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Talk about what you think the world will be like after the pandemic is over.
So on top of all the crazy COVID stuff, this week we are dealing with the aftermath of tropical storm Isaias with 700,000 customers without power in CT alone when it finally cleared out of here. Our electric company, Eversource, has been taken to task for underestimating the storm which is in the top three worst storms in recent times here in CT. I've been through the other two (Sandy and the freak October snowstorm in 2012) and yeah, its that bad. Trees and wires down everywhere. I drove past this homemade sign the other day. A massive tree had fallen across the dead end road the sign is pointing down, wires pulled down everywhere, and even after 3 days there was still no crews in sight. Neighbors ended up cutting the tree themselves in order to be able just to get out to the main road. I talked to someone who lives on the road and they will be lucky if they get power back in a week, but it will probably take longer. When I drove past this sign ...I thought to myself, "yeah, right good luck with that. Eversource will come when its good and ready, meanwhile you guys need to take matters into your own hands if you actually want to get through this." So what does all this have to do with the future after COVID? Increasingly I think we are being left to fend for ourselves across the board -- whether its after a major storm or in the face of a global pandemic. No government guidance, assistance, or protection so its going to to be up to us, individually and as families, to take care of ourselves. That seems to be the way Republican like it and they seem to have gotten their way in this country at least. When a crisis happens we pretty much have to take care of ourselves, our families and our friends, because no one is coming to assist us, at least not from any government body or in any official capacity. ...
August 11, 2020
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How is the coronavirus pandemic affecting your life right now? Tell us about your experiences, feelings, and thoughts.
This is a pop-up Covid testing place in Berlin, complete with charming tent and potted plant. June 9. Masks worn outdoors seem to be a thing of the past here. Walking to buy vegetables yesterday, I was the only person I saw masked. Even in the outdoor Turkish market, where they are still formally required, i saw more mouths than I did a month ago. (It’s interesting that the mouths of strangers have become a source of alarm.) I invited a senior colleague I like very much who is quarantining in Berlin to socially distant tea in a park. (She hasn’t replied, and I worry I was too forward.) Her quarantine is required because she flew in from the UK. The Delta variant is proving to be a serious contender there, despite their high vaccination rates. So Germany and France have put in travel bans. She herself is a German citizen, here to see her sibling’s newborn, so she was allowed in. She said it was heartbreaking seeing people turned away at the gate. The decision to shove Brexit through during the pandemic—« hard to understand » is the most restrained thing I can say about it. Germany trying to keep the Delta variant from getting up a head of steam here is understandable, though. They have half the vaccinated pop that the UK has, even if they are using Pfizer more than the less effective AstraZeneca. Berlin Cafes have opened outdoor seating, and no longer require you to present a negative COVID test to sit down. There are still pop -up Covid testing places everywhere—if you aren’t vaccinated, which is still most people, a negative test lets you dine indoors, or go to the gym, or even (!) go to the opera. Out walking I’ve seen a pop-up testing center in a lovely tent, out of the back of a car, at a stand that looked like a water ice stand in the park, and in several storefronts. Rapid tests have been available from Gorillas,, the grocery delivery company, for some time. I think it’s terrific. A few months ago it was impossible to get a test without potentially exposing yourself to COVID-19 in the process– you could only get them done at a doctor’s office or in testing centers with very long lines. So you didn’t get tested unless for some reason you absolutely had to. I have a PCR test I ordered from Amazon when they were briefly available for something like 80 euro before they sold out, which I hung on to anxiously all winter in case I had to fly back. It was priceless then. Now, I hope, it’s nearly valueless, and can gather dust in the bathtub with the rest of my emergency stores. ...
June 10, 2021