Shutdown Diary
The latest stats from WaPo over the past week:
The latest on vaccine stats from CDC:
I don't think you can overstate how bad this week's numbers are, WaPo gives some reasons for believing published numbers are understated over the past week. And some weekdays we're seeing nearly 750K cases a day and a weighted average of nearly 600K daily. Airlines are running on skeleton work forces; even a WWE PPV saw its main event canceled when the defending champion was diagnosed with COVID-19. Almost everyone has some anecdotal experiences of the pandemic has affected them; for example, a sister (fully vaccinated and boosted) intended to visit my mom from out of town on her birthday but a co-worker had been infected. A niece (also vaxxed) who works for USPS has had at least a couple of co-workers diagnosed and thankfully has tested negative on multiple occasions. I was visiting a relative in assisted living (vaxxed and boosted) and she was tested while I was there (the facility has seen multiple staff and/or residents infected).
There were other experiences, which I'll expand on below: my first roundtrip flight in the COVID era, not to mention being outside of Maryland. Of course, the most obvious difference, over and beyond flight accessibility with staffing shortages and weather issues, is facemasking. I had brought multiple N95 masks with me, but I found myself rebuked as unmasked at a self-check-in kiosk; I knew I had to be masked at security and onboard but it's anywhere in the terminal. (I also brought a hardcopy of my vaccine card, just in case, but never referenced.) I don't need government policy because I'm aware traveling is a high risk activity. TSA does make you momentarily drop your mask for ID verification. I still at a couple of times momentarily dropped the mask to catch my breath in restrooms or long walks in the gate areas and walkways. And, of course, I needed to wear one during visits to an assisted living facility. I doubt I'm revealing any secrets because thousands have flown during the pandemic.
There were other things possibly related to the pandemic. One is a BWI parking facility I've probably used over a dozen times since 1999 (one of my jobs before moving to Maryland included use of a locally leased Mercedes) has suspended operations. And one of my favorite fast food BBQ chains in Texas had suspended indoor dining my visit due to staffing issues. And on a full Southwest flight to Houston, one of the staff over the intercom ranted about people not working during the pandemic, pointing out their personnel were working heavy overtime, etc., to minimize flight cancellations, and the passengers broke into spontaneous applause.
From a political standpoint, SCOTUS heard multiple challenges on Biden's vaccine mandates, one involving the OSHA mandate to private employers, the other involving healthcare personnel involving federal program beneficiaries. Trying to predict decisions is speculative behavior and fallible at best, but the commentators I've heard seemed to think SCOTUS is mote likely to side with the latter mandate. I'm strongly pro-vaccine, but I think mandates are more of a state/local option in our federal system. Private-sector employers are vested in a healthy workforce and should have the most flexibility to deploy their employees; they should not be commandeered by the government as their surrogates. I agree that vaccination is our best strategy to herd immunity, but government economic extortion is not the most effective way. Still, hearing Kagan describe the mandate as reasonable and effective is troubling. The mandate is a disincentive to work, and OSHA, which is constitutionally dubious to begin with, has never been used to control disease with no Congressional mandate. There is only a mild risk to vaccinated workers, and the mandate doesn't cover smaller employers and unemployed people.
Yes, Another HMM Holiday Movie I Like
Five More Minutes. Well, Hallmark's Countdown to Christmas is over, and I thought I had written my last segment on the topic for several months, but I finally watched this movie (in part, inspired by a similarly titled Scott McCreery song) since my last journal post. The protagonist in this movie is a young woman who had a bond with her recently deceased grandfather., a candy store owner. She's operating the store and dealing with relationship and other issues, longing that she could just have 5 more minutes for his sage advice and to say how much he meant to her. She hires a temp, an eager young male. They soon discover her grandfather's diary, revealing that he had an unrequited love in his youth.
I don't want to give away the whole plot. Let's just say she finds her grandfather's crush, who leaves her with (unopened) envelopes of items relating to their relationship. She meets the temp at the shop on Christmas Eve, and at some point, she opens up about missing her grandfather, wishing she had 5 more minutes to talk to him. The temp asks, "What would you say to him?" She gushes out her feelings and then points out he'll never know. The temp simply says, "He knows." He then explains he has to leave. Immediately after the temp leaves, one of the crush's envelopes spills its contents--including pictures of her grandfather's youthful appearance--which looks exactly like.... The granddaughter runs out after the temp, finding disappearing steps in the snow.
There are elements in this story like some of my favorite cable movies like 'Angels and Ornaments', 'Angel in the Family', and 'A Christmas Visitor'.
I'm Back From My Trip
I was recently on a 9-day out of town trip; I did manage to publish a daily miscellany post, but I haven't been able to publish other blog format posts like this one, essays, etc. I will soon resume publishing more specialty posts as time permits. The trip, as explained above, had its challenges; I was worried about airline schedules, I had secured parking at an airport area hotel and was worried if my prefunded period expired before my return, if I had to apply for more PTO, etc. I only managed to see one of my 5 siblings in Texas and my Mom, for the first time in over 2 years. Still, I was able to find a number of favorite restaurants open. It wasn't a real vacation in the traditional sense but overdue.
