Echoes from history, ringing loud and clear. None of them good.

The politicization of everything is his only approach to anything, and he’s proven so clearly that his toolbox is only adept at making any situation worse than it was when he got involved.

Last few days have been filled with ups and downs; lots of yard work that has led to good-looking areas of the yard, and healthy-looking poison ivy on my arms. Nothing serious, but have to clear it up before diving this weekend. Really don’t want to experience p.i. under a wetsuit in this very hot weather. (Yesterday reached 103 here; certainly better on the water, though.)

Sunday night br...

and more good news:

We’re up in VA, helping Christine and Stephen with their move from an apt in the Neon District of Norfolk, to a lovely, big house in Suffolk. It’s about 20-25′ drive, and really feels like a trip to the ‘burbs. All has gone very smoothly, and certainly we hope they’ll enjoy this quieter and more roomy locale.

Delighted to get a video call this morning from Joe and Jackson–always such a fabulous way to start the day! During the call he was displaying lots of his mobility, crawling all over, then to the walker and taking in much of the house. Though the clip above wasn’t from this morning, it’s a good indication of how he’s spending lots of his days of late. Could just eat this little guy up!

The past few days very interesting.

Having taken steps to have all my teaching moved online, we got fast ‘net for Surf City, to allow for online teaching from here. Was pretty easy, though pretty expensive.

As I read the news these days, I’m reminded of a graphic I posted some time ago, of the 1918 flu pandemic’s progress. The “we are here” was a comparison to the coronavirus state-of-things in mid-March. I guess we’d now be comparing to about October on this graphic–well into the “second wave.” Though i’m not convinced we ever got past the first wave.

The daily news about the coronavirus, with intense surges, outbreaks, hospital and equipment strains, feels and sounds very much like the news from mid-March. Nothing’s getting better...

A fascinating exchange via open letters: the first in Harper’s

“A Letter on Justice and Open Debate“

and a response, “A More Specific Letter on Justice and Open Debate” in The Objective.

As far as I can tell, TheObjective is quite new, perhaps just beginning in early June. Some very interesting writing in there, and i’ll keep them on my newsfeed, for sure.

I’ve spent too much time over these past weeks/months reading about the state of coronavirus/Covid-19’s spread in the U.S. Some areas/states/commumities have handled this wisely, though at tremendous economic cost, and seem to have brought themselves to some level of control over this pandemic’s spread. Other areas were too impatient–too overwhelmed by economic pressures and protests by people who simply will not think of the public health–and are now experiencing massive outbreaks. The daily numbers are beyond frightening. North Carolina is, like other states, experiencing a surge in case numbers.

We are, as a global community, absolutely in uncharted territory, even with history’s lessons from past pandemics...