for the week in the morning, and after my return I mowed the lawn. The outside temperature warmed up gradually and by the time I had completed the mowing I no longer needed a jacket and ski-cap. And I can open windows in the house again. I did not venture far from home, however; the virtual memorial service for FP was scheduled for 3:00 this afternoon and I did not want to miss it.
The service featured several reminiscences of FP, and one of speakers had a wonderful story. He was out of work at one point; and in a desperate attempt to find employment he walked into one of the Hard Times Café restaurants, of which FP happened to be the owner. FP not only hired him on the spot, but voluntarily loaned him enough to cover his debts, allowing him to pay it back by taking a slight amount out of his paycheck until it was all paid off. This is an example of what Maimonides calls the highest degree of charity, that of helping a man to help himself. The man in question is now a successful businessman and a member of the legislature in Iowa. There were many similarly heartfelt tributes to FP. I did not know him well; I knew him only as the husband of CC, whom I met through the Vigorous Hikers. I would go to their annual Christmas parties, but he already was in frail health when I first met him, and so that was the extent of my contact with him. I am sorry now that I did not know him earlier. In his professional life, he appears to have been one of those business owners who treat their employees as a kind of extended family. That type of employer is becoming increasingly rarer, and the after-effects of the virus on the economy will make such employers rarer still. I do not see how small businesses can adapt once the virus has passed through and completed its devastation – the increased amount of regulations will make it impossible for all but the largest businesses to survive.
French classical theatre may be remote to most Russians or Americans, but quite a number of them have recently been viewing a modern rendition of Racine’s Phèdre. Marina Balmasheva is currently in the process of getting a divorce from her husband Alexey Shavyrin, after the latter awoke to the sounds of Marina having sex with her lover. The lover in this case happened to Alexey’s son, Vladimir, from a previous marriage. Marina entered the household when Vladimir was 7 years old and was his stepmother for 13 years. This story, however, is a 21st-century version of the venerable tragedy. Alexey Shavyrin did not, like Thésée (or Theseus), curse his son and make an invocation to the gods to ensure the latter’s destruction; he contented himself with publicly venting his grievances on a national talk show. Young Vladimir, far from repulsing his stepmother’s advances, cheerfully acquiesced with them; and Balmasheva, instead concealing her passion in secret shame and confiding to no one except her old nurse, broadcasted the entire story on her webpage, which has over 400,000 followers. Not content with narrative only, she included before-and-after photographs of herself and her stepson, the first showing her standing alongside a confiding child and the second showing her locked in a passionate embrace with a youth of 20. Considering that the original story ended with the deaths of Phèdre and Hippolyte, along with the blighting of the remainder of Theseus’ life, I suppose that this outcome is preferable; but it does seem a bit messy nonetheless.
The notoriously contaminated water of Flint, Michigan, appears to have affected the inhabitants of the entire state. A barber in Owosso has opened his shop in defiance of the state’s lockdown orders. The Michigan Attorney General has sent orders for him to close, which he simply has ignored. Militia volunteers have lined up around the shop to prevent the police from shutting it down or arresting him, and in the meantime the shop has a line of steady customers with as many as 15 waiting on the street due to the crowd inside. None of them are wearing masks or practicing social distancing. In the meantime, armed protestors are still besieging Lansing, several bearing swastikas and Confederate flags. One can only wonder at their staggering ignorance of elementary biology and, it may be added, of geography as well. Has anyone clued them in that Michigan is considerably north of the Mason-Dixon line?
Good news from New York at last: the hospitalization rate has fallen to what it was seven weeks earlier, when the stay-at-home order was first issued. This order is scheduled to expire next week, although Governor Cuomo has reserved the option to extend it as needed.
Another sad story: Claudia Meza, aged 51, fell ill of the virus and spent 49 days in a hospital, 28 of these on a ventilator. She finally pulled through, was discharged, and returned to her relatives – only to discover that her sister and her brother-in-law had also contracted the virus and had died within a week of each other.
Virginia begins Phase 1 of the re-opening next week – on the 15th, to be precise. Barber shops, hair salons, and other non-essential businesses will be open then, but indoor dining for restaurants will still be on hold. Outdoor dining will be allowed, but only at 50% capacity. Churches and other houses of worship will be allowed to resume services, but the 50%-capacity rule applies to these as well. Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William counties, the most populous of the state, have a slighter higher rate of infection than the remainder of Virginia, so the governor is willing to allow local authorities to impose stricter guidelines at any time. We may see the stay-at-home orders extended in this area until May 29th, especially as the number of cases continues to rise.
From a Washington Post article by Norman Chad: “The pandemic has reminded us: We don’t need more sports in our lives — we need less.” Some people have claimed that this statement was merely satire designed to provoke the maximum amount of reaction. But if it should happen that Chad doesn’t stick to his guns, I’m not afraid to say it: spectator sports play too much of a role in the average American’s life. The benefits of playing organized games in one’s backyard or in a local park are indisputable, but when they are transformed into a mega-business their influence becomes notably less benign. Among other things, the time devoted to watching them on television prevents many Americans from getting much exercise on their own. As one who does not care especially for games, I can, at the age of 65, go for 20 miles without stopping over a mountainous route with an elevation gain of 5000 feet and more in the course of well under a day. How many professed sports-lovers can claim the same?
Speaking of the beneficent influence of organized sports on our nation, President Trump has just tweeted a commercial for the re-opening of the golf course under his ownership. We may be undergoing a pandemic that has claimed over 80,000 lives in this nation alone, but business is business after all. What a comfort to learn how our President is placing his priorities!
Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM — # of cases worldwide: 4,178,154; # of deaths worldwide: 283,734; # of cases U.S.: 1,367,638; # of deaths U.S.: 80,787. The death toll in the U.K. is now greater than Italy’s, and the mortality rate is not far behind. Russia’s incidence count is now well over 200,000. The incidence rate is Belarus is also steadily increasing. At this rate it will soon be among the ten nations with the highest incidence rates. On the other hand, Spain has had the lowest death toll today since mid-March. Increases are also smaller in France and Canada. Turkey is allowing its senior citizens to go outside for the first time in nearly two months. Iran, which has been easing its lockdown restrictions, has re-instituted them in one of its southwest counties because its number of new cases went up by 60%. China claims to have only 141 active cases, of which 9 are severe. But there is a cluster of new cases in Wuhan. Also, China does not include asymptomatic individuals in its assessment of active cases.