"Outside a dog a book is man's best friend, inside a dog it is too dark to read!" -Groucho Marx========="The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid." -Jane Austen========="I don’t believe in the kind of magic in my books. But I do believe something very magical can happen when you read a good book."-JK Rowling========"I spend a lot of time reading." -Bill Gates=========“Ahhh. Bed, book, kitten, sandwich. All one needed in life, really.” -Jacqueline Kelly=========

Saturday, May 9, 2020

Sunday Salon and Coronavirus Diary, May 10

Happy Mother's Day!

Her name is Shirley,
but we call her Mom, for short.
Ninety-one years young!

Mom: her other name
is true love--- personified.
We treasure you now.

 
Our first rose to bloom this year. Aptly named Ketchup and Mustard.

Weather: Gorgeous and almost hot. We've done a lot of gardening and just hanging out together in the yard.

Coronavirus---the bad and the good

1. Bad: States are opening up too soon and are allowing the virus to spread. In Florida and Georgia people are arriving from out-of-state to visit these beaches since their states are still closed. Then they will go home and we know what happens next.
Good: There is this guy who dresses like the Grim Reaper and stalks the beaches reminding people what they are doing. Who knows maybe a few people will stop and think.


Maybe they'll listen the to Grim Reaper, since they haven't listened to the message in Jurassic Park and the sequels.


Or maybe authorities should just let them self-destruct.


2. Bad: The President and Vice-President keep going places without face masks, saying they are safe and don't need to wear them. Trump was quoted as saying he wore his face mask backstage before going out to the floor of the face mask factory he was touring. Backstage? What? Does he think he is on a reality TV show playing role of the President?
Good: OK, I can't think of anything good about the poor role models our leaders are, but I thought this cartoon was funny.
3. Bad: School is canceled for the rest of the school year and parents are having to teach them at home or at least make sure that they do their on-line school work.
Good: Maybe now, finally, parents will understand how hard it is for teachers to teach a class of thirty+ students at one time and will quit blaming all social ills on schools and teachers.


4. Bad: We're all quarantined and stuck at home.
Good: Parents, children, and dogs are everywhere in my neighborhood. I've never seen so many families out and about: walking, biking, skating, gardening, playing, chalk-drawing, playing games. We even had a few little fairies grace our neighborhood trees with hanging god's-eyes. They are everywhere and such a happy little reminder of loving- kindness.


5. Bad: We can't get together for worship, meetings, dinners, or other gatherings. There is always Zoom meetings, which are a poor substitute but better than nothing.
Good: At least we get to see other people during a Zoom meeting and then, when it is over, we all say goodbye, which if you've ever noticed is a lot like this Laurel and Hardy sketch.




6. Bad: Society and the economy are now in the toilet. When will we get back to normal?
Good: Maybe getting back to "normal" shouldn't be the goal. Our environment and climate are experiencing unparalleled corrections since our use of fossil fuels is down this year by 4-8%. BBC News. This pandemic should give us a moment to stop and think about how we want to live going forward. I love this quote by author Arundhati Roy.:


And this inspiring thought:


7. Bad: Being at home is so boring. There are only so many closets and drawers that need cleaning out.
Good: We have time to clean out those little hidey-holes where we stash our junk. Plus time to read, draw, do puzzles, play games. Though I am reading less for some odd reason I can't explain, I am still reading and working lots of jigsaw puzzles. I just finished my tenth puzzle. Ha!

8. Bad: I'm not reading as much as usual.
Good: I am spending more time writing these thrilling coronavirus diaries. In case you missed my mid-week diary, I highly recommend that you go back and read it. It is probably my best so far, but who's bragging? Check it out here.



And I'm sure you are wondering what Fred and George are doing this week:

George is trying to break into the bathroom when his mistress shut him out.

Fred emerges from under the bed while George looks on, a prime place to play


Stay home. Wear a mask when you go out. Wash your hands lots. This coronavius is not a hoax.

-Anne

11 comments:

  1. It's definitely not a hoax, although the heat might help curb its spread. I like your bad and good take on this. For every negative, there is a positive, if we just look for it. Sometimes that's hard.

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    Replies
    1. Our Zoom book club meeting didn't end with a long goodbye like in this sketch . It ended with a 'Poof".

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  2. I plan on self-isolating for a while after things open. We are opening very slowly with lots of restrictions which is fine by me.
    We will see a second, and worse, round of this pandemic.
    Love the ZOOM mtg.

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  3. Beautifully written. You are right: there are bad and good aspects of every part of this. Our state began opening up last week. I'm terribly worried about all those people who showed up at Galveston last weekend. I wish we had knowledgable leadership. It's very frustrating to see the president and vice-president show up places without masks.

    I wish we could think of a more creative way to measure our country than with the unemployment rate and the stock market. This would be a great time to institute a new series of measures, including gap between richest and poorest people, ability of the poor to pay bills and save for the future, amount of time parents are able to be with their children, racial equality, environmental quality, educational quality, and more.

    Thank you for the humor. Stay well and keep working those jigsaw puzzles.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Beautifully written. You are right: there are bad and good aspects of every part of this. Our state began opening up last week. I'm terribly worried about all those people who showed up at Galveston last weekend. I wish we had knowledgable leadership. It's very frustrating to see the president and vice-president show up places without masks.

    I wish we could think of a more creative way to measure our country than with the unemployment rate and the stock market. This would be a great time to institute a new series of measures, including gap between richest and poorest people, ability of the poor to pay bills and save for the future, amount of time parents are able to be with their children, racial equality, environmental quality, educational quality, and more.

    Thank you for the humor. Stay well and keep working those jigsaw puzzles.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love these posts! That grim reaper guy on the beach is great. And that quote about "my kids are not a joy to teach" totally made me laugh because I work in an elementary school and know well some children that would apply to. Hope you have a safe and happy week. :D

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  6. What a great and balanced post. I love the Grim Reaper and your cats are adorable. We have 2 and one is constantly opening and closing doors - especially annoying at 5:30 a.m. Have a good week Anne.

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  7. OMG, the car window is awesome. I saw that Grim Reaper on YouTube. I think he’s hilarious and hopefully encourages people to stay home. I hope you have a good week!

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  8. I love your COVID updates! And I am so with you on Trump and Pence going maskless. What idiots. Nothing like setting a bad example for those states that are starting to open up. I am no scientist, but I know that more exposure means more cases.

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  9. Loved your pics and memes throughout this post - it's good to find the humour in all this :-)
    My state - NSW - has just had 24 hrs with no new covid-19 cases. We know it's not over, but golly, it feels like we might be on the home run.
    The Covid Chronicles #6

    PS What do you think of the new changes to blogger back stage? I'm thinking about writing a housekeeping post about them after I've worked with them a little longer...?

    ReplyDelete

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