COVID-19

One-Liner Wednesday — What You Don’t Know Won’t Hurt You

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“If we stop testing right now, we’d have very few cases, if any.”

Donald J. Trump, the delusional President of the United States 

Donald Trump apparently believes that if no one gets tested for COVID-19, no one will get the virus. Just think about that ludicrous claim for a moment. Testing for COVID-19 does not cause people to contract COVID-19.

This is yet one more in a string of incredibly stupid and totally baseless things that Donald Trump has said.

You just can’t make this shit up!

Written for Linda G. Hill’s One-Liner Wednesday Prompt.

Good Luck and Goodbye

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F7062163-960B-4308-8471-9E8E01F8615C“I can’t believe that that doofus president of ours has prematurely declared victory over Covid-19,” Ed said. He was FaceTiming with his girlfriend, who he hadn’t seen in person for more than two months due to the lockdown. “How can he say it’s over and we won when we’ve had more than two million cases and 112,000 deaths in the U.S. so far and the numbers are still going up in many locations across the country?”

“Well, I for one,” Amy said, “am tired of being held captive in my own house. I’m tired of feeling like I have to ostracize my friend and loved ones. “And I’m tired on not being able to be with you, hugging and kissing those luscious lips of yours.” She smiled and blew Ed a kiss.

“We need to be patient and not rush back into things they way they were,” Ed said. “I want to be with you as much as you want to be with me, but I want us both to stay healthy.”

“I know, so do I,” Amy said. “But I give thanks that the restrictions are being eased and that we’ll soon be able to resume our normal lives. I can’t wait to go to our favorite restaurant together and dine on some of that delicious, expertly prepared meals with you. We haven’t been able to do that since mid-March.”

“I don’t think it’s such a good idea to run out and to start behaving like we did before the pandemic,” Ed said.

“But the president said that the pandemic is behind us,” Amy said. “And I’m tired of being alone and housebound. I want my old life back. I want our old lives together back.”

“Sorry, Amy,” Ed said, “but I don’t think any of us will be getting our old lives back anytime soon. All I can say to you is be careful and don’t  unnecessarily expose yourself to great risk to your health and life just so you can eat out at your favorite restaurants. Let’s do the right thing and wait until it’s proven to be safe again. We’re young and have our whole lives ahead of us. Let’s not screw our future together up.”

“Too late, Ed,” Amy said. “Carl texted me and invited me to dinner with him and, given your stubborn position, I’m going to accept.”

“Okay, Amy, if that, what you want,” Ed said, “all I can say is good luck and goodbye.”

Written for these daily prompts: Word of the Day Challenge (victory), The Daily Spur (captive), Jibber Jabber (house), Your Daily Word Prompt (ostracize), Ragtag Daily Prompt (luscious), and Fandango’s One-Word Prompt (thanks).

Blogging Insights and the Pandemic

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Blogging insightsFor this week’s Blogging Insights episode, Dr. Tanya points out that the coronavirus pandemic has changed the world as we know it. “It has deeply touched the lives of us all, even those who have not been infected.” She’s asking us to share with her how it has affected our blogs and blogging.

1. How frequently do you post about the pandemic? Please share links to a couple of your “pandemic posts” that you particularly like. If you have not written anything about Coronavirus/COVID-19 (seems unbelievable) what are your reasons for this?

Between those non-fiction posts specifically about the pandemic and our president’s mishandling of it, and those flash fiction posts that incorporate the coronavirus/COVID-19 into the tale, at least a few dozen. As to links, well, here’s one about the devastation that the coronavirus has personally caused me: Damn You, Coronavirus!

2. What kind of “posts about the pandemic” do you like to read? (If you don’t, then please tell us why?)

Interesting, engaging, informative, entertaining, and well written posts. I’ll skip the rest, thank you.

3. How have you and your blog adapted to “the new normal”?

I now hold my iPhone at full arm’s length when I use it for blogging in order to maintain proper social distancing.

4. Have you seen any change in your blog stats during the pandemic? Also, are you posting more or less than you used to?

Not really. My stats are about the same.4B5F4DFC-A6C7-4DB6-A597-3A7838E3A4F4I’m posting fewer posts per day so far this year than I did in 2019, but that has nothing to do with the pandemic.

Breaking News

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72949797-E656-49AA-8DC5-9DB042D0EC14I’ve got this app on my iPhone called “Nextdoor.” It bills itself as “the neighborhood hub for trusted connections and the exchange of helpful information, goods, and services.”

I will periodically get notifications when someone in my general area posts something on Nextdoor. I got one such notification when someone posted the following, which made me laugh out loud, so I thought I’d share it with you folks.

Breaking News: Wearing a mask inside your home is now highly recommended. Not so much to stop COVID-19, but to stop eating so much.

I stepped on my scale this morning. It said: “Please practice social distancing. Only one person at a time on scale.”

Common Sense or a Lack Thereof

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In a post from earlier this week, Di, over at Pensitivity101, wrote, “Common sense seems to have gone out of the window.” That, my friends, is an understatement.

Take, for example the case of a woman who was angry that the dining area at a McDonald’s was closed due to the restrictions in place to curb the spread of the coronavirus. So what did she do to express her anger? She took out her gun and opened fire, wounding three McDonald’s employees. I mean talk about a lack of common sense. What was this woman thinking when she decided to eat at a McDonald’s? That food will kill you!

But seriously folks, what the hell is going on inside people’s heads?Virus Outbreak OhioHeavily armed protesters are crowded together, few wearing masks, at state houses all across the country wanting to open things up again, and carrying around stupid signs like these.DAD41AED-F69A-424C-8EDE-0D0863158C6DDo they want to get sick and possibly die in the name of “freedom” and “liberty” in order to mingle, go to tattoo parlors, and dine-in at restaurants?

I’m not a person of faith, at least not in the religious or spiritual sense. But I’ve always had faith in my country. I’ve always felt that, for the most part, America was a good country to live in and that most Americans, outside of the extremes on both the far right and far left, displayed at least a modicum of common sense and a shared sense of common interests. That’s not to say that I thought of the United States as perfect or its citizens as exemplary. To believe that would be naive and stupid.

But recent history has proved me wrong about the nature of my country and its people. My faith in America is now gone and I’m feeling a profound sense of loss. There seems to be an  inherent madness in Americans. A madness based on our willingness to believe in whatever fiction best comforts us — or enrages us. In the face of overwhelming uncertainty, we desperately seek some ground to stand on, even if that ground does not actually exist.

But I guess we Americans got what we deserved. We elected a reality show TV host as president, one who likes to pretend to be the country’s leader but has no idea how to actually lead a country.

So you’re right, Di, common sense seems to, indeed, have gone out of the window.