Part twenty-two of my ongoing journal entries about life in the time of the 2020-2022 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). Part Eighteen (September-October 2021). Part Nineteen (November-December 2021). Part Twenty (January-February 2022). Part Twenty-One (March-April 2022).
May 11
Here we are in the middle of May, 2022. We had a nice visit to the Keys last week and I need to work up a post about that. I’m still working on (well, haven’t actually been working on but feeling guilty about) my Memphis trip post and still have to start several other planned posts about our music trip. And then I need to get back to the rest of my Billzpage timeline for 2008 and beyond. I’m feeling a little overwhelmed, as I whined about in my April 29 journal entry. I really want to get somewhat caught up so I can start to tackle the other photos and documents I want to incorporate into Billzpage (and start to actually throw some things away and start decluttering our house). We’re now entering a window of several months with no travel plans and few excuses for me. I need to get back on the ball writing more regularly.
I want to keep this journal going, as well, to reinforce the habit of writing regularly. I think it’s a healthy practice, even if no one else reads it, though in my mind it’s a continuing letter to Laurie or Allie or some unknown posterity. And the ostensible impetus for the journal, Covid-19, hasn’t gone away. In fact, it’s still on the rise in the U.S. and in Maryland, with some states and counties now at high risk, though it’s having less and less direct impact on our daily lives.
Numbers:
- Global cases: 519M; Daily average: 563K; Total Deaths: 6,250,000
- USA cases: 81.9M; Daily average: 77K; Total Deaths: 997,000
- Maryland cases: 1,046,000; Deaths: 14,505 (“At risk of outbreak”) per CovidActNow.org
- 38 states “Low Risk” (Alaska, Michigan, Virginia, District of Columbia, Washington…)
- 11 states “Medium Risk” (Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Maine, Hawaii, Illinois…)
- 4 states “High Risk” (Vermont, Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut)
I’m wearing my mask less regularly in indoor spaces. My working rule of thumb is that I’ll wear it if I’m in a store or indoor setting for more than 15 minutes or so. I’d say that lately about half of the people in our local Maryland stores are still wearing masks, but I think that number drops quickly as you move into more rural areas. We hardly saw any masks in Florida and less than half the people on planes with us. Anecdotally, there seem to be quite a few people reporting positive tests (including Stephen Colbert) but they don’t seem to get very sick or stay isolated very long. It seems like this is pretty much the new normal we were seeking over the course of the pandemic. We are living with the virus. I still have never tested positive and hope not to, but I’m not very worried that it’s a killer anymore.
So life goes on. In addition to feeling guilty about falling behind on my website activity, we’re starting to get flooded with entertainment options as Hollywood kicks into post-pandemic overdrive. Barb and I have a backlog of (mostly) crappy shows that we’ve taped or want to stream. There are none to really note, so far. I was disappointed by the new season of Russian Doll. I re-binged and enjoyed the first season of Hacks after introducing it to Allie on the Florida trip in anticipation of the new season about to drop. I’m eager to see the new season of Barry which has just started to drop episodes weekly. Tonight’s NOVA double episode about dinosaurs will feature Allie’s friend and GCS classmate (one of the only ones she still regularly communicates with), Jordan Claytor, our budding paleontologist.
I’m happy to report that I’ve now lost about 30 pounds since I’ve been on my weight loss medication, Wegovy. I feel better for having lost the weight though I’m sure I should probably lose another 30 pounds to get to a more proper body-mass index. This is the last month of my low-price trial prescription. I’ll visit my doctor in a few weeks and I think he will transition me to a different medication. I hope I can maintain the weight loss and not binge my way back up. To be determined.
I’m also happy to report that Allie renegotiated her rental renewal, getting a lower rent and an extended 18-month lease so they won’t raise the rent again for a while. Good for her! She did it all on her own; I don’t think I would have even tried to argue it, but she did and will save a few hundred dollars per month. She reports that the Lantern startup is somewhat stressful but she seems to enjoy the people and the challenges. She was very happy to take a break last week in the Keys and not check email. Our little girl is doing very well as a real live adult type person. More power to her. We’re very proud of her!
May 18
It’s a lovely spring day and I’ve been able to make some headway writing this past week, working mostly on my summary of the Memphis portion of our music trip. The post is getting way too long but I’ve been able to do some further research and thinking on a variety of music and social topics. I’m feeling pretty good about it, which has helped improve my general mood. When I’m able to sit down and make some headway writing it usually helps me feel better, so I’m going to keep doing it (although I’m having some frustrating internet connectivity issues this morning which forced me to move inside from my nice perch on the deck – Manny and I are not too happy about that).
I was supposed to have lunch with Jenny today but she was forced to reschedule due to some back issues. So I think I will treat myself with a roast chicken lunch at Konstatine’s Greek Taverna and a drive in the country. I finished my yard work yesterday and I’m mostly caught up on chores within the house, so why not? A perk of retirement. Barb is in DC today and will be home late anyway, so I can have leftovers for dinner.
This happy talk helps divert me from some of the uglier things going on in the world around us. The country is still reverberating from another bout of racist shootings, this time in Buffalo. There is much handwringing over the Great Replacement theory (nothing great about it), white supremacy, gun control, and so on…but it’s hard to imagine anything concrete will come of it. There were midterm primaries yesterday in multiple states and Trump’s various candidates did all too well. Ukraine seems to be pushing back against the Russian invasion somewhat successfully but that very success means prolonging the war in unpredictable ways. The Ukraine war has prompted Sweden and Finland to apply for NATO membership which seems like a positive, overall, but may prove dangerously provocative to Russia. Who knows?
Meanwhile, the virus marches on. We passed the grim milestone of 1,000,000 U.S. deaths, says everyone but the New York Times. This pandemic is now recognizably the deadliest event in U.S. history, though it’s held that distinction for many months already. The death toll is probably far higher, and it’s especially painful to recognize that hundreds of thousands of these deaths were preventable through vaccines and simple steps like wearing masks.
The current variant of the virus is infecting more people (once again averaging 100,000 new daily cases), raising concerns but so far not filling hospitals or raising death rates. Maryland and Howard County have moved back into yellow or Medium Risk level. I’d say a few more people are wearing masks in stores again, but not much else has changed.
Numbers:
- Global cases: 523M; Daily average: 565K; Total Deaths: 6,270,000
- USA cases: 82.7M; Daily average: 101K; Total Deaths: 999,000
- Maryland cases: 1,061,000; Deaths: 14,542 (“At risk of outbreak”) per CovidActNow.org
- 26 states “Low Risk” (California, North Carolina, West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio…)
- 12 states “Medium Risk” (Rhode Island, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Maryland…)
- 12 states “High Risk” (Puerto Rico, Connecticut, Massachusetts, District of Columbia, Hawaii…)
My lesson lately is to try not to dwell on the negative. Life in my own little bubble is good at the moment. There is a lot of life to enjoy and I’m trying to take advantage of that. So I will get back to work on my Memphis post and then go get some lunch. Wish us all luck.
May 25
It’s been a pretty good week in our bubble. Barb took last Friday off and we drove out to Easton, MD on the Eastern Shore for some wienerschnitzel at Bas Rouge. We’d read about this restaurant and its interesting story in the Washington Post. The wienerschnitzel is only available at lunch and we’d booked weeks in advance. The restaurant was not super-busy and perhaps we needn’t have sweated the reservation, but we needed to have it on our calendars or else we never would have made it there.
Barb maximized her day off with a stop at Costco for new lenses for her glasses and a stop at the Queenstown Outlets to shop at Coach and Yankee Candle. That broke up the 90-minute drive to Easton. We got to the restaurant right on time and they seated us at a nice window table.
The restaurant and staff were super-fussy and a bit overly pretentious. I ordered an $18 glass of wine and the waiter looked sniffy at Barb’s order of Diet Coke. We shared a spring salad of fresh peas and asparagus that was delicious but tiny – we easily could have had one each or ordered another ($20) appetizer, but we saved up for the veal (which we both ordered). The schnitzel came out cooked to Barb’s satisfaction with a puffy coating of fried goodness, but truth to tell it was oddly bland even with squirts of lemon. The warm potato salad was excellent, as was the bread they served. It was a nice meal, and the best schnitzel we’ve found in the area (but not as good as in Aruba or Vienna), but I doubt we’ll be making the trip very often.
On Saturday, Barb did her aerobics and had lunch with one of her buddies, then spent the rest of the very hot day transplanting aloe babies into new pots to give away to people. Manny and I helped a little bit. By the end of the weekend we were hosting more than 50 pots of aloe and another 20 pots of jade plants. Barb’s plan was to give away a dozen or so at a work happy hour she arranged later in the week…but that still leaves us with 40 or so aloes for Manny to wander among.
On Sunday, we drove to Virginia to rescue a trio of Chinese tables from Ann Babcock. These were coffee and end tables made in Hong Kong for her parents (Fen and Haya) at about the same time Fred and Louise got their rosewood sets, so in the early 1960s, I think. After Fen died the tables were with Harry’s parents but with the last of them passing last year the tables were back with Ann and Harry and they didn’t want them.
We tried to fit all three tables in my Camry but we couldn’t close the trunk. Harry let me use a rope to tie down the trunk but the open trunk caused an audible warning alarm in my car that I couldn’t disable. Fortunately, we’d planned to see Patti for lunch and only had to drive 20 minutes with the alarm. Patti was kind enough to agree to take the larger coffee table in her SUV to store at her house. We had a nice lunch with Patti at Firebirds in Gainesville and made it home with the two end tables. Someday Barb will have to make arrangements with Patti to retrieve the coffee table.
It was good to get all these domestic chores out of the way because next weekend the pool opens at our country club (I still hate saying that) and Barb’s plan is to be there most every Saturday and Sunday for the rest of the summer. She is vibrating with anticipation.
Further on the country club front, I signed up for a new tennis team mixed doubles league, thinking that would keep me playing for the summer. It turns out I’m only scheduled for three matches and haven’t played at all otherwise, nor has there been any communication among any of the team members. The first of my matches was supposed to take place last night but my partner (whom I’ve never met) was ill and now we have to reschedule on our own sometime. I’m going to have to go over to the club and see how I can actually meet some people to play. Or I could sign up for clinics but I am loath to pay even more for the opportunity to run around and sweat. It’s very annoying.
I finally finished my post about the Memphis portion of our music trip. Next I need to start on the Asheville/Bristol post. I have in mind several other public-facing posts about the trip, one focused just on the Road Scholar segment and another about the music and social lessons from the journey. I would also like to do a Muscle Shoals playlist and accompanying post, I think. And then there’s one for our trip to the Keys. I’m starting to write more regularly but the more I do the further behind I feel.
In the meantime, I’m trying to keep my head above water with chores for the lawn (I’ve got lawnmower issues) and the house (we had a leak again from a violent rainstorm a couple of nights ago – it’s the first leak we’ve had since I thought the problem had been fixed a year ago. Sigh).
So these are the types of problems that I’m dealing with. They are altogether minor and petty in the grand scheme of things, but it’s what takes up my psychic energy. Better to have these problems than have to deal with anything more serious like the rest of the world. There was another horrific school shooting, this time in Texas. The war in Ukraine meanders on, with both sides claiming progress…which means more people continue to suffer.
This wave of the virus may be peaking (or recently peaked) in the U.S., as predicted by the IHME.
Numbers:
- Global cases: 527M; Daily average: 561K; Total Deaths: 6,279,000
- USA cases: 83.5M; Daily average: 108K; Total Deaths: 1,001,000
- Maryland cases: 1,076,000; Deaths: 14,569 (“At risk of outbreak”) per CovidActNow.org
- 26 states “Low Risk” (Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, Kansas, Utah…)
- 14 states “Medium Risk” (Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Illinois, Oregon, Virginia…)
- 13 states “High Risk” (Hawaii, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Jersey, New York…)
We’ll take the virus status as a glimmer of good news. Maybe things will settle down for a while so we can all focus on other matters, big and small.
June 4
I’ve been plugging away on my Music Trip posts and I think I’m nearly done. I’ve summarized Nashville, Memphis and Asheville/Bristol for Billzpage. I’ve stripped out the photos and cleaned up a single summary post of the trip for Billzdaze and also posted the NMAAM playlists on Billzdaze. The public can access the Billzdaze posts; I will let them sit for a couple of days then will send the summary post to Terrie, our Road Scholar tour guide. She may be willing to share it with our other tour members and maybe with others at Road Scholar.
These posts have been quite time consuming for a couple of months, which is a silly long time. But I’ve enjoyed working on them, organizing my thoughts, researching the things we saw and things we missed. Next I’ll work on the Marathon trip and then hopefully get back on track with the main timeline.
We are in the midst of a glorious weekend: low-80s, clear blue skies. Manny and I are enjoying the deck. I will get a walk soon. Barb is at the pool and will be going to see the Downton Abbey movie tonight with her friend Sheila.
Yesterday I played my first outdoor tennis at Cattail this year, a mixed doubles team match. It was an immediate reminder of why I don’t like team tennis. I met my partner, Kim, for the first time minutes before we were due to play. She immediately started giving me a scouting report on our opponents and a game plan to beat them which mostly involved getting the guy mad so he’d lose his cool. It didn’t work. Our opponents were each better than we were and we lost in straight sets. I did find that the Monday men’s tennis group that I enjoyed (somewhat) last year has started and is available. I will give that a try. Maybe it will put me in a better mood.
I’ve started to kick around the idea of a solo (or possibly with Barb if I can interest her) road trip later in the summer to Pittsburgh and Toronto. Both cities have good food, I think, and have some interesting places to walk and maybe catch some baseball. Or maybe I’ll just drive up and see Allie myself. Who knows? I’m a little frustrated with Barb’s lack of interest in going anywhere and her concomitant commitment to spending every weekend at the pool.
I saw Jenny for lunch at Vaughn’s Cheese shop in North Beach. It was a nice afternoon with a good sampling of cheese, bread and a very nice asparagus salad. Then we selected cheese to bring home. Very civilized.
Barb hosted a happy hour for about a dozen of her office mates in Silver Spring last week. A few days later one of them reported getting sick from Covid. Barb called everyone who attended, fearful she had hosted a superspreader event. Everyone else seemed fine and nonplussed to hear they may have been exposed. As one guy said, “I have kids. We get these calls all the time.”
The virus marches on, but fewer and fewer people seem to care. Howard County recently returned to the high risk category. I will wear a mask in stores again for a while.
Numbers:
- Global cases: 531M; Daily average: 471K; Total Deaths: 6,294,000
- USA cases: 84.6M; Daily average: 102K; Total Deaths: 1,005,000
- Maryland cases: 1,096,000; Deaths: 14,629 (“At risk of outbreak”) per CovidActNow.org
- 27 states “Low Risk” (Minnesota, Arizona, Utah, Louisiana, New Hampshire…)
- 16 states “Medium Risk” (Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Alaska, North Carolina, California…)
- 10 states “High Risk” (Hawaii, Florida, New Jersey, Colorado, Illinois…)
June 8
Today is Wednesday, hump day for the working world, but for me a moment to reflect. I’ve had good medical news the past two days: both my cardiologist and primary care doctors were pleased that I’ve lost weight (more than 30 pounds so far) and improved my numbers on all fronts. I’ve been off the Wegovy weight loss prescription for several weeks now and will try to continue with better eating habits on my own. Within these two weeks I’ve lost and then regained a few pounds, but then I’ve made some indulgent food choices over the past week (dumplings, noodles, cheese…). I know I can do better, so I will try to get back on track.
My weight loss experience is part of a larger story about healthcare in America. For the conspiracy minded, we have an intertwined mess of big pharma, big agriculture, big medicine and big insurance – all of whom have some interest in Americans staying sick – colluding to keep Americans overweight and craving all the crap that American food processors put on the shelves. I mean, what would happen to America’s economy if like me a whole bunch of people started eating less and feeling healthier?
Wegovy and similar obesity drugs are not covered by regular insurance and would cost more than $1,000/month without coverage. For my six month trial, covered by my insurance, it was $25/month. Now that I’m past the trial, I’m not willing to pay full freight, nor do I want to stay on the drug forever. My doctor says he is willing to prescribe Ozempic, the diabetes drug which is covered by insurance, in case I need further weight loss assistance…even though I am not (and am now less so) diabetic. It’s a borderline scam, and not really even borderline. I’m perturbed that my doctor is willing to bend his professional ethics to prescribe medication I don’t really need. I’m perturbed that the insurance companies will not cover obesity medication because they classify it as vanity rather than a medical condition.
The best news for me is that these six months on Wegovy have taught me that I can do fine by eating less and being more conscious to enjoy what I eat…especially for the first 6-8 bites or so. After those initial bites, my enjoyment level goes down and my compulsion to finish what’s on my plate rises. I can and need to control that. One of the best tools I’ve found so far is ordering or preparing food with a mind to having it as leftovers for the next day or two, then stop eating and take home about half of any serving. The upshot is that I will try to control and lose some more weight over the next six months without medication. Life’s an experiment.
But that’s not what I really wanted to talk about today. Tomorrow evening the January 6 Congressional investigation will air the first hearings of its findings. Will it be a bombshell or a popgun? The committee, Democrats and, yes, the news media are drumming it up as a bombshell, watershed moment for the nation and democracy. I hope that it is, and I will watch, but I fear the odds more strongly favor the popgun crowd. If you already think Trump is guilty you will be further convinced and enraged. If you think this is all a political stunt, a witch hunt, a last hurrah of political theater that will blow over in a few weeks…well, sadly, you’re probably right. If you don’t care and don’t want to watch, well you might as well be in the second crowd anyway. The bottom line is the Committee has no teeth, other than the court of public opinion which is already well calcified. Until Trump himself is indicted, convicted and jailed (three very high hurdles he’s slithered away from all his life) he will still be in the picture, mucking things up and probably running in 2024.
Matt Bai’s recent Washington Post editorial, “Why losing the midterms isn’t the worst thing for Democrats” seems sadly on point. At this stage, with Biden not able to push any more of his own agenda through the Senate, he and the Democrats may as well accept the drubbing of the coming midterms then essentially run against Washington for the next two years. Let Americans get sick once again of the Republican clowns and then have a fighting chance to come back in the 2024 elections, restore sanity and send Trump (and Trumpism) to a final political resting place. It’s a bleak prospect but a realistic one at this point…more likely than a jail term for Trump.
Some small notes before closing this week:
- Tennis on Monday worked out well – only three other guys showed up but it was enough for two meaningless sets and I wasn’t the worst one on the court. It was some exercise and I can look forward to it on Mondays for the rest of the summer…until the indoor season starts again.
- Barry has been crazy good in its third season, by far the best thing I’ve watched lately (episode 6, 710N, was a peak experience). Hacks has been good but not as strong as its first season. Vanessa Bayer’s new show, I Love You For That, has been pretty good but not as strong as Barry or Hacks. They all sort of occupy the same self-referential Hollywood universe and sensibility – Vanessa has a priceless cameo on episode 6 of Barry, not the same character but a similar mindset. On the other hand, Anatomy of a Scandal was a six-hour rolling disappointment that I felt somehow compelled to watch. I could chart the plot from the second episode, the courtroom stuff was inane, and the ending was a ludicrous wrap-up in five minutes. Blech. Remind me to avoid the work of David E. Kelley.
- The virus is slowly waning nationwide. Howard County is still high exposure, one of only three counties in Maryland…but things seem to be getting better. I will forego a full look at the numbers this week.
June 15
Another week has wandered by. Barb received a well-deserved Career Achievement Award last week. I was able to listen to the taped ceremony and grabbed these screen shots. Everyone loved the picture with Manny, even though it’s not the photo Barb expected them to use.
We also got the text of the award submission that two of Barb’s co-workers (Diana and Jenn) wrote. I’m including it here for posterity. Barb also got a nice Lucite award for the mantelpiece; she took it into work and I didn’t get a photo of it.
An exceptionally talented attorney and leader, Barbara Fisher has devoted her entire legal career to effectuating the mission of HHS and OGC and to ensuring sustained, outstanding performance from her staff. Through dynamic leadership, she supports and encourages her staff as they navigate every challenge CMSD faces, including sharply increasing workloads, the Covid-19 pandemic, and full-time telework. She demonstrates a unique ability to nurture, challenge, and motivate attorneys to exceed even her high expectations. By virtue of her extensive experience and farsighted perspective, she is an invaluable resource to the client, CMSD staff, and OGC leadership. For these reasons, she deserves a Career Achievement Award.
Ms. Fisher joined the CMS Division in 1986 (before it was the CMS Division) and worked on matters for CMS (before it was CMS). Then, she tackled some of the most cutting-edge issues and played a significant role in numerous historic changes to CMS programs. For instance, she was instrumental in the development and implementation of innovative changes to Medicare payment policies as CMS transformed Medicare payment approaches. From the start, her indefatigability, practicality, and ability to see the big picture endeared her to her clients, starting a trend that would continue over the next three-and-a-half decades.
In 2008, Ms. Fisher became the Deputy Associate General Counsel of the Program Review (PR) Group, the largest group in the CMS Division. At the time, the PR Group had 22 attorneys. Today it has 35. In taking the reins of the PR Group, Ms. Fisher found her true calling. As a gifted manager, she applies the same work ethic, sensibility, and vision that made her a successful staff attorney, to managing the PR Group. She knows and appreciates the workload, gifts, foibles, personal styles, and legal approach of each PR Group attorney and uses this knowledge to set each up for success. HHS recognized Ms. Fisher’s managerial talent early in her tenure, honoring her in 2012 with an Excellence in Management Award.
The PR Group’s size is not the only thing that has steadily grown since Ms. Fisher became its leader. The CMS Division represents CMS, ONC, OMHA, and the DAB. As Congress has added to these clients’ duties, the PR Group’s portfolio and workload—and consequently, Ms. Fisher’s management responsibilities—expanded exponentially. CMSD’s clients’ need for rapid, but sound, legal counsel has grown significantly through the enactment of the Affordable Care Act, the 21st Century Cures Act, and the No Surprises Act, among others. For example, ONC has undertaken ambitious strides toward advancing health information interoperability, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation has tested a multitude of comprehensive Medicare and Medicaid payment and service delivery models, and Medicaid expansion has been implemented in many states. Ms. Fisher’s staff is called upon continually to advise on novel, complex legal questions that often have interrelated legal and policy considerations, involve competing priorities, and always, always, are on tight deadlines. Ms. Fisher absorbs these additional responsibilities seamlessly and continues to inspire from her staff high-quality, timely work even under the most trying circumstances.
Ms. Fisher’s career-long contribution to the CMS Division’s success cannot be overstated. She starts earlier and works later than most of her staff. No one can figure out her bizarre paperwork filing system, but she knows exactly who is working on what, when it is due, and how it relates to what everyone else is doing. She draws the best out of her staff by dint of the same virtues she has employed all along. As a result, her staff and clients hold her in their highest regard.
On Saturday I attended the Robert Plant and Alison Krauss concert at Merriweather with Larry. It was the first real full-scale post-Covid (can we say that?) concert I’ve attended. While the evening’s dinner and concert were good, it was a reminder that big shows sometimes get too big and lose a sense of intimacy and rapport with the audience. I got the sense that Plant, Krauss and the band were sticking close to the script, playing it safe. It wasn’t worth the $140+ we each shelled out for our (not very good) seats, I think the most expensive concert I’ve ever attended.
I’ve got a couple more outdoor concerts lined up in the coming weeks, namely Bonnie Raitt with Lucinda Williams and then Billy Strings, both at Pier Six in Baltimore. Larry wasn’t interested so I’ll be going on my own. I’ve also registered for a free show in Columbia next week by go-go veterans Rare Essence…my first way overdue go-go show. We’ll see if any of these shows have the spark of energy I’ve started to look for from concerts. If they don’t, I may be cutting back on this expensive habit.
The January 6 Committee got off to a credible start in their first two sessions. They seem to be making a dent in perceptions that Trump may actually be guilty of criminal offenses. Whether the Justice Department follows through to actually indict him is a separate question, as would be the outcome of any such indictment. Two impeachments certainly haven’t slowed the man down, and in the primary elections so far a fair number of his election fraud supporters have been winning. The Big Lie goes on.
Covid seems to be quieting down locally but edging upward in nationwide and global cases again. Barb welcomed a number of co-workers back to the office this week, if only for a day or two at a time. Howard County is back in the Medium Risk category, and Maryland overall is Low Risk.
Numbers:
- Global cases: 537M; Daily average: 524K; Total Deaths: 6,309,000
- USA cases: 85.7M; Daily average: 106K; Total Deaths: 1,009,000
- Maryland cases: 1,113,000; Deaths: 14,694 (“Low Risk”) per CovidActNow.org
- 26 states “Low Risk” (Wisconsin, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Michigan, Tennessee…)
- 17 states “Medium Risk” (Alaska, New Mexico, California, North Carolina, Oregon…)
- 10 states “High Risk” (Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Wyoming, Colorado, Florida…)
Barb has started to notice that we have no vacation plans for the summer or the rest of the year, for that matter. I’ve certainly noticed. Allie will be coming here for a week in August which we’re looking forward to. Barb has her pool outings planned for each weekend through Labor Day which keeps her happy. I’m starting to climb the walls a little bit not having anything to plan for, but will make do for a while. Allie and I are slated to go to Colorado for Thanksgiving, with Barb staying home to watch the cats. We may hypothetically go see Allie in Boston in October for birthdays but nothing’s been discussed. I’ve started to daydream about a road trip to Pittsburgh and Toronto just for somewhere to go that I’ve hardly seen, but who knows if that will happen. I’m also contemplating one or two-day trips to Mount Vernon and Montpelier at some point for a further look into Washington and Madison. But nothing concrete yet.
June 20
We had a most excellent weekend highlighted by a surprise visit home by Allie for Father’s Day. She called on Thursday evening to see if she could come down the next night. We said sure and she booked flights using her Southwest points so it didn’t cost much of anything. I picked her up at the airport late Friday night and she spent Saturday and Sunday with us before returning late Sunday night. It was a quick visit but a lot of fun. She spent two days at the pool with Barb, we all attended the Fords’ 50th anniversary party together (more below), we had an easy Father’s Day dinner of Costco ribs, wings, shrimp salad, jazzed up potato salad, fresh tomatoes and basil. All quite delightful. I had a tennis match on Sunday morning and managed to win in a tiebreaker. Plus, the weather this weekend was glorious, in the 70s to low 80s with low humidity – the best you can get around here.
Our neighbors, Janice and Ron Ford, threw a blowout 50th anniversary party for about 100 family, friends and neighbors with a tent and catered dinner in their backyard. It was basically a wedding reception, 50 years later and it was delightful. The weather was perfect, the wine and beer flowed freely, there was a DJ for music and dancing, a nice mix of people and plenty of delicious food. What more could you want? Barb and Allie did some chair dancing to Abba’s Dancing Queen and later got on the dancefloor themselves. The event ran from 4pm – 8pm so we could stagger home safely and fall asleep in front of various TVs. All was good.
And on top of all that, Monday (today) is the Juneteenth holiday for Barb and Allie so they get an extra day to rest and recuperate. And the weather is still perfect. Barb is off to have lunch with some friends then will get one more afternoon at the pool. I will mow the lawn when I finish this post. It’s pretty much a perfect weekend.
One of the reasons Allie was available for a spur of the moment visit was that her boyfriend of the moment, Albert, spent several days at the US Open near Boston, then Allie discovered that most of her other friends were doing Fathers’ Day things with their own families so she was lonely and a little homesick. Our gain. I’m glad it all worked out. It was a very fine weekend and the best Father’s Day in quite a while.
I don’t feel the urge to delve into the state of the outside world at the moment. It’s the usual mess, with a lot of things not quite right but nothing overwhelmingly terrible at the moment. My immediate loved ones are reasonably happy and healthy and we just had a fine weekend together so why push for more than that? Existential joy, indeed.
June 24
I had some unexpected excitement last night, which serves me right for trying to get out of the house now and then. I decided to attend a free go-go concert at the Color Burst Park in the new Merriweather District in Columbia. I went with the plan of picking up dinner from Dok Khao Thai Eatery which has become our favorite Thai place in the area. I originally wanted to get there early but was delayed by watching the January 6 Committee Hearings which started at 3pm that day. So I arrived in the area around 6:30pm, just as the music was getting started. I was directed to park in the multistory Symphony Woods Garage and wound my way to the 6th floor for an open spot. I deliberately parked in a far corner where there were no other cars so I could be near some stairs.
I walked down to the park and enjoyed the go-go beats of veteran band Rare Essence for a short while before placing my to-go order at the restaurant. I figured I’d stay for an hour or so to listen, then pick up my food and meet Barb at home for dinner. I found a nice Adirondack chair at the rear of the park to settle into for about 10 minutes before I noticed some smoke rising behind the band. At first, I thought it might be coming from the Busboys and Poets restaurant just behind the stage, but then I realized that it might be coming from the parking garage. In the couple of minutes it took to walk toward the garage, the smoke became darker and thicker…and was definitely from the garage and the upper floors where I parked in the far right corner of these photos. I had no way to tell if my car was burning up but it was definitely close to whatever was going on up there.
It turns out the fire station for this new Merriweather District is in the bottom of this garage on the opposite corner, so trucks and crews were already at work from the far side of the building as I got there. More fire trucks came quickly as the fire seemed to spread around the upper floors. We could hear occasional bangs but it was impossible to tell if it was the sound of cars exploding or other noise made by the fire fighters. The band played on throughout all this, providing a somewhat surreal urban backbeat to the whole scene.
There was no panic and only a few people scurried around visibly worried. Most people stayed in the park enjoying the band. The music eventually stopped for a couple of minutes to announce that people would not be permitted into the garage until the fire department gave an all clear…then the band cranked back up to cheers from the crowd. There was little else to do but enjoy the music while we waited.
I was anxious but sanguine. If my car was burned up there was nothing I could do about it. At least I knew it was well insured and there was nothing especially valuable inside at the moment. My biggest worry was having to contact Barb and try to explain where to come to pick me up if it came to that. Better to stay calm and see what happened. I texted her to say I’d be late with dinner and she replied it was fine because she was still at work.
I stayed near the garage to keep an eye on things and was not encouraged to see a ladder truck extend its basket with a fireman to the corner near my car. But the fireman never hosed water from the ladder and he seemed to be looking more toward the middle of the garage so maybe that was a good sign, though it was still mighty near where I parked. After 30 minutes or so the smoke began to clear and things seemed more or less under control. I watched as a dozen or more firemen tramped down the stairs lugging loads of heavy equipment – oxygen tanks, large fans, jaws of death and other paraphernalia. I hadn’t seen them run up the stairs but realized that’s what they must have done. They shed their heavy coats near the trucks, looking smoky and exhausted. There were several more trucks and dozens more firefighters on the other side of the building as well. I was grateful for all their efforts and for well-equipped Howard County emergency services. Our tax dollars well spent.
We still weren’t allowed into the garage, however. After another 30 minutes, they started to let people into the garage to retrieve cars…from the 5th floor or below. My car was on the 6th floor. I was able to walk up to the landing of the 6th floor stairs and was extremely relieved to see my car intact near the stairway…but I couldn’t see anything else and the firemen wouldn’t let me go any further. They said it would be another 30 minutes or more before we would be allowed on the 6th floor.
The concert ended on schedule at 8pm and most people were able to leave with only a minor traffic delay. No one seemed particularly concerned about the dozen or so fire trucks and emergency vehicles in the area. Par for the course, I guess. I retrieved my Thai dinner from the restaurant and went up to the 5th floor to wait. There were a handful of other people there. One lady was very worried about her Lexus but I guess they told her enough that she calmed down. There was one other fellow that got very agitated that the guard wouldn’t let him go up and sit in his car. He ranted for about 10 minutes and things got tense, but he eventually relented and calmed down.
It took about 45 minutes for them to actually let us up to the 6th floor and the scene was surreal. The garage lights were shut off on that floor so it was very dark except for some emergency flood lights the firemen set up. Six vehicles were completely burned out, just gray shells with busted windows, one still smoldering. They were frighteningly close to my car, just the other side of the parking aisle not 20 feet away. But my car and two others on my side of the aisle seemed fine. It seems we were just plain lucky to have parked upwind of the cars that burned.
My car was still blocked by a fire hose and another car to my left so I stood by for another 15 minutes minutes as the firemen took insurance photos and dribbled water on one of the still smoldering vehicles. I never did see any of the owners of the actual burned vehicles. I guess somehow they got word from some other source and were already dealing with insurance claims or whatever. I also never heard any definitive discussion of what caused the fire in the first place, or which vehicle was first. That investigation seemed to be ongoing.
It wasn’t until they finally moved the hose and I began driving away that I started to realize just how close I’d come to…well, if not disaster at least a much more inconvenient evening. It was 9pm when I left, about an hour after I’d planned. Barb had gotten home just before me; we were able to share our dinner at a more or less normal too-late time.
We were all lucky that no one was injured in the whole debacle. I was just dumb lucky to have parked in what had been a very empty area to be near a stairwell, and dumb lucky the wind was blowing in the right direction. It’s not something I want to have to think about when I park in a multi-story garage, but I guess it’s something that will be on my mind from now on.
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