This virus has changed our world. Historically from now on, the world may be divided into the Pre-virus Pandemic Era and the Post-Pandemic era. Some will remember 2020 as the year the world changed because of the coronavirus.
We are living under great stress and fear. Our behavior is different as we wander in uncertainty of what tomorrow brings. We see the changes as we adapt and try to hang and change with it. But we don’t know as we hear different daily reports on this horrible deadly disease.
It is reported from the White House that the virus may have escaped from a Chinese laboratory, though the President can’t provide details. People say it possibly is a man-made virus. Or do you believe the bat theory from the open wet markets of exotic animals? Does it matter, I wonder as I listen to the death score and to some of the people in the know.
We listen to the demographics of the virus and African Americans take the lead, but now it is ravaging the Mexicans. Yet the Italians were severely affected and African Americans and Mexicans don’t live there. So what do you believe? Is there a conspiracy against minorities?
We hear about the different age groups. We listen to the nursing home great number of deaths, but the babies die, too. We see the prisoners die because they can’t practice social distancing. They live on a death sentence, inside.
We have a killer in our midst and it takes us all out if it touches us, as we guard ourselves with the mask and Lysol.
This weekend I had the occasion to go to a store for an essential item. I went to the northern suburbs with a friend. It was quite noticeable that the young white kids did not wear masks. They played in the parks, they skateboarded. I even saw a basketball game of three. I saw cycling, walking, jogging and the like, but they did not have on masks.
Is there a racial dictate on who should wear masks or not? Do the policemen on horseback need to ride the parks and ticket the naked faces? Do we need a mask patrol?
Biden’s Wiggle
Back to the November 2020 election Biden versus Trump. Which will be the next President of the United States, who will inherit the virus that will probably last a couple of more years, as the experts report?
Biden is getting baptized in the political process as a woman from many years ago comes forth to say she was “sexually harassed” in the halls of the Senate. She alleges that Biden pushed her against the wall, went up her skirt and under her underwear and wiggled his finger in her vagina.
Really Ms. Reade? What took you so long? She reported it to the Senate authorities and filed papers that don’t match her story. She’s lying. Here’s why.
In the day she accuses Biden of this predatory action, women wore panty hose. That is a pullup stocking, for the males who might not know the dynamic of women’s underwear. No way he put her up against the wall, pulled down the panty hose, penetrated her and wiggled his finger.
Perhaps, just maybe, she pulled her panty hose and panties down. But would you do that in the Senate hallway, where there must be cameras and guards and people as the senators move about from office to chamber? Think about it.
Secondly, on why Ms. Reade is lying – Joe Biden was the Vice President of the United State of America for eight years. The president was a Black man, Barack Obama, who took extreme precaution with those around him in his inner circle.
Obama was so cautious that if he had a Chicago friend who had a traffic ticket, he dumped them. This was the administration that vetted Biden to be the vice president, the second highest office in the land, just a heartbeat away from the power seat.
Ms. Reade backed out of Sunday morning TV news interview shows where she would have be raked over the coals for proof and recall of the Biden incident. She was a no show. Even Donald Trump, in his own way, came to Biden’s defense, saying this is what happens when you move up the political hierarchy chain of command.
So now in 2020, we are vetting a man who has served as the 47th Vice President of the United States and was a senator from 1973 to 2009. Biden is a hugger and he kisses and hugs. This is his crime. This becomes a part of his journey to the White House with a devastating pandemic. He eloquently defends himself from his basement. Please.
What Will Be “Normal”?
In this moment of economic crises and pandemic watch, would you rather have Biden or Trump at the helm of pulling us out of this misery? Let’s be clear, this is not going away next week. We are looking at a horizon of a couple of years.
We may never return to “normal”, no matter what the governors do or don’t. The opening up of shops and beaches and parks may wreak havoc. And this winter, combined with the coronavirus, the “normal” flu season may be more serious beyond expectation.
Scary isn’t it, as we also view an economic disaster in the face that may be worse than the Great Depression? In fact, 2020 may give us the Greater Depression as we look at record unemployment rates and small businesses visit the world of no return.
Children may not be taught in a real classroom with a teacher and principal for yet another year. So then, once again, would you rather have Biden, with an obvious lying woman accusing a wiggled finger, or Trump, who goes for the direct and forceful grab of the woman’s pussy with ease because he’s the rich and famous male?
The hardest behavior adjustment during this pandemic is leaving your sick loved one at the hospital door and not knowing his or her condition. The nurses and doctors become your new best friend with the comfort of Facebook Live as you watch life leave. This is an emotional challenge of the time.
Funerals have changed. We now have virtual funerals and graveside only services and cremations. Later, when we are allowed to gather, we will have proper memorial services for our loved ones. The funeral directors have become policeman to determine which ten get in for a final farewell.
There have been reports of those who have violated the rules of gathering and the social distancing and attended the funeral, conducting business as usual. One such funeral was in the South and over 20 of those who attended contracted the disease and some died.
I am reminded of the late great Harlem Renaissance New York photographer, James Van Der Zee (1886-1983). He was American’s first great African-American photographer. He became well known for providing a unique service for funerals. In his day, many people died who came to New York City from the South during the migration.
Too often family members could not come north for the funeral because of financial reasons. So Van Der Zee took pictures of the deceased in casket and sent the photos to the southern family. His photos of the funerals are haunting, but he was able to record the last viewing of the person in a poignant way. This was the only way the families could be involved, and so it is today with Facebook Live.
Being Cooped Up Is No Joke
It is difficult to stay cooped up in the house on a beautiful spring sunny day. We are restless and anxious. Emotions run high as we love, but become tired of our house mates. Reports say alcohol and drug use are way up, as is domestic violence also, unfortunately.
Parents appreciate teachers more and more and might demand a raise for teachers as they learn first hand what it really takes for Johnny to learn to read and count. We are sleeping, gaining weight, and enriching Netflix and Zoom.
The college student with no school, no friend contact and no job will figure out escape. It might come out as “Let’s party!” So, the young man from the West Side had a party while his mother worked as a first responder around the clock.
He had a party that she was not supposed to know about. So she would come home to the house she left, now perhaps filled with the virus she worked hard to protect others from getting. This young man endangered his family with a young stupid surprise party as he tried to recognize the shooting deaths of two of his friends.
He expected 20 to 30 guests, but 200 showed up. The Facebook video went viral. He said he didn’t realize how serious the virus was. So he’s a young man who was bored, and perhaps he did what a lot of young folk do – have a party when your mom is not home. And it got out of hand.
He was Black and it took on another dimension because of the stigma and stereotypes attached to Black youth. I wanted Mayor Lightfoot to give the partygoers a red wristband and send them all to the nearest center for a test and then pray for them.
Illinois Governor Pritzker is sued for violation of freedom as he tries all ways to protect us from ourselves. He, too, should give those who sue a wristband and pass a resolution for those who are stupid and have a proclamation of prayer just for them. Case dismissed.
We move differently. We appreciate our friends and family more. We become more wholesome. I personally want to sleep, to get fully charged. I am tired of the store and I am being creative with my cuisine and watching cooking shows for new ideas on recipes. Some are good.
I am becoming quite the tasty cook, gourmet style. But I am guilty that I am not sharing with my friends these delicious meals. I want to call my friends over and say, wait until you taste this, come on over and bring the wine. I can’t wait for the dinner party that I am going to have post virus, and the real party.
A gala is brewing. I want to put on makeup and dress, with heels, and go to work or to the face-to-face meeting. I want to see the play and attend the concert and plan for Ravinia, but not this summer. I will miss Tony Bennett as he turns 94 and pray that we will see him at 95 at Ravinia in 2021.
I want to dance. I love my sister friend even more as she cooked one Sunday and left my dinner at the door. I cried as I ate her great meal, but we should have been together at the kitchen table.
I want to get back to the exercise class for the physical challenge. I miss my friends. I have become closer with my neighbors, as we watch out for each other in heartfelt ways.
I cannot hear of another death. My office friend, Harold Davis who was a radio guy, died because he was too close to the microphone. The microphone is not supposed to kill people.
I want to visit my sick friends. I want to go to church and hear a dynamite sermon that inspires me to move onward. I want to celebrate my friend’s birthday, who doesn’t celebrate his birthday anymore.
Will we ever get back to normal?
