RISK TAKING IS IN AMERICA’S DNA

Yes, we know. All those European countries have lower Covid-19 positivity rates than we do, here in the USA. But guess what? Europeans are the ones who stayed home over the past four centuries. They put up with dictators and monarchies. Our ancestors who emigrated to America in hope of independence and a better life were risk takers, and they still are. Risk taking is in America’s DNA

Consider these facts:

More than 38,000 people die every year in crashes on U.S. roadways. The U.S. traffic fatality rate is 12.4 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants. An additional 4.4 million are injured seriously enough to require medical attention. Does that stop people from driving? Most of us own at least one motor vehicle, and don’t worry when taking trips and running errands in our cars.

57% of all motorcycle fatalities are due to drivers without helmets. — Risk Taking is in America’s DNA. 57% of motorcycle fatalities are because the driver didn’t wear a helmet.

Because motorcycles lack the protection of cars, accidents tend to be more severe for motorcyclists when a collision does occur. In fact, bikers are 27 times more likely to experience a fatal accident than car drivers, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Some states require motorcyclists wear helmets. But many don’t. And yet, 57% of motorcyclists killed in 2017 weren’t wearing helmets, according to NHTSA,.

All grocery stores, pharmacies and dollar stores sell cigarettes. Smoking is responsible for more than 480,000 deaths per year in the United States, including more than 41,000 deaths resulting from secondhand smoke exposure. On average, smokers die 10 years earlier than nonsmokers.

Ever count the number of liquor stores in your city? They were considered an essential business during the pandemic. Few people stop to consider that 1 million people died from alcohol-related causes between 1999 and 2017. The number of death certificates mentioning alcohol more than doubled from 35,914 in 1999 to 72,558 in 2017. That year, alcohol played a role in 2.6% of all deaths in the United States.

Snack foods take up an entire aisle in most grocery stores, pharmacies, and dollar stores. Most of these chips and snacks are alarmingly high in salt. But they’re big sellers. Unfortunately, according to the American Heart Association a high salt diet may may lead to high blood pressure, heart failure, and strokes. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States.

On Labor Day, I walked past a house full of people having an indoor-outdoor barbeque . It looked like a family get together, and I didn’t see any masks.

Politicians and the CDC are desperately trying to regulate the behavior of Americans during this Covid-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, people continue to congregate, travel, and go without masks. Is it any wonder? If you consider the above statistics, it’s clear that risk taking is in America’s DNA.

September 2, 2020September 2, 2020

VIRUS SOARS AFTER PRISON EXECUTIONS

A few months ago, we felt fairly safe in this city along America’s Death Row. Cases of Covid-19 were low compared to big cities like Indianapolis. And then, late this summer, that began to change. Executions at the federal prison resumed on July 13. Up to that point, there had been no executions for 17 years, and there were no cases of Covid 19 at the prison. On Aug 28, Keith Nelson became the 5th person to be executed. Now, the virus soars after prison executions.

The federal prison complex has two facilities. Before that last execution , they had 12 cases in the U.S. Penitentiary (maximum security), and 10 cases in the Federal Correctional institution (medium,minimum securities). As of September 1, the USP reported 70 cases, and the FCI reported 48 cases, for a total of 118 cases at the complex. With about 1400 inmates and 700 employees, that’s a pretty high positive rate.

Is it any wonder? Numerous outsiders were seated together in the death chamber during each of the executions. This included eight journalists, and various family members of the crime victims and perpetrators. There were lawyers, and spiritual counselors. The exact number of people allowed to witness an execution has not been made public, but we know there were a lot of them.

After executions at the federal prison brought in protestors and strangers, our covid cases soared. — Witnesses and protesters brought many strangers to our town. The virus soars after prison executions.

Then, there were the protesters who came from outside the city, starting with the first execution in July.. Hundreds gathered to protest against the death penalty. As a result, these people stayed in hotels and ate in restaurants. I don’t know who wore masks, or did or did not carry the virus. I just know that cases in Vigo County skyrocketed after that. Our positive rate is more than double that of Indianapolis.

Coincidentally, Indiana State University opened it’s doors to on campus learning last week. . To their credit, they are being transparent about their number of reported Covid-19 cases which now stand at about 94, including staff and students. Compared to the University of Alabama, with 540 cases, that’s not too bad. Hopefully, these young people will enjoy a speedy recovery.

Back to the prison executions. I’m not opposed to the death penalty. But it seems to me they could have waited until things settled down before bringing all these strangers to town in the midst of a pandemic.

August 24, 2020August 25, 2020

FRONT PORCH IS A GODSEND NOW

Do you like old houses? If so, you’re definitely in the minority. Most realtors will tell you that they’re a hard sell. It’s amazing to see all the new subdivisions popping up all over town. And houses in every price range are selling like hotcakes. On the other hand, my husband and I live in a house that’s over 100 years old, and we’ve always loved everything about it. The beamed ceilings, pillared doorways, wooden floors. But now, one special feature of old houses has proved to be a blessing. The front porch is a godsend now, during this covid-19 pandemic.

A front porch is a blessing during the covid 19 pandemic — A front porch is a godsend during this pandemic. Friends can visit in fresh air, while social distancing.

For one thing, we’re not stuck inside the house all day—even if it’s raining. Except for the winter months, we always sit on the front porch and have a cool drink in the late afternoon. We live along a busy street, and simply watch the cars go by, or people of various ages and sizes jogging or strolling. It’s fun to see the different outfits people wear. Some are half-naked, sweat dripping off their shoulders. Others are covered in black workout clothes. And then, there are the babies in strollers, and families with little children. Until Covid-19, we didn’t realize how much we enjoyed this evening parade.

But the best thing about our porch during this pandemic is the opportunity to visit safely with family and friends who stop by . The porch is wide enough for social distancing if there’s only four of us. Right now, we’ve been starved for company and social interaction. But if a neighbor stops by to say hello, we feel safe inviting them to sit and chat for a few minutes while sitting in the fresh air. They may or may not wear masks. Sometimes we do, and sometimes we don’t, depending on how confident we are that they aren’t carrying the virus. We don’t invite them inside. But when they leave, we feel satisfied that we’ve seen and talked with someone we care about. Before the pandemic, we never appreciated how important that is. We took those random social interactions for granted.

Front porches are seeing a revival the past few years. Builders are beginning to include them in design plans. And if you’re lucky enough to have a front porch during this pandemic, put it near the top of your gratitude list.

July 31, 2020July 31, 2020

HAVE ROAD RAGE DEATHS INCREASED?

A man was shot to death in my Indiana city yesterday. It happened in a Kroger parking lot at about 4 o’clock in the afternoon. Reportedly, it was a case of road rage. Strange as it may seem, another road rage fatality took place at approximately the same time in Laurel County, Ky. Our town is relatively peaceful. Most serious crimes are drug related. This is the first crime of its kind that I can remember happening here. Have road rage deaths increased during the pandemic?

The stress of covid-19 may trigger more homicides due to Road Rage — Have Road Rage deaths increased? Two similar shootings occurred Tuesday afternoon in neighboring states.

Statistics on covid-19 cases and deaths are updated every day. It would be interesting to publish a separate set of stats on crimes caused by the stress of the entire pandemic. According to National Public Radio, robberies have declined overall during the pandemic, but shootings and killings are up.

The BBC reports domestic abuse has increased by 20% worldwide. Child abuse cases have increased at about the same rate. According to the National Sexual Assault Hotline, there has been a 22% increase in monthly calls from people younger than 18. In the majority of these cases, the perpetrator was a family member, and the abuse was escalating in frequency and severity.

A Kaiser Family Foundation poll, showed more than half of Americans — 56% –reported that worry or stress related to the outbreak has led to at least one negative mental health effect. Those include trouble with eating or sleeping, drinking alcohol more, frequent headaches or stomachaches, shorter tempers, and other health problems. Among frontline health care workers and their families, 64% reported worsened mental health, as did 65% of those who had lost income.

Consequently, at some point in time, we’ll have to decide which is worse? The disease itself, or increased violent crime, poverty, nervous breakdowns, drug overdoses, and all of the other miseries of a prolonged quarantine.

We’re in the midst of a national mental health crisis. Will the the stress of the covid-19 pandemic lead to more cases of road rage? I have to believe that it will.

June 29, 2020June 29, 2020

DO YOU LIKE SAVANNAH’S HAIR?

My ambivalence toward perfectly beautiful women started when I was sixteen. Girls and boys went “steady” in those days. You wore the boy’s class ring on a chain around your neck. If he was an athlete, he let you wear his letter sweater to the movies. And so it was that my first boyfriend took me to see A Place In The Sun with Elizabeth Taylor. With a sinking heart, I knew I could never be that beautiful. Everything about her was perfect. Which I could never be. I’ve often felt that way about national tv news reporters, including the perfectly groomed Savannah Guthrie of NBC. But now, due to the pandemic, she’s let her hair down, so to speak. Do you like Savannah’s hair?

Back to Elizabeth Taylor. Most sixteen year old girls are pretty, just because they’re young. And yet, at that age, I didn’t appreciate the advantage of youth. Consequently, when I looked in the mirror, I saw a freckled nose, frizzy hair, a pale complexion, and a mouth full of braces. I thought of myself as “skinny,” not thin. There wasn’t a chance in the world I would ever have the cleavage of Elizabeth Taylor in a strapless evening gown. While I loved going to the movies, I often left feeling like a frump in comparison to the likes of Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelley.

Women in television are held to the same high standards. They must have perfect hair –never gray– and makeup. Smooth complexions. Long, shapely legs under short skirts. Female TV newscaster look far more glamorous than their male counterparts. Popular newsmen can be overweight, bald, pockmarked, have big ears ,wear glasses,, and still land high paying jobs. Although a few, like David Muir, are obviously picked for their hunkiness, it’s not really necessary for a male television reporter to make it to the top because of his good looks.

Covid-19 has changed all that perfection for female reporters. They’ve had to go it on their own. Do their own hair and makeup, put up with unflattering lighting. But I like them more now. Their ordinary hair reminds you of your sister or best friend in college. Everyone made fun of Judge Jeanine Pirro’s flyaway hair one night on Fox News. But I thought it made her appear softer, and down to earth.

Savannah looks more relatable now that she's doing her own hair. Do you like Savannah's hair? — She’s doing it herself now, during the covid-19 pandemic. Do you like Savannah’s hair?

Some people are upset about Savannah Guthrie’s hairstyle. One woman tweeted that she ought to be ashamed of herself for not getting her hair done. So, she’s supposed to let some infectious hair dresser breathe on her, just so she can have stiff, beauty parlor hair? I don’t think so. Truth be told, I think she seems more genuine without the perfect hair, clothes and makeup. Do you like Savannah Guthrie’s and Jeanine Pirro’s hair? I do.

June 15, 2020June 15, 2020

PANDEMIC SENSE AND NONSENSE

Things are settling down and reopening up. Although the coronavirus is still with us, we can sit back and wonder about the pandemic sense and nonsense that occurred. A lot of decisions were made by different elected officials all over the country, that didn’t seem well thought through. Here in the heartland, ordinary people don’t always agree with what has gone down.

Congress hurried up and passed a massive stimulus bill that benefited some people far more than others. The strangest thing was the stimulus checks. Anyone who filed a tax return for less than $75,000 received tax free money that wasn’t based on need or cost of living. $1200 won’t go very far in San Francisco, but it could pay for a lot of rent and groceries in small town, America. Same thing with the unemployment benefits. $600 a week plus state unemployment will go a long way in some parts of the country. In fact, it’s proven to be a disincentive for restaurant employees’ returning to work. Consequently, a lot of tax payer money has gone to people who really don’t need it at all.

.Restaurants and bars have been allowed to open for a couple of weeks in our city. They must follow certain social distancing guidelines but at least you can be served a meal that you didn’t have to cook or send for. This coming week, our library will finally be allowed to open their doors. Does this seem a little strange? Why are libraries so far down the totem pole? They should have opened before bars and hair salons.

Libraries are at the heart of any city. Books feed the soul, and will get you through tough times. I can remember growing up in the post depression years during World War II. Everything good was rationed. You couldn’t’ even buy ice cream—it had to be sherbet, unless you made it yourself. But the highlight of my week—starting at age six—was my weekly trip to the library. A good book will take you to far away places, and show you how people in other times or in different countries think and feel. Nothing can replace books. Certainly not a bottle of beer or a plate of spaghetti eaten at a restaurant.

Mask wearing was another thing. First, we were told it didn’t help to wear a mask. Then, about a month later, all the scientists were telling us we should wear masks, after all. It’s no wonder so many people refuse to wear one.

When things settle down, we’re going to look back at some of the decisions that were made and scratch our heads. Mayors are criticizing governors, and governors are criticizing the president. The politicians are all busy pointing fingers and placing blame. But the truth is, everyone has been floundering in a sea of the unknown. Common sense went out the window

May 13, 2020May 13, 2020

DO YOU PLAN STAY-AT-HOME DAYS?

Do you plan your Stay-At-Home Days? For the first three decades of my life, everything was planned for me. From the age of five through 21, I was a student. I didn’t have to make any decisions as to how I spent my time. Go to class, study, recreation, sleep. The pattern repeated itself every day, for years.

After college, the routine changed, but my days followed a pattern. Work, recreation, sleep. Next came marriage and children: Filling my daytime hours wasn’t a problem: Cook, clean, take care of children, recreation, sleep. That all changed when my lst husband had a meltdown, and I went to work. Managing a hospital department while raising three children under ten required a whole lot of planning. For the next twenty some years, I made to do lists every single day. After retiring, I was involved in activities and responsibilities that still required plans and lists.

And then, the coronavirus hit, No activities to participate in, or people to see. The doldrums set in. I felt tired and aimless. After a few days, it dawned on me. This wasn’t going to end soon. I had to make some plans.

The pandemic requires everyone to self isolate. Do you plan your Stay At home Days — The coronavirus pandemic has changed the way we live our lives.

My days needed structure. I couldn’t just lie around and wait for the pandemic to end. Although I couldn’t attend my tai chi classes or go swimming now, I still needed exercise. How would I keep my mind sharp.? Visiting with family or friends was out. Nor could I take any trips—not even to Indy. What in the world would I do?

First, I would not stay in bed until noon. We had always gotten out of bed around 8:30 to have coffee and read the paper. That would continue. But no lolling around in pajamas all day. Getting dressed, fixing my hair, and a little lipstick made me feel normal, and more energetic.

Do You Plan Your Stay At Home Day? Try doing jigsaw puzzles. — Plan Your Stay At Home Days with jigsaw puzzles to help your brain.

Things to incorporate into my new life: Reading more books, via kindle. Spring Cleaning with a vengeance. Not just washing some windows, but curtains, walls, cabinets. Cleaning out closets and drawers. Exercise. On rainy days, when I can’t walk outside, I get my exercise with the dreaded spring cleaning. You can burn a bunch of calories that way. Since restaurants are closed, it was time for me to experiment with new recipes. I could play bridge and online. It’s not as much fun as playing with real live people, but it gives you a little entertainment. My husband ordered some jigsaw puzzles ( Did you know they challenge your brain?.} Weeding my garden like it’s never been weeded before. Planting flowers. Cleaning out my files and drawers. Writing checks and paying bills. Sending birthday cards.

Sample daily schedule:

8:30: Make coffee, read the newspaper (home delivery)

9:00 Do morning stretch exercises

9:15 Light breakfast. Make bed, turn on computer, check e mail and other online favorite websites.

10:00 Start project for the day: cleaning, gardening, writing, etc.. One day a week, go to grocery store (wearing mask, gloves, glasses).

12:00 Lunch

12:30 15 minutes of unfiltered sunshine (weather permitting)

12:35 Paperwork: paying bills, filing, writing cards,

1:30 Put in a load of laundry or write blog.

2:00 Walk in park, weather permitting

3:00 Fold laundry or finish blog.

3: 15 Bridge online,or help husband with jig saw puzzles

4:00 Tai chi (3 short exercises)

4:15 Personal care: Hair, nails, etc.

5:00 Start planning dinner

6:00 Dinner

6:30 Watch news

7:00 Clean kitchen

The rest of the evening is pure relaxation: Meditating, Netflix streaming, favorite TV shows, or more reading. A warm bath, then bed around 11:00.

The schedule is subject to change at any time, to allow for telephone calls. These are usually spontaneous, and can’t be planned.

And so, after 8 weeks of self-isolation, I’m busier than ever. Do you plan your stay-at-home days during the Covid 19 crisis?