Plague and the Maiden

We had nearly 3,000 new COVID cases here in Massachusetts yesterday. THREE GODDAMNED THOUSAND!

Mein fucking Gott!

No, we’re not doing as badly as Wisconsin (close to 8.500 cases yesterday), the Dakotas, Wyoming or Iowa  but we’re, sure as shit, not doing as well as Australia, Nigeria or India either.

Thanksgiving and the winter holidays are coming up on us fast. Will Americans be stupid, gather in tight clots, breathing, talking, coughing and sneezing our, quite possibly, COVID riddled germs all over mom, pop, fragile grandparents and our immunocompromised cousins and chums? Will we figure “c’mon, it’s just one day – surely Plague45 takes holidays off. RIGHT?!”

Also too, don’t forget – children can get and pass around the Republi/Fascist Curse too.

The number and rate of cases in children in the United States have been steadily increasing from March to July 2020. The true incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in children is not known due to lack of widespread testing and the prioritization of testing for adults and those with severe illness. (source)

Do you want your little Ethan or Ava to be the spark that kills off Auntie Donna or Uncle Ten? No, I rather think not.

Back, a zillion eons ago, when I was a wee bairn, I had chickenpox. My parents had friends from England visiting us. They’d not been vaccinated and, yes, I gifted them the birdpox. They died. I remember them, liked them a LOT and I killed them.

Adults are 25 times more likely to die from chickenpox than children. (source)

Until we’re all vaccinated, it ain’t fucking safe out there.

Having said that, I totes get that spending holidays alone is hard for a lot of folks. Back in my early 20s (B.B.– Before The Amazing Bob) I was mostly alone on Thanksgiving and Christmas. I reveled the shit out of that – loved it! Warum? Holidays in my parent’s house were all about pitched battles, near lethal sniping and general displays of discord. Yeah, mega big fun, loads of peace and fun (NOT!). So, solitary Xmases and Thanksgivings were refreshing and bloodless.

Years on, TAB and I always spent part of Thanksgiving and Xmas with Jen and Oni before they'd head off to (or host at home) the big, happy Jen Family celebration. If they were hosting we’d pop over, say hello and then head back to our tiny, quiet cottage. Win/win. After TAB died, there was still Jen, her fam and Oni. Plus, occasionally my friend Joe would drive down from Salem to watch movies and snarf Chinese food with me.

Now, wonderfully, Ten is here. The Jen Family Feast won’t be happening this year because her clan is smart, careful and, again, SMART about the plague. In its stead, the four of us will make a meal and watch some movies. A quieter day for J&O but precisely my cuppa tea. No, I won’t be cooking or baking – NO one needs to experience that! I’ll be buying pies and ice cream for dessert.

I’m a little concerned about my friends who’ll be alone, possibly for the first time, on these holidays. Will they Zoom with friends and fam? Are they cool with a day of quiet solitude? Do they need food? Do they have good, ripping yarns on hand? Enough Jamo?

If I had hearing, I’d call Daddy. Instead, I’ll send a letter with loads of pics. He’s in a very nice care home where he’s quite popular with staff and other residents alike. He's safe there and comfortable.

Jack, Jen’s Pop, lives alone but is in a nearby town. Jen and her sister Erin see him (socially distanced and masked up) regularly. I wish I could visit too but it’s more dicey than ever for me to be out and about.

This, if we use the brains Bast gave us, is temporary. We can prep, make adjustments to work around and ease our respective holiday sads. The goal is survival. It surely helps that America’s Biggest, Most Destructive LOSER is headed for the toxic waste dump of history (AND, if we’re lucky, penury and jail).

Let’s work on taking away Moscow Mitch’s ability to continue destroying democracy. Donate To Warnock and Ossoff’s runoff campaigns.

How will you be spending the holidays?