A small story to be added to my "Tales of Downtown" series.
The Husband and I have been doing our very best to get some badly needed fresh air on a daily basis during these cloistered times. We live in a loft apartment that doesn't have a balcony. The only outdoor space in our building is a fabulous rooftop patio that was, until very recently, closed due to the pandemic as was all common space in our condo. As such, taking a walk around the neighbourhood or down to the lake has been important in ways that I simply cannot describe to those of you fortunate enough to have backyards or patios. I am not complaining, just merely stating a fact.
We often combine our walks with other small errands that can be accomplished at the tail end of the sojourn. We might run into the local fruit market for a container of blueberries or the toy store for a new jigsaw puzzle. We only purchase that which we can carry between the two of us and without using a cart. Today, we stopped at Shopper's Drug Mart for a few essentials. (Read: chocolate and Diet Coke)
As we were returning from the store, we encountered one of the regular street people who reside in our neighbourhood. This fellow is a pleasant enough guy, very polite, and usually is just pan-handling for a few coins in order to get his breakfast or a coffee. One of the forgotten side-effects of this weird time in which we are living is that very few people are carrying cash with them any more. Nobody wants to have contact with money if they can avoid it and as such, people like my buddy on the street are really suffering. You can't very well swipe him your phone or credit card. The Husband remarked recently that he hasn't carried cash in his pocket since March and hasn't been to a bank machine since we returned from the Southern Home. Everything is touchless and non-contact right now. More often than not, I don't have anything to give him because the only things I carry these days are a mask and my phone. Today, he caught us coming home from Shoppers so when he asked for something to eat, I reached into the bag and pulled out a chocolate bar. Here is our exchange verbatim as The Husband is my witness.
Man: Can I trouble you for a few coins so that I can get something to eat?
Me: I'm sorry but I don't have any money but wait....(this is me rummaging through the Shoppers bag and pulling out a bar of Cadbury dark chocolate.)
Me: Here you go.
Man: Oh...a chocolate bar. Oh...it's dark. Don't you have milk chocolate?
Me: (Apologizing) I'm sorry. It's all that I have. Next time, I'll remember that you like milk chocolate.
Man: Ok. If it's all you have, thank you.
We laughed a bit about the discerning palate of our friend but in all seriousness, this is a real problem in cities with a homeless issue. As we move into a solely cashless society, how will we be able to care for our most vulnerable if we don't take steps to physically put ourselves out for them? Sending a few coins their way will no longer be the "very least we can do". It is fast becoming a non-option. I am going to start carrying around granola bars and juice boxes so that a few hungry people can have the dignity of a small meal because this new cashless world is excluding them. Maybe, I'll take him into Timmie's next time for a doughnut and coffee? But it does remove a certain amount of dignity from him in that he can't buy it for himself.
Every day, I hear my own complaints about isolation or boredom. Every day, I hear others describe the difficulties they have faced during this very weird time. Every single one of them is valid. Every person's pain is real. We are all going through something and all of it matters. Today, I saw somebody else's suffering and it was up close and personal. I'll try to remember that the next time I'm lamenting my situation.
Showing posts with label pandemic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pandemic. Show all posts
Sunday, 19 July 2020
Friday, 8 May 2020
Things I Never Want to Hear About Again Post-CoVid
I haven't written publicly for a while because...well...I have had absolutely nothing to add to the discourse. This is what happens when every day becomes like every other day. A lack of even the most basic human interaction, outside of one's nearest and dearest, results in homogeny of thought and experience, leading to a total lack of creativity. I was keeping a personal journal for a while but I discovered that every day mimicked the previous ones, so I stopped. Yes, I have been playing music and yes, I have been baking far too much. (The sourdough experiments could only happen with a ton of time on my hands.) I have exercised every day because it is important for both my mental health as well as my physical, but when the boredom sets in, it can be excruciating. There will be many lessons learned from this time in quarantine, some positive and some not so, but this morning, while on the treadmill, I was giving some hard thought to the many societal things and ideas that I NEVER want to hear about again. So...without further explanation...
Things I never want to hear about ever again in the aftermath of CoVid-19
1. Science is subjective. AW.....hell no! Science is OBJECTIVE. You don't get to decide you don't like something scientific simply because it doesn't fit your personal narrative. This virus exists. It doesn't stop existing because you don't want it to. Magical thinking and positive affirmations won't make it go away, scientific research and medical developments will. Science doesn't offer choices, it offers absolutes. Which leads me to...
2. Vaccinations aren't necessary for disease control. FUCK, YES THEY ARE! Vaccinations, while not perfect nor always one-hundred percent effective, have successfully eradicated or controlled many of the world's pandemics of the last two-hundred years. Polio, influenza, measles, mumps, smallpox, and chickenpox have all be held in check by, yup you guessed it, VACCINATIONS. For those morons out there who are still saying that they won't accept a CoVid vaccine for themselves or their children when it becomes available (Baruch Ha-Shem), I know of a leper colony to which we can ship you all. The only people who can actually refuse vaccinations are those who are immuno-compromised. Everyone else? Seriously. Stay the fuck out of my life if you don't vaccinate. I want nothing to do with you.
3. Smaller government is the best government. Yeah...no it isn't. This is exactly the right moment for governments to intervene and to help. This is why governments exist, to serve the citizens. Not just the taxpayers, the citizens. From the very wealthy to the homeless, all citizens deserve the protection of their governments during this pandemic. While they haven't gotten it all right and there will be plenty of time to dissect and criticize the responses by the various levels, I think most Canadians are very grateful right now for the coordinated response by all of our government leaders. Watching the extremely right-wing Premier of Ontario praise the work of the left-of-centre Prime Minister has been jarring and comforting all at the same time. Add the mayor into that equation and it is obvious that good government is necessary for the health and well-being of a functioning society. I never again want to hear this quote from Grover Norquist, "I'm not in favour of abolishing the government. I just want to shrink it down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub." Which leads me to...
4. A businessperson is a better leader than any other. UM...NOPE! I'm not saying that there isn't a businessperson who couldn't be a good political leader, but I have yet to encounter that person in the real world. Business people tend to view everything in terms of a black and red monetary bottom line and while that is a big part of a functioning government, it isn't the ONLY thing. Government leaders who have succeeded during this nightmare are those who have demonstrated levels of empathy, sympathy, and kindness. They haven't talked of sacrificing lives for the sake of monetary gain, even while they acknowledge the horrific economic crisis facing us all. They haven't beancounted acceptable levels of death. They haven't called the sick and dying "warriors" in service to the economic health of their countries. The best leaders, even those whose instincts run counter to empathy and are in political peril by the economic catastrophe, have been those who have shown care and balance towards their citizens on both the physical and economic scale.
5. The arts are superfluous to the education of our children. Seriously? What the actual FUCK? I am in constant amazement and awe of the tremendous creativity and beauty being provided right now by the world's artists. Live, online, and free-of-charge concerts are given by major recording artists every day. Museums and art galleries have opened their online doors to virtual tours. Cooking, knitting, sewing, painting, lectures, singing, and music lessons can all be found online. And every single person I know has either partaken or shared in at least some of these offerings. The scientists will bring us back to physical health but it is the artists who will lead us back to mental health.
6. Minimum wage is plenty enough to live on. It never was and it still isn't. This argument has been laid bare by the grocery chains that have given their employees "hazard pay" to keep working, even when it endangered their own health. "Pandemic pay" is already being rolled back in some American jurisdictions, even as grocery chains will be one of the few sectors to report record profits. Nurses, hospital cleaners, garbage collectors, teachers, transit operators, grocery clerks, and delivery people aren't interested in being called heroes. Most are simply doing their jobs. It is time for us to acknowledge them and pay them a living wage.
7. Child care is too expensive to be universal. It's too costly NOT to be. Ask any parent right now who is trying to juggle child care with work while at home. Ask any parent who is trying to engage their kids with a modicum of schoolwork, all while engaging in their own Zoom meetings. A functioning and healthy economy, whatever that looks like in a post-pandemic world, is going to need a universal childcare plan.
8. Fake News. There actually is a level of fake news, but it isn't coming from where many people think it is. Fake news is media that is exploited by any leader who is trying to serve his/her own interests. When these leaders shout fake news at the mainstream media for reporting what is real and honest, that is the real imposter. News operations that do not effectively question, research, probe, and demand answers from our elected leaders are not doing their jobs but rather are acting as propaganda arms for them. Governments that are trying to hide and underreport the numbers from this pandemic and media organizations that are enabling them are truly abhorrent. Fake news is a fallacy that has been twisted so badly that many people are beyond their own capabilities in discerning it when it arrives. The gaslighting is real and has been abetted by bad news actors. CNN is not fake news. The National Post is not fake news. The Toronto Star is not fake news.
9. Death Tolls. Holy Crap. I am simply exhausted by the numbers. I can't listen anymore. They are being reported on like dots on a graph. Statistics in an equation. Every single one of those numbers is a person. A PERSON. People with families, friends, jobs, interests, and histories. PEOPLE. Older people, younger people, people of colour, women, men, artists, moms, dads, brothers, sisters, wives, husbands, bankers, drivers, athletes....PEOPLE. The numbers matter because we need to get a grip on how pervasive this scrouge is but my God...the people.
I will leave number ten open on this list for you all to fill in. Something that you never want to hear about again in the post-CoVid world. That world is going to look very different than what we are used to. There will be changes and there will be needed accommodations. It isn't going to be easy and it isn't going to be quick. I will be working from a starting premise that we are all going through it together and we are all facing our own realities. Everybody's experience is different and everybody has different needs. That said, it will help if we can agree on a series of basic facts like those above. How we get to that new reality will require a massive effort on the part of each and every single one of us. I'm counting on you.
Things I never want to hear about ever again in the aftermath of CoVid-19
1. Science is subjective. AW.....hell no! Science is OBJECTIVE. You don't get to decide you don't like something scientific simply because it doesn't fit your personal narrative. This virus exists. It doesn't stop existing because you don't want it to. Magical thinking and positive affirmations won't make it go away, scientific research and medical developments will. Science doesn't offer choices, it offers absolutes. Which leads me to...
2. Vaccinations aren't necessary for disease control. FUCK, YES THEY ARE! Vaccinations, while not perfect nor always one-hundred percent effective, have successfully eradicated or controlled many of the world's pandemics of the last two-hundred years. Polio, influenza, measles, mumps, smallpox, and chickenpox have all be held in check by, yup you guessed it, VACCINATIONS. For those morons out there who are still saying that they won't accept a CoVid vaccine for themselves or their children when it becomes available (Baruch Ha-Shem), I know of a leper colony to which we can ship you all. The only people who can actually refuse vaccinations are those who are immuno-compromised. Everyone else? Seriously. Stay the fuck out of my life if you don't vaccinate. I want nothing to do with you.
3. Smaller government is the best government. Yeah...no it isn't. This is exactly the right moment for governments to intervene and to help. This is why governments exist, to serve the citizens. Not just the taxpayers, the citizens. From the very wealthy to the homeless, all citizens deserve the protection of their governments during this pandemic. While they haven't gotten it all right and there will be plenty of time to dissect and criticize the responses by the various levels, I think most Canadians are very grateful right now for the coordinated response by all of our government leaders. Watching the extremely right-wing Premier of Ontario praise the work of the left-of-centre Prime Minister has been jarring and comforting all at the same time. Add the mayor into that equation and it is obvious that good government is necessary for the health and well-being of a functioning society. I never again want to hear this quote from Grover Norquist, "I'm not in favour of abolishing the government. I just want to shrink it down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub." Which leads me to...
4. A businessperson is a better leader than any other. UM...NOPE! I'm not saying that there isn't a businessperson who couldn't be a good political leader, but I have yet to encounter that person in the real world. Business people tend to view everything in terms of a black and red monetary bottom line and while that is a big part of a functioning government, it isn't the ONLY thing. Government leaders who have succeeded during this nightmare are those who have demonstrated levels of empathy, sympathy, and kindness. They haven't talked of sacrificing lives for the sake of monetary gain, even while they acknowledge the horrific economic crisis facing us all. They haven't beancounted acceptable levels of death. They haven't called the sick and dying "warriors" in service to the economic health of their countries. The best leaders, even those whose instincts run counter to empathy and are in political peril by the economic catastrophe, have been those who have shown care and balance towards their citizens on both the physical and economic scale.
5. The arts are superfluous to the education of our children. Seriously? What the actual FUCK? I am in constant amazement and awe of the tremendous creativity and beauty being provided right now by the world's artists. Live, online, and free-of-charge concerts are given by major recording artists every day. Museums and art galleries have opened their online doors to virtual tours. Cooking, knitting, sewing, painting, lectures, singing, and music lessons can all be found online. And every single person I know has either partaken or shared in at least some of these offerings. The scientists will bring us back to physical health but it is the artists who will lead us back to mental health.
6. Minimum wage is plenty enough to live on. It never was and it still isn't. This argument has been laid bare by the grocery chains that have given their employees "hazard pay" to keep working, even when it endangered their own health. "Pandemic pay" is already being rolled back in some American jurisdictions, even as grocery chains will be one of the few sectors to report record profits. Nurses, hospital cleaners, garbage collectors, teachers, transit operators, grocery clerks, and delivery people aren't interested in being called heroes. Most are simply doing their jobs. It is time for us to acknowledge them and pay them a living wage.
7. Child care is too expensive to be universal. It's too costly NOT to be. Ask any parent right now who is trying to juggle child care with work while at home. Ask any parent who is trying to engage their kids with a modicum of schoolwork, all while engaging in their own Zoom meetings. A functioning and healthy economy, whatever that looks like in a post-pandemic world, is going to need a universal childcare plan.
8. Fake News. There actually is a level of fake news, but it isn't coming from where many people think it is. Fake news is media that is exploited by any leader who is trying to serve his/her own interests. When these leaders shout fake news at the mainstream media for reporting what is real and honest, that is the real imposter. News operations that do not effectively question, research, probe, and demand answers from our elected leaders are not doing their jobs but rather are acting as propaganda arms for them. Governments that are trying to hide and underreport the numbers from this pandemic and media organizations that are enabling them are truly abhorrent. Fake news is a fallacy that has been twisted so badly that many people are beyond their own capabilities in discerning it when it arrives. The gaslighting is real and has been abetted by bad news actors. CNN is not fake news. The National Post is not fake news. The Toronto Star is not fake news.
9. Death Tolls. Holy Crap. I am simply exhausted by the numbers. I can't listen anymore. They are being reported on like dots on a graph. Statistics in an equation. Every single one of those numbers is a person. A PERSON. People with families, friends, jobs, interests, and histories. PEOPLE. Older people, younger people, people of colour, women, men, artists, moms, dads, brothers, sisters, wives, husbands, bankers, drivers, athletes....PEOPLE. The numbers matter because we need to get a grip on how pervasive this scrouge is but my God...the people.
I will leave number ten open on this list for you all to fill in. Something that you never want to hear about again in the post-CoVid world. That world is going to look very different than what we are used to. There will be changes and there will be needed accommodations. It isn't going to be easy and it isn't going to be quick. I will be working from a starting premise that we are all going through it together and we are all facing our own realities. Everybody's experience is different and everybody has different needs. That said, it will help if we can agree on a series of basic facts like those above. How we get to that new reality will require a massive effort on the part of each and every single one of us. I'm counting on you.
Wednesday, 18 March 2020
Musings From Self-Isolation-Day 2
Day 2
I've been thinking today about how this world crisis has offered us an odd paradox. As we watch the world shut down bit by bit and our personal interactions dwindle to almost nothing, there is a fear that our forced isolations will become permanent and that we will lose our connections with our closest of friends and even the strangers among us. And yet, over the past few days, I have felt more connected than ever through the magic of our virtual world.
The Husband and I discussed this during our long drive over the weekend. Imagine that this plague had hit even twenty years ago. Imagine being forced into isolation and the only communication available is your telephone. No Facetime. No photographs. No chats. Now, imagine it had occurred one-hundred years ago. Telephones were limited, mail might have been downsized due to the direct contact, and telegrams were scary and expensive. We live in an amazing era. An era that is so global in scope, that a virus can attack an entire planet in a matter of months but is also so global in scope, that we can sing with nine-thousand people from all over the world on the internet in a mass choir gathering without ever leaving our homes. It may not replace sitting next to your friends in the alto section but it does offer a cooling respite from the separation.
My GUCI friends will remember when our teacher Bonia Shur (z"l) came to camp one summer and taught us, in his own unique way, the valuable lesson of "everything is connected". We laughed and goofed around, thinking it was trite drivel and bullshit philosophy but today it is more important than ever. We are all connected and that connection is now critical to our very survival. The person who stays home is perhaps saving the life of the senior citizen in a nursing home. The person who frolics on the beaches of South Florida is potentially endangering the health of the child with cancer. We can no longer live our lives for ourselves. We must think of every person on the planet as a potential victim and we must do everything we possibly can to prevent the spread. Everything is connected.
Today, my synagogue's weekly Talmud class grew from an average of about five attendees to a whopping seventeen souls, all online. Connection! (People have more flexible work schedules.) Our continuing conversation of Tractate Berachot led us to our current situation. The idea of punishment and reward was on the table and the question was asked, "where does God fit in?" I suggested that rather than looking for theological answers of why The Divine Spirit would let such a calamity occur, we should instead look for sparks of the divinity in our everyday interactions. It reminded me of the Joan Osborne song, What If God Was One of Us. Maybe we are seeing God in the cashier who paid for the elderly woman's toilet paper. Maybe God is in my friend who drove out of her way to deliver groceries to us. Maybe there is a spark of God in my Sister/Cousin who is nursing sick patients through this virus without once complaining or expressing her own fears. These are godly acts and through them, we have been afforded the great gift of connectedness.
This isolation is only beginning. There will be difficult days ahead and I am certain that I won't always be able to wax philosophy and Talmud but will instead be bitter and angry. I'm sure that there will be days when I rail at stupidity and swear uncontrollably. Today, I am merely grateful for my internet access, my friends, my family, my music, and my communities. Everything is connected.
Wash your hands. Don't touch your face. Be kind. Stay healthy.
***Here are the lyrics and video for What If God Was One of Us.
If God had a name what would it be?
And would you call it to his face?
If you were faced with Him in all His glory
What would you ask if you had just one question?
And yeah, yeah, God is great
Yeah, yeah, God is good
And yeah, yeah, yeah-yeah-yeah
What if God was one of us?
Just a slob like one of us
Just a stranger on the bus
Tryin' to make his way home?
If God had a face what would it look like?
And would you want to see if, seeing meant
That you would have to believe in things like heaven
And in Jesus and the saints, and all the prophets?
And yeah, yeah, God is great
Yeah, yeah, God is good
And yeah, yeah, yeah-yeah-yeah
What if God was one of us?
Just a slob like one of us
Just a stranger on the bus
Tryin' to make his way home?
Just tryin' to make his way…
I've been thinking today about how this world crisis has offered us an odd paradox. As we watch the world shut down bit by bit and our personal interactions dwindle to almost nothing, there is a fear that our forced isolations will become permanent and that we will lose our connections with our closest of friends and even the strangers among us. And yet, over the past few days, I have felt more connected than ever through the magic of our virtual world.
The Husband and I discussed this during our long drive over the weekend. Imagine that this plague had hit even twenty years ago. Imagine being forced into isolation and the only communication available is your telephone. No Facetime. No photographs. No chats. Now, imagine it had occurred one-hundred years ago. Telephones were limited, mail might have been downsized due to the direct contact, and telegrams were scary and expensive. We live in an amazing era. An era that is so global in scope, that a virus can attack an entire planet in a matter of months but is also so global in scope, that we can sing with nine-thousand people from all over the world on the internet in a mass choir gathering without ever leaving our homes. It may not replace sitting next to your friends in the alto section but it does offer a cooling respite from the separation.
My GUCI friends will remember when our teacher Bonia Shur (z"l) came to camp one summer and taught us, in his own unique way, the valuable lesson of "everything is connected". We laughed and goofed around, thinking it was trite drivel and bullshit philosophy but today it is more important than ever. We are all connected and that connection is now critical to our very survival. The person who stays home is perhaps saving the life of the senior citizen in a nursing home. The person who frolics on the beaches of South Florida is potentially endangering the health of the child with cancer. We can no longer live our lives for ourselves. We must think of every person on the planet as a potential victim and we must do everything we possibly can to prevent the spread. Everything is connected.
Today, my synagogue's weekly Talmud class grew from an average of about five attendees to a whopping seventeen souls, all online. Connection! (People have more flexible work schedules.) Our continuing conversation of Tractate Berachot led us to our current situation. The idea of punishment and reward was on the table and the question was asked, "where does God fit in?" I suggested that rather than looking for theological answers of why The Divine Spirit would let such a calamity occur, we should instead look for sparks of the divinity in our everyday interactions. It reminded me of the Joan Osborne song, What If God Was One of Us. Maybe we are seeing God in the cashier who paid for the elderly woman's toilet paper. Maybe God is in my friend who drove out of her way to deliver groceries to us. Maybe there is a spark of God in my Sister/Cousin who is nursing sick patients through this virus without once complaining or expressing her own fears. These are godly acts and through them, we have been afforded the great gift of connectedness.
This isolation is only beginning. There will be difficult days ahead and I am certain that I won't always be able to wax philosophy and Talmud but will instead be bitter and angry. I'm sure that there will be days when I rail at stupidity and swear uncontrollably. Today, I am merely grateful for my internet access, my friends, my family, my music, and my communities. Everything is connected.
Wash your hands. Don't touch your face. Be kind. Stay healthy.
***Here are the lyrics and video for What If God Was One of Us.
If God had a name what would it be?
And would you call it to his face?
If you were faced with Him in all His glory
What would you ask if you had just one question?
And yeah, yeah, God is great
Yeah, yeah, God is good
And yeah, yeah, yeah-yeah-yeah
What if God was one of us?
Just a slob like one of us
Just a stranger on the bus
Tryin' to make his way home?
If God had a face what would it look like?
And would you want to see if, seeing meant
That you would have to believe in things like heaven
And in Jesus and the saints, and all the prophets?
And yeah, yeah, God is great
Yeah, yeah, God is good
And yeah, yeah, yeah-yeah-yeah
What if God was one of us?
Just a slob like one of us
Just a stranger on the bus
Tryin' to make his way home?
Just tryin' to make his way…
Tuesday, 17 March 2020
Musings from Self-Isolation
Self-isolation Diary
Day 1
I thought that it might help my nerves to keep a log of my thoughts and ideas over the next two weeks of self-isolation. While I am in most ways an introvert and usually not really all that uncomfortable staying in my cocooned space, there is the sense that because I can't go out, I really want to go out. It's like the mantra to stop touching your face. How many of you really want to scratch your nose right now? C'mon. You know you do.
At this moment, I am sitting on shpilkes as I await the news that my parents' flight from Florida has arrived. The flight did leave on time and the good news is that they will be arriving home today. Thank you to everybody who has offered help to both them and us. While we were on the road yesterday, we had several offers of lodging from American friends along our route. While we obviously didn't take them up on it, I can't tell you how much it meant to both The Husband and me. "Wherever you go there is indeed always someone GUCI" and to our family in Cleveland, your call, while we were on the road, meant everything to us during what was an incredibly challenging time. Thank you doesn't seem nearly enough.
For those of you asking, the land border at the Peace Bridge in Buffalo was the quietest I have ever seen it. Yes, we travelled with NEXUS but most Canadians seem to be paying heed to the non-essential travel requests. Is it perfect? Probably not, but the border agent was a disembodied voice coming through a monitor and we never had a face to face contact. This was in stark contrast to the tollbooth agents in both West Virginia and New York state where not only were they ungloved and unmasked, they were fumbling with change. We told them to keep it and carried on. Yes, we were asked to self-isolate when we arrived and yes, we were asked about any symptoms. I realize that none of these measures are going to calm our frayed nerves but it was better than I expected.
America is so far behind the Canadian response that it is positively frightening. The president is a colossal moron and his ridiculous self-aggrandizing messaging of the last four weeks has gotten in the way of real action to help mitigate the spread. Watching his narcissistic press conferences and the bowing down of the sycophants to praise der leader has been positively nauseating. And the stupidity is contagious, at least in South Florida. People are selfishly hoarding supplies and yet, they are still heading to the malls, beaches, and restaurants. And...the lineups at gunshops are particularly unnerving. I worry about what might be coming in the next few weeks.
At this very moment, I am watching an update from the Ontario provincial health officials and the professionalism and accuracy of their updates and answers are in stark contrast with what I saw in the U.S. There isn't a single politician at the table and they are separated by the required social distance recommendations. Each person has their own microphone and the press is composed, polite, and asking follow up questions when needed. Again, compared to the squashed gathering around a single mic with the asshole-in-chief at the front is stunning. There are no handshakes, no elbow bumps, and no praising of any elected official. It is strictly a relaying of information and answering questions. It feels positively sane.
I am also going to say something that may shock my friends. I am heartened by the response, communication, and cooperation by every level of government. I am usually the first to criticize Justin Trudeau and his bullshit nonsense, Doug Ford and his minions of idiots, and Mayor John Tory and his incrementalism but I am wholly impressed by the response of all these men to do exactly as health officials are telling them. There is a lot of chatter on social media about the slow responses of our governments but I will take the calm exuded by these leaders over the shitstorm and political blame game that is happening to the south. Mistakes will be made. I'm certain of it. But, they are doing the best they can with the information given to them at any given hour. None of these men are acting as though their political careers or their egos matter more than the public good and for that, I am a grateful citizen. There is also a moratorium on stupidity. Every one of our leaders is letting science and medicine be their guide. It may not be perfect but it is sane.
There will be a great deal more to deal with over the coming weeks and our self-isolation is just beginning. It is difficult to imagine a Pesach without our big family seder but that is now a reality. It is my hope to try and figure out a way to connect us all for at least parts of it and I will be spending part of my downtime over the next few days to attempt to find some solutions.
For a few things to keep you busy over the next few days, I urge you to check out some of your favourite music artists on Facebook. Susan Werner is giving Facebook Live concerts every Sunday at 7:00pm until the crisis is over. The Indigo Girls are doing the same this Thursday evening. John Legend is also doing an unplugged Facebook Live. The Metropolitan Opera and some Broadway shows are doing online productions. Google them.
I have a librarian friend who is asking her Facebook list to share what they are reading. What a lovely idea! In order to help with isolation and mental health issues, synagogues, churches, and mosques are reaching out online to check in with their members. Using these resources can make an isolated person feel less alone and can help vulnerable individuals.
For now, I just want to thank everybody who has offered to buy us groceries, bring us toilet paper, making sure that we are healthy, and just reaching out. I will never again take my large family and circle of friends for granted. Love you all even though I can't hug you.
Wash your hands, don't touch your face, be kind, stay safe.
Day 1
I thought that it might help my nerves to keep a log of my thoughts and ideas over the next two weeks of self-isolation. While I am in most ways an introvert and usually not really all that uncomfortable staying in my cocooned space, there is the sense that because I can't go out, I really want to go out. It's like the mantra to stop touching your face. How many of you really want to scratch your nose right now? C'mon. You know you do.
At this moment, I am sitting on shpilkes as I await the news that my parents' flight from Florida has arrived. The flight did leave on time and the good news is that they will be arriving home today. Thank you to everybody who has offered help to both them and us. While we were on the road yesterday, we had several offers of lodging from American friends along our route. While we obviously didn't take them up on it, I can't tell you how much it meant to both The Husband and me. "Wherever you go there is indeed always someone GUCI" and to our family in Cleveland, your call, while we were on the road, meant everything to us during what was an incredibly challenging time. Thank you doesn't seem nearly enough.
For those of you asking, the land border at the Peace Bridge in Buffalo was the quietest I have ever seen it. Yes, we travelled with NEXUS but most Canadians seem to be paying heed to the non-essential travel requests. Is it perfect? Probably not, but the border agent was a disembodied voice coming through a monitor and we never had a face to face contact. This was in stark contrast to the tollbooth agents in both West Virginia and New York state where not only were they ungloved and unmasked, they were fumbling with change. We told them to keep it and carried on. Yes, we were asked to self-isolate when we arrived and yes, we were asked about any symptoms. I realize that none of these measures are going to calm our frayed nerves but it was better than I expected.
America is so far behind the Canadian response that it is positively frightening. The president is a colossal moron and his ridiculous self-aggrandizing messaging of the last four weeks has gotten in the way of real action to help mitigate the spread. Watching his narcissistic press conferences and the bowing down of the sycophants to praise der leader has been positively nauseating. And the stupidity is contagious, at least in South Florida. People are selfishly hoarding supplies and yet, they are still heading to the malls, beaches, and restaurants. And...the lineups at gunshops are particularly unnerving. I worry about what might be coming in the next few weeks.
At this very moment, I am watching an update from the Ontario provincial health officials and the professionalism and accuracy of their updates and answers are in stark contrast with what I saw in the U.S. There isn't a single politician at the table and they are separated by the required social distance recommendations. Each person has their own microphone and the press is composed, polite, and asking follow up questions when needed. Again, compared to the squashed gathering around a single mic with the asshole-in-chief at the front is stunning. There are no handshakes, no elbow bumps, and no praising of any elected official. It is strictly a relaying of information and answering questions. It feels positively sane.
I am also going to say something that may shock my friends. I am heartened by the response, communication, and cooperation by every level of government. I am usually the first to criticize Justin Trudeau and his bullshit nonsense, Doug Ford and his minions of idiots, and Mayor John Tory and his incrementalism but I am wholly impressed by the response of all these men to do exactly as health officials are telling them. There is a lot of chatter on social media about the slow responses of our governments but I will take the calm exuded by these leaders over the shitstorm and political blame game that is happening to the south. Mistakes will be made. I'm certain of it. But, they are doing the best they can with the information given to them at any given hour. None of these men are acting as though their political careers or their egos matter more than the public good and for that, I am a grateful citizen. There is also a moratorium on stupidity. Every one of our leaders is letting science and medicine be their guide. It may not be perfect but it is sane.
There will be a great deal more to deal with over the coming weeks and our self-isolation is just beginning. It is difficult to imagine a Pesach without our big family seder but that is now a reality. It is my hope to try and figure out a way to connect us all for at least parts of it and I will be spending part of my downtime over the next few days to attempt to find some solutions.
For a few things to keep you busy over the next few days, I urge you to check out some of your favourite music artists on Facebook. Susan Werner is giving Facebook Live concerts every Sunday at 7:00pm until the crisis is over. The Indigo Girls are doing the same this Thursday evening. John Legend is also doing an unplugged Facebook Live. The Metropolitan Opera and some Broadway shows are doing online productions. Google them.
I have a librarian friend who is asking her Facebook list to share what they are reading. What a lovely idea! In order to help with isolation and mental health issues, synagogues, churches, and mosques are reaching out online to check in with their members. Using these resources can make an isolated person feel less alone and can help vulnerable individuals.
For now, I just want to thank everybody who has offered to buy us groceries, bring us toilet paper, making sure that we are healthy, and just reaching out. I will never again take my large family and circle of friends for granted. Love you all even though I can't hug you.
Wash your hands, don't touch your face, be kind, stay safe.
Wednesday, 11 March 2020
A Plea From a Logical Germaphobe
So, a short post about this plague thing.
I am currently in the country below the 49th and as such, I need to say that the government, public health, and media response down here is severely lacking and hugely behind that of my home country. I am not for a minute suggesting that this is solely a political issue but the entirety of the health response has been retarded because of a lack of political will, and the narcissistic need for politicians rather than health experts to be the face of the crisis. I am grateful for the hard lessons that my city and country learned from the SARS outbreak and am watching a smart and measured response from afar and wishing it was happening here, toilet paper hoarding notwithstanding.
That said, there are some things that I really wish people would understand about me and people like me when they cavalierly post obviously well-meaning statistics and responses about not panicking. Here are a few thoughts on the subject and a few things I require from you, my friends. This is all being written in love and with the best of intentions.
I am a self-described germaphobe. I have been for years and have been a fastidious hand-washer long before it was fashionable. Ask anybody at my synagogue how I feel about hand-holding for our blessing of motzi and they will tell you of my aversion to this seemingly harmless custom and of my ubiquitous purse-sized bottle of Purell. I am also a buffet-avoiding individual and I am not impressed by pot-luck meals because I like to know how and where my food is being prepared and while I am not questioning anybody's individual cleanliness, this aversion is just part of my DNA. I am also considered to be in the high-risk medical category for this virus due to chronic asthma, so any normal common cold affects my lungs in a way that those who shrug off these illnesses simply cannot fathom. I also have dear people in my life--my parents, my mother-in-law, my other dad--who are similarly in the high-risk category due to their ages and chronic health conditions and I would very much like them to be protected.
While I am not in panic mode and I deeply resent those who suggest that I am, I am taking wise precautions to avoid exposure both for myself and my loved ones. But, I could really use a little help from my friends. Here are a few things that I need from you all.
1. Stop minimizing other people's true feelings of fear. This could involve maybe refraining from putting up memes and statistics showing that only twenty percent of cases will be difficult and whatever the morbidity rate might be on any given day. Every single one of those statistics is a person who has people who love them. The octogenarian who dies from this disease is no less a person than the forty-year-old.
2. Similarly, stop posting bullshit. If your posts are coming from anywhere except a reliable news source or health authority (and no...home healers or your friends who got their post from another friend aren't those) DON'T SHARE IT! I will block you forever if I see another post from some crappy homeopathic blog site.
3. Stop hoarding. I honestly don't understand the toilet paper thing but there are items that will definitely be required from people who might find themselves in quarantine, especially if those individuals live alone and don't have daily help. Your hoarding could mean somebody else's crisis.
4. Under the most ideal circumstance, everybody who is ill should stay home but let's not pretend that it is an option for all. Many people who don't work can't pay their rent and until our government guarantees paid sick leave for all people affected, there will be individuals out there who are sick. If you can help cover a shift for an ill co-worker or maybe help with some childcare for others, that would be a far sight better than criticizing online. We are in a time of true collective need. Let's help each other.
5. Understand that we are asking people to change their true selves. My father is a natural hugger. It is proving very difficult for him to change this habit. Let's cut people some slack.
6. Finally, we need to understand that this health crisis is changing hourly and we will all need to be flexible. That may mean changing long-standing plans, cancelling gatherings, and understanding when individuals just have to say no to attending. This isn't panic. It is common sense. Contingency plans are something we should all have.
Thank you, friends. I do appreciate your understanding and above all else...
WASH YOUR HANDS WITH SOAP AND WATER. A LOT. ALL THE TIME. FOREVER AND A DAY.
I am currently in the country below the 49th and as such, I need to say that the government, public health, and media response down here is severely lacking and hugely behind that of my home country. I am not for a minute suggesting that this is solely a political issue but the entirety of the health response has been retarded because of a lack of political will, and the narcissistic need for politicians rather than health experts to be the face of the crisis. I am grateful for the hard lessons that my city and country learned from the SARS outbreak and am watching a smart and measured response from afar and wishing it was happening here, toilet paper hoarding notwithstanding.
That said, there are some things that I really wish people would understand about me and people like me when they cavalierly post obviously well-meaning statistics and responses about not panicking. Here are a few thoughts on the subject and a few things I require from you, my friends. This is all being written in love and with the best of intentions.
I am a self-described germaphobe. I have been for years and have been a fastidious hand-washer long before it was fashionable. Ask anybody at my synagogue how I feel about hand-holding for our blessing of motzi and they will tell you of my aversion to this seemingly harmless custom and of my ubiquitous purse-sized bottle of Purell. I am also a buffet-avoiding individual and I am not impressed by pot-luck meals because I like to know how and where my food is being prepared and while I am not questioning anybody's individual cleanliness, this aversion is just part of my DNA. I am also considered to be in the high-risk medical category for this virus due to chronic asthma, so any normal common cold affects my lungs in a way that those who shrug off these illnesses simply cannot fathom. I also have dear people in my life--my parents, my mother-in-law, my other dad--who are similarly in the high-risk category due to their ages and chronic health conditions and I would very much like them to be protected.
While I am not in panic mode and I deeply resent those who suggest that I am, I am taking wise precautions to avoid exposure both for myself and my loved ones. But, I could really use a little help from my friends. Here are a few things that I need from you all.
1. Stop minimizing other people's true feelings of fear. This could involve maybe refraining from putting up memes and statistics showing that only twenty percent of cases will be difficult and whatever the morbidity rate might be on any given day. Every single one of those statistics is a person who has people who love them. The octogenarian who dies from this disease is no less a person than the forty-year-old.
2. Similarly, stop posting bullshit. If your posts are coming from anywhere except a reliable news source or health authority (and no...home healers or your friends who got their post from another friend aren't those) DON'T SHARE IT! I will block you forever if I see another post from some crappy homeopathic blog site.
3. Stop hoarding. I honestly don't understand the toilet paper thing but there are items that will definitely be required from people who might find themselves in quarantine, especially if those individuals live alone and don't have daily help. Your hoarding could mean somebody else's crisis.
4. Under the most ideal circumstance, everybody who is ill should stay home but let's not pretend that it is an option for all. Many people who don't work can't pay their rent and until our government guarantees paid sick leave for all people affected, there will be individuals out there who are sick. If you can help cover a shift for an ill co-worker or maybe help with some childcare for others, that would be a far sight better than criticizing online. We are in a time of true collective need. Let's help each other.
5. Understand that we are asking people to change their true selves. My father is a natural hugger. It is proving very difficult for him to change this habit. Let's cut people some slack.
6. Finally, we need to understand that this health crisis is changing hourly and we will all need to be flexible. That may mean changing long-standing plans, cancelling gatherings, and understanding when individuals just have to say no to attending. This isn't panic. It is common sense. Contingency plans are something we should all have.
Thank you, friends. I do appreciate your understanding and above all else...
WASH YOUR HANDS WITH SOAP AND WATER. A LOT. ALL THE TIME. FOREVER AND A DAY.
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