Getting a flu shot – Visiting with friends – Ordering food online – The threat of Trump’s candidacy in 2024 – The “Great Resignation” – An ancient winery – Evening statistics
I received my flu shot yesterday at CVS. The storefront displayed a notice that there might be a delay for walk-ins due to the demand, since they administered COVID booster shots as well, and recommended making an appointment. I therefore entered the store with the intention of setting up a convenient date and time for the inoculation. But the staff at the pharmacy told me that they were at leisure and could administer it immediately, so I received it without further delay. Had I requested a COVID booster shot, it would have been available to me with equal expediency. This scenario appears to reflect the national state of affairs: the pace of people receiving vaccines has not accelerated, despite their newly authorized availability to children and the recommendation to receive boosters. I plan to obtain my own booster in late November, eight months after my having received the second Pfizer shot.
Today I spent most of my time with DC and JC, joining them for breakfast and lunch, walking together to a local park, and examining the produce of their garden, which JC has tended assiduously and is now producing a great variety of vegetables and, to a lesser degree, of fruits: cucumbers, tomatoes, okra, eggplant, persimmons, strawberries. At one point a great quantity of starlings congregated in the large willow oak towering over the bamboo grove, while a lone mockingbird flew into the recesses of its branches, entertaining us with its range of calls. It may be noted that most of this visit took place out of doors, although we did have lunch at a restaurant. Part of this was due to personal preference; part, perhaps, out of an instinctive caution. The three of us are all vaccinated and we have not had many encounters with crowds of people, but the impression remains that out of doors in the open air is still safer than remaining inside.
We spoke about different reactions people have made in response to the pandemic. I mentioned that I have known several people who have gotten their groceries by ordering from the stores or online, whereas I prefer to select the produce that I purchase in person. But JC said that she has ordered produce from Amazon and that what she has received has been of good quality – and she is, as my account of her garden may indicate, rather meticulous in her standards on such matters. So I may have to reconsider my stance if the pandemic surges upward again.
We also expressed disappointment that the various lawsuits against Trump appear to have amounted to nothing. It may be that we are unduly impatient. Fani Willis has stated as recently as last month that the investigation of Trump’s attempt to overturn the election in Georgia by fraud is still ongoing. Letitia James has also assured the public that the investigation into the murky financial undertakings of the Trump Organization is “alive and well.” And of course the investigation by Congress into the role he played in the January 6th riot has subpoenaed various officials of Trump’s administration. But the pace of these is slow, agonizingly slow, and in the meantime he roams about, making speeches, organizing rallies, continuing to undermine public confidence in our nation’s election process, retaining his iron grip upon the Republican Party. His candidacy in the 2024 is a virtual certainty, and his nomination is only too probable. In 2016 he won only a plurality of GOP-primary voters, and faced nearly unanimous opposition within the Republican establishment. Now he has a solid bloc of voters slavishly devoted to him, no matter how contemptuously he treats them, and the most members of the Republican establishment are thoroughly intimidated by him.
An unprecedented number of people have been resigning from their jobs, nearly 3% of workers in August alone. Women workers are more likely to leave the workforce than men. They are more likely to resign to undertake childcare responsibilities as schools struggle to re-open and daycare centers become increasingly expensive. Women are also more likely to work in customer-facing jobs like restaurants and retail, industries that were hard-hit by the Delta variant this summer. Employers among the industries of personal care/home health, nursing, child care, and driving and transportation are all urgently seeking new employees. Burnout is also an issue: in the health care industry, in particular, many have quitted their positions on account of the stress that they have undergone during the pandemic.
But there is pleasanter news to record on the archaeological front. An ancient winery has been discovered in the city of Yavne, Israel. Yavne is a city with a long history, with remains of fortifications going back to the Bronze Ages. The winery itself is from a much later era – specifically, from the Byzantine period. It is approximately 1500 years old. It is a massive complex of winepresses whose aggregate capacity may have been as much as one half-million gallons of wine annually. The winery is believed to have been in operation for about 200 years, exporting wines throughout the Mediterranean from ports in Ashkelon and Gaza. Wine was widely consumed during that era, by children as well as by adults, since filtering techniques at that time were primitive and the water, in addition to being somewhat risky to drink, had an unpleasant taste.
Yesterday’s statistics as of 8:00 PM – # of cases worldwide: 239,426,572; # of deaths worldwide: 4,880,411; # of cases U.S.: 45,411,720; # of deaths; U.S.: 737,274.
Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM – # of cases worldwide: 239,897,844; # of deaths worldwide: 4,888,533; # of cases U.S.: 45,543,730; # of deaths; U.S.: 739,715.