Cooped Up by Covid

Our dumbass in chief, who has always been inept, has outdone himself with daily proclamations of bellowing ignorance.

Except for rare trips to the supermarket and brief walks outside I haven’t left the house for two weeks. We are compelled now by government edict to practice “social distancing” in order to slow the wave of the novel coronavirus. 

The U.S. now tops the number of infected in the world, if you trust the numbers, which I don’t. Thanks to the woefully inadequate response of our federal government, far fewer people in the U.S. have even been tested, so the numbers are probably much higher. 

As always in healthcare, we are less prepared and our poor are worse off than any other developed country in the world – to say nothing of our overworked and under-protected medical professionals who have to beg the public to help them get safety masks and gowns. 

Our dumbass in chief, who has always been inept, has outdone himself with daily proclamations of bellowing ignorance. His stupidity is surpassed only by the 47 percent of Americans who continue to rate his performance positively. 

While Washington DC has provided less than inspiring leadership, we in Colorado are somewhat better off because our state leaders, Governor Polis leading the way, are taking a serious, scientific approach to the crisis. Republicans, typically, are critical of Polis’s strict orders to stay at home, but it’s so much better than some states (North Carolina and others with higher infection rates of destructive Trumpism) where governors refuse to take action. 

Clyde and I are very fortunate, so far, to be disease free (at least Covid-19 free – we still have our regular repertoire of health issues). We have plenty to eat. Charles the cat is just as sweet as ever. As the meme says, we are called to sacrifice by sitting at home and watching TV – we got this. 

We are still working, albeit at home because our offices are restricted to all but “essential” personnel. In fact, I’ve been as busy as ever coming up with creative ways to teach people through the magic of technology. I meet just as often with my colleagues in Montreal and Phoenix. The conference calls with people in the UK and other non-North American locations have slowed because the Diversity and Inclusion initiative which I’ve been honored to help with has been temporarily shelved. 

Of course all of that changes if one of us gets sick. The virus, for us, is still something only in the news. To my knowledge, it hasn’t afflicted anyone we personally know. That’s bound to change as the peak may still be weeks away. 

For now, I have to admit that I am enjoying the quieter, calmer life of staying home. I like not risking my life twice a day fighting traffic on I-25. I like not planning my day around where I have to be hour by hour. I enjoy communicating with people electronically from the comfort of my sofa. 

Clyde’s and my church attendance has actually improved because St. Andrew’s services such as the Thursday night Evensong and Sunday morning prayer (no eucharist until we can be all together in person) are broadcast over the web. Even church committees continue to meet through the miracle of Zoom. 

I don’t want to make light of the suffering which Covid-19 has inflicted, but I love the fact that air pollution levels are down. Dolphins are swimming in the waterways of Venice for the first time in centuries. Mountain lions are exploring the streets of Boulder because there are so few humans outside. 

We’ll see how many more weeks I can stay content. If we’re lucky, the worst that will happen is that we start climbing the walls with boredom before this situation abates and we can return to some version of normal.