A Better Normal

I hear all the time, "I just want things to go back to being normal".

What is normal?  Yes, it's a world where you can hug and shake hands and visit without worrying about infecting someone.  You drive to work every day and feel accomplished by what you've done.  It feels safe.  It's normal.

It's also stagnant.  It is easy to dismiss issues like climate change, civil rights, and economic divides, because we have our own lives to manage; a job, perhaps children...responsibilities.

And now we're sitting at home, furloughed or laid off.  Or we're considered essential and having crazy anxiety wondering if we'll get sick, or shot, or shoved into a lake for doing our job.

What if this is the "new" normal? 

There are religions and spiritualists all over the world that forecast a great awakening in the year 2000.  What if this prediction is true, and this painful process we're going through leads to something spectacular?  Many more people working from home.  High speed internet free and available everywhere.  Fewer cars on the road, leading to less need for the oil and gas industry.  A re-evaluation of our priorities. 

The fossil fuel industry has been subsidized for years, with the argument that if it were not, consumer costs would skyrocket.  And yet, those companies are reporting record profits - and those profits aren't paid back to the taxpayers.  Fossil Fuel Subsidies and the Implications is an interesting read on the subject.

This crisis has taught us that health insurance isn't enough to keep us healthy.  It's highlighted the income disparity between the 1% and the rest of us.  By being furloughed, I've doubled my income being on unemployment.  And before you say that's the problem, and I'm being paid not to work, ask yourself WHY it's doubled my income.  Why was I paid so little to begin with? 

A five day workweek and eight hour day was inconceivable until 1926 when Henry Ford implemented the practice in his factories.  In 1900, 18% of all American workers were under the age of 16. 

Child Oyster Shuckers 1911

When I started working at American Airlines in 1989, smoking was still allowed at workstations, and pantyhose was a requirement when traveling.  Computers were new, and I found myself explaining what a 'mouse' was.  E-mail was revolutionary.

Here's a fascinating overview of work life from the 1950's until now.  We can't conceive going back to the work of the past, and the changes have been positive for the most part.  Check out the predictions from each decade!

I'm looking forward to what people can do given the incentive.  What if our future revolved around our home lives; our family and friends.  The United States could leapfrog into the future that's already going to happen.  Telehealth was starting to be a thing, and now it's growing leaps and bounds.  Self check-outs were already in use, and are rising exponentially.  Amazon already has introduced stores fully stocked and no employees.

Not everyone will be happy about the changes of course.  Change is uncomfortable and sometimes painful.  Families didn't know how they would pay the rent in 1900 without their children over the age of 4 working for a wage.  Corporate leaders don't trust their employees to work remotely.  The CEOs of Exxon/Mobile and Chevron have gotten used to making millions off of our tax subsidies. 

The change will happen, with or without your permission.  And I believe that the world of 2030 will be better, cleaner, and healthier. 

It's an Accomplishment

As Chicken Little was heard to say, "the sky is falling, the sky is falling!".  Worst jobless rate since the Great Depression.  Conspiracy theories taking over social media.  People with assault weapons attempting to block streets near major hospitals.  And real people, human beings, sons, daughters, fathers and mothers dying alone in hospital beds hooked up to ventilators.

I'm not immune - I was the first person in a small walk-in clinic to greet you when you came in complaining of high fever and cough.  When we figured out what was happening, I was the one who called you to confirm the place and time for your Covid-19 test, asking for the make and model of your car so that our nurse could test you without you ever getting out of the car.  And I was furloughed last month when the clinic closed its doors, hopefully temporarily.

Staying home isn't a major hardship for me, I admit.  You see my picture in the dictionary when you look up the term introvert.  A week before being furloughed I took delivery of 8 day-old chicks, who are still living in totes in my living room.  I've been able to watch them mature day by day, hour by hour, and they make me laugh.  Here's Antonio, week one and week 5 so you can see how FAST they grow!




Anxiety, depression, fear, and boredom have become familiar, just as they have for billions.  Instead of making "to do" lists, I started a spreadsheet called "Accomplishments".  Because at the end of every day I was feeling like I had done nothing.  My house was still a mess, the garden hadn't been weeded, etc.  Some days just getting out of bed is an accomplishment.  My list is mundane, like drinking water, digging up thistles in the yard, or unclogging the laundry room drain.  I find myself looking around for things to do, just so I can add an accomplishment.  Doing a sink full of dishes counts, as do scooping litter boxes.

One day I sewed a pillowcase and learned how to make a french seam.


Yesterday I saved myself a couple hundred bucks by unclogging the laundry room drain myself, with this nifty gadget you hook up to a hose.  It took a couple of tries, but my laundry room, furnace room and garage aren't flooding anymore. 

Today the only item on the list may be picking up groceries at Walmart.  And that's okay.  I've been out of the house a couple of times today just to walk outside a bit.  Both of my lilacs look like they're going to bloom this year.  I've transplanted one of them twice trying to find the right amount of sun, so that's an accomplishment!  I can see tiny leaves coming up on my radishes, and onions I forgot about last fall are popping up now.  Soon snap peas and various kinds of lettuce will adorn my plate, and I'll gorge myself on strawberries, June berries, and wild raspberries. 

It's almost time go pickup my Walmart order.  Better throw another load in the washing machine - it's an accomplishment!

Original Thoughts Anyone?

What if Facebook disabled the Share button for a week?  What if you couldn't copy and paste, but could only write your own original content?

Would you have the courage to do it? 

Isn't it easier to re-post that meme that incites anger/disgust against a segment of the population, whether they be Democrats, Republicans, Christians, Muslims, Chinese, Mexicans, gay, straight?   So what if a Russian troll farm created it?  So what if it's untrue, unkind, or hate speech? 

You can hide behind your posts.  You can claim that you don't really believe it when pressed.  But you do, you really do.  You just lack the courage to say it in your own words. 

I see the helpers out there trying to get us through this crisis.  I see you too. 

Influenza A

I did everything right...I got my flu shot, washed my hands, disinfected, you name it.  Working the front-line in a walk clinic makes it hard to stay healthy.  Two weeks ago I had "haemophilus influenzae", which is caused by a bacteria unlike the flu we think of, so a round of antibiotics fixed me up.  And eye drops for the pink eye that came along with it.

Friday afternoon I asked our nurse to take my temp - I wasn't feeling right.  It was a low-grade fever, but I started taking Tylenol immediately.  The loud barking cough that went with it was starting to indicate Influenza (the viral kind), so I promised I'd come in the next morning to get looked at.

That night was a nightmare of unproductive coughing and fever delirium.  My FitBit says I got 52 minutes of sleep.  I was coughing so hard I would sometime retch with dry heaves, causing my face to break out in red spots.  My throat felt like it had been flayed open with razors, and I felt like I couldn't keep my eyes open.  I got in the car and went to the clinic, which was a scary drive in itself.  I found myself weaving a bit, but made it there.  The provider and nurse both took a look at me and said "you have influenza based on how sick you are", but I wanted proof, since I had always relied on the flu shot to keep me safe.

Sure enough, the test showed Influenza A.  It made me think back to a day about 5 days before, where a family of 6, all anti-vaxxers, came in, all obviously very ill.  And they all had Influenza A too.  If they had their vaccines, would they have avoided the trip to the clinic? 

I went home with my Tamiflu and cough medicine, and went straight to bed.  I still couldn't sleep, but I had no energy to be anywhere else.  The TV was blinding, and when I tried to eat 2 sugar snap peas, I threw them up. 

Today, 3 days later, I still have a fever, my throat is raw, but my cough has subsided just enough to snatch a couple minutes sleep.  And just the effort of writing this is proving too much.  I need to head back to bed.

Life Lessons on MLK Day

I once had a best friend that really got me.  She and I worked together.  She was the cool girl - artistic, funny, and loved by all.

Our circle expanded to include a guy, who had a wicked wit and who was the life of the party.  All three of us were friends for a time, until the guy's wit turned on me.  When I told him his words hurt, he only increased the verbal assault, and left me in tears several times. 

I asked my best friend why she didn't support me; why she continued to hang out with him when he was so vicious to me.  She didn't like the abuse, she told me, but he was still nice to her, so she wasn't going to drop him as a friend.

I learned a really hard lesson that day.  And although it took months to break away, I did.  And unfortunately, I've had to repeat that lesson many times in my life.

Today, on Martin Luther King day, I honor the man who stood up for his friends when others persecuted them.  Life would have been so much easier for him if he ignored the injustices forced upon his friends.

Many years after that first lesson, I worked in Berlin, and on a rare weekend off, took the train to the concentration camp Sachsenhausen, where a Lutheran minister, Martin Niemöller,once a supporter of Hitler, was imprisoned.  After the war, he expressed his sentiments with prose that rings true even today.

First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist

Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist

Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist

Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew

Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me

My Views on Religious Freedom

I read a lot, and watch a lot of news and information programs.  Lately I hear a conservative view that says Christian evangelicals ignore the sins of the president because they are working to promote religious freedom, and it's the price they are willing to pay.

I always wrinkle my brow when I hear that, because I know that the very first amendment to the Constitution gives them that very right.

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

So what do the evangelists mean exactly?  Based on what I see, I can only come to this conclusion: they want Christians to have freedom.  Freedom to make the government their own and formalize what so many already state: we're a Christian nation.  So that Christian beliefs can be taught in schools and posted on the walls of Congress.

What can possibly go wrong with that?  First of all, which Christian religion should rule?  Baptists?  Lutherans?  The snake charming one?  Or how about the one that protests at all the military funerals holding signs like "God Hates Gays"?  Should we start treating the Christian bible like our constitution and begin stoning adulterers to death?

You think we're divided now - just imagine if we really were a "Christian nation".  Catholics would be fighting Lutherans, Baptists would be fighting the Methodists, and mass chaos would ensue.  And snakes.  There would be snakes.

Here's what the first amendment means to me.  Our country was founded on the principle that our government stays out of religion.  Period.  It's the only way we avoid being a Theocracy, which is defined as:

"a system of government in which priests rule in the name of God or a god."

Iran is a theocracy.  So is Saudi Arabia, and yes, Vatican City.  Where the rulers get to decide what you wear.  And what you think.  And who you love.

This great experiment we've got going here in the US has a strong foundation BECAUSE it was built on secular principles, allowing ALL people the freedom to live their lives in the way they choose.

Pray on, if you choose to.  Pray to God, Allah, Ishtar, Vishnu, or the Universe.  Or take a walk in the woods and give thanks for the everyday miracles surrounding us.  Or go worship the shiny new car at the dealer.  You have the religious freedom to do any or all of the above.  But please, no snakes, okay?

Goddess Ishtar

Ode to My BFF

From the day we met in our Sophomore year of college we were finishing each other's sentences.  Even when distance and laziness kept us out of touch, when we reconnected it was like we had never been apart.  The death of our beautiful friend Karen brought us together in a new way.  For the first time, we realized there was no getting out of here alive.

So when my mammogram came back suspicious, she was the first person I told.  And when it turned out I had cancer, she was there.  Not with thoughts and prayers, but with real support.  She bought a one-way ticket a few days before my bilateral mastectomy and vowed to stay as long as I needed her.

Anyone who knows me well knows that my talents don't lie in housekeeping skills.  My priorities are elsewhere; my cats and chickens, cooking delicious food, politics.  Anything but vacuuming, mopping, or laundry.  My BFF went to work immediately getting my house and yard in order.  The mountain of laundry dwindled to nothing, and those chores I kept putting off got done.  She finds joy in cleaning; who knew? 

She accompanied me to the hospital and waited hours for me to be out of surgery.  When my surgical drains leaked, she changed my bed and my bandages.  She looked unflinchingly at my flat chest with incisions from armpit to armpit.  She played endless games of Gin Rummy, learned the names and personalities of 11 cats and 6 chickens, tried every kitchen gadget I own. 

Her name is Denise, and she is my family.