Day 362

 March 6, 2021

"This is the end, my only friend, the end" - Jim Morrison 

I always knew one day I would end this blog. I started this blog on March 5, 2020 and I am ending it here today on the day in which I received my second vaccination shot. I am currently sitting in my living room with the chills and aches. I am experiencing a reaction from the vaccine I received eleven and a half hours ago. So after one year of battling this coronvirus and after receiving my second vaccine I am feeling something that feels like a flu. During the entire year I had no symptoms. I did not even catch a cold. 

And now here I sit. Fatigued and a bit weird. I suppose it should have been expected.

It has been a wild ride. The year 2020. Unlike any year I have ever experienced. The fear. The confusion. The uncertainty. The adaptations. The weirdness. The hopelessness. The events that occurred in 2020 beyond the pandemic (which would have been enough) shaped this year and made it one of the most tumultuous years in our history. Experts compared it to 1968. and 1918. The truth is this year was it's own. Transcending all previous history in it's own way. It became a year of loss (economic and trust), death (over 2 million to the virus alone, but we must not forget George Floyd and many other pointless deaths from corruption, racism, ignorance and terrorism). Most of all it was a year of fear and hopelessness. Humans were afraid. Afraid to leave their homes, go to work, go to school, ride the bus, have dinner outside, even go outside. Many lost money, jobs, homes, family, friends and hope. They lost hope in the ability of humans to care for each other. The first responders and essential workers aside. Many people refused to follow restrictions and many lives were lost. Many worlds were shattered and still over a year later it continues. (Some 400K new cases in the world yesterday) 

Was it inevitable? Unstoppable? 

We may never know. We can only hope we never have to face one again. But therein is where so much loss of hope stems from. What is stopping the virus from continuing or coming back next year? 

The vaccine has done it's job, but many are unvaccinated and many refuse to be vaccinated.

How and when will it end? Or will it. Jim Morrison said, "This is the end" but when I see it I will believe it. Hope exists for me. It is what I hold onto because it is important to have something to hope for. A future. A future self in which we can once again live freely. Unrestricted. Untethered. 

Boundless. Bold and free. To fly. To soar. To be every bit of human we can be. And to find [the genius and the power and the magic that boldness is] My paraphrase attributed to Goehte, but some have their doubts.

I leave you with words I did write so may years ago when hope and freedom was all I sought. 

I am undaunted with hopes to conquer. There is freedom on the tip of my tongue.

In 2021 I will hope, conquer fear and be free. Good luck to all of you. Thanks to those that read...the journey continues

Day 354

 Today is Saturday February 27, 2021

We are in a phase of the pandemic where vaccinations are being administered daily. Number of transmissions and deaths are dropping (but still are in large numbers) The world for the most part just seems to have adapted to the pandemic lifestyle. We have multiple masks in multiple places (cars, home, handbags, backpacks, jacket pockets) We work with masks, walk with masks, we sanitize and wash our hands more than we ever have before. In some cases I imagine people have resigned themselves to a possible future that is always like this. Experts have said the virus will most likely never go away. 

Which means we will probably have a choice for a seasonal vaccine each year. The mask culture will wane in a way where less people will feel the need once the virus numbers are very low. While others will see wearing a mask as a line of protection against not only the virus, but any germs they may encounter in largely populated events or circumstances that feel unsafe. I imagine a world where air travel may be down for a some time and travel in general may become less frequent. 

The evolution of the world is natural. Things change. Our climate has and will continue to do so. Our technology is changing rapidly. Our societal norms are even shifting. Even how people view themselves and accept others is an ever changing process.

And as the generations of old pass on the younger generations will view all of life from their perspective and further develop and create the world how they see it. 

We, ourselves, are not the same person we were five, three or even a year ago. 

As we discover the ever changing world we further discover ourselves and we adapt to what we experience on both small and large levels. The experiences we encounter shape who we become, but ultimately we can choose to some extent which experiences we want and more importantly how we perceive them. Viktor Frankl said, in regards to this..."Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom."

This pandemic will most likely change the world to some extent and how we perceive certain aspects of life (travel, crowds, sanitization, health habits, etc) as the pandemic itself is changing. 

The pandemic is likely to become an endemic similar to Influenza and other human coronaviruses. 

This seems inevitable, but the path it takes and the pattern it tattoos onto our world is a mystery to scientists. 

There are some theories. One is it could become a virus mostly seen in the young with milder symptoms or even none at all. The idea the virus being completely eradicated could occur in pockets of the world where a higher percentage (55+%) are vaccinated. However getting to 55% is proving difficult in most places. And if all social distancing restrictions were lifted the percentage would need to be closer to +65%.

With a vaccine that prevents transmission and can hold off variants it is possible the virus becomes akin to measles (mostly eliminated in most parts of the world with two shots). There is also the chance this is not the last coronavirus we see. So Love a lot. Live each day with passion and meaning. And adapt as only we humans can. Keep discovering. 

Day 347

 It is February 20, 2021

Recently when conversing with people about 2020 many have said the time since March 12, 2020 (the day the pandemic became official) has either been in slow motion (2020 felt like forever) or it has sped up (where has the time gone?). This concept of time is one we are familiar with. We keep track of it with clocks, watches and calendars. We know it has ties to space (the moon revolves around the earth) and yet we often do not understand it. The mystery many times is the question of where did the time go?

The general theory of relativity says time began some 13.7 billion years ago when all matter was crammed into one very small dot.  And if theory holds true further development of space may cause the universe to collapse and we would find ourselves inside that tiny dot again. That would truly signal the end of time.

But until then time ticks on...

Besides age we rarely know what happens when time passes. We use events in our life to gauge time such as birthdays, weddings, births and deaths. 

Maybe we ought to pay less attention to it. This article from Discover Magazine tells us many scientist are not sure time even exists. The Arrow of Time

 "According to a theoretical physicist, Dmitry Podolsky, now working on aging at Harvard University, and Robert Lanza from Wake Forest University explain how the arrow of time — indeed time itself — is directly related to the nature of the observer (that is, us)."  They theorize that time is not ticking away ("the moments that make up the dull day"-Pink Floyd) but instead a real property that is subject to the perception of the individual and their ability to preserve events in their life. 

So if we could observe the future we could see ourselves how we wish to be instead of always remembering how we were (thus giving power to time) 

Look five years into the future and see yourself.  Better yet have a conversation with your future self. 

Find out who you want to be and how you got there. Benjamin Hardy, says "You need to learn to want and focus on what your future self wants. You do that by imagining and thinking now about who you want your future self to be." 

Most people are fixed in their desires and see themselves as a person who cannot change (like a personality test or a horoscope tells us what kind of person we are) This fixed mindset does not allow for growth, let alone change. Abraham Lincoln said, "The best way to predict the future is to create it"

Many of us want change in our lives, but simply do not know how to acquire it. The key is looking at your future and understanding that your outcomes depend upon your desires. If you change your current desires to reflect your future outcomes you will begin to see yourself as the person you want to be not the person you are. 

According to Dr. Daniel Gilbert, “Human beings are works in progress that mistakenly think they are finished.”

I realize as I finish my blog today it is not really a blog about the pandemic. and I am okay with that because my future self is no longer wallowing in the frustration and depression of a pandemic world.

My future self is free to choose my feelings, desires and ultimately create my outcomes no matter what is going on in the world around me. Life still continues...pandemic or not. 

An old proverb says, time waits for no man (or woman), but I say your future is waiting for you.

See it now and you will be it in the future.

Good Luck.

Day 340

 February 13, 2021

What is going on in the world is not nearly as important as what is going on in your world. 

Take care of yourself. Take care of your people. Don't be an asshole. Those are the rules given to the sons of my friend Scott. It's a good start.

Fleshing it out I would say...take care to be true to your authentic self. Live your life uncompromised by restraints and uninfluenced by conformity. Take care of your soul. Allow it to soar unless it sour.

Take care of those your love because they (and you) will not be around forever. Cherish the time you spend with friends and family and make it quality time. 

Don't be an asshole. Well, I would say be who you want to be. (if being an asshole is what you desire so be it) I believe in individuality and the will to choose your own path. If being an asshole affects others then you ought to reconsider how your individuality is being directed. 

The world is the world. It moves in flux with all the energy of living things. Currently the world is moving to heal itself from the state it finds itself. In a pandemic and battling a virus so deadly nearly 2.4 million people have died and over 100 million have suffered in some capacity from being infected by the novel coronavirus. The world is issuing a series of vaccines as we slowly move towards a world without restrictions. The world moans and sighs and screams and dreams as humanity lives and dies upon this great sphere of existence.

You and your journey are part of the existence. Your suffering and your exultation are stops on the existential path you are navigating. The experiences of life build upon one another as you create the current version of you. And that version will continue to permute as you evolve and grow after each experience. 

This pandemic is an experience and we will not soon forget it. What will it teach us? How will you grow from it? What lessons will you extract from it? 

Our beliefs influence our attitudes which create our feelings and those feelings direct our actions.

We may very well be instituting new beliefs into our programming. (by the way if you are not reprogramming yourself every so often you are doing yourself a disservice) and the belief of how we view the world and those in it. Our future interactions could look different in 2021-2022. 

Yesterday Chick Corea died. Chick Corea was an architect of the jazz-rock fusion boom in the 1970s, spent more than a half-century as a top jazz pianist. His influences are many and if you have never heard his work it is jazz you ought to give a listen. He played with many jazz greats and his most famous band Return to Forever can be heard here:

Chick Corea

On this valentines eve drink a little wine, give a lot of love and listen to something that stirs your heart and brings joy to your soul. From the Saturday Evening Post in 1956, a cover by Richard Sargent entitled First Valentine.

Day 333

 Today is Saturday February 6, 2021

The vaccination distribution for the coronavirus is underway. We currently have two versions in play and a third, Johnson and Johnson is pending FDA approval. The world is being inoculated as we speak albeit at a slower pace then we had hoped. Partly due to the demand being more than the supply. 

The procedure of getting people scheduled and vaccinated takes time, people, money and vaccines.

This chart shows the numbers in the US. 

The CDC recommends who ought to be vaccinated and then each state creates their own version of it. 

Currently in Colorado educators were moved up the list along with the 65 and older group. Both are set to begin receiving their first vaccine on Monday February 8th. How long the process will take remains to be seen. 

Nonetheless, the creation of a vaccine and current US presidency gives hope for all Americans to begin to see a light coming through what has been a long dark tunnel. Many school districts are considering a model of full in person teaching and businesses are opening in the 25-50% capacity range. The latest news on another stimulus check comes with mixed feelings, but I imagine most people will gladly welcome the funds even as a way to give reparations for the hardships and discomfort the public has had to endure. Though many who are living paycheck to paycheck see it as security and a peace of mind they have never had. 

The president is being generous with his power. With his ability to lead. And with his genuine care for the well being of the people who inhabit the nation he guides.

The current president, Joe Biden, has shown concern and has taken measures to provide assurance to the people.  Most importantly, he has shown them attention.  It is this attention that is giving people a feeling of hope. A feeling we have not felt in some time.

The French philosopher and writer. Simone Weil, wrote, "Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity". 

Simone Weil, was born in Paris in 1909, swiftly became a writer (although her work was not published in book form during her lifetime) and advocate for the oppressed within society. Using the essay as her tool as well as her servitude in the front lines (she once spent a year working in Parisian factories to better understand the oppression of unskilled female laborers). Through her writing and actions she was able to be a great voice for the voiceless and continued to stand with those who would be crushed under the boot heel of the capitalism.

For more on this amazing women, whom author Albert Camus said she was, “the only great spirit of our times” click this link simone weil

The world in general seems to be trending in the right direction even though some variant strains of the virus are a cause for concern. Most experts believe the vaccine will cover the variant as well. And early results seem to show the vaccines are robust and helping. Death totals are dropping, but whether or not the vaccine can actually stop the spread is undetermined. 

Much still is unknown as to how the vaccine will ultimately affect COVID-19 and the pandemic. 

When that word is lifted from our daily vernacular we will all celebrate and breath (safely and possibly unmasked) a collective sigh of relief even if it is from six feet apart.

Day 326

 January 30, 2021

The Waiting is a song by Tom Petty. Some of the lyrics are: 

"The waiting is the hardest part

Every day you see one more card
You take it on faith, you take it to the heart
The waiting is the hardest part"

The song is about love, but these words seem to be relevant to many people these days. As I talk with colleagues and friends and family the conversation is initially consumed by the current state of our pandemic world, but eventually the glimmer of hope shines through in words...words with hope that things will one day be as they were before March 12, 2020. Before the world was shut down by an invisible virus that has to this date infected some 102,848,125 people and taken the lives of  2.2 million.

As these graphs show we have not done a good job of preventing the transmission of the virus or the virus was too powerful, too widespread and too easily transmitted. Either way this graph tells the story.

So we wait. We hope. Some pray. The waiting, is indeed, the hardest part. This is not to discount the suffering many have gone through and continue to go through, but they are waiting too. 

Waiting for change and safety and freedom. Waiting for a not-so-distant past to once again be our future.

There is good news on the horizon as vaccines continue to be distributed and new vaccines are being created (Johnson and Johnson being the latest). The latest daily numbers are decreasing and many governments are taking the virus more seriously and restrictions are helping. Ultimately, it may be up to us. The reason the virus spreads is human transmission. Can we do more to stop the spread?

If you believe you can then you will, but there are those who are in a different category. These are people who either do not feel the virus is that bad (no worse than the flu) or frankly not real. Those that fall under this heading are being fed misinformation or believe the conspiracy theorists or are gathering information from social media rumors.

This must be taken into account when we realize we are all in some way fighting this virus or spreading it. According to an article in the Scientific American, "experts suggest that what happens next depends on both the evolution of the pathogen and of the human response to it, both biological and social."

No matter your opinion on the virus it will continue until one of several things occur. These are some of the possibilities:

Herd immunity: Most people contract the virus and become immune, thus making it unlikely to spread amongst the few who are not immune. "Ultimately, in most cases, antibodies developed by the immune system to fight off the invader linger in enough of the affected population to confer longer-term immunity and limit person-to-person viral transmission. But that can take several years, and before it happens, havoc reigns." -The Scientific American

Containment: This is the one that depends on may factors such as the noted above the evolution and transmission of the virus and the response by humans. The original SARS outbreak was contained and resulted in some 8,000 cases and some 770 deaths. That virus did show symptoms quicker and people were less contagious early on. Once they were symptomatic they were quarantined thus helping containment. 

Vaccine effectiveness: The vaccine does its job and enough people develop immunity long enough to stop the transmission of the virus.

Because the end relies on roughly 50% social-political influence and 50% scientific (vaccine) the end will probably not really be an end. 

Meaning the virus will survive, but not as a global plague. 

Yes, one day the pandemic will end. The virus will stay. For many of us we may never be infected, but all of us are affected.  The year 2020 has left its stamp on us and each time a new virus strain is found some panic will breathe its way into our hearts and minds. 

Maybe we will learn from this, maybe not. 

Either way, our current reality is waiting. And then, accept the outcome and when the restrictions are lifted and the pandemic officially ends be mindful of the lessons learned and take better care to prevent transmission of any kind. By being smarter and healthier. By taking better care of each other. 

 

Day 319

 January 23, 2021

Recently I discovered these words by Nelson Rockefeller:

"We live in an age of revolutionary transformation. We can seek to shape it or we can doom ourselves to irrelevance. We can accept the challenge to our creativity or we can resign ourselves to ineffectual bitterness. We can lose ourselves in passionate and paralyzing controversy over technical aspects of individual problems, or we can, as I deeply believe we must, develop a more creative perspective—one which enables us to see the inner relationship of great issues and the larger framework within which they can be solved."

They written in 1968, but seem appropriate for these times.

The challenge we face as a country is to do what Rockefeller believed, "develop a more creative perspective". We as a country must see what is happening and find the perspective of others and understand it. The way our democracy is set up there will always be different opinions. Freedom is what this nation was founded on. Unfortunately it was also founded on revolution and that is the part people are clinging to. We need to revolt in 1776. It was necessary to gain freedom from a oppressive government, but these days people are taking their freedom into a violent tilt. 

The new president has started his tenure with 17 new actions, many designed to reenact policies once disbanded by the previous administration. Others are targeting the current issues of our world (pandemic, climate and racial injustice).

Since January 20th the world seems more peaceful. Is peace really attainable? The people of the United States will have their eye on president Biden and his staff. The world will also be watching the soap opera that has been ongoing in this country. There are many questions still to be answered in regard to the pandemic and getting this virus under control is a priority. 

As humans will all seek reassurance and that is something that has been lacking from our lives since March 2020. The need for humans to connect is an innate desire and the virus has created a wall for most human interaction. The current state of the world has brought to the surface many hidden fears and anxieties causing many people to act out in anger or retreat into a solitary lifestyle bereft of human contact and the reassurance we all require. 

As we thread our way through this life we all have doubts about ourselves, regrets for things we have done and many live in quiet desperation for the hope of what may never come about. With the smallest of gestures and few words, one person may have a profound affect on another by offering them reassurance. Either a shoulder to lean on, an ear to hear their voice or an empathetic understanding that they are not in this alone. 

We share these deep feelings of uncertainty and can be a valuable resource to those who carry the weight so heavily that it brings them to their emotional knees. When we provide even the most banal words of comfort we are offering the hope and reassurance that things will be alright. The current times may seem bleak and our patience wear thin, but things will change and the future holds a certainty that all of us can endure with a little help from our fellow humans. 

George Washington Burnap said, "The grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for."

It is in something to hope for that allows us to keep on keeping on amidst the turmoil, pain and suffering that life can be. And when someone, a human like us, can offer us words of hope we can see another side of life. One that offers love and laughter, joyful experiences and unparalleled beauty. 

Sometimes we just need a little kindness and other times we need a swift kick in the ass. Either way the results can be beneficial to our human spirit. In the movie Rocky Balboa, Rocky speaks to his son and provides his son with a verbal kick in the ass. Let Rocky be your inspiration!

Day 312

 January 16, 2021

The world is continuing to spiral through it's battle with COVID-19 as variants of the virus have popped up in a handful of countries including the US where death totals account for 20% of the world totals which to this date has surpassed two million. 

As the United States awaits the January 20th transfer of presidential power many sit with anticipation of what will occur that day and what the future holds for the nation. The hope is the new administration will usher new safety measures in defense of the spread of coronavirus and facilitate a speedy process of vaccination. 

President-elect Biden revealed his 1.9 trillion dollar stimulus plan which has allocated funds to improve the distribution of both vaccines as well as putting money into the bank accounts of many Americans  while energizing the economy with small business relief and school funding.  There are several other proposals inside the large health care and economic relief package. 

“Thirty-five, forty, forty-five, fifty, fifty-five, sixty, seventy, eighty, ninety, and ten makes one dollar.”
Al Johns
May 5, 1956

Locally here in Colorado things are moving slowly. Vaccinations have only occurred in 4% of the population. Restaurants have been given the option for dining in at 25% capacity and most school districts are running at some form of in person teaching. My friend Jim called me today to say he was on his way to a movie theater in which he would be socially distanced from the other three patrons. 

If indeed we are to depart from this pandemic with our sanity intact we must draw deep from our well of fortitude and continue strongly in pursuit of patience and victory. As the late, great German poet of the 19th century,  Johann Wolfgang von Goethe said,

“One must be something in order to do something.”

We must be something and specifically something more than what we currently are. We must be better at understanding. We must be better at forgiving. We must be better at enduring.

There is still so much to do in order heal the fractured world. In order to repair the human race. In order to unite the divided and reconstruct the world.  To do these many things we must be something more than we have ever imagined. There is more at stake than the economy and the exchange of goods and services. There is the delicate nature of the human mind. 

The collective trauma the world has bore for the past 312 days has taken it's toll. Before it is all said and done the pandemic will be more than many can bear. The world is in daily mourning for those lost and continues to be mired in political and financial dire straits.

The leaders and experts of our world have handled and mishandled the virus from the beginning and as the situation unfolds before us, the aftermath is yet to come. What will the total devastation look like?

 

The end of this pandemic is still many months away and while we see glimmers of hope and dream of a time of normalcy there is still much for us to BE and much for us to DO.

  

Day 305

 January 9, 2021

This is 2021. What kind of year will it be? If the first week is any indication then it appears as though it will be similar to 2020. It seems the tear in the fabric of democracy is still ripping it's way through our nation.

The world looks on in awe and shock as the events of this past week unfolded. The days and weeks leading up to January 6th were like a grenade rolling towards us and on Wednesday it exploded inside the Capitol. I will not rehash the insanity that ensued and the barbarity which occurred. Instead I will remind us of a time where the future looked bleak...1933... and how a new president changed our feelings of hopelessness to hopefulness and repaired our country.

The four months between Franklin D. Roosevelt taking office from Herbert Hoover saw two men who had different views on how to run the country.  While the world was watching Adolf Hitler take reign in Germany and Japan leave the League of Nations, the United States were in the midst of a depression as many banks were shut down and unemployment rose to 20 percent.

The economic crisis of 1932-33 showed large inequalities within our nation just as the pandemic has revealed these inequalities in 2020. I venture to say they are always there, but are brought to light when the country is in calamity. 

The passing of power in 1933 was not easy as Hoover did everything he could to oppose the actions  proposed by Roosevelt. Hoover insisted the economy was soon to be on the rise with his program, but Roosevelt was insistent and garnered his own plan through the advice of many experts. In creating his New Deal, Roosevelt was able to make progress during the first 100 days in office.

A sculpture of Roosevelt and his dog, Fala, are pictured here. Just one part of the fdr-memorial in Washington, DC.

President Roosevelt even coined the phrase, "first 100 days" and it continues to be a time measurement of the effectiveness of our new president. 

Thirteen laws were enacted in those first 100 days in 1933 and Roosevelt made himself available to the people. He was transparent and gave them insight into his plan to resurrect the economy. He began his famous fireside chats which deeply engrained his trust with the people. And once banks reopened the people deposited the money they had withdrawn giving a boost to the economy and the stock market.

Roosevelt addressed the needs of the poor with his Federal Emergency Relief Administration which was involved in the birth of projects, including construction, professional work opportunities in the arts and further production of goods. While tending to the poor and supplying jobs he was able to boost the economy and re-build the confidence people had not only in the government, but in themselves. 

In his inauguration speech before 100,000 people, Roosevelt addressed the Depression with the famous words, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”

And while fear has reared it's head again there is a real virus causing physical suffering and death. We must reach down deep to find the resolve needed to overcome our fears and doubts while dealing with this virus and pandemic. We can be hopeful, but we must be more. We must endure, but inspire to do more. We must create our freedom dreams and not only see the change we want, but be the change.

It will not be easy. This year may feel much like its predecessor until we can empower ourselves, support one another and unite in a way that provides us with the healing and love needed to crush this virus and sent it back to the hell in which it came.  

Day 298

 January 2, 2021

Two nights ago everyone in the world gave 2020 a high spirited send off. Our hope for a better year is needed more than usual after the year we struggled through. We all wish there was some magical way to transform this current year into immediate peace and normalcy, but the truth is we are still months from that reality.  

Our current reality is we are in a pandemic and barely in the early stages of ushering the vaccine to the public.

The health care workers and first responders have received the first of two shots and most states are continuing to create protocols for how the vaccine is distributed. There is much more than simple distribution as the vaccine is delicate and needs to be handled correctly and given properly. All this falls on the already taxed health care workers and requires patience and responsibility from everyone involved in either giving or receiving the vaccine.

We also recently have had a new strain of virus (first seen in the U.K.) that is now currently in a few states. 

There is also a matter of the new president being sworn into office on January 20th. 

This will require some adjustment time as the new regime puts into place it's vision for America. This not only includes controlling the spread of the virus and the vaccine distribution, but also the pandemic restrictions and everything else related to the pandemic. This will be several months of rolling changes as the vaccine begins to reduce numbers and people begin to settle back into pre-pandemic routine. 

Yet amid all this there is still much that is unknown. Many factors are still at play here and we are still in some ways tethered to this coronavirus until it is completely or mostly eradicated. 

In some psychological and even physical sense we will never be rid of the virus. Many lives have been changed and humans will carry feelings with them and others the physical repercussions of having the actual virus.  

There is also a matter of the economy and issues around racial inequality that continue to plague our nation in ugly forms. And we still have an education system that has been handcuffed and the education of many youth has been stunted. 

Our hope lies in the new president and his staff to forge a new way and provide not only relief but more importantly belief that our United States of America can once again be united and a positive force in the world.

As far as the world is concerned we all hope in future months ahead that travel restrictions will be lifted and the world can reunite in a way that brings joy to vacationers and profit to the tourism industry and boost the economy of all countries.

In light of all that has happened, is happening and will happen we still have ourselves to care for and self-care starts with your feelings. I recently read about emotional brain training. In other words we have the power to create a resilient brain through to power of our emotions. It turns out positive thinking is not all it's cut out to be and stress can make us stronger. It is by using our emotions to we allow ourselves to clear the stress. Our lives are coded in ways that are learned in the first few years of our life. Thus this programming comes back in times of stress because it is what we know, and all we know. Like emotional wires that are there unconsciously and guide our reaction to trauma and stress even if it does not help. By having an emotional cleanse when you feel stressed you can reprogram your brain to learn techniques to help you sort out the feelings and bend them to your will. The will to use these moments as emotional training and rewiring your outcomes to be positive. It is best explained in this article from psychology today:

"In a few minutes throughout the day give yourself an EBT "mini-emotional cleanse" by using the technique of the method. Start off by complaining about the situation (e.g., All this information about vaccines and testing is stressing me out) and then, express some healthy anger. Anger is essential because it is only when we become highly stressed that we unlock the unconscious expectations that are "stupid" or "unreasonable" in our unconscious mind, and make them "smart" or "reasonable."


It's a natural cleansing process as after anger, you can flow through a few negative emotions (sadness, fear, and guilty) and be rewarded by intensely positive feelings (grateful, happy, secure, and proud).

In those few moments, you have a complete reset of your emotions, drives, thoughts, and sensations. And, you have updated your brain so your unconscious expectations are smarter and more reasonable, which decreases your stress. Last, you will feel a surge of dopamine and endorphins – and the emotion of joy."

 For further reading on emotional cleansing click this link emotional-cleanse

Day 291

 December 26, 2020

The Last Supper. The Last of the Mohicans. The Last Picture Show.

The Last time I saw Paris. The Last Detail The Last Starfighter.

These are stories, events and films. You are about to read the last blog of...2020.

As we look back on this past year it will be strewn with many disappointments, an unprecedented time where days became weeks and then months of fear, frustration and emotion. We sighed. We cried. 

We lost time, opportunity and human lives. Too much of everything was lost. We stand now on the precipice of a new year and much is still unclear. How long will the pandemic last? How will the vaccine affect the spread of this virus?  The novel coronavirus, labeled COVID-19, which has devastated our social, economic, physical and psychological lives and have given many of us pause for concern of our future world.  The virus came into our world one year ago this month. The gift we never asked for during the most giving time of the year.

During the course of the year 2020 we endured a series of lockdown restrictions ranging from shelter at home to hybrid models of social-distanced interaction. We endured protests and riots after another person of color was unnecessarily killed by a police officer. The world continues in a state of unrest in regards to racial and social equality. The protests went on for weeks and although time can heal; the pain and fear continues for many. The inequality is everywhere. The pandemic was no different as the indigenous people of color and the impoverished were hit the hardest by the virus. Many continued to work in-person and risk infection as essential workers were asked to continue moving products, serving and maintaining status quo as the world around them worked from home and/or had remote access to continued employment. 

We endured a heated presidential election ending in a switch of parties and not surprisingly it came with more protest, more riots and accusations of ballot tampering. A division within one of the strongest in the world, which like many others has failed to control the transmission of the virus.

Many countries have buried thousands of people. Many are still on restriction. Many are still in a  remote learning model, hampering educational systems around the globe.  Many are still in debate over mask wearing and the proper strategies suggested to slow and even stop transmission of the virus.

During the month of March an official pandemic announcement sent the world reeling.  Most schools immediately closed and professional sports were suspended as were many other large gatherings.  Production and distribution was temporarily halted as experts collected intel on what the virus was and how it can be transmitted.  Eventually bans were lifted and modified restrictions were put in place, but life was still quite different and many were still infected leading to too many deaths. The summer promised us more outdoor activities and a relief in regards to the number of infections and deaths. And although this was true the second wave came as predicted and the fall and winter months saw a record number of infections and deaths. Currently the world has experienced 80.2 million infections and suffered 1.7 million deaths. 

So 2021 is days away...

Every new year brings with it hope and resolution. And this year, more than ever. has people praying for the days of yore (well not too long ago-but it feels like forever since this pandemic began). 

Let us all hope this year, 2021, brings us some new stories, events and films such as...

The Last Patient, The Last Vaccine Shot Needed, The Last Lockdown, The Last Pandemic.

The Last of the Viruses.

Day 284

 December 19, 2020

A December to remember. Well, more like a year to remember. Nearly all of the year 2020 has been marred by the coronavirus outbreak and subsequent pandemic which has handcuffed the world and now taken over 1.6 million lives. As we grow closer to the end of the year we are inclined to reflect on the recent past and even sometimes the station that is our current life.  If you are alive and reading this, then in one way, it is a wonderful life. 

The iconic holiday film "It's a Wonderful Life" starring Jimmy Stewart, Donna Reed and my favorite film noir femme fatale, Gloria Graham tells the story of all of us as we exist though the trials and triumphs of our lives. The film, produced in 1946, was initially a flop and when its copyright was not renewed it was broadcast for free and began airing frequently during the last few weeks of the year and thus became a holiday tradition. (NBC owns its rights and airs it every Christmas eve)

Jimmy Stewart was a WWII fighter pilot in the Army Air Corps and flew some 20 combat missions. Upon his return to Hollywood It's a Wonderful Life was his first film and since he was still grappling with the traumatic experiences of war and feeling of loss fellow pilots his emotional scenes where his character, George Baily, is breaking down and crying are all very real. 

The movie is about loss and pain and everyday failure and how many humans sometimes feel like they are at the "end of their rope". George Bailey turns to prayer and the answer to his prayer is an angel named Clarence who goes on to show George how wonderful his life really is even amidst the struggles and setbacks he has endured. As we all reflect on our lives, particularly this past year and how the pandemic has shaped and misshaped our living, consider all the wonderfulness in your life.

Beginning with life itself. Each and every day is a new opportunity to see, act and hope. 

See all the beauty life has to offer you, beyond the seasonal lights, there is natural beauty (like last nights moon) and imperfect beauty (the human body and its intricate workings).

Act in a way that manifests your deepest desires for love, joy and self-worth and then act as if every human you interact with is someone of value. This mortal life is fleeting and frail and we must not forget our time on this earth is limited. Cherish yours and the lives of others.

Hope for all of your wishes and keep hoping (and praying-if you are disposed to do so).

Never let the light go out on your dreams. 

Even beyond this life. Your memory will live on in others. 

Take this time to recall those souls which touched us and moved us in ways we will never forget. 

The dearly departed are with us still in our heart of hearts.

Loved and preserved. 

For the eternity of our lives they live on.

And let us recall the people, we may not know, but we are linked with indelibly everyday as we proceed through these challenging times. The essential workers. Those in day care and nursing homes. Those doctors and nurses caring for our brothers and sister struck with COVID-19. The grocery store workers and all those who continue to supply us with our daily needs. They are amazing humans doing what it takes for all of us to see this through.

May this years end bring you joy and tears and hope 

in a way that inspires you to endure and be more human than you ever thought possible. 

To care and love and cry.

To live and love and laugh.

To be alive.

Day 277

 Saturday December 12, 2020

It is with anticipation and trepidation I await the arrival of the vaccine to the United States. My reasons of anticipation ought to be obvious as we all long for the life we lived prior to the pandemic and the vaccine offers us a great hope for controlling the virus and its prodigious spread. The fear I hold onto is because of the way the pandemic has divided our country and it will continue to be evident as the vaccine becomes available. I believe many people in the U.S. will not vaccinate and the divide will continue as those that long to heal this country will be combatted by the unbelievers and such who did not care to help quell the virus from the onset. Also, it is a matter of the unknown. What side effects will the vaccine bring? Will enough people take it to eradicate the virus within a few months or will the process take longer?

Questions. So much uncertainty. Yet we have hope. And that sure feels good as we approach the new year.

Recently I read an article about Brooklyn and how it has changed through the years. Incorporated in 1834 by the Civil War it had grown to the third largest city in America. A century later it was barely a functioning borough of New York. As neighborhoods began to fall from poverty and crime the nail in the proverbial Brooklyn coffin was the closing of the Navy Yard in 1966. Some 12,000 jobs were lost and many fled to the suburbs leaving behind a Brooklyn ripe for decay. Of course it survived and went through many changes as different ethnicities moved away, gangs dissolved and crime brought under control. The modern movement has brought in a younger clientele and the gentrified Brooklyn we know today is thriving.  The following photos are from Brooklyn in the 1960's. 

1. A diverse neighborhood with a Jewish deli, Chinese restaurant and Italian pizza place side-by-side

2. The workers of the Navy Yard give a thumbs down to the potential closing

3. Two New York Yankees visit neighborhood kids.

Reading of Brooklyn made me think of Walt Whitman, raised in Brooklyn, but born on Long Island, the great poet of his time and beyond. He self-published Leaves of Grass in 1855 and the second edition included the poem "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry". Whitman was a volunteer nurse during the civil war and later a printer, editor and of course writer for publications such as the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, the Crescent (in New Orleans) and the Brooklyn Freemen. It is Leaves of Grass, Whitman's view of the world as he sees it, in which we are given 32 poems of Americana. One, I sing the body electric, deeply explores the physical body of man and woman. Whitman also explores purpose and one phrase states, 
"Each has his or her place in the procession.
(All is a procession, the universe is a procession with measured and perfect motion.)"

We are sometimes in need of reminding what is our place in this universe and how we ought to go about pursuing or spreading our dream to our fellow humans. Pass on to one another cheer, love and the treasures you know to be talents. Build one another up. Praise those that bring you joy when they sing, dance, teach or inspire you to be more than just the a sacred body, but indeed an integral part of this perfectly measured procession of life. Here I am under the Brooklyn Bridge in 2013.

 

Day 270

 December 5, 2020

There is so much going on as the entire world population braces for the holidays, the flu season, and the dead of winter while also anticipating the long-awaited COVID-19 vaccine. 

Both  Pfizer and Moderna have developed adult vaccines and many people are awaiting the public release and distribution.  As of this writing, Britain has given emergency authorization for the Pfizer vaccine and will begin distribution on Monday. The U.S. has stricter authorization guidelines and hopes to have the vaccine ready for distribution around mid-December.  A pediatric version is in the making, but it is complicated as children are usually not included in trials (Pfizer began trials in children aged 12 and up in October and Moderna is set to begin testing soon).  There are many who do not approve of testing on children and while that delays the distribution for the vaccine to school age children most experts agree that children do not transmit the virus as readily as adults

Nor do they typically show serious symptoms when they are infected. It seems this information and the fact that teachers will be some of the first offered the vaccine will in all likelihood mark the end of remote teaching starting in 2021.  Most school districts around the world are currently in either a fully remote model or a hybrid version. In the meantime experts are also predicting a massive surge in both cases and deaths in the U.S. by February if people do not take mask wearing and social distancing seriously.  This may scare school boards and district administrations from pushing for in-person education. All of this makes for a very controversial topic.  

We can only wait and see.

In other virus news the second wave of COVID-19 is streaking across the globe. Decimating the European nation and dampening the lives of those in the U.S. Hospitals are near capacity again and shutdown orders are once again in effect and the number of infections and deaths continues to reach mid-April numbers. The death total in the U.S. has exceeded 270,000 and as both infections and hospitalizations continue to rise it makes the coming weeks seem dreary. It appears this may go down in history as the worst holiday season ever. And for those who like to read you may want to look into good-reads-book-worst-holiday-ever

This graph tells the European story.

The first memorial for victims of COVID-19 is being constructed in New Jersey On the site of a former toxic dump, everything is legal in Jersey of all places.

In sports news, Rafer Johnson, the first Black captain of a United States Olympic team and a participant in the1960 Olympic games and gold medal winner in the decathlon has died at 86.

The NFL continues, but not without its COVID-19 cases, quarantines and game delays. We recently has a game on a Wednesday for the firs time in decades. Having bye weeks has helped but those are ending soon and the league will have to get more creative such as the case with mid-week games.  Due to the Wednesday game we will have a second MNF game and a Tuesday night game this upcoming week.

The Rose Bowl, a major college football game, will be played in an empty stadium on Jan. 1.

    

Day 263

 Saturday November 28, 2020

The day known in the United States as Thanksgiving is over.  From now on  I will call it a "day of thanks", but it will have little to do with a celebration of history. It will simply be a time to be thankful for what the universe has delivered to all of us. (or them.) The division of this so called United States has been separated by politics and issues around race, police action, and our American history.  

According to Psychology Today,  "In 2017, 44 percent of Democrats had an unfavorable opinion of the GOP, and 45 percent of Republicans and Republican leaners view the Democratic Party unfavorably. You can imagine that today, these numbers are likely even higher. Back in 1994, less than 20 percent in both parties held extreme negative views of the other side."

This has led to a country that questions one another and not in a inquisitive way, but in a damning way. In a manner that shows disrespect and hatred. In such a way that the country was on a watch list for potential violence after the presidential election. 

Violence after an election?  

Bipartisan thinking is not in favor these days.  It is clear there are two sides. 

Republican and democrat. Liberal and conservative. Blue and red. Us and them. 

Us and them is a song recorded by Pink Floyd in 1973 and appears on the album "Dark 

Side of the Moon" The year 2020 has brought light to these lyrics. As you read them, remember all this year has brought to both us and them. 

Us and Them

And after all we're only ordinary men

Me, and you

God only knows it's not what we would choose to do

Forward he cried from the rear

and the front rank died

And the General sat, as the lines on the map

moved from side to side

Black and Blue

And who knows which is which and who is who

Up and Down

And in the end it's only round and round and round

Haven't you heard it's a battle of words

the poster bearer cried

Listen son, said the man with the gun

There's room for you inside

Down and Out

It can't be helped but there's a lot of it about

With, without

And who'll deny that's what the fighting's all about

Get out of the way, it's a busy day

And I've got things on my mind

For want of the price of tea and a slice

The old man died

The separation of our nation has much to do with the lack of communication between parties and people. We are interested in like-thinking individuals (us) and are not open to the ideas of others (them). This leads to speculation of thought and misbeliefs. We cannot know the views of others unless we listen to them and understand them.  We may not always agree, but we can understand perspective and have empathy, a trait this country is desperately lacking.  

In his poem, The Evening-Watch: A Dialogue, Henry Vaughan writes in the first verse," Farewell! I go to sleep; but when The day-star springs, I'll wake again." 

Let all of us each new day be open to what we listen to. Let us extend our thinking beyond what we know well. Let us see others and their human perspective even though it may not be of our own ilk. 

We all have a role to play in this life. Will we be remembered? Will our life be memorable? Maybe it already is and maybe it is yet to be. As Sigmund Bloom said, “This story of life has already been told. The book has already been written. It’s up to you to choose which character you want to be in that story.”

Every day is a new chapter in your life and an opportunity to be the character in the story that is your life. Be it for a few or for many. Your words and existence have meaning, influence (great or small) and voice. The unique voice that is your own. May it be a voice of reason and understanding. A heartfelt voice of love and compassion and hope. Although our hope may be in the future, the love and compassion are for today. 

Be present and acknowledge people.

Listen and learn. 

Bring us and them together as one. 

Day 256

Saturday November 21, 2020

I am presently sitting on the couch drinking my usual morning coffee. With Pucci, our long hair dachsund, staunchly lying beside me I begin the quest of writing down not only my thoughts, but an account of the last week. Yesterday we finished remote teaching and look forward to a week off. The vacation time comes with no travel, no family and no celebration. It is a time for us to relax and refuel.

A time to think solely of ourselves while being thankful for those we love and help those in need. This season for us has become less about tradition and more about condition. The situation we find ourselves and how we can be benevolent.  The current reality is we are healthy and fortunate to be working during the pandemic. While much of the world spars with the virus and the rising infection rates, the U.S. is faring no better and in some ways worse. 

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in several U.S. states is growing more rapidly than anywhere else in the world. Dante learned in The Divine Comedy to escape hell one must go through the center of it. I suppose as we journey through this pandemic we are in the center of hell and must proceed through it in order to exit.  The suffering will continue.

The nation of the United States of America is in trouble. The divide in this country has caused a separation of thought and cohesiveness.  Our divided states has brought about carelessness instead of unity.  We struggle because we do not care. The pandemic has played its part, our government has a role and so do all of us. We have fought and tried to remain diligent in our fighting, but we have failed. We have failed each other. We will continue to do battle with this coronavirus, but ultimately it will win the war. In fact it already has to the point of 250,000 lives lost.  Humans are survivors and those that live will move on and make adjustments to survive, but the losses will be many and the pain will be much to bear. The holidays will not be the same. The joy will be tinged with a scent of sorrow and hopelessness as we move deeper into the winter and the discontentment that comes with loss. 

So as I sit and write and try to remain present knowing the concepts of past and future have little meaning to the persistent flow of thoughts streaming in my mind. It is verily an ongoing quandary of how we separate the "I" from the "me". Alan Watts, says, "the truth is revealed by removing things that stand in it's light..." and I perceive unawareness as a darkness shrouding our present mindfulness.

Alan Watts describes the mind and it's inability to stop thinking. We think thoughts that are not present and thus those thoughts cause anxiety or fear or pain. Even a joyful thought of our past is really just a piece of our present because we are thinking of it now. And the memory may be cheerful in nature, it reminds us of what is not now and that can trigger sorrow.  In this video Watts explains the only way to stop the mind from thinking is to leave it alone. And thus by leaving it alone, "it will quiet itself" 

Alan Watts - The Mind

Day 249

 Saturday November14, 2020

In her book, Gift from the Sea, Anne Morrow Lindbergh talks of the ebb and flow of relationships. It provided fuel to my thoughts of this current time in our lives.  How we have ridden the tides of this pandemic for days, weeks and months and have implemented strategies to stay sane and secure our humanness. We have been shut in, put out and inconvenienced for so long and with no true end in sight. 

Our hopes lie in a vaccine, one not yet created, in which we will not know the impact until massive distribution is complete.  Even then, we will be unassured of complete eradication of this coronavirus which has lived among us for so long. Like the popular game Among us, each of us could be the imposter carrying the virus and infecting others.  We crewmates must navigate this tenuous earth and with each day comes risk.  Some days are safe at home while others are days we feel more exposed. 

We venture through places where others abound and wonder who is a potential carrier. Everyday is an ebb and flow of feelings. Everyday is the ebb and flow of questions. Am I being safe enough? Should I go out today? When will we feel completely at ease? Will the imposter always be among us? 

The ultimate imposter being the virus itself, a parasite feeding off human behavior.  We like to be around each other. We feel the need to gather. We long for human touch. And with this innate desire the ultimate imposter is transmitted throughout the world. In the United States the infection is rate is skyrocketing in nearly every state. New mandates regarding lockdowns, curfews and gatherings are being put in place, yet the number of infections, hospitalizations and deaths continues to rise. A recent graph for the NY times shows alarming numbers.

We as a country have reported over 100,000 cases ten days in a row. And the world is faring no better as Italy, Poland, Russia, India and other counties are seeing an increase in cases.  Efforts are being made as many schools have returned to remote learning or will do so after the Thanksgiving break. 

Governments are putting curfews and mandates in place to decrease the amount of human contact, but it seems that enough people are not giving the effort needed. Many still do not social distance nor where a mask. Gatherings, parties and events are still taking place. In India, a five day Hindu festival, Diwali, will be celebrated beginning this weekend. 

People say, "life must go on. We have to live." 

This is something we have never experienced before and having our privileges and freedoms taken from us makes many of us defensive and rebellious.

Yet it comes at a cost. And I suppose some people are okay with that. We are a population of humans who are the same in configuration of cells and organs and senses, but in our minds we are diverse and it is with our thoughts and actions we tell our story. 

We all must playout this pandemic each in our own way. And thus the ebb and flow of it is intertwined with our daily decisions. For better or worse our humanism will be both our greatest triumph and our greatest failure. Here are the words of Anne Morrow Lindbergh, 

"We have so little faith in the ebb and flow of life, of love, of relationships. We leap at the flow of the tide and resist in terror its ebb. We are afraid it will never return. We insist on permanency, on duration, on continuity; when the only continuity possible, in life as in love, is in growth, in fluidity - in freedom..."

Good Luck everyone. There is no doubt this pandemic will leave it's indelible mark on all of us.

May your god, spirit animal or universal subconscious be with you. 

Day 242

 Saturday November 7, 2020

The days are shorter, cooler and consistently more fall-feeling. As Maren would say it's sweater weather. She says this as an inside joke because I love sweaters. Here is a photo from 2012 during the filming of Sane in 1974. I am also sporting a moustache. This is November or Movember (which asks men to grow a moustache as a reminder to bring awareness to men's health)

I recently heard from my friend George that he has prostate cancer. He has some tests coming up that will help determine which steps to take (surgery, radiation treatment, etc.) He sounded encouraged that it could be controlled. I think about him and hope to visit with him soon. This pandemic is really making travel difficult. It is once again the fear of the unknown making simple decisions more strenuous.  This is, for many of us, the current reality. Each day brings with it a level of anxiety and uncertainty we are typically not accustomed to.  However with the pandemic going on for as long as it has (hello, day 242) this everyday anxiousness has become common. Simple tasks like going to the grocery store or work bring out some feelings of stress. As the number of infections continues to rise all across the globe we continue to feel the pressure. In some sense, we will all be lucky to escape this pandemic without being infected. For some nearly 50 million people who have been infected it has been real and for the 1.2 million who did not survive we mourn. The road to recovery can be long. I spoke with a person the other day who said a friend was infected in March and is still dealing with the effects of the virus.  Some reports say you may never recover to full capacity in an article from Hackensack Meridian Health, "For some who recover from COVID-19, symptoms like fatigue, shortness of breath, muscle pain, confusion, headaches and even hallucinations are among the growing number of issues survivors face following the illness." In the U.S. many states are seeing an increase in reported cases. In Colorado, the governor has issued a be home by 10:00 PM curfew to help slow the spread. 

On November 6th there were 132,540 new cases. Now onto some political news. It is not official, but it appears we will have a new POTUS beginning in January.  The polls are closed and the counting of ballots is still occurring. Presidential candidate Joe Biden is close to having the 270 electoral votes he needs to secure the win. He spoke last night and was eloquent and honest. He was a calming voice in these troublesome times. Our country is divided and may continue to be so until the new administration can completely move into the White house and begin to make the necessary changes for the healing of our country and it's people. We are hurting. We are a proud nation and sometimes that pride gets in the way of being human. It prevents us from thinking rationally and our actions can be downright unfathomable. There will be an announcement any day regarding the election results and already businesses in many major cities are boarded up in anticipation of riots and vandalism.  What kind of nation are we that we have to perform acts of violence and the defacing of public property over a decision made by a democratic society? The United States is in pain. We have been put through four years of unrest. Social unrest, civil disorder and a nation divided on important topics including the one to keep us all safe. And as I am writing this the Associated press has called the election. It is official Joe Biden has defeated Donald Trump to become the 46th president of the United States. 

And all I can say is Here we go America.

Day 235

 It is October 31, 2020. Halloween. And a scary time in all of our lives. Living with fear everyday. The novel coronavirus now known to all of us as Covid-19 has literally spread its pestilence around the world infecting over 46 million people while taking the lives of over one million souls. Lately the spread seems to be worsening as Europe and the U.S. are amid tougher restrictions to help stop the transmission of the virus. As flu season quickly approaches many people are anxious, fearful and downright scared. 

Halloween or everyday? That is a saying we use when we see people dressed up in costume during a time other than the two weeks leading up to Halloween, but it may be appropriate at anytime now. The fear lives in us all. The unknown possibilities of what the virus outbreak will be like in the middle of the flu season is approaching. And it could not have come at a worse time for those living in Europe and the U.S. as the numbers are increasing again back to May-like proportions.

According to USA today, "The U.S., now topping 9 million cases, on Friday posted a record number of case for a single day, 99,321, and a record 551,167 cases in a week."

And from NPR, "Europe reported more than 1.3 million new cases this past week, its highest single week count yet, according to the World Health Organization.

Spain and France each surpassed 1 million cumulative confirmed cases last week, becoming the sixth and seventh countries to do so globally. Italy, Germany, Belgium, the Czech Republic and the United Kingdom are also experiencing record numbers — threatening to overwhelm countries' abilities to test, trace and contain the virus."

In the words of  French Prime Minister Jean Castex said at a press conference when the new restrictions were announced. "The situation is grave." Indeed.

Trick or treat is no longer a choice. If only it were a trick, but the virus is indeed real and we are only able to contain it up to a point. Our hope lies in a vaccine, but even that answer is strewn with questions. Alas, we must keep on, keeping on (originally cited in a speech by MLK and used by  musicians Bob Dylan and Len Chandler)

We must not be lazy. We must continue to protect ourselves and others by wearing a mask, using social distance advice and adhering to the restrictions issued by our governing bodies. It remains to be seen how this winter will play out.  All we can do is play our role. Do our best to stay safe. And for tonight celebrate Halloween responsibly. Wearing a mask is all part of the fun anyway. 

In entertainment news, we lost the great Scottish actor, Sean Connery. He passed at the age of 90 years old last night. Known for his portrayal as Ian Fleming's James Bond he also won an Oscar for his role in The Untouchables. RIP Mr. Bond.

Day 228

 Sunday October 26, 2020

A decision was made Thursday evening by A.P.S. to pull the plug on the hybrid model after two weeks.  The increasing number of coronavirus cases in the Denver metro area and the potential exposures being reported inside several schools were the reasons for the move back to remote learning.  Just days prior to that decision we were told high school students, who had been remote since day one, will not move into the hybrid/in-person model.  The only amendment we did not anticipate was that pre-school and kindergarten will continue the hybrid model. The 1st-8th graders will remain remote until at least mid-November when another decision will be made.  So, there you have it- the experiment is over.   The hybrid model was the most intense as teachers were required to teach students in-person while also managing a group remotely. This teaching year has been some kind of experience. I imagine it will continue to be unpredictable and challenging through the remainder of the year. All because of a novel coronavirus which has taken the world by storm and surprise. And seven months into the pandemic we are still reporting record numbers. According to the Washington Post, "The United States reported more than 73,000 new coronavirus infections Thursday, its highest one-day increase since July. And over the past week, covid-19 hospitalizations have risen in at least 38 states, a trend that cannot be explained by more widespread testing." All this and flu season is creeping around the corner dressed in it's best death costume ready to deliver to us a Halloween we will never forget.

This year trick or treating will undoubtedly be curbed. The parties will be few. The visage of death and the virus will not be limited.  More than ever the human race is feeling defeated. There are some who are fed up. Some who are tired and being complacent. And some who are scared and feeling hopeless.

Some people in the world continue to view the virus either as a hoax or downplaying the severity (One such person, who shall not be named, said on a national broadcast "it's going away") This is the world we live in. The only predictable thing is the unpredictable future. We do not know what will occur once flu season is in full swing. We have no idea when education will look the same. When are unsure of the economy and the effect the pandemic will have on it, possibly for years to come. We cannot say when a vaccine will be created, issued and what sort of impact it will have on the virus. 

This seems to be one of the main factors in recent states of depression and anxiety: the unknown future (at least in regards to the pandemic and concurrent virus outbreak). Because it's not like we can ever predict the future. The Scientific American might disagree. Here's there take on the future, or at least some possibilities in the future. 20-big-questions-about-the-future-of-humanity/

We watched The Trial of the Chicago Seven last night. It is heavy, man. Be prepared for some shocking events that took place during the trial (which took several months). The movie provides us with an account of seven men tried with conspiracy and inciting a riot following the 1968 Democratic Convention. The convention took place in Chicago, Illinois amidst heavy police and National guard monitoring. The thousands of people who came to demonstrate against the Vietnam war and the government gathered in Lincoln Park. Many were part of several groups camping out, giving speeches  and organizing peaceful protests. Some groups demonstrating were the SDS, The YIP party and The MOBE and the Black Panthers. You can read more about them here:

1968_Democratic_National_Convention_protest_activity

Happy Sunday everyone. Take pleasure in the known. The things you have control of and simple pleasures of your daily life. The loved ones around you. The comfy chair you sit in to read. The favorite Sunday traditions that allow you some semblance of normal life. Enjoy life today.