The news on my mind,
Florida beaches crowded,
Selfish Spring Breakers.
Hopefully some day soon my Hikau’s will be more light-hearted. But for today, Thursday, that’s the key outrage people all over the country are expressing. And the interviews with the drunk college students on the beaches and in the bars is only fueling the fires in every way possible! They are angering the rest of the country, and they will be the cause of this country’s numbers of confirmed cases and deaths shooting through the roof. But today they are happy and partying. Come March 27, they will be the ones getting sick and watching their loved ones get sick and dying, all because they did not want to heed the warnings and brought the SARS-CoV-2 virus back to their homes and communities. They won’t be bringing it back to their schools, however, because just about every school in the country has closed until further notice (all classes to be held virtually).
I work for a college in Vermont, one of the last states to identify a first case, and our biggest fear even as much as a month ago was students bringing the virus back from Spring Break. We took incremental steps: first extending spring break by a week and requiring all students submit to a health screening before being allowed back onto campus, but now we are not allowing students back until April 18, which is another month away, and that date may change again. Even with all the precautions being taken by employers, governments, schools, etc., there is a large number of people who still believe that the health professionals are overreacting. To them I have only one thing to say, “You’re an idiot!” There is an expression that is commonly said when someone realizes they made the wrong decision or choice: “In hindsight, …” or “If I knew then what I know now …” The ironic part of this situation is that the United States DOES have the precious gift of hindsight—and it has a name: Italy!
Now that I got that off my mind, I can switch over to the health update. Diet going strong with no cheating yet. There was only one worrisome issue today in that my sister visited 2 different grocery stores and neither of them had any chicken of any kind left to buy. A moment’s pause and a hope that the shelves are restocked tomorrow. Fortunately I did not need the chicken today as we still have corned beef, cabbage, carrots and potatoes leftovers from St. Patrick’s day, and it is even tastier on the reheat!
That’s it for today. I’ll be more upbeat tomorrow. Until then, stay safe, stay healthy, stay alive.