More thoughts in the time of COVID-19 …
I’m late … and here’s why.
Last evening Mark, my son, began having pain in one of his knees. That isn’t too unusual since he spent more than 20 years as a police officer doing street foot patrols and later car patrols and situations too often ended up with him running on cement. Poor knees took a pounding.
But last night the pain increased with edema and inflammation. He slept very little.
This morning, as soon as possible, he contacted his primary caregiver by phone and was told his symptoms could possibly be sepsis and if not treated promptly could spread system wide. So he and Kamille took off to see a specialist right away. Paul and I have been waiting to hear what is happening, but so far (1255) no report.
Part of what follows was written yesterday afternoon/evening.
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As you may know, I keep a Grat Jar and every evening I put in a slip of paper noting something from the day which gave me pleasure. Today (tuesday) it was seeing the morning sun on the snow. The snow, particularly fresh snow, reflects the sun beams into rainbows … not just diamonds. If you have never seen a field full of diamonds and rubies and emeralds and garnets and topaz and citrine and … too bad. It is a sight you would remember.
And speaking of morning sun … this time of year, at this latitude, the sun movement at sunrise, south to north, appears to speed up. From its rising place at Winter Solstice to now it has moved from just barely coming in my east window to being far north enough to catch the crystals hanging there and creating rainbows on the opposite wall in my bedroom.
I need more crystals.
The other thing noticeable in the early morning is the sound of the trains as they pass just the other side of the ridge to the south of here. Amtrak comes through about 0500 (give or take) going north followed soon by a freight going south. The double track for passing is a bit to the north northeast.
This evening the Grat note said “snow jewels” and “train sounds”.
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Our mornings have been chilly (although not enough to match the -9°f my cousin in Chicago noted). So chilly in fact that when I go out to let the hens out the chicken door is frozen shut. Getting it open requires banging on it with a stick.
Some mornings the hens rush to the door, take a look out, and turn around to stay inside. However, for the last few days they have been coming out to forage the kitchen scraps. That’s good since the leftover old salad greens Kamille brings home, from the preparation of take-home lunches the school is still providing for kids, seem to be favorites … particularly with Picasso. Remember Picasso? The hen with the mismatched beak? She is very loquacious when there are greens to scatter.
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Last wednesday Mark went by the library while he was out and picked up the books I had on hold. I now have enough books to last a week or two. By then the snow will have melted enough for me to get out in the low-rider I drive. Among my haul this time was another mystery set in early 20th century Manhattan (this time in Chinatown), the second Earthseed book by Octavia E. Butler, “the Archer” by Coel, and another Tudor era mystery.
The Butler book, classified as dystopian sci-fi, was written in the late 90s, and is eerily prophetic. It is set between 2016 and the mid-2030s. The US population has divided into three distinct groups … the ruling zealots, the lowest of the low, and the majority in the middle who recognize the “dystopia” but just want to keep what they have and stay out of the crosshairs. It is an interesting read if you don’t mind being made to think.
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Paul, like many children, has been missing the interaction with peers since the lockdown and snow have kept him housebound. Last saturday he had a day out.
There is a fairly new Community Center in Weed which has an indoor pool. It isn’t anywhere near Olympic size, but it is a pool. The local swim team, of which Paul has been a member for two summers, made an agreement with the Center to allow a training session. The kids were sorted by age and experience and allowed into the water in controlled groups.
He had a great time. We’re hoping they will be able to do it on a regular basis.
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Paul had a birthday, his 9th, on the 29th. He asked for pizza for dinner and a cheesecake for dessert. Mark made the pizza (which was three kinds of meat and a lot of veggies). Then last sunday, Tyler came out with a cheesecake to top all cheesecakes. He said it was “New York” style and required 8 packs of cream cheese. I believe it. It was huge. At least four inches high and delicious. I sort of wish it had been my birthday. I would have hoarded.
Such simple gifts, but far superior to the common overspending in this society.
The drum set is in use, however reluctantly. He practices using classes available on YouTube. I will pass on George’s street sticks as soon as he reaches the age where he will “keep” them and not let them get lost or damaged. George had burned his name and rank (Sgt in the high school ROTC) on them.
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Last monday I had a glorious surprise. In a box of miscellany I has received (via a nephew) there was a deteriorating kit bag full of maps (both allied and German), a “diary”, and copies of military orders which dated to my father-in-law’s service with the Illinois 33rd, 129th Infantry during the final 100 day battle of World War I.
Mark and I thought the National Archives was where they belonged, but when I approached the Archives the offer was “regrettably” declined. The reason given was that they didn’t seem to be anything the Archives would find of interest.
That was over a month ago. That reasoning seemed strange, but why argue. So I began looking for someplace to donate them where they would be preserved and available to historians.
I tried the WWI Museum in Missouri and they wanted us to unfold them and take pictures. That bothered me since they are so old and fragile.
Then I tried Fold3, a genealogical website, and they too wanted a photo display.
I felt, and still feel, that opening them, unfolding them, and then refolding them was asking for trouble. They are so old and fragile. I decided to do nothing right away. They need to be handled by folks who are trained in preservation.
Then last monday I opened my email to find a letter from a National Archive cartographer. He apologized for the delay in responding to my offer and asked for background information. Wow !!!
Who knows the level of the employee who responded to my offer originally, but the cartographers in College Park Maryland seemed to be interested.
I immediately sent genealogical information and Mark sent what he could remember seeing when he and I looked at a few of them before we decided we needed to leave further examination to experts. His information included that they are “sourced from US Army, French Automobile Association, and the ‘Central Powers’ and detail the area around the battle lines formed in France and Belgium during the 100 Days Offensive, which ended WWI. – The Central Powers maps are marked in handwritten German and indicate such things as forward bases, trench lines, and artillery. – Included with the maps is a notebook, in which personal notes indicating training in basic intelligence are found, as well as demobilization orders.”
The response came tuesday evening. Thanks but no thanks. They didn’t think the maps etc. were acceptable … “Although your father-in-law’s artifacts are historically valuable, we do not believe them to be permanent federal records and as a result, we cannot presently accept them.”
I still think the decision is ill advised, but will continue to look for a home for these documents.
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For a couple of weeks, the family had been watching the HULU series “the Hardy Boys” since we had been enjoying the original series during family read-aloud time.
The tv series is set in the 1980s and mixed up the original characters … Mrs. Hardy was dead; Aunt Gertrude was missing; Joe and Frank were aged differently (in the books they are close in age teenagers but in the tv series Joe is a precocious pre-teen and Frank is several years older); Callie was now Chet’s girlfriend instead of Frank’s; there was a new character Joe’s age who was a mix of the old Chet and ???; plus a new girl Joe’s age and her policewoman mother.
My recommendation? If you enjoyed the books, don’t bother.
Current read-aloud is book three of the “Tripods” series by John Christopher. Mark reads aloud and does character voices.
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It is now 1300 and I would guess that extensive tests etc. are being done. Paul and I are doing well. We make a good team. I did breakfast and he did lunch.
Update … 1345 … it is septic arthritis and they are on their way home.
And to end this blog …
“One of the most important steps you can take to help calm the storm is to not allow yourself to be taken in a flurry of overwrought emotion or despair – thereby accidentally contributing to the swale and the swirl.”
— Clarissa Pinkola Estes
So … ‘til next week …