respublica

How is this for truth?

We've been living with the Coronavirus shut-down for almost 3 months and in that time we sat through daily, almost hourly, updates. Now some states are opening, some are staying closed. Some open ones have different levels of openings while others are opening everything. There are new requirements for each. So this is most certainly true.

Am I right?

Selecting a watermelon

Here on the seminary campus we've planted watermelons for a number of years. These have been of the small variety because we were never certain of the length of the growing season. Plus, smaller melons are easier to deal with. But, we learned early on that knowing when to pick them is an art in itself. So many years we've gone to Google to find out the signs we need to know when a watermelon is ripe. Often the squirrels know before we do and eat right through any number of them.

I came across a chart detailing the way you can tell what you're getting when you look at watermelons in the store or on the vine. Frankly, this does not seem all that helpful to me, the signs are very subtle and when you actually are in the midst of actual watermelons they all look pretty much alike.

Here is a picture I took of some of our campus watermelons with our youngest grandson sitting with them. He will be in second grade in the fall.

In any event, we began looking at the bottom of the melons to see if there showed any yellow. Also we checked the curly tendril on the main vine closest to the fruit should have turned brown.

Now they tell us

After weeks of wiping down every single thing that comes into our house from the grocery store or anywhere else, wiping down the steering wheel of the car and the doors, wiping door knobs etc etc, because it was said the virus can live on all kinds of surfaces. Cardboard, metal, plastic, paper etc etc. It has been exhausting to have to do this. Now some experts with the FDA are saying this isn't necessary, there is no evidence the virus can live on surfaces. And, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now says the novel virus “does not spread easily” from "touching surfaces or objects" .

"Many people were concerned that by simply touching an object they may get coronavirus and that’s simply not the case. Even when a virus may stay on a surface, it doesn’t mean that it’s actually infectious."

It does spread person to person.

If we haven't been driven out of our minds, this should send us over the edge.

Lake of the Ozarks pretty much totally booked

News that is, but shouldn't be, surprising.

"For two months Midwesterners have been fleeing to the Lake of the Ozarks from cities and states shut down by coronavirus, and local business owners say they’re seeing signs the coming Memorial Day weekend could bring an even bigger surge of vacationers than normal. Specifically: vacation home and hotel reservations are reaching unprecedented levels for some."

And, for some hotels and lodges, the majority of the business is coming from Illinois. People in Illinois have been locked down tighter than many other states and are just fed up.

I think this is pretty brave of all those people, but I'm still kind of chicken hearted to want to do something like this as yet. But, if the Ozarks will see sell outs this weekend, maybe our grocery stores will be a bit less crowded.

2020 the year that keeps on giving

As if the country hasn't had enough this year, along comes this headline:

"Millions of Cicadas are set to emerge after developing for 17 years underground."

All I can to this is, "Of course they are". We may as well not be surprised at anything this year. Fortunately for us in the Midwest and West, most of these giant bugs will be centralized in Virginia, West Virginia and North Carolina. I was relieved to read the story after seeing the headline. We won't get them.

Cicadas are not dangerous. The male cicadas flexes its muscles to make a loud sound to attract females. And many usually live two to four weeks after living underground for 17 years.

This is baffling, they have to live underground for 17 years and then come up to the light and only live 2-4 weeks.

Nature is taking over

It is unreal how things are growing this year. Trees are bushy-er than I've ever seen and plant life, oh my. This may well be a result of very little human interaction with nature. No one to pick or clip or walk through or on. It's amazing to see our 3/4 quad which is usually filled with hostas, but whoa, this year the hostas have gone big and are competing with each other to see who can be the most showy.

The no eye contact era

I've realized most of the employees of grocery stores and probably Walmart, Target etc, are not at all given to be friendly or even given to make eye contact. Shoppers are pretty much following the same practice. It's been something I've given some thought to without being overly obsessed and came to realize it musts be a nightmare to work in these places during the shutdown.

I passed by the Collinsville Schnucks on Sunday around 2 in the afternoon and saw that parking lot filled to the brim. The Schnucks near the seminary was the same if not more so on Monday afternoon around 2. Walmart the same. If this is a daily occurance, and I believe it has been, no wonder employees are stand-offish. In these times it must be rather unnerving to have to be in close quarters with so many people.

The only reason I passed by the seminary Schnucks at 2 on Monday was that I was hoping to get a long loaf of Italian or French bread to use for meatball sandwiches. When I saw the parking lot, I just turned around. No way I was going to be a part of that. I ended up at the nearby Parkers Table Wine shop which sells a number of terrific food items and long bread is one of them. All you do at Parkers is walk up to the front door and someone will take your order and bring it out. Very rarely are there many other people. Also they have great wine selections and beer and spirits. They are very friendly too.

I honestly believed that when Missouri "opened up" on Monday people would be headed to shops and stores beyond the grocery places. But no.

Tally catch up

I've missed a couple from last week

Mattresses 36

Ladders 37

Another crank

In the post below I told of shopping cart putter backers cranks, here is another example of how cranky we're all getting these days.

"We need to stop worrying about runners and cyclists without a mask and instead be concerned about the loud talkers in crowded indoor spaces, according to Erin Bromage, a biology professor who started a blog about the ways in which the coronavirus spreads."

The photo with this CNN story show Bromage in what looks like running or cycling clothes. I'd guess someone yelled at him as he whizzed past them on his bike without letting them know he was coming up behind them.

The first CNN link is annoying with too many loud video ads and moving screens. If you have twitter, here is a better look.

Was this a dream or a Tweet?

I woke up this morning to see a tweet from Dan McLaughlin in which he shared someone's theory on shopping carts. The responses to this and the linked tweet were unending with people argumentatively taking both sides. Here is the Shopping Cart Theory: The shopping cart is the ultimate litmus test for whether a person is capable of self-governing.

I've never given too much thought to this, but I don't see too many carts sitting around parking lots. Most stores now have lots of cart corrals, you don't have to walk too far to put your cart away. But the responses to this are unreal. Many excusing themselves for not bothering to put the cart away, others taking them to task. Many in strong language. There must still be places where carts are loose on lots.

I'm more bothered by those who put their small cart in the large cart row and vice versa.

I'm guessing the strictures placed on us during the virus lockdown has begun to turn us into cranks over every little thing.