Travels with The Rayman

Well, here we are, shutting ourselves off from the world on purpose.  It goes without saying that this is unprecedented in my life time.  And I’m really old.  

So, what to do?  Why, blog, of course.

Every single event on my calendar has been cancelled.  High tea, physical therapy, aqua aerobics, a fashion show.  Between last week and this week and it’s only Monday, we lost more money (on paper) in the stock market, we have been told to avoid groups of more than 500, oops…make that 250…oops…make that 100,  oops, make that 10.   I don’t mean to confuse anyone…that’s the number of people, not my IRA account.

But, I digress.

The suffering is palpable.  One friend has said only one person can visit her husband a day in his memory care building.  Luckily, no one in our county has died yet…is it just a matter of time?   Our hearts go out to Ted and Sandy.  It is so painful and consequential.

When I find myself sitting around worrying about the number of respirators we have in our area, I know I’m in trouble.  Because it is troubling.  And while it is true that this pandemic crossed our borders, we have known (the federal gov’t) since January that it was going to happen.  And our federal government fiddled as Rome was closed down but people rose up and flung open their shutters and sang opera.  

Really.  Our government was criminally negligent in my humble opinion.  Happy talk, happy talk, happy talk.  The only person on the podium today that I believed was Dr. Fauci, .  I may have misspelled his name.  I love the guy.   Straight shooter who believes in data and actually knows what the heck he is doing.  

In reflecting on this further, where is FEMA?  I believe that stands for Federal Emergency Management Administration.  So curious was I that I googled it and found that it is now headed up by one Peter Gaynor.  In reviewing his bio, it was discovered that he is actually qualified for the job.  However, when I went to FEMA’s website there was only one or two sentences about the pandemic and, well, isn’t that odd?  Below the pandemic announcement, the rest of page was filled with talk about other subjects.

http://www.fema.gov

Okay, I admit I am in the mud here.  However, I guess the above info does beg the question of why we aren’t hearing from them.  Which goes to the heart of my complaint about how things have been and are being handled.  I mean one thing FEMA does according to its mission statement is to provide toilets.  And with all the toilet paper being purchased, we are going to need more toilets.  

Great story.  I was playing golf last Thursday with a friend who resides in Canada.  She and her husband are snowbirds.  We were discussing the pandemic as we walked the course.  No need to worry about getting infected out there.  Our balls never go to the same place (they fly all over the course not even remotely near the center of the fairway).   Seems safe to me.

But I digress.

Lorraine, the Canadian, says to me, “I am worried the border will be closed.”  I replied that I didn’t think he would do it.  Lorraine said, “I mean Canada might close the border.”  Let that sink in for a minute.

Today I escaped the confined of our house twice!!  Once to walk Beau in the rain, and the other to drive over to Paso with Rayman to deliver our tax info to the accountant.  Of course, we could have mailed it but, hey, a ride and a walk is a great idea so consider it if you aren’t already on board.  You know those lighted signs on CA freeways that say things like, “Buckle Up)”  (which I wonder if that is safe advice for the 70 mph driver of the car racing pass the sign and who decides to actually buckle up.)   Anyway, today the sign warned us about the coronavirus and washing our hands and perhaps staying home.   I only remember it was about the virus rather than seat belts.  The State of CA seems to be all over it.  Personally, I have been impressed by our State gov’t in general during this time.  It’s never a bad face to look at on the front page of the paper…Gov. Newsom, I’m referencing here.   And tonight  7 counties, I think, ordered all their people to shelter in place as though this phrase is a typical, everyday term.  Never heard the term before.  Anyway, this will affect  6.9 million people which is more people than 38 states in this country have collectively.  Don’t get me going on the Senate, the institution I hate.  

Keeping the pandemic on a lighter side, …………………………………

Meanwhile.

This is no time for a toothache.  Our dentist office called us today and told us the office will be closed for the next two weeks.  That may be a blessing (sorry Dr. Koblinski).  And physical therapy was cancelled.  I will not specify how that helps or hurts me but thanks for asking.  Then the Quota club cancelled their annual fashion show fundraiser.  And high tea was cancelled and this is very unsettling for the express reason that I bought a spectator hat in a vibrant, bright yellow for the occasion.  I have volunteered to loan it out as we may not be here in June when they may hold the tea now.  It was great fun to buy that hat.  Dead of summer in Portland, OR I went shopping for a hat after I received the invitation from my dear friend, Mary.  It’s Mary’s birthday and she was treating me to tea.  Very upsetting that it was cancelled.

But I digress.

So, Rayman and I found a huge hat shop on Killingsworth, truly an extraordinary street name.  It may have been another street but I prefer to remember it being on Killinsgworth to enrich the reading experience. Portland has a few interesting street names.  One is Couch.   When lost downtown this summer, I asked a passerby where Couch St. was and he said, “It is pronounced “Kooch” street.”…as in koochy, koocky, koo.  But for my money, of which little is left (on paper), Killingsworth is the best named street in town.

This blog may appear to be a drag.  Not only that… you may think it is, in fact, a drag.  However, in a few years from now when we look back at this extraordinary time, it may be fun to remember how horrible it really was.

And with that cheery note I will bid a fond adieu.

p.s.  Received an email from Lorraine from Oregon.  They are headed back home because the Prime Minister, in fact, closed the border to Canada to all but its citizens.  She will be missed but I must admit….I’m jealous.