Life in the Age of Corona

A Daily Diary

Sunday, June 14th, 2020

Hike

Yet another perfect summer day. A little cooler than yesterday with temperatures maxing at 25C. We were on another quest to find swimmable bodies of water.

We started the day with a leisurely breakfast and coffee, before EM headed out for bike tour with her swim squad friend, whom she had not seen since April 2nd, 2020. I in the meantime packed a small bag with towels and then proceeded to the news.

Protests continue and rightfully so. In the middle of protests against police brutality yet another black man is shot. He was sleeping in his car in the lane to a drive through restaurant or rather fast food pick up since I have a hard time considering Wendy’s a restaurant! Yes, traffic getting to the ordering window was obstructed - as in cars had to drive around this one vehicle. Wendy’s called the police because of this obstruction, and they promptly arrived at the scene to find a black man sleeping behind the wheel of his car. They proceeded with a breathalyzer test which the man failed, though legally he could have declined to take it, which resulted in his arrest. He made an escape taking an officer's taser with him. This was enough for the officers to shoot the man.

This to me seems wrong on so many levels.

Firstly, why did not a Wendy’s employee go out to the car and ask the driver to move, but opted to call the police instead?

Secondly, why did the police not simply commend the man for NOT driving under influence of alcohol and simply move his car to a parking spot?

Thirdly, why is sleeping in a car an arrestable offense?

And finally, especially with the ongoing protests and debate around police brutality, why did they shot and kill?

This comes a day after I saw a video of a minor (and I mean 10-12 year old) being arrested by three officers, thrown to the ground held down with a hand on his neck, his arms and his back before plastic bag is pulled over his head.

There is evidence that people regularly die due to suffocation in the police “custody”. It appears since 2013 a law on reporting death in police custody exists, but here comes the twist: it has not yet been enforced! Seven years? Seriously? 

What is wrong with this country? You have to be brave to live in the land of the free; certainly if you are a person of color! It is shocking.

Only now in recent weeks am I beginning to get an understanding how deeply rooted racism is. My current read “The Warmth of Other Suns” is a steep learning curve on this agenda. As a result of the book, I have researched Jim Crow legislation and it is apartheid at its best. This makes me wonder with what justification Americans could even dare to be enraged about – let’s be clear the very wrong and unjust – South African apartheid regime. How hypocritical.

The Corona news is back about equally with that on protests now. A possibly very sad result of the virus, the very real risk of increasing gender gaps. As schools have been shuttered for months, especially girls are at risk of never being able to go back. Generally though, the virus is hurting women far more than men, as it is mostly women who now working from home take on more of the housework and child minding burden then their partners. Years of fighting for equality are at risk of being lost.

And there is no end of the pandemic insight, at least not in the USA. Only four weeks after reopening began, courtesy to pressure exerted on governors by the WH, the CDC actually published guidelines on reducing COVID-19 risk post lock down. Just in time for renewed lock downs courtesy of the second wave resulting from early reopening. Not that there will be a second lockdown of course; though there should be. Here is to overwhelmed hospitals and increasing deaths tolls in Texas, Florida, Arizona and the Carolinas. Watching this closely, while #stayhome myself.

At least Fauci is honest that this will take a very very long time before life in the USA will return to normal. This was what I had assumed at the beginning of this pandemic, when I had said to my brilliant friend that I was not willing to put my life on hold for a year or a year and a half. However, that is exactly what we have been doing and are mentally preparing to do, even though I hate the idea.

On that note, after 90 days of silence I receive two text messages from my brilliant “friend”: “virus making come back” “be very careful”. I have no idea what to make of this. Why this? Why now? I had not really expected to hear from him ever again, not after three months of happy sequestering with child, wife and parents. As an immune compromised person, I doubted he would venture out until there was a cure or a vaccine. I am surprised, confused, and mostly angry. For 90 days he did not bother to see how things were going? Whether we were still alive, around, whatever? Yet he claims to care? If so, what a strange way of showing it. Also, what does he think I am doing? Like I cannot read? Read the postings of the past 94 days, I obsess about nothing but the stupid Virus and when we may be able to train again, see family again.

Obviously, we would like to, but clearly are going nowhere. Nonetheless I follow the airline industry with great interest in the hope of being able to up and go again sooner rather than later. Reading about low cost fares has me wonder how to option them. Somehow whenever I check for tickets to Europe I only see them costing thousands.... 

Numbers keep rising and I do not want to be of that number. Today the world sees 7.89 million cases of which 2.13million are attributable to the USA. That is 25+k more than yesterday. And the daily increase is higher than the day before (24k). So much for reaching the “plateau”.

There is some good news from China, Sinevac has, successfully it seems, completed phase 1 & 2 trials and there is a chance that a vaccine will be ready for public use in a few months.  How I would enjoy seeing China win the race over the US. Anyone, but the US. For political reasons ideally a US vaccine will only complete phase 2 trial on November 4th and publish results for peer review that day. I fear China may well exploit having a vaccine for political gains in the global power play, which is a terrifying thought. However, the moron in chief boasting about delivering a vaccine to COVID-19 and causing him to win a second term is an even more terrifying idea. In this scenario China appears to be the lesser of the two evils; unless of course Oxford wins the race; which would be the best scenario, or that German company. Maybe I should start bets and run a bookie office. That could become fun. I just fear it may be a none permissible side occupation and my employer would not agree.

Afterall this and a chat with some friends on WhatsApp, I am so ready for a diversion. EM is back from her bike ride and we set out to Patapsco National Park in search for a swimming hole. Unlike yesterdays outing to Lake Arrow Head it is only a 65km drive. The GPS was programed to take us to the one dam that does not prohibit swimming, thinking the hole there would be bigger than the actual river where swimming is allowed on all shores.

Well that did not turn out so well; we end up in front of someone’s house. As we turn around, we pass a young man working a gorgeous garden. He tells us that the Bloede Dam indeed used to be there. His advice is to go to Landing Road and follow the trail down to the river. He does seem confused when we say we wanted a place to swim though. Turns out the trail he sent us to is the Cascade trail, the one place I had wanted to avoid as park reviews said it was “busy”. There certainly were a number of other hikers. Nonetheless, maintaining distance was not a big problem and it was a beautiful walk through an amazing forest; mostly downhill – I should have known. At the end we find ourselves looking down on a road and the river behind it. There is just a 30 meter drop between us and the road. We decided to brave it and marched straight down the drop to be rewarded by reaching the river. Turns out it is not terribly deep, maybe a meter at most, hence the confusion the man exhibited earlier.

It is a happy river, flowing over a rocky bed. We follow it for a bit looking for an isolated spot. Not sure if really we will have a swim, seeing it is more of a dip than an open water swim. Still, it is very enjoyable until a crowd decides it wants to reside next us, so we pack up and decide to head back.

Social distancing is clearly not something the people crossing the swinging bridge have heard of as they keep crowding onto it. We bit the bullet, pulled up the face masks and made a dash for it. We decided to follow the Cascade Loop Trail walking back.

Turns out it is far longer than the Cascade Trail we took coming down. Inadvertently we end up with an 6km hike, mostly uphill initially. This reminds me of why I like walking, but not hiking. Going up mountains I find myself very slow, but it is good exercise.

We arrive back at the car in time to catch the ice cream truck and get a soft serve each – a nice treat to the end of a great outing, but havoc on the calorie count.

Driving back we reach out to Anna’s family asking if we should deliver their yard signs or if they want to swing by to pick them up later. We end up with the delivery and score Palomas and dinner as well as a tomato plant as a windfall profit After spending a few hours with them in their garden we finally made our way home to feed Max.

As I sit down to write my colleague Mariya swings by to pick up her yard sign and we chat over a glass of chilled Vino Verde in the garden out back.

What a full and perfect day!