Month: March 2020

  • Coronavirus and Changing America

    Funny what the different a day can make.

    Yesterday, all was pretty normal in the City.

    Today, there is a decided change. I can see it with the people on the street. There are more masks out, and though this was always a town where people went out of their way not to come in contact with others, today everyone is moving as if there is a bubble around them.

    Trump’s address on tv last night didn’t help anything. Shutting down Europe access while leaving the UK alone doesn’t really help anyone. The problem is that the virus is here, and we need to start dealing with that. Testing, and limiting groups does make sense, but right now, I only see state and local governments doing that. The Trump administration isn’t really leading.

    I do think the NBA also made the right call, and other leagues should consider doing the same thing. These are mass gatherings, and it’s not that everyone who goes to these events will get infected, it’s that enough might take it home to parents and grandparents, who are the truly vulnerable here.

    I would hope, and this is hope not a fact, that 30 days of this, of people laying low, will slow the spread of coronavirus down, so it can become manageable. The only way for that to happen is to allow testing and gathering data. Let the doctors and scientists do their job, and that will take time.

    For the rest of us, let’s have level heads, and pitch in together. Should we help small business and workers; yes. What if there was a 30-day “Bill Holiday,” where no bills, rents, or payments are mandatorily collected? Everyone gets a break. This wouldn’t be a government hand out, but would be the people of this nation choosing to do this on their own. I have seen it happen in small towns that are hit by natural disasters. Why not everywhere else?

  • Coronavirus: Observations in NYC

    I know that earlier today the WHO officially called coronavirus a pandemic, and again, not too surprised nor too worried about it. I am following all the suggestions, and I am washing my hands, keeping sanitizer on me, and trying to limit my exposure to large groups. Also, I am trying to eat healthy, exercise, and get a good night’s sleep as well. Trying to be healthy all around.

    I did have to run some errands today in the City, and I was limited to Harlem and the Upper West Side, but this is what I observed:

    The number of people on the streets in Harlem seemed normal, such as, not smaller than would be expected for the time of day I was out.

    On the subway, I did see people in masks. Now, people have always tried to put as much space between them and others when riding, so again, people looked to be behaving normally.

    I was around the Lincoln Center area, and people looked normal going about their business.

    I stopped off at a Trader Joe’s, and the store was out of toilet paper, paper towels, and ice cream. The ice cream I get; you’re stuck in doors watching, or catching up, on your shows. Binge watching leads to binge eating. I get it. The paper towels and toilet paper thing still blows my mind, as in why hoard that? I first read about these shortages in Seattle on BuzzFeed, and I thought how odd. I had no idea that a run on toilet paper could be the carney in the coal mine for coronavirus.

    Other than that, all seems normal in NYC.

  • Coronavirus and Belief over Facts

    The coronavirus is in New York, and I am not really surprised. Whatever the issue might be, it will eventually show up here. I’m not too worried. A little worried, yes, but more like keeping my guard up, worried.

    I haven’t started hoarding masks, or latex gloves, or toilet paper. We have the normal amount of food that we would have for a Tuesday.

    We have gone to sporting events, parks, museums, and plan on continuing to do that.

    I’m not very confident in the City, State and Federal government working together on this, but if I had to pick a big city to be in when a pandemic hits, I will still go with New York. This town seems to handle disasters rather well.

    The one thing that I started to notice on social media are the anti-vaxxers making statements about how they will not be contracting coronavirus because their kids never received any vaccinations. At least that is what an old high school friend just posted. (Heard immunity, I know, they should look it up…) Somehow, not getting a vaccination is their plan to survive this.

    Selective science people fascinate me. I had a girlfriend once who swore up and down that evolution was fake and the world was only 5,000 years old because the bible said so… but at the same time, she was in college to become a nurse, and that meant medical science was completely real and to be trusted. I would point out that geology and biology and all the sciences used the same scientific method, and also used peer review to verify results. Didn’t matter, God had “told” her and nothing could dissuade her. (Yes, we did break up.)

    That is what makes me nervous about people and this virus; going off of what they believe to be true, and not what the facts are.

  • Coronavirus, Gig Economy, and Deaths of Despair

    To my surprise, when I woke up this morning and started to read the news, Charlie Warzel wrote a piece about how the coronavirus quarantines are affecting people along class lines disproportionally. (I hate to brag, but I pretty much said the same thing a little while ago.) Affluent people will not suffer the same way people who have to work will, and also the gig economy is now structured so that others have to support the ones who stay home.

    And then to make this a really happy Friday, the New York Times also had a story on how working-class Americans, those who do not have a four-year college degree, are dying in higher numbers to “deaths of despair” which is defined by death due to alcohol, drugs or suicide. The data is striking and rather scary. There is a lot to unpack here, and I suggest that you read it.

    All of it is important, but what jumped out at me are two data points about how working-class Americas are less likely to be married and to go to church. The stereotype for as long as I can remember has been the opposite; working class America was the church going and family values people. If that notion is now turned on its head, does that mean that “values voters” are now college educated liberals?

    What all of this reminds me of is what Studs Terkel always said about the importance of solid, reliable, dignified work, and how that is the cornerstone of communities. That a worker needs to know that their job will be there tomorrow, that they will be paid a fair wage, and that they are respected for the work they accomplish.

    Right now, the data is showing that this doesn’t exist anymore for working class Americans, and they are getting pushed into gig economy roles, which is clearly becoming a second-class worker in America.

  • No News Day: Farmer’s Markets

    I’m not anxious about the virus. Not sure if that is good or a bad thing.

    I also feel like I have overdosed on the Democratic party and the nomination process. I am sure part of that has to do with my guy underperforming, but hey… it’s nice to have a break from the Bloomberg ads.

    So, where does that leave me?

    Actually, it would be nice to take a break from the news and thinking about how it affects everything.

    What that leaves me with is wondering why I haven’t been able to get into farmer’s markets?

    (Yes, it will be that kind of blog today.)

    I used to work near the Union Square Farmer’s Market in New York, and they gets set up three times a week in the spring and summer… and when I found myself in it, it was mainly because I had to walk through it to get to the other side. Lot’s of slow-moving people picking over apples and lavender candles.

    When we were in California, and we lived sort of in the country, there were farmer’s markets everywhere, but only on Saturdays… which I found odd. Well, there was one on Sundays, but it was the ugly stepchild of markets; picked over, and lots of old hippies that seemed more interested in telling me that I really don’t “get” what they are trying to sell me.

    Either way, I kept expecting that I will go to one, and be inspired to cook something, or just get excited about farm to table sustainable food. And I know it’s important that we all do those things, and compost too, but I feel the steely eye of the farmer watching me, hoping that I make eye contact so they can tell me a story about their farm.

    That’s it… farmer’s markets.

    Thank you…