This pandemic is going to last forever.
2021.03.03
Song of the day:
Video of the day:
Women’s History Month
On this day in…
1887, Helen Keller meets Anne Sullivan, her teacher and life-long friend. Sullivan helped Keller become the first blind-deaf person to graduate from college, and the pair advocated for people with disabilities.
1893, Beatrice Wood, an artist and studio potter involved in the Avant Garde movement in the United States, was born. She was referred to as the “Mama of Dada.”
1902, Isabel Bishop, an artist who often featured young, lower-middle class office workers as subjects, was born. She was honored with the Outstanding Achievement in the Arts Award by President Carter in 1979.
1902, Sarah Rector was born. She was an African American member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, best known for being the "richest colored girl in the world.” Given her wealth, the Oklahoma Legislature declared her to be a White person, so that she would be allowed to travel in first-class accommodations on the railroad, as befitted her position.
1913, Women’s Suffrage Parade in Washington, DC, where over 8000 women gathered to demand a constitutional amendment guaranteeing the right to vote
1913, Margaret Bonds, a composer and pianist, was born. She was one of the first Black composers and performers to gain recognition in the United States.
1962, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, considered one of the world’s greatest female athletes, was born.
This pandemic is going to last forever.
Things are opening back up in my county - gyms, movie theaters, and outdoor dining, at a reduced capacity. The last time they tried to open like this the numbers skyrocketed shortly thereafter and everything shut down again. Until everyone is vaccinated -and I mean EVERYONE - this feels like a terrible idea.
Texas has cancelled its mask mandate and vowed to reopen everything. Mississippi is doing the same (and probably Florida…if they even closed anything to begin with). None of this is a good idea. I fully expect the numbers to start rising again in those states. I wish President Biden had issued a nationwide mask mandate.
This all makes me want to stay in my house forever. It’s all I can do to go to the grocery store or Walgreen’s, and while I get as much delivered as I can, sometimes I just have to go. I went to pick up food for dinner tonight and there were so many people doing outside dining that I felt like I needed to stand about 20 feet back from the pick up counter. None of it feels safe. Every day since I did the outdoor dining last week I’ve wondered if I was exposed. I hate that feeling and won’t be dining outside - and for sure not inside - for quite some time.
I think the only thing I’ve done in all this time that feels slightly dangerous (frivolous?) is go to the salon. However, there’s more space between stylists and customers than there ever is between people when I’m in the grocery store or picking up food. My stylist is never staring me in the face…he’s always behind me, wearing two masks and gloves. They check everyone’s temperature as they walk in. I’m usually the last customer of the day when I go, so by the time my appointment is done there are literally three people in the building. It feels safe. And I only go about once a month. But if I ever feel like it’s not safe I’ll stop. I can live with the gray. I did it for months before they opened. And wow, I have a lot of gray, but I digress…
Sometimes I feel like I’m crazy and paranoid about this stuff. Sometimes I wonder if I should just wing it and go back to a semi-normal life. But then I glance at the numbers and that conversation in my head gets shut down fast.
So I’ll continue working from home, getting food delivered, and venturing out only when absolutely necessary. Like to get my vaccine next week. Maybe by this time next year this will all be behind us and it will seem insane that we stayed in as long as we did. I hope so. But right now, I truly have my doubts.
Good thing I bought these super-cute St. Patrick’s Day masks so I could at least be fashionable when I go out this month. 😁
Those masks are so cute!