Reprising the blog?

I’ve been threatening myself and the world for quite some time that I would start blogging again, but to the relief of all it hasn’t happened yet. That is until today, when boredom, fascination, and paint fumes overcame me and decided to set proverbial pen to paper again. I’m unlikely to stay with it, I would rather paint, but at least for today I will waste my ample time doing this.

The elephant in the room (don’t worry, he’s by himself) of course is The Virus. Like everyone else I have been following the story and thinking about it a lot. I’ll try not to bore you with stuff you’re reading elsewhere, or anger you with political opinions, but maybe share a few original thoughts and link to some of the best stuff I’ve seen.

I think there’s a great idea for a new product for these times: Odorant. Let’s apply real American ingenuity to the challenge of social distancing. The imagination swells with the possibilities… Eau De Manure, Essence of Carrion, Fleur De Funk. You’re welcome, Gillette.

Of all the wacky stuff about The Virus, what’s the obsession with hoarding toilet paper?? News flash: you can have products delivered to your home these days! I’ll bet that includes toilet paper. Yep, it does: https://www.amazon.com/Bravo-Sport-Donald-Trump-Toilet/dp/B01N6GZW1W/ref=sr_1_3?crid=QCJEPHUBU4SL&dchild=1&keywords=toilet+paper+trump+face&qid=1585152797&sprefix=toilet+paper+trump%2Caps%2C124&sr=8-3&swrs=7E7E9F816D299E66F0801A246490A37B In fact, I would be willing to bet you could log on and order TP on Amazon as you are walking to the bathroom, and it would be on your doorstep by the time you finished doing your business. Of course getting it from there might be problematic.

Speaking of using on-line services, I’m struck by how lucky we are that The Virus hit in these times of The Internet. You can order stuff, watch stupid cat tricks, insult people’s politics, and most importantly, search for facts that fit your pre-conceived views about the severity of the crisis. Think if this had happened 20 years ago; grocery stores would be empty, you’d have to get your own cat (ugh), argue with your children about politics, and rely on Brian Williams for news, hoping that he wasn’t making it up. All of which would suck even more than this does. The Internet is truly a special thing.

Here’s my favorite posting so far about The Virus: https://www.facebook.com/Rabraham1956/videos/10222228437162153/

Can you believe that Mr. Trump’s favorability ratings are improving with his handling of the crisis? I know I said I’d steer clear of politics, and I made it for almost a page, but I find this surprising (perhaps some understatement here). On the one hand, I think it’s a tribute to America that we always seem to rally behind our leaders in times of crisis. I am a big fan of America! Its Americans I am less enamored with.

 I suppose it also proves what he said about the steadfastness of his base, that he could shoot someone in broad daylight on 5^th Avenue, and they would still support him. I guess the only thing he could do to challenge that would be to tell his most die-hard supporters, evangelical southerners, to go back to church, and see many of them get infected. Of course he would never be that stupid… https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2020/03/24/pastor-arkansas-church-coronavirus-warning-greers-ferry/

It may be very interesting to see if in a few months The Virus has been more prevalent in Republican-leaning areas. Of course it spreads faster in urban areas which are more Democratic, so that may not be the case. Please don’t misunderstand me, I won’t be happy to see it be prevalent anywhere. But it would be a statement about the power of leadership and media.

Bill Gates said several years ago that a flu-like pandemic is the most predictable crisis of our times: https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/03/25/coronavirus-bill-gates-predicted-pandemic-in-2015/ I guess that this proves how poorly our society deals with issues that are not directly confronting us. There are lots of reasons, I think, but the main one is that our leaders can’t really do what is best for us – even if they do have the vision and judgement – because they have to respond to what we think we want. Democracies are worse at this, though the totalitarian states weren’t any better prepared than we were. Though they have been able to respond better. For example, Russia: very few reported cases! https://www.newyorker.com/news/dispatch/why-is-russias-coronavirus-case-count-so-low However, it does sound like lots of comrades have bad colds.

This portends very badly for climate change, which is not a predictable crisis, but a definite crisis. That’s all I will say on that subject.

I liked this posting, too: https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/22/entertainment/rita-wilson-rapping-coronavirus-trnd/index.html I hope it’s not racist to think that old white ladies rapping is cute.

I feel very, very fortunate that The Virus has not affected me very much. I can still play golf and paint. My children don’t need to be entertained. We have adequate financial resources, albeit a lot less than a month ago. In fact, my lifestyle has hardly changed at all.

I am very fortunate. But sensitive to the concerns of others, of course. And I will wear something other than sweatpants at some point.

On another note, I am coming up to the 5^th anniversary of my diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. The fact that I am writing this puts me in rare company; only about 10% of us make it this long. On top of that, my quality of life is very good, the only things I really miss are red wine and skiing, not necessarily at the same time. So, I am grateful every day that I get up in the morning, as well as most days, when I get up in the afternoon.

I try to be optimistic. Optimists are happier than pessimists, though pessimists are more often right: https://www.dw.com/en/opinion-optimists-are-stupid-serves-them-right/a-50181441 I think I would rather be happy than right, but unfortunately it’s not in my nature to be optimistic. And I tend to be obsessed with being right, though that doesn’t mean that I am. Which doesn’t stop me from thinking so. Anyway, I never really believed cancer was going to kill me, and it hasn’t yet, so I try to be optimistic.

Did you know that these traits are carried in our genes? That we pass down trauma from generation to generation? https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2018/10/trauma-inherited-generations/573055/  Which explains why Jews may be more prone to be pessimists. I’m sticking to that line of thinking, I don’t want to take responsibility for being a pessimist. I have come to think that marrying an optimist may be one of the keys to living a happier life. I’m glad that I did.

I think I’m done for now. If you liked this you need to tell me, because I won’t keep writing it unless people like reading it. Bye for now.