As the USA enters its worst phase of this COVID-19 pandemic with a crippled economy and too many in financial desperation with true fears of eviction, it's a good time to Count Your Blessings, a song no doubt being sung in many churches this Sunday morning. Some hopeful signs that good change might be forthcoming:
- The vaccines are coming. Two for sure in a week or two, and a third soon thereafter. A lot more in the pipeline (from New York Times this morning):
- A bipartisan Senate economic relief package seems likely to be approved by the end of next week.
- The worst president in the history of the country will be gone on January 20.
- Well, fans of James Buchanan might complain, so read this. Compared to Trump, all Buchanan did was not avert the Civil War.
- Two of Trump's most cloying sycophants, Attorney General Bill Barr and Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, defied The Donald, regaining a measure of self-respect.
- You can add Republican Arizona Governor Doug Ducey to that list, for he had the nerve to ignore a White House call and certified the 11 electoral college votes for Joe Biden.
- If you're a Democrat, the Georgia two Senate runoff odds are continuing to tighten:
- What do those numbers mean? Go to this site for details on how to do the calculation. When you do, you will learn that the 24% probability of two weeks ago has settled at 33% for Democrats to gain control of the Senate. Still less than 50-50, but these odds were taken the day before Trump arrived in Georgia.
Personally, the year has not gone as expected. I had been looking forward to 2020 all my life, as the ultimate year for vision. Yet, I can certainly count my blessings:
- Exactly three months ago I reached the age of 80.
- I've been well, mentally (continued euphoria) and physically:
- Dropped to 153.6 pounds this past week, the lowest in at least a quarter century. I can now enjoy a snack now and then, even a weekly dessert.
- Still can walk on a golf course, though I now skip a few holes, as the limited play means that groups walk too fast for me.
- Knees about as good as they've been in some time.
- I don't remember a year when I missed a cold with coughing. Not one yet.
- Finally got value for my ten-year Netflix membership.
- Fish and plants doing well.
- Not one case of COVID-19 for 15 Craigside residents. I gather, though, living in an assisted living community, we are very high on the priority list for the vaccine.
Major global calamities can make or break you. I was born just before World War II began a few miles from Pearl Harbor. Being of Japanese descent in a war started by Japan omened poorly for my future. Yet, when the dust cleared, the Nisei warriors of the 442/100 helped remove the sociological hurdles that made it all that much easier for people like me to succeed in life. Remember Pearl Harbor? A more emotional version. Tomorrow is the 79th anniversary of that date.
When you reach a certain point in life, comfort and security become all that you really need. This pandemic, 79 years later, was that next monumental convulsion, reinforcing these conditions for me.
My favorite song #22 is Hilo March, probably because my wife came from there. The song was written by Joseph Kapeau Ae'a of the Royal Hawaiian Band around 1880, and, according to Wikipedia, is associated with SpongeBob SquarePants. Appropriately enough, it is the school song of the University of Hawaii at Hilo.
These photos came from a friend:
The first two you recognize, a blade of a large wind energy conversion device, and blood vessels to your hand.
The last one should be obvious: flowers if you don't pick the artichoke. But the top one is an embryo (a baby at the beginning) on a tip of a needle, and the middle one, a photo from the top of Mount Everest.
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