Hiking in King’s Gap – A virtual theater performance – Dickens’ Christmas Carol – Trump experiences more setbacks – Evening statistics
I wanted to take advantage of the weather yesterday and also to take a look at an area I have not seen for some time, so I alighted on the King’s Gap area. It is in Pennsylvania, but it is only a two-hour drive from my place. King’s Gap is a state park built around the summer home of a wealthy family that was prominent in state politics. The building and the surrounding land was purchased by Pennsylvania in 1973, and the building is now used as an environmental education center. The land contains numerous and exceptionally well-maintained trails that eventually link to others outside of the park boundaries that lead to Caledonia. Although the park is not especially striking, it is very pleasant walking; I rambled in the area for 13 miles or so.
In the evening I “attended” a theater performance, or at any rate a facsimile of one. I am acquainted with one of the actors in a small theater in New Jersey, which is broadcasting livestream performances. Thus my attendance consisted of sitting in front of my workstation and logging into a link that the theatre group supplied in an Email. It is somewhat limited – by necessity, since the COVID virus makes it too risky for actors to come together on the same stage. The play in question purports to be a radio performance attended by various mishaps and it was limited to three people playing multiple roles, the screen being split between all of the three. This means that it is difficult to obtain the sort of interplay that actors can supply when they are within the same physical proximity of each other. But the dialog was delivered well at any rate, and since it is the first occasion I have had for seeing anything even approximating a theatrical play, it was very welcome. Theatrical plays, concerts, visits to museums – all of these have fallen by the wayside as a result of the virus. The last time I have been able to enjoy any one of these was on March 6th, when I went with RK to hear the King’s Singers. Even then audience attendance was rather sparse, as forebodings about the dangers of the virus were already making people wary of entering an enclosed building with several others. The danger of infection was much lower then, since the virus was only beginning to make headway; now any sort of stage event is out of the question, both for performers and attendees.
The play was a version of “A Christmas Carol,” which prompted me to reread the original Dickens novella. It is actually rather surprising to see how frank Dickens is about harsh social realities, particularly when he focuses on the Cratchit family. Scrooge’s reluctance to give his employee a holiday, for instance, is not atypical; Cratchit’s daughter also, in getting a day off, is being granted an unusual favor. Peter Cratchit has an opportunity of obtaining employment by which he might, if he is lucky, earn as much as five-and-a-half shillings a week (the equivalent of something like $150 in modern terms). They are not good-looking. The Christmas pudding is just barely large enough to feed everyone, because that is all that they can afford. Whether he lives or dies, Tiny Tim’s lameness is incurable (in fact, the description of his condition is based on one that afflicted a nephew of Dickens, who died young). And in the midst of this backdrop of pawnshops and disease and perpetual skimping and foul weather, Dickens manages to provide a truly convincing impression of happiness. For once the Cratchits are able to obtain an ample meal and the leisure in which they can savor it in each other’s company, and as a result they are genuinely enjoying themselves. “The wolf is at the door,” as George Orwell memorably described this passage, “but he is wagging his tail.” It may be that Dickens lays it on a bit too thickly when he dwells on the saintliness of Tiny Tim’s character, but the work as a whole can in no way be interpreted as escapist literature.
Trump has not been making much progress with his efforts to overturn the election. More than half of the states have already certified their results. His attempt to deal with the state of Wisconsin in particular has turned out badly, from his point of view. After he demanded a full recount, the officials of Wisconsin complied, and the recount resulted in 132 additional votes going to Biden. Trump expended $3 million for this maneuver, but naturally he has learned nothing from the experience. I suppose we simply have to resign ourselves to the fact that he will continually be initiating lawsuits, no matter how frequently they get thrown out of court, until December 14th, the day that the Electoral College formally casts its ballots. What he will resort to after that event is anyone’s guess.
Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM – # of cases worldwide: 62,563,184; # of deaths worldwide: 1,458,103; # of cases U.S.: 13,610,357; # of deaths; U.S.: 272,254.