Anticipation

Of all the hardships a person had to face, none was more punishing than the simple act of waiting.

~ Khaled Hosseini, A Thousand Splendid Suns 

What am I waiting for?

Next Friday’s spine surgery I’m expecting there’ll be oodles of exquisitely awful post surgery pain as all the major muscles in my back struggle to rejoin and knit back together. Been here with the spine slice and dice twice before so my notion of what’s coming is undoubtedly spot on.

Yes, recovery will be all achey hurty BUT I don’t anticipate any of the fun bonus crapoli that I went through with January’s brain hoopla – not being able to speak or come up with words (for the first few days post OR) or those homecoming seizures. All the same, Jen will be sleeping over, babysitting me, during my first week back here in Valhalla. Why? I may be a rabidly independent cuss but I’m, mostly, not a stupidly careless one. Yes, I bet I could take care of myself but I’ll feel safer those first few nights, with her in the house.

Thunderstorms due this afternoon.
The cats will thrilled.

What else am I waiting for?

A vaccine. Yesterday there were 502 new cases and 29 fresh deaths here in Massachusetts. We're not anywhere near as fucked as Florida (9,466 new cases yesterday and 216 dead) BUT, since Phase III reopening began, we're def trending up, up, up.

One person in the United States died about every minute from COVID-19 on Wednesday as the national death toll surpassed 150,000, the highest in the world

The United States recorded 1,461 new deaths on Wednesday, the highest one-day increase since 1,484 on May 27, according to a Reuters tally. (source) 

Quarantini with blackberries by Saint Jen

~~~

...President Donald Trump, his friends in Congress, members of his Cabinet, senior staff and supporters are still setting out to undermine the fact-based approaches that might get the virus under control and restore normal life. (source)

 I only mention it – I found myself, NOT necessarily feeling sorry for the Griftasaurus Blowhard in Chief yesterday but, all the same, experiencing a deep sadness that:

1. this, theoretical, human is so stratospherically broken.
2. NO ONE – not his children, his wife, his damaged fellow Fascists or his slavishly devoted cult – stops him from appearing in public looking like the failed circus clown that he is. 
3. He’s whining, with 151,194 unnecessary deaths due to his ego mad idiocy, that nobody likes him. Gee dude, that’s a puzzler, in’nt?

WHY isn't anyone stopping him from slamming his tiny toad todger in the door EVERY DAMN DAY? I sure as fuck hope that my loved ones would do that for me.

The Biden campaign’s winning strategy — just let 45 speak and be seen — is genius.

Anticipation – Carly Simon