Good parents always instruct their children to wash their hands after using the bathroom or before handling food or eating.
Now we're all being told to wash our hands -- the surgeon's way --several times a day after or before all sorts of activities. Twenty seconds, washing all over the hand, between fingers, and back and front. One of the popular things these days is sharing bits of prose or poetry, or song verses or choruses, that come out to about twenty seconds, to time your handwashing.
One suggestion has been the opening voice-over to the 1960s television series "Star Trek," which has lived on and on well into the 21st Century:
Space -- the final frontier!
These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise,
Its five-year mission to explore strange new worlds,
To seek out new life and new civilizations --
To boldy go where no man has gone before!
Others use a verse to the song "The Wall," by the group Pink Floyd:
We don't need no education
We dont need no thought control
No dark sarcasm in the classroom
Teachers leave them kids alone
Hey! Teachers! Leave them kids alone!
All in all it's just another brick in the wall.
All in all you're just another brick in the wall.
Not that I was ever a fan of rock'n'roll. I'm not. So what I usually sing as a handwashing mantra is a parody of the Pink Floyd song that my daughter and I made up one hurricane season (we live in Florida):
We don't need no big fat windstorm,
We don't need no hurricane.
Storm clouds on the far horizon
Bringing on the wind and rain.
Hey, Cyclone! Leave Florida alone!
All in all, you're just another wind in the fall.
All in all, you're just another wind in the fall.
For the liturgically-minded Catholic, Episcopalian, Methodist, and some others, singing The Doxology works:
Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
Praise God all creatures here below.
Praise him above, ye heavenly host.
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.
There is also the "Seven-part Amen." (Yes, it's just "Amen," chanted seven times to a particular tune.)
Other mantras used by people I've encountered have been taken from Frank Herbert's Dune novels, bits of doggerel by Monty Python (20th-21st century comedy troupe), and many other sources. (I welcome suggestions from readers.)
Friday, March 20, 2020
Wednesday, March 18, 2020
Humor in the Time of COVID-19
As in any time of great stress, from surgery to war, many of us -- those of us graced with a sense of humor -- may indulge in a very dark sort of humor, usually called gallows humor or black humor.
The COVID-19 pandemic is no exception.
Various reactions to the virus have produced a great deal of humor. The silly run on toilet paper is one part that has generated a lot of the funny posts we see on Facebook, for instance:
[Right-click on each link to open in a new window. That way, you don't get taken away entirely from this blog entry.]
This is reminiscent of third-grade experiments in botanical propagation:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10157566447588037&set=a.10150257656758037&type=3&theater
Or a Biblical quotation made manifest:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10163144285155574&set=gm.3101453046534483&type=3&theater
Finally, just how elusive is a roll of toilet paper these days, anyway:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10159709038558066&set=a.489047123065&type=3&theater
The quarantining going on these days gives rise to such comments as "Actually, it's only Quarantine if it comes from the Quarantine Region of France; otherwise, it's merely sparkling isolation."
Punsters are having a good time, as well:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10216781050741303&set=a.2193848528437&type=3&theater&ifg=1
And, finally, a little bit of creativity coming out of this scary experience, as a pianist composes The Coronavirus Etude, for Piano and Disinfecting Wipe:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=whNICyl_et0&fbclid=IwAR2HAQPWZszx1auRMGB1oOxJcjw8yZVXOhkgVagT2v2n_zg51KsbUrtJdpQ&app=desktop
The COVID-19 pandemic is no exception.
Various reactions to the virus have produced a great deal of humor. The silly run on toilet paper is one part that has generated a lot of the funny posts we see on Facebook, for instance:
[Right-click on each link to open in a new window. That way, you don't get taken away entirely from this blog entry.]
This is reminiscent of third-grade experiments in botanical propagation:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10157566447588037&set=a.10150257656758037&type=3&theater
Or a Biblical quotation made manifest:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10163144285155574&set=gm.3101453046534483&type=3&theater
Finally, just how elusive is a roll of toilet paper these days, anyway:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10159709038558066&set=a.489047123065&type=3&theater
The quarantining going on these days gives rise to such comments as "Actually, it's only Quarantine if it comes from the Quarantine Region of France; otherwise, it's merely sparkling isolation."
Punsters are having a good time, as well:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10216781050741303&set=a.2193848528437&type=3&theater&ifg=1
And, finally, a little bit of creativity coming out of this scary experience, as a pianist composes The Coronavirus Etude, for Piano and Disinfecting Wipe:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=whNICyl_et0&fbclid=IwAR2HAQPWZszx1auRMGB1oOxJcjw8yZVXOhkgVagT2v2n_zg51KsbUrtJdpQ&app=desktop
Life in the Time of COVID-19
I give credit -- or apologies -- for the title of this post and its followers on this topic to Gabriel García Marquez.
On my mother's side, there is a collateral relative who lived at the time of the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic. She lost her children to the disease, getting no help from her husband. She divorced him and went from Indiana to California to start anew, met a doctor and married him.
What will our lives be like as we go through this pandemic, and hopefully, live to see the end of it? What family stories will come out of this pandemic?
I am going to post about what it is like living through this thing, so that future generations of genealogists and family historians will have some record of what it was like. I don't limit this to my own family, because, for one thing, the family patrimony for future generations is solely in the hands and life of our grandson. For another, any record of what it was like can be used for background for just about anyone's family history.
So here's what it is like.
The outbreak of this virus was just declared a pandemic about a week ago. The entire world is affected. Closer to home, there has been one death so far in my county, at a hospital four miles from our home. How much more exposure there may be, no one knows.
In my state, there have been 314 cases reported so far, with 7 deaths. For some reason, children seem not to be infected at the same rate as adults, according to the Centers for Disease Control, and seem to have milder cases when they do fall ill with it.
My husband and I are 73 and 72, respectively. He is actually pretty healthy, but I have a bunch of chronic conditions. The recommendation for folks our age is to stay home. My husband and I, natural homebodies, do that pretty much, anyway. We have been in the habit of going out to eat something like once a week, but we're not doing that any more for a while. My husband went to the grocery store yesterday to stock up, so we have plenty of meats, frozen vegetables, fruit, and other grocery supplies.
He said that people were crazy. He also went to BJs wholesale club yesterday, and said that the toilet paper was gone, and the shelves where it had been were stocked with bottled water. You'd think a category five hurricane was coming, not a possible 14-days at home to avoid exposure.
The economic impact of this pandemic could be disastrous. Restaurants are being ordered to close. Universities, colleges, and public schools are shutting down. Our grandson has an extra two weeks off right now, in addition to his school's spring break. He's a fifteen-year-old freshman in high school. Our older daughter, enrolled in the doctoral program in audiology at the University of Florida, is attending her classes online rather than in person. The university is even making some plans to put all their clinical rotations online rather than in person, too. As a forner registered nurse, I'm not sure how well that could work. In the health professions, you need that hands-on work to learn a lot of what you need to learn, and practice your diagnostic and treatment skills.
Our younger daughter works in an industry which may not feel as much economic damage as some. She works for a national food distribution company, in a very necessary job of solving problems in accounts payable. As she is on the money end of it, that might help her job keep going.
In subsequent posts, I'll talk about such aspects of the disease as the gallows humor coming out of it, how handwashing has given rise to several mantras, and how we've had a less than stellar performance by the government (this will get political). Stay tuned.
On my mother's side, there is a collateral relative who lived at the time of the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic. She lost her children to the disease, getting no help from her husband. She divorced him and went from Indiana to California to start anew, met a doctor and married him.
What will our lives be like as we go through this pandemic, and hopefully, live to see the end of it? What family stories will come out of this pandemic?
I am going to post about what it is like living through this thing, so that future generations of genealogists and family historians will have some record of what it was like. I don't limit this to my own family, because, for one thing, the family patrimony for future generations is solely in the hands and life of our grandson. For another, any record of what it was like can be used for background for just about anyone's family history.
So here's what it is like.
The outbreak of this virus was just declared a pandemic about a week ago. The entire world is affected. Closer to home, there has been one death so far in my county, at a hospital four miles from our home. How much more exposure there may be, no one knows.
In my state, there have been 314 cases reported so far, with 7 deaths. For some reason, children seem not to be infected at the same rate as adults, according to the Centers for Disease Control, and seem to have milder cases when they do fall ill with it.
My husband and I are 73 and 72, respectively. He is actually pretty healthy, but I have a bunch of chronic conditions. The recommendation for folks our age is to stay home. My husband and I, natural homebodies, do that pretty much, anyway. We have been in the habit of going out to eat something like once a week, but we're not doing that any more for a while. My husband went to the grocery store yesterday to stock up, so we have plenty of meats, frozen vegetables, fruit, and other grocery supplies.
He said that people were crazy. He also went to BJs wholesale club yesterday, and said that the toilet paper was gone, and the shelves where it had been were stocked with bottled water. You'd think a category five hurricane was coming, not a possible 14-days at home to avoid exposure.
The economic impact of this pandemic could be disastrous. Restaurants are being ordered to close. Universities, colleges, and public schools are shutting down. Our grandson has an extra two weeks off right now, in addition to his school's spring break. He's a fifteen-year-old freshman in high school. Our older daughter, enrolled in the doctoral program in audiology at the University of Florida, is attending her classes online rather than in person. The university is even making some plans to put all their clinical rotations online rather than in person, too. As a forner registered nurse, I'm not sure how well that could work. In the health professions, you need that hands-on work to learn a lot of what you need to learn, and practice your diagnostic and treatment skills.
Our younger daughter works in an industry which may not feel as much economic damage as some. She works for a national food distribution company, in a very necessary job of solving problems in accounts payable. As she is on the money end of it, that might help her job keep going.
In subsequent posts, I'll talk about such aspects of the disease as the gallows humor coming out of it, how handwashing has given rise to several mantras, and how we've had a less than stellar performance by the government (this will get political). Stay tuned.
Sunday, October 7, 2018
Grandson, this is your grandma.
On the Facebook Page "Genealogy Forward the Storytellers," member Darry Kannenberg gave us a very good blogging prompt when he asked some questions. With his permission, I'm repeating his questions and answering them here. I hope that someday my grandson will read this, and other entries in my blog pertaining to our family history.
"How did you and your spouse meet? What was your first date?"
We met in church -- when we were seven years old. His family attended the church, and my aunt, who was also my godmother, took her duties seriously, and dragged me along. Our first date? Gosh, I can't really remember what I would call a first date. I think it was going out for ice cream or something old-fashioned like that.
"Who was your best friend growing up? What sort of adventures did you have?"
My best friend in high school was Ellen. She moved to our city, Jacksonville, Florida, from up north. She was a native of Long Island, and had the accent. We did a bunch of crazy and silly things together. One winter morning (north Florida had some bitter winters in the 1960s), we hopped the city bus and went downtown to the most popular and toniest department store of the day, Cohen Brothers. It was very cold, and the management of the store took pity on the few of us who were waiting outside for opening. They let us in, into a roped-off area, where we could wait in the warmth. At precisely the hour of opening, the bugle call "Post Time" (which they play at horse races) sounded, and Ellen and I hollered out, "Charge it!" The other patrons and the store employees who heard us were amused.
"Favorite class in school? Least favorite?"
I'll start with the least favorite: algebra. I was miserable at it, didn't understand it. I barely squeaked by, which was unusual for me. Geometry, on the other hand, was fun, and I grasped it with no trouble. Favorite course? At the time, English, because we had some outstanding, stellar English teachers at our school.
"Who was the mean neighbor when you were a kid? What would they do?"
I'm not sure we had a truly mean neighbor. We had some who pretty much kept to themselves. But I don't remember having an actual grouch.
"Where was the scariest place you ever happened to be?"
At the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, with my foot stuck in the mud. I went to a summer camp a few years in a row. It was in the Florida Panhandle, on the Gulf. There was a pier, and a diving board off it. Out in the water, there was a raft, a platform of wood over sealed, empty 55-gallon drums. One day, a bunch of us dared each other to jump off the raft and go as deep as we could. I got to the bottom, but it was very deep mud, and one of my feet got caught. I struggled, gazing up at the sun shining on the surface of the water, wishing I was there. With one last effort, I drew my body in like a spring, being careful not to get the other foot stuck, and gave one mighty effort to get free. It worked, and I got to the surface, happy to be there.
"Growing up, what was the far away place you always wanted to visit? Ever get there?"
I don't think I gave that much thought. I would like to have gone to various places here in the U.S., but those trips never came off.
"Who were your heroes? Why?"
Eleanor Roosevelt was one. She went from "ugly duckling," criticized by her family, to being the First Lady of the land, and one of the most active, outwardly-directed First Ladies in the history of this nation. Eliot Ness was another, because of his dedication and incorruptibility. My father was one, too. He was a Naval aviator and flight instructor in World War II. He died when I had just turned seven years old.
"Is there a time or place you’ve always been drawn to? Why do you think that is?"
I've always been fond of American History, and was interested in the 1920s and 1930s. Not sure why. It just seemed like an interesting period, though it became a very difficult one for so many people. Perhaps it was because my mother's generation was young during the Great Depression, and she and my grandma both spoke of their experiences during that time. One place I just love going back to is Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, for the same reason of my fondness for American history.
We met in church -- when we were seven years old. His family attended the church, and my aunt, who was also my godmother, took her duties seriously, and dragged me along. Our first date? Gosh, I can't really remember what I would call a first date. I think it was going out for ice cream or something old-fashioned like that.
"Who was your best friend growing up? What sort of adventures did you have?"
My best friend in high school was Ellen. She moved to our city, Jacksonville, Florida, from up north. She was a native of Long Island, and had the accent. We did a bunch of crazy and silly things together. One winter morning (north Florida had some bitter winters in the 1960s), we hopped the city bus and went downtown to the most popular and toniest department store of the day, Cohen Brothers. It was very cold, and the management of the store took pity on the few of us who were waiting outside for opening. They let us in, into a roped-off area, where we could wait in the warmth. At precisely the hour of opening, the bugle call "Post Time" (which they play at horse races) sounded, and Ellen and I hollered out, "Charge it!" The other patrons and the store employees who heard us were amused.
"Favorite class in school? Least favorite?"
I'll start with the least favorite: algebra. I was miserable at it, didn't understand it. I barely squeaked by, which was unusual for me. Geometry, on the other hand, was fun, and I grasped it with no trouble. Favorite course? At the time, English, because we had some outstanding, stellar English teachers at our school.
"Who was the mean neighbor when you were a kid? What would they do?"
I'm not sure we had a truly mean neighbor. We had some who pretty much kept to themselves. But I don't remember having an actual grouch.
"Where was the scariest place you ever happened to be?"
At the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, with my foot stuck in the mud. I went to a summer camp a few years in a row. It was in the Florida Panhandle, on the Gulf. There was a pier, and a diving board off it. Out in the water, there was a raft, a platform of wood over sealed, empty 55-gallon drums. One day, a bunch of us dared each other to jump off the raft and go as deep as we could. I got to the bottom, but it was very deep mud, and one of my feet got caught. I struggled, gazing up at the sun shining on the surface of the water, wishing I was there. With one last effort, I drew my body in like a spring, being careful not to get the other foot stuck, and gave one mighty effort to get free. It worked, and I got to the surface, happy to be there.
"Growing up, what was the far away place you always wanted to visit? Ever get there?"
I don't think I gave that much thought. I would like to have gone to various places here in the U.S., but those trips never came off.
"Who were your heroes? Why?"
Eleanor Roosevelt was one. She went from "ugly duckling," criticized by her family, to being the First Lady of the land, and one of the most active, outwardly-directed First Ladies in the history of this nation. Eliot Ness was another, because of his dedication and incorruptibility. My father was one, too. He was a Naval aviator and flight instructor in World War II. He died when I had just turned seven years old.
"Is there a time or place you’ve always been drawn to? Why do you think that is?"
I've always been fond of American History, and was interested in the 1920s and 1930s. Not sure why. It just seemed like an interesting period, though it became a very difficult one for so many people. Perhaps it was because my mother's generation was young during the Great Depression, and she and my grandma both spoke of their experiences during that time. One place I just love going back to is Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, for the same reason of my fondness for American history.
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