Coronavirus Journey, Part 18

Part eighteen of my ongoing journal entries about life in the time of the 2020-2021 Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic. Previous posts: Part One (Jan-Mar, 2020). Part Two (April 2020). Part Three (May 2020). Part Four (June 2020). Part Five (July 2020). Part Six (August 2020). Part Seven (September 2020). Part Eight (October 2020). Part Nine (November 2020). Part Ten (December 2020). Part Eleven (January 2021). Part Twelve (February 2021). Part Thirteen (March 2021). Part Fourteen (April 2021). Part Fifteen (May 2021). Part Sixteen (June 2021). Part Seventeen (July-August 2021).

September 18

It’s once again been a while between entries. I didn’t disappear, but was a bit submerged, first with a nice trip to Boston and Cape Cod to see Allie (which I’ve yet to post about but have lots of notes), and then with writing History Lesson, Part One, a sort of mid-term opus trying to come to terms with some of the things I’ve read and watched and learned over the past several years. The History Lesson has led me down a path learning more about the Atlantic slave trade and its (enormous) effects on, well, everything for the past few centuries. 

Having submerged myself in the story of the Atlantic slave trade for just a short time, I am shocked at the scale and depth of the story and its widespread impacts over the past five centuries through to today’s world. But I can also begin to see why it’s been papered over for centuries — it’s massively depressing. It makes it hard to get up in the morning or find anything positive to focus on. I mean, I knew things were bad, but I wasn’t prepared to learn that our entire social, political and economic structure was built on blood and oppression. Well, yes, I did suspect it but I wasn’t really prepared to confront that reality.

I find myself in a hole that I can’t stop digging. Every day I seem to find more that I want to learn about — yesterday it was the global silver trade that powered the world’s economy from Potosi to Spain the China; then last night I stumbled upon a better-than-expected travel show about the Silk Road featuring a French correspondent who traveled the route in 2019, gaining more access than Americans usually do to these areas. I wander down these rabbit holes partly to distract myself from the bleakness of the slavery story, though they do tangentially tie together.  

I’m also trying to dig out of the hole a little bit by listening to music. I’m excited to be attending an actual concert next week by Bela Fleck based on his new album, My Bluegrass Heart. The album has just become available and I’m enjoying listening to its variety of instrumentals and styles by a who’s who of top acoustic players. The concert should be fun. I’m learning about the core band on the tour: Sierra Hull on mandolin whom I’ve already seen and like, Michael Cleveland on fiddle, Justin Moses (who’s married to Sierra, I didn’t realize) on dobro, Bryan Sutton on guitar, and Mark Schatz on bass. There was a nice Fresh Air interview with Bela this week as well to promote the album. I daresay this album and tour will be something of a landmark in the little world of progressive acoustic music. 

In general, I’m trying to regain my footing. I need to finish off the History Lesson post for the moment, then I will gather my notes on the Boston trip and eventually get back to my 2007 photos and Allie’s trip to Australia. Plus, I resolve to enjoy the spate of good weather that seems to be on the way. I’m trying to return to my nascent personal philosophy of existential joy (which I also want to actually write a post about, but I’ve been putting it off). I don’t like being around myself when I’m in such a dark mood, and can’t imagine others do either. Better to give myself some small tasks to achieve and get on the brighter side of life (yes, a nod to Eric Idle and Monty Python). 

But before I go, here’s an update on the virus, the erstwhile reason for this journal. It’s still very much here, not really getting worse but not getting better either. There’s much dithering over whether Americans should or will get booster shots which adds to confusion and lowers the credibility of the CDC and overall government response. Maryland is one of the best places in America at the moment, which is a small encouragement. But the rest of the country is going to hell.

Numbers:

• Global cases: 219M; Daily average: 608K; Total Deaths: 4,550,000
• USA cases: 42M; Daily average: 148K; Total Deaths: 674,000 
• Maryland cases: 483,000  Deaths: 9,907; “At risk of outbreak” per CovidActNow.org
  • 0 states “On track to contain COVID”
  • 1 state “Slow disease growth” (Northern Marianas)
  • 4 states “At risk of outbreak” (Puerto Rico, Maryland, Connecticut, New Jersey)
  • 41 states “Active or imminent outbreak” (North Carolina, Idaho, Alabama, Mississippi, Ohio…)
  • 7 states “Severe outbreak” (West Virginia, Tennessee, Alaska, South Carolina, Kentucky…)

There, I feel better.

September 26

It seems every day brings another reason to keep picking at this scab of slavery research. Today it was an opinion piece in the Baltimore Sun, “Unraveling the Harmful Myths that Perpetuated Slavery” that opened the door to forced breeding of slaves. The online version of the article included links to other sources and as I was reading them, Barb happened by and noticed what I was reading. She reminds me that slavery was very very bad and there was nothing good to be found by researching it further. And that eventually we would get a knock on the door regarding my Internet search history — either from the FBI, ACLU or someone from Q-Anon. Either way, it won’t be good. But I had to keep reading and tucked a reference to forced breeding into my History Lesson in the section exploring how the U.S. slave population grew so rapidly.

Two days ago, I watched a couple of episodes of BBC’s Black and British series. The second episode discussed the Black Loyalists who fought on the British side of the Revolutionary War. That, in turn, led me to the fascinating story of Harry Washington, one of George Washington’s slaves who was born in Africa, was bought by Washington at age 23, worked first in the Great Dismal Swamp and then at Mount Vernon, escaped (twice), fought for the British, was later freed and resettled by the British to Nova Scotia and then Sierra Leone…where he eventually led a failed revolt against the British. His story is pretty well documented (and here, here, here (better), here, here, here) and would make an interesting book or documentary series, I think. His life certainly touched on a number of fascinating episodes and lesser-known corners of history.

The story of Harry Washington won’t leave me alone. I’ve been thinking about how to structure a more detailed investigation/explication of his life. I think his is a particularly useful individual story to frame a number of important and under-reported aspects of 17th-18th century slavery in America, England and Africa. 

• His birth in Africa around 1740 allows for research into the environment of the African tribes and kingdoms of West Africa, and the perils of getting caught and sold into slavery.
• He survived the Atlantic Passage (likely on an English ship) and was sold in Virginia first to Daniel Tebbs then in 1763 to George Washington (upon Tebb’s’ death?). 
• Washington assigned Harry among a group of slaves to dig drainage canals for the Dismal Swamp Company, which opens a discussion of Washington’s pre-war life and business ventures. 
• After two years, Harry was brought with others to Mount Vernon where he worked on Washington’s horses and possibly in the house as well, which leads to a discussion about what life was like on Washington’s extensively researched estate. 
• Harry escaped in 1771 when he was assigned to build a mill at Ferry Farm, once George Washington’s boyhood home. He was quickly captured (discussion of slave escapes and catchers) and worked on the mill for two years before returning to Mount Vernon.
• In 1775, with revolutionary tensions rising, Virginia’s governor, Lord Dunmore, fled Williamsburg for a flotilla of British ships in the James River. He issued a proclamation to free slaves willing to fight for the Crown. Harry Washington was one of the first to join, fleeing Mount Vernon with a few others and presumably rowing out to one of Dunmore’s ships in the Potomac. This opens whole discussions of colonial grievances with England, planters’ fear of slave revolts, the promises of freedom for slaves, how more blacks fought for England than for the revolutionaries, the Ethiopian Regiment. 
• Smallpox and typhoid ravaged up to 70% of the Black “troops” in Virginia but Harry survived to be stationed in New York for several years (cleaning the streets?), then in South Carolina where he probably actually fought and was promoted to corporal in the artillery, possibly as part of The Black Pioneers.
• In 1782 with the British finally losing the war, Harry was among thousands of former slaves now in Charleston wondering whether and how the British would make good on their promise of freedom. The British had no real plan and it was only after considerable discussion that any former slaves were included in the final evacuations. Harry made it onto one of the ships bound for New York, as opposed to many who went to Jamaica, some to England, and many forced to stay in South Carolina. All told, the British evacuated perhaps 20,000 former slaves. Cue comparisons to Vietnam and Afghanistan.  
• Resettlement in Nova Scotia. Leaving on a British ship, HMS Abondance, under the gaze of Washington’s slave-catching agent, Daniel Parker. 
• Disillusionment, broken promises, and building a home in Nova Scotia
• Learning from John Clarkson of the promise of Sierra Leone Company. British hopes for colony of freed slaves, resettlement of the Black Poor from London. 
• Resettlement in Sierra Leone.
• Disillusionment, broken promises, and building a home in Sierra Leone
• Tax revolt, Harry getting caught up and identified as a leader
• Harry tried, convicted and exiled to “the other bank” of the river…basically a death sentence.

Even this snapshot leaves out a lot of readily available details and interesting historical angles. There is a lot to work with, even if we don’t have any direct information or diary of Harry’s. I don’t believe I’m up to the task of putting together a detailed look at Harry’s life and times, but the story is compelling. And for the moment, it won’t leave me alone.

—–

Meanwhile, back with the virus: the numbers are trending down even as confusion rises over who is eligible to get a booster. The Delta variant seems to be running its course but who knows what comes next.

Numbers:

• Global cases: 232M; Daily average: 476K; Total Deaths: 4,740,000
• USA cases: 43M; Daily average: 121K; Total Deaths: 688,000 
• Maryland cases: 527,000  Deaths: 10,369; “At risk of outbreak” per CovidActNow.org
  • 0 states “On track to contain COVID”
  • 2 states “Slow disease growth” (Northern Marianas, Puerto Rico)
  • 6 states “At risk of outbreak” (Connecticut, California, Maryland, New Jersey, Massachusetts…)
  • 40 states “Active or imminent outbreak” (Idaho, North Dakota, Tennessee, South Carolina, Alabama…)
  • 5 states “Severe outbreak” (Alaska, Wyoming, West Virginia, Montana, Kentucky)

I’m getting more and more antsy to start traveling again. For the moment, we’re starting to make plans to go back to Boston for a short visit in November as a sort of substitute Thanksgiving. We hope Allie will come to Maryland with Perri for an extended visit around Christmas but that is to be determined. With the virus cases as high as they are in the American South, it’s not likely I’ll be able to do my road trip to Tennessee this fall. Maybe next spring. I’m starting to think more seriously about a trip to England in the spring or summer of 2022 to use our British Airways vouchers. Maybe if things improve I can investigate going to Spain in the winter or spring rather than waiting for next summer. Something to talk to Laurie about. There are still pretty significant obstacles to traveling to Aruba, a little less so for the Dominican Republic, but I don’t see us going to either anytime real soon.

September 30

Following Barb’s advice that there’s little good to be found dwelling on slavery, I’ve been doing less of it these last few days. I must be feeling better because I’ve started to plan some vacations. Or maybe it’s because I’m starting to plan vacations that I’m starting to feel better.

There are a number of variables but I’m trying to line up a music tour of Nashville and Memphis, driving back through Asheville in March or April, a trip to Aruba in late January or February with Barb and maybe Allie (birthday presents for both…hoping the obstacles will melt away by then, at least a little), and an outside possibility of going to Spain in early December to overlap with the Shins being there. I need to check with Laurie about the Spain timing and also to see if she’s interested in the music tour.

Barb’s also feeling better because she’s planning an ad-hoc outdoor picnic meeting for her work team in a few weeks. For many, it will be the first time meeting face-to-face. Barb says everyone, herself included, is tired of remote work and never seeing people. She’s excited to have something fun to plan for.

I’ve started plugging along on Billzpage again. I wrapped up the entries for Allie’s 2007 trip to Australia and finished the 2007 First Half post. And I’m enjoying reading the Lafayette book by Mike Duncan. So far, he’s doing a better job in the book summarizing the American Revolutionary War than he did in his podcast on the same subject.

That’s more or less the end of the good news but at least it’s something. 

Today is another one of those political Armageddon days on Capitol Hill. Congress (mostly just the Democrats) is trying to decide whether, when and how to vote on Biden’s infrastructure deal, raising the debt ceiling, continuing government funding, and where things stand on the social safety net bill that doesn’t have a good name (“Build Back Better” is barely adequate; more often it’s labeled the $3.5 trillion bill but that does it no justice; the fact that it doesn’t have a good label is one of its drawbacks; it’s basically a bunch of progressive Democratic agenda items all lumped together). Ostensibly the government will shut down tonight at midnight if they can’t muster a vote on basic funding. They will probably achieve that, but just barely. Everything else is up for grabs. There is much wailing and gnashing of teeth in the press. There will be a crescendo of noise today, one way or another, but hopefully things will be more or less sorted out by next week.

Robert Kagan wrote a major opinion piece in the Washington Post last week, “Our Constitutional Crisis is Already Here,” which argues that Trump and the Republicans are already well down the road of taking the country in a more authoritarian direction. They will almost certainly regain control of Congress in 2022 and are doing all they can to position for victory — or at least declaring victory — in 2024. It’s a scary piece, on purpose. I think the midterm election results may be a foregone conclusion in the Republicans’ favor but I still hold out hope that Trump may be his own worst enemy in 2024. His being on the ballot will mean another record Democratic turnout, I think, and will hopefully keep him out of the White House for a second term. But Kagan’s point is that that’s wishful thinking at this point, and Republicans are doing all they can to suppress Democratic votes and line things up to declare victory one way or another, including contesting electoral vote counts and tossing the decision into the House of Representatives where they will hold the majority…like they nearly did in 2020. It’s depressing to contemplate but all too plausible. I don’t know what to do about this country.

The virus continues to trend down, though the rate of decline may be slowing. The U.S. is on the verge of another incomprehensible milestone: 700,000 deaths. Last week we passed the 1918 flu as the most deadly pandemic in U.S. history (I guess not including the diseases that decimated millions of Native Americans in the 16th-17th centuries). 

Numbers:

• Global cases: 233M; Daily average: 450K; Total Deaths: 4,770,000
• USA cases: 43M; Daily average: 113K; Total Deaths: 695,000 
• Maryland cases: 531,000  Deaths: 10,426; “At risk of outbreak” per CovidActNow.org
  • 1 states “On track to contain COVID” (Northern Marianas)
  • 1 states “Slow disease growth” (Puerto Rico)
  • 8 states “At risk of outbreak” (Massachusetts, Hawaii, Washington DC, Illinois, New Jersey,…)
  • 38 states “Active or imminent outbreak” (North Dakota, Idaho, Tennessee, South Carolina, Iowa…)
  • 5 states “Severe outbreak” (Alaska, West Virginia, Wyoming, Montana, Kentucky)

And that wraps up another month and another quarter in our ongoing saga.
Forward, ever forward!

October 7

[I decided if I’m going to write a little less frequently, I can extend these posts to cover two months.]

Waking up my computer today, my screen saver included this little invitation from Microsoft: “Explore our collection of inspiring virtual ideas.” No thanks. I have my own.

There’s a good NY Times article today about the benefits of journaling. “Scientific studies have shown [journaling] to be essentially a panacea for modern life. There are the obvious benefits, like a boost in mindfulness, memory and communication skills. But studies have also found that writing in a journal can lead to better sleep, a stronger immune system, more self-confidence and a higher I.Q.” If scientific studies say so, then it must be true!

I agree that journaling has been a positive exercise for me; I’ve been doing it consistently now for two years. It indeed helps me organize and deal with topics that trouble me, helps with my peace of mind, and I think helps clear out the clutter that sometimes keeps me awake at night or gnaws at me through the day. I like to use it as an ongoing record of my interests and concerns, and also as a rough draft for things that end up on Billzpage or elsewhere. I find that doing it daily is not necessary but at least weekly feels about right. It can be easy to find excuses to skip writing but I don’t want to lose the habit. I think it’s been helpful and want to continue, even if no one is reading.

We survived the political Armageddon forecast 9 days ago, though most of the issues are still up in the air. The Democrats and a few Republicans were able to find a way to keep the government from shutting down last week. They’re still haggling about the debt ceiling though it seems like the Republicans may have caved yesterday and are willing to figure out a short-term compromise that kicks the can out a few months. The Democrats are still negotiating among themselves over the social safety net bill with the differences between the factions narrowing. The original $3.5 trillion price tag will shrink to some number closer to $2 trillion, probably, but there is some progress being made and the pressure is off the front pages for the moment.

The happy news of the past week for me is that Laurie has agreed to join me on my Nashville-Memphis music tour adventure in March. We’ve booked the Road Scholar Tour starting March 13 and will supplement it with an extra day in Nashville, two extra days in Memphis, a couple of days in Asheville with Susanna and then one day in Bristol, Virginia. It should be a fine adventure and it’s given me something to start planning for in depth. 

I’ve started a planning document that I’ll soon share with Laurie, have started watching videos to recommend to Laurie (listed at the end of the planning doc), and have spent an inordinate amount of time in the past few days tweaking an iTunes playlist of Memphis music. The playlist has grown to well over 4 hours and I’m learning more and more about the long legacy of music in Memphis. I’m having fun researching more about the songs, artists, studios, timelines and interrelationships between them all…which is just what I wanted to learn about. I want to figure out a convenient way to share some of this information with Laurie, especially since she can’t play an iTunes playlist, I don’t think. Turning it into a long post with a YouTube playlist is a possibility, though I think YouTube will take me in a whole different direction.

The virus continues to trend downward. Dr. Leana Wen says today, “the end of the pandemic may be in sight.” To get there, she says we need 1) vaccines for children under 12 (expected soon), 2) oral, outpatient treatment for Covid-19 (pills recently approved), and 3) free, readily available rapid tests (ummm, not happening soon, though there is a push to make them somewhat more widely available than they’ve been).

Numbers:

• Global cases: 237M; Daily average: 461K; Total Deaths: 4,830,000
• USA cases: 44M; Daily average: 101K; Total Deaths: 708,000 
• Maryland cases: 539,000  Deaths: 10,533; “At risk of outbreak” per CovidActNow.org
  • 0 states “On track to contain COVID” ( )
  • 2 states “Slow disease growth” (Northern Marianas, Puerto Rico)
  • 13 states “At risk of outbreak” (New York, Missouri, Arkansas, Illinois, Massachusetts…)
  • 34 states “Active or imminent outbreak” (West Virginia, Idaho, Kentucky, Minnesota, Wisconsin…)
  • 4 states “Severe outbreak” (Alaska, Montana, North Dakota, Wyoming)

October 14

We’re enjoying a bit of a false Spring with a couple of 80-degree sunny days (probably the last). Our rhododendrons and azaleas are blooming because, why not? Barb fortuitously is having her unofficial office picnic today in Rock Creek Park, gathering 20 or so of her co-workers she hasn’t seen in 18 months, many of whom have never met each other.

She and I got our Covid booster shots on Monday, exactly six months after our first round of shots. We are as invincible as we’ll ever be, I suppose. There was no fuss or question of our eligibility, just a bit of a wait at Walgreens as they processed our paperwork and took care of other people.

We’re looking forward to seeing Allie again in Boston for a short three-night visit starting November 11. Allie’s mapping out our meals and activities and it’s looking fun. I’ve likewise planned a two-night getaway in DC on December 29-30 while Allie is here. We’ve decided I will drive up and get her and Perri before Christmas and then drive her back after New Year’s. It will be fun to have them here.

I’m still spending a lot of time twiddling and researching my Memphis playlists and working on what’s become an extensive post detailing the songs and their connections. I’m not sure how worthwhile an effort it is but I’m enjoying it and learning a lot, so that seems a plus. Barb is happy I’m not delving further into slavery stories.

I’m enjoying the Lafayette book by Mike Duncan; I’m halfway through, just at the point where Lafayette was at his zenith in the early stages of the French Revolution. Duncan’s episodic podcast style translates pretty well to book form, dividing things into bite-size chunks that make it easy to read bits and pieces or binge on whole sections. 

I’ve also finished the Mexican Revolution in his podcast and have embarked on the Russian Revolution. One of the early episodes deals with Karl Marx’s stages of history or “historical materialism”. I honestly don’t recall having directly encountered this theory before nor did I realize Marx built much of his thought around it. In truth, I’ve never really studied Marx and don’t know much about Marxist ideology…they’ve just always been a discredited “bad guy” in my lifetime. I think it’s probably worth knowing more and look forward to subsequent episodes of Revolutions for at least a taste.

There’s a kind of lull in the news of the world. It’s an unnerving quiet as Congress wrestles in back rooms over Biden’s social package. There’s an election for governor of Virginia coming November 2 that’s taking on an aura of referendum on Biden. The Democrat, Terry McAuliffe, should be winning handily but polling suggests the race is very close. The Republican, Glen Youngkin, has latched onto discontent with schools and “critical race theory”. There’s a grass roots suburban rumbling that’s reminiscent of the rise of the Tea Party in 2009. Watch out. Anyway, the Virginia election is being played out in the Washington, DC television market where political ads dominate the 11pm news that we watch. I’ve taken to muting all the ads which have already been running for months. It’s going to be a long three weeks until the election, a harbinger of 2022 and 2024.

Parallel to all this is a growing, gnawing realization that Trump may very well get re-elected in 2024. It seems altogether likely the Republicans will gain the House and Senate in the 2022 midterms, then do all they can to prevent Biden from doing anything substantive in the next two years. It seems altogether likely that Trump will be the Republican nominee in 2024. It doesn’t seem likely that Biden would run for another term just based on his age, but who knows? Is Kamala Harris really the right person to run against Trump? Things will get mighty ugly if Trump runs against a liberal woman of color, but they will get mighty ugly no matter what if Trump runs. And then what if he wins? It’s a depressing string of thoughts but it’s becoming more widespread. Like a virus.

Speaking of which, things are still slowly getting better…maybe. We’re in wait-and-see mode…just like the rest of life.

Numbers:

• Global cases: 239M; Daily average: 390K; Total Deaths: 4,870,000
• USA cases: 45M; Daily average: 89K; Total Deaths: 720,000 
• Maryland cases: 547,000  Deaths: 10,644; “At risk of outbreak” per CovidActNow.org
  • 0 states “On track to contain COVID” ( )
  • 2 states “Slow disease growth” (Northern Marianas, Puerto Rico)
  • 19 states “At risk of outbreak” (Rhode Island, New York, Nevada, Texas, Georgia…)
  • 30 states “Active or imminent outbreak” (Wyoming, North Dakota, Idaho, West Virginia, Minnesota…)
  • 2 states “Severe outbreak” (Montana, Alaska)

So, we’ll enjoy our false Spring for another day or two. I’m moving our forest of aloe and jade plants down to the basement so the deck will be clear for a cleaning next week. That seems ambitious enough, then we’ll see what comes next.

October 20

I don’t have a lot of news to report but it seems like a good time to write anyway. We’re getting our house power washed today to clear off the dirt and scuzz of the last few years. The noises have Manny in something of a tizzy but they should be done in a few hours. Getting the outside cleaned gives me an incentive to wash the windows, too, which is not something I’m looking forward to but I suppose ought to be done. Sigh.

We celebrated Barb’s birthday last weekend in a quiet and reserved manner, as seems appropriate for our 63rd year. Mostly it came down to food. We had dinner with the Harders at Xenia on Saturday and I took Barb to Medium Rare on Sunday. The previous Thursday Barb hosted her unofficial office picnic — excuse me, “retreat” — and it went very well. That was the real party for her.

Laurie headed off to join the Shinn family in Santorini and Crete this week. I’m glad she decided to give traveling a go, her first trip out of Spain in two years. I hope everyone has a great time. 

The lull in real-world news continues. Yesterday there was a hint that maybe the Democrats are getting close to a possible agreement on their social safety net/reconciliation bill. Maybe. That passes for news at the moment. 

Last week there was a fuss when China flew a bunch of fighter jets into Taiwan’s airspace. In general, Beijing is getting more belligerent about Taiwan and any hint of independence there. Xi Jinping has raised the stakes on “reunification” within the next 5-10 years but there’s no roadmap. The example China has shown in Hong Kong is more of a deterrent than a guide. There is much speculation lately about Chinese military intervention/invasion; there’s general consensus that they’ve built up the capability and there’s little the U.S. or other allies could do to stop it — short of full nuclear war which God only knows may be something the Republicans will start advocating. There’s no good answer or resolution on the horizon other than maintaining the myth that Taiwan is sort of part of China but really isn’t…a myth that is transparently unstable.

The virus numbers continue to tick down which is mildly encouraging. No one knows if there will be another resurgence this fall/winter but there is at least hope it will continue to recede to more manageable levels. 

Numbers:

• Global cases: 241M; Daily average: 395K; Total Deaths: 4,910,000
• USA cases: 45M; Daily average: 79K; Total Deaths: 728,000 
• Maryland cases: 552,000  Deaths: 10,735; “At risk of outbreak” per CovidActNow.org
  • 0 states “On track to contain COVID” ( )
  • 3 states “Slow disease growth” (Northern Marianas, Puerto Rico, Hawaii)
  • 20 states “At risk of outbreak” (Rhode Island, Virginia, Illinois, South Carolina, New York…)
  • 28 states “Active or imminent outbreak” (Wyoming, Idaho, North Dakota,West Virginia, Utah…)
  • 2 states “Severe outbreak” (Montana, Alaska)

On the local front, I’m still dabbling with my Memphis playlist and post but my progress has slowed. Meanwhile, I’ve started making headway once again with my regular posts, working on our 2007 trip to London and Italy at the moment. And I cracked the code on entering Coke points for Barb so now I’m clearing out boxes of caps and donating proceeds to the National Parks Foundation. We’re approaching a whopping $250 in donations. It would have been easier to write a check, but at least this is coming out of Coca Cola’s pocket…after we (and others…Barb has a network of suppliers) have spent thousands on Coke products, of course.

October 29

Another week has drifted by. I spent a large part of it completing my Memphis Music Education post and playlists. The result is two playlists with more than 130 songs covering 100 years of music, nearly 8 hours of listening with a link-intensive post with background on each song selection. It is no doubt overwhelming for anyone else to look at or listen to, and maybe not worth the time and effort I put into it. Nevertheless, I felt compelled to complete the project and am happy with the result. I’ve learned a lot about the wide variety of music tied to Memphis and now have a repository I can reference as needed. I feel much better prepared for our trip in March, and I look forward to learning more.

While I’ve been fiddling away in my corner, the Congressional symphony in Washington has been working up a cacophony related to Biden’s social programs bill…and Rome keeps burning. Yesterday they finally arrived at an outline and $1.8 trillion pricetag they could publish, but they are still nattering over details and not ready to vote on this or the infrastructure bill that’s already passed the Senate. Biden left for an overseas trip that will include a G20 summit in Rome and the COP climate summit in Glasgow next week. There is diminishing hope one or both bills will be passed before those summits start. 

The whole process feels increasingly futile. The Democratic infighting, mainly with holdout senators Manchin and Sinema, has whittled away many of the more ambitious social programs. What’s left is still significant but it’s hard to see how much effect it and the infrastructure bill will have before the 2022 midterm elections or whether they will really be remembered or matter in 2024. There will be bigger fish to fry like whether we have a functioning democracy or not. 

The outlook for the coming elections is bleak. There’s a near-term test next week with the governor’s race in Virginia. Democrat Terry McAuliffe is running neck and neck in the polls with Republican Glenn Youngkin. The race shouldn’t be this close and will ultimately hinge on turnout…which probably favors Youngkin in an off-cycle election. Youngkin is not a flaming radical Republican and it won’t be the end of Virginia’s world if he is elected, but it will be a boost and vindication for Trump and his loonies if he does. 

Adding to my bleakness in a self-inflicted move, yesterday I watched the HBO documentary “Four Hours at the Capitol” about the January 6 insurrection (sorry, protest). It is harrowing, and a vivid reminder that, as bad as that day was, it could have been much worse. And it may yet be. Some of these people are just whacked-out crazy and there’s no reasoning with a crazy person, much less a mob of them. The top-searched article on the topic from Psychology Today is interesting but mostly advocates avoidance — well, I’m trying to avoid them but what if they won’t go away?

There is at least continuing good news of sorts on the virus as it recedes. Please let there be no resurgence…though global cases have started rising again, mainly in Europe. What’s going on there? Meanwhile, we’re on the verge of topping 5 million deaths globally.

Numbers:

• Global cases: 246M; Daily average: 429K; Total Deaths: 4,980,000
• USA cases: 46M; Daily average: 73K; Total Deaths: 743,000 
• Maryland cases: 559,000  Deaths: 10,854; “At risk of outbreak” per CovidActNow.org
  • 0 states “On track to contain COVID” ( )
  • 3 states “Slow disease growth” (Northern Marianas, Puerto Rico, Hawaii)
  • 20 states “At risk of outbreak” (Rhode Island, Virginia, Illinois, South Carolina, New York…)
  • 28 states “Active or imminent outbreak” (Wyoming, Idaho, North Dakota,West Virginia, Utah…)
  • 2 states “Severe outbreak” (Montana, Alaska)

I wish I had happier news to report. It will be Halloween this weekend. We’ve been invited to a s’mores party with the Harders at the Baileys tomorrow night. That should be interesting. I’ve got a concert by guitarist Yasmin Williams next Friday. In two weeks we’ll be in Boston to see Allie. Those are things worth looking forward to. That’ll do for now.

---

Related Post: Coronavirus Journey, Part 19

Related Post: Coronavirus Journey, Part 17