As an older man in the cross hairs of COVID 19 with a wife more or less in the same zone, a teenage daughter and a son in his twenties I am obviously concerned about this pandemic. First of all, even though I believe that COVID 19 will be everywhere because that’s what pandemics do, I am not surrounded by people and for now, I like it that way. In the course of my life I have had scarlet fever, a mild form of polio, chickenpox twice, mumps twice, dengue fever more than once, amoebic dysentery more than once, malaria more than once, shingles, high blood pressure, infectious hepatitis and the usual aches and pains that being alive for more than twenty four hours visits upon us. Will I survive this one? I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
I understand that people are entitled to their own opinion and one of mine is, if you are an anti vaxxer you are putting my children at risk and you are no friend of mine. Harsh? not really. To survive in the real world we need facts not superstition. The BS about vaccines and autism has been thoroughly debunked more than once. An un-vaccinated person is a Typhoid Mary to me. Stay away from my kids. By the same token, to apply biblical metaphors to reality is, in my opinion not only absurd but dangerous. This is not the time for a discussion about who has the most powerful imaginary friend. Do I believe in a higher power? Absolutely. Do I think he, she or it has my ultimate best interests at heart? Hardly. There is a higher power, and it’s not me… or you. That’s all I need to know about that.
As far as the lack of COVID 19 testing in this country the fact that in this country there is less money in preventing disease that there is in trying to cure it would seem to provide some insights. Just saying. As far as being able to survive in a world after the SHTF in a world that finds itself WROL I don’t have those kinds of survival skills. I would be a court jester and court jesters don’t exist without a court and a king. Hmmm…. Well, we’re not there yet, and frankly I think we’re going to get through this in spite of the ineptitude in the idiots running this country. In Ohio, all schools are closed for the next three weeks, and it could be longer. I’m not touring right now, but pretty much all tours are being cancelled or at the very least postponed. This is going to effect guys like me profoundly and who knows what the endgame will be?
Lastly, don’t criticize me for using Prepper acronyms. I’m not a prepper. Maybe I should have been.
We’ll see…
Onward
LOL – you made me look up the word hubrus…
my mind has been going back to the exquisite show in December at the Park West in Chicago. Teresa, with the help of the boys, belted out a rendition of “Keep those lamps, trimmed and burning,” that is permanently etched upon my mind.
With you 100% Jorma on all points –
JORMA,
Hi!
I did not know you had a teenage daughter. So do I.
We should discuss older Dads.
I agree with your comments. Review R subbase o.
Your bud,
ARTHUR
from the Birchmere.
I do indeed… she is in ninth grade and her school year is over at the brick and mortar school. We home schooled her for four years so schooling on line is a walk in the park for her. She’s missing her friends though. We’ve been playing a lot of cards and I’m teaching her to drive. Be well!
@Tom NY Amen……
@Greg martelli
Nice…. It will pass, please God. I spoke to a buddy in South Korea yesterday… Yes, small businesses and others are being economically hurt, but other than that cluster where the church group was, things are quieting down. I heard last night, with the increased testing in SK, the #s are going down. I hope that this is not fake news. Over 8000 cases, 75 deaths.
We will start massive testing this week in the US, for people WITH symptoms. As people are diagnosed they will self quarantine….
Its about respirators, hospital beds, ICU in particular. I like the bit from the gent above saying pray for our medical staff…Pressure on the system.
Hopefully humanity will grow in love and truth… It is remarkable that we have so much care at a critical time like this yet when things get back to “normal”, certain agendas and policies/laws will be kept in place that allow for the death and pollution of our youth. These are actually times of mercy… mankind has fallen away before.
Someday, just someday, there may be an illumination of conscience….For now lots of blindness… I wonder if the Rev. wrote any songs about people being blinded….
Blunt the peak. Suppress the curve to a small mound.
All will be ok.
Morning Dew
True Religion
Embryonic
I see the Light
Series of Dreams
I’ll Be Alright
Working Class Hero
I am the Light of the World
Too late For Goodbyes
PS anybody have any stock tips? LOL Mark Cuban nibbled at some Twitter and Live Nation.
Homer used hubris as a central theme in the Oddessy and Iliad,a fundamentally flawed approach to life.
I’ve spoken to my ,
oldest an eminent pathologist and Medical director of a regional hospital chain.
By his representation the virus is highly contagious and in its CURRENT iterationBut not particularly lethal to those in
Good health.
Wash your hands,don’t commune with Sykes and Fagan( denizens of underworld),pray for our medical staffs and
those victims who are symptomatic and confirmed .
The virus will pass and we will be tougher and more educated .
The intangible in this epidemic ,that needs to be dispelled is the fear promulgated by those that lie and deceive.
In the eons of human travail , only the strong survive.
In the end we all meet our maker,,be true .
Shed the hubris like an ill fitted garment ,and champion the good , help your fellow man.
All simple posits.
Keep on truckin
Thank you, Jorma.
So glad we got to see and hear you right before this all got too real.
The music helps sustain us.
I love the bit about “the most powerful imaginary friend.” We’re hunkered down here in Oak Grove. Snow is falling. It’s quiet and beautiful. Every day is a gift! One thing I’ve been thinking is that the incompetence of our federal government is matched by the compassion of people “on the ground.” Therein lies our humanity and hope. As my personal toilet paper roll grows smaller more quickly I can’t help but think that death is the necessary period on the sentence. How and when it comes who knows but come it must. Best be prepared. However we conceive of that higher power we’d better make our peace with it. The circle remains unbroken. Let me accept it with grace and dignity.
Who knows what will happen but if I had to guess I’d say I won’t be coming to Fur Peace in April. I wouldn’t be surprised if you guys cancel it. I wish I could say this to you, Vanessa, John, Stephanie and all the rest, face to face. I’ll miss being at the ranch, the music, the food, the peace and quiet, but beyond that I especially miss you all. Take good care of yourselves. With a little luck and some grace I’ll see you all when things settle down.
@John B
If we strip away all religious doctrines and dogmas and believe in that alone, then we acknowledge that none of it is “ours”. It is an endless supply provided by the creator that is ours to share in if properly stewarded. Right now we’re doing a pretty shitty job, but the source of creation is infinite, so hopefully one day we’ll get it right. Jefferson was spot on. His version of the four gospels is pretty cool, too.
You wife is a comedic genius!@Ham Neggs
Well said Jorma. My Jen always says”without our health nothing else really matters” . Be well .and we’ll see you a little further down the road!
Plain and simple. I agree 1000%! Logical, cogent and exceptionally well stated.
Prayers for our Tuna brother Carlo P and his family who live in Italy. Italy is especially hard hit .
@Art
Thanks Art.. Right back at you. I thinkk you are the guy from Long Island.
Some say post enlightenment is synonymous w neo-pagan. Just sayin’.
Here is another one from the first book, Isaiah 26:20
Come my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee; hide thyself as it were for a little moment , until the indignation be overpast”
I have a gig today so I will not be shut in to any chamber. I will save that for when we are closer to the peak, if there is a peak.
I have planned for an opener either a Morning Dew or True Religion.
I will include Brothers and Sisters, Lamps, Genesis, Death Don’t Have No Mercy, (but Jesus does) and Michael Row the Boat Ashore…. Then I will go to local business/sushi and support and order some nice vegetable rolls.
Blunt the peak Bro and please…. suppress the curve to a small mound.
@John B
Nice!!!
“The God who gave us life gave liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God ?” Thomas Jefferson:
“Take care of yourselves, and each other.” J. Springer.
m
I don’t know what a “prepper” is and I don’t know the acronyms you cited, however, I agree 100% on the vaccinations point! As a parent with a daughter with autism, I feel it is completely irresponsible for folks to not vaccinate their kids. My daughter was with autism long before she ever got her MMR shot. And you’re right those myths were debunked long ago. Modern medicine is amazing in so many good ways..helping many people I know live longer and better lives. That said, my 92 year-old mother reminds me often that doctors still “practice medicine” (as it has not been perfected…yet). I still believe in a higher power and the healing powers of nature and music! Let’s all keep on truckin’
Sorry, Tom. I’m post-Enlightenment. But I sincerely wish you the best. Perhaps we can agree on something one of our founding fathers said (and he had a great rock band named after him too!)
“Question with boldness even the existence of a god; because, if there be one, he must more approve the homage of reason, than that of blindfolded fear.”
– Thomas Jefferson. Letter to Peter Carr, August 10, 1787
@Art
Art, this one is from the first book –
You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.
– Jeremiah 29:13 (600BC)
In the meantime, finger pick w clatity and give it all you got, and please….hope to blunt the peak.
All good wishes!
I have to laugh again because I really had to be treated for a tick bite.
Hey Art the dwarf is well oiled we won’t need the pliers.
Good grief! Peace Love All Ways
“Told how they themselves were under the sway of an invisible God, and narrated their miracles, trying to further show that the God whom they worshipped arranged the whole of nature for their sole benefit: this idea was so pleasing to humanity that men go on to this day imagining miracles so that they may believe themselves God’s favourites, and the final cause for which God created and directs all things.”
– Benedict de Spinoza, A Theological-Political Treatise, Ch. VI (1670)
I am onboard for a PPV also!
@John B
“Suppress the curve to a small mound.”
“Blunt the peak.”
“Can You Spare A Square?”
“Stop being influenced by fools……”
@Art
Definitely praise the Lord. You are right about that Art. Pray for a lower and more spread out peak.
Like Dylan sang,
When you gonna wake up, when you gonna wake up
When you gonna wake up strengthen the things that remain ?
Do you ever wonder just what God requires ?
You think He’s just an errand boy to satisfy your wandering desires.
When you gonna wake up, when you gonna wake up
When you gonna wake up and strengthen the things that remain ?
You can’t take it with you and you know that it’s too worthless to be sold
They tell you, ‘Time is money’ as if your life was worth its weight in gold.
When you gonna wake up, when you gonna wake up
When you gonna wake up and strengthen the things that remain ?
There’s a man up on a cross and He’s been crucified for you
Believe in His power that’s about all you got to do.
When you gonna wake up, when you gonna wake up
When you gonna wake up and strengthen the things that remain ?
Praise the Lord and pass the snakes.
82 dead………over 60% of those in a Washington State nursing home…….Population in America 325 Million ? Dr Fauci said that Corona mortality is probably less then one percent…….”Blow up your TV……Move to The Country…Eat A lot Of Peaches and try to Find Jesus on Your………own.”
No,sir, I have not watched Doomsday Preppers. My idea of prepping for Doomsday is setting up a nice comfortable chair and a refreshing beverage in the middle of ground zero and saying,”Take me now, Lord.”
Good words, Jorma. My $0.02 is to listen to Tony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease. He speaks truth, unlike many of our so-called leaders. Be well, everyone.
@J. R. in St. Louis
You ain’t never watched Doomsday Preppers?
100,000 cases in Ohio…Watch out Jorma…
On Sanibel here we already have that social distancing thing down but I have to break my habit of picking my teeth with my fingers etc…Think in paranoid terms like not bringing it to you in the form of anything that comes from an outside place you don’t control…I have to protect my 88 year old white rabbit I live with…
I think WROL stands for “Without Rule Of Law” though sometimes it’s written as WOROL. However, I’m too old & dumb to know what a prepper is (someone preparing for a zombie apocalypse perhaps?). I’m not sure I want to know; it’s enough that advancing years bring all kinds of challenges to our health. As my late father used to say,”Growing old ain’t for sissies.”
Well, I got the SHTF, but WROL stumped me. Prepper acronyms or not, this ain’t no time for foolin’ around. My fervent prayer is that world suffering from this virus is contained to its possible minimum, and when the pandemic passes, a shift in our society back to the relative certainty of science in explaining physical realities will be restored. I still have faith in humanity and in the strength of our Constitution to bring us through the current morass in leadership. Ever’ thang’s gonna be alright…
Yup. Complete agreement here. It’s not ok to bring peanuts to school, but measles, walk right in.
@Ham Neggs I thought of a PPV event as well. Cheer us all up!
I’m pretty much in the middle of shit here and don’t have much to say. I worked with the graduating class of Willowbrook in 85 and that caused me to get my children vaccinated
I had to go to Urgent Care yesterday for a tick bite yesterday and when I came home the wife told me I may have Corona with lime now. Sometimes sick times call for sick humor.
Earlier this month my family got together and I asked them to hold hands ,”We don’t even do this on thanksgiving “ Grumble grumble. But we did I just looked around table and said Thank You.
So to all of you I’m saying thank you again.
Perhaps Mr K you can arrange a PPV type thing on internet I just hope we can be here for it
Peace
Love All Ways