masks Archives - Ramblin' with Roger

COVID is not dead yet

Strangulation for wearing a mask?

COVID is not dead yet. My daughter returned to college this month, and one of her suitemates came down with COVID-19.

My wife and I went to a performance at Mac-Haydn Theatre in Chatham, NY, on Wednesday, September 13. We had been there a couple of weeks earlier, but on this day, the signage indicated that we should wear masks for this performance. We soon learned why.

They had someone on sound who had never done sound. The music director had to stand for one of the singers 48 hours before the program. The guitarist came in that day. All of this took place because the people they replaced had COVID. (A review of the show itself is forthcoming.)

As I’ve noted, I got COVID in August 2022, and I received my last COVID-19 shot in December 2022. I will get the new shot recently approved by the FDA. U.S. hospitalization rates for COVID are generally highest for people ages 75 and up, followed by infants under six months and adults ages 65 to 74; I’m in the latter group.

A person’s risk of progression to severe COVID-19 increases with the number of underlying medical conditions. Mine are:
65 years or older
Overweight or obese
A heart condition

Here’s some info from Johns Hopkins about the XBB.1.5 variant vaccine this fall. What you do for yourself is what you do. There are no mandates.

But please don’t be a schmuck about other people getting the shot, wearing a mask, etc. “Former actor Will Keenan said he was left potentially blind in one eye after being attacked for wearing a face mask, leaving him with a detached retina.”

At-home tests

Why are my at-home COVID-19 tests no longer covered if my insurance has not changed?

From CVS: “The Federal Government announced that the public health emergency addressing COVID-19, (PHE) ended May 11, 2023. As a result, individual insurers and their clients can now make coverage decisions based on what’s best for their individual plan designs. Customers and patients should check with their insurer for information about current coverage to determine eligibility for at-home tests.”

Albany County is in COVID yellow

The power of the Session

After months in COVID red, or orange, as the CDC seemingly now designates it, Albany County was designated in COVID yellow as of November 3. Other counties in the metro area, such as Schenectady and Saratoga, have been yellow or green during most of that time.

It was frustrating. “As of November 3, 2022, there are 78 (2.0%) counties, districts, or territories with a high COVID-19 Community Level, 614 (20.1%) counties with a medium Community Level, and 2,525 (77.5%) counties with a low Community Level.” So MOST of the country is in green. There are a few patches of red in eastern Montana and western North Dakota and a few other clusters. Why have my county’s numbers run so stubbornly high?

As we were rehearsing in the choir masked one week ago, one of the basses got a message on his phone indicating the change. There was an audible cheer as about 75% of the masks immediately came off. Fist-pumping may have taken place. While singing with masks is better than not singing at all, it still rather sucks.

The Session did it

My church’s Session met to update the orange/red COVID guidelines just the day before. As my wife is in the Session, I can attest that the online meeting was LONG. Among the new policies, choir members and soloists may take a COVID test on Sunday morning and, if they are negative, remove their masks for the service. The choir was THRILLED by this.

“In addition, Session voted to allow masked congregational singing in the orange/red level.” This is great because the church sounds dispirited without it.

The fact that the FPC Session hashed out these new guidelines with the huge assistance of an ad hoc practically ASSURED that Albany County would finally move to yellow. It’s the power of Presbyterians operating in good and decent order.

So if/when Albany sinks back to orange/red – which COULD happen again as early as 8 pm tonight – the church will have a new, somewhat less restrictive procedure. I still have a few COVID tests gathering dust.

Delta variant and other COVID news

Luciferian Globalists

By Harold Jessurun and Aníbal Quiñones, the prominent creators of the popular Pepito comic in Puerto Rico. Instagram had deleted the image on some sites, citing that it violated its Community Guidelines. https://www.latinorebels.com/2020/04/20/pepitocreatorsimage/

The Delta variant doesn’t give a flying #@$% if you’re tired of hearing about COVID-19.

From the Boston Globe: “This is not the worry-free summer many envisioned as recently as Memorial Day, full of long-awaited travel, family reunions, and evenings in favorite restaurants.

“Since July Fourth, there’s been a steady drumbeat of discouraging COVID-19 news: Infections are climbing across the country. Hospitalizations in several Southern and Western states are spiking, too. Vaccination rates have dwindled. And communities from Cambridge to Los Angeles County are advising or mandating a return to mask-wearing, even for vaccinated people.”

An old friend of one of my sisters has been sending me stuff such as how some doctor says there is no Delta variant of COVID. But the “logic”, alas, fails me. Then she sent me something about the Luciferian Globalists Implementing the New World Order. Er, no.

Speaking of which: In southwest Missouri, the coronavirus Delta variant and “freedom” collide. Our guest pastor made a credible link between American individualism in this crisis and sin.

Right-Wing Vaccine Lies Are Tearing the Country Apart.

My daughter asked me if I’d ever heard of Eric Clapton. Er, yeah. Apparently, he was trending on Twitter because of some reportedly racist thing he said in 1978; IDK why it was notable decades later. But then I came across this article from 2021 noting that he says he won’t play venues that require COVID-19 vaccinations. I find that… disappointing.

Masking up

Someone asked me, “Are you going to watch the Olympics?” And I was surprised that I answered, “I don’t know.” The COVID surge in Japan has taken away some of the luster from the games in my mind. Ken Levine hit on it.

Except for a few restaurant visits, I tend to wear my mask indoors, even though I’m fully vaccinated. So it’s not onerous for me if it’s mandated.

Oh, and it IS required on the local CDTA buses, as it is on most mass transportation. At a bus stop where I was getting on, two potential passengers were arguing about whether masks were required. I butted in and agreed with the one who said yes. Then the bus driver refused to allow the unmasked person on, so the other one declined to get on too. The two were still squabbling as the bus pulled away.

The Department of Justice decided not to probe COVID deaths in state-run nursing homes in four states, including New York. I can’t speak about the other states, but I was hoping for such a probe in my state. It’ll be investigated at the state level, but federal juice has more impact.

Canada to Open to Fully Vaccinated Americans on August 9.

I read that the morally bankrupt Congressman Madison Cawthorn, who lied about a major aspect of his biography, is bloviating that if the GOP retakes the House, it’ll be prosecuting Dr. Fauci to the “full extent” of the law.

June rambling: a blow to the head

How the Wealthiest Avoid Income Tax.

Future-proofing the presidency. How to thwart the next American tyrant.

Trump’s Next Coup.

Chicago’s predictive policing program told a man he would be involved with a shooting.

Far-Right Gang Killed Cop In Plot To Blame 2020 Protest Violence On ‘Leftists’.

Hatred lives in a Nashville millinery shop.

NEJM: Dilemmas of Double Consciousness — On Being Black in Medicine.

John Oliver: Asian Americans.

The Mogul and the Monster. Jeffrey Epstein’s longstanding business ties with his most prominent client, billionaire retail magnate Leslie Wexner. hold the key.

What happens if the U.S. can’t reach herd immunity.

“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.”
– Anne Lamott

Solidarity

Even though most establishments no longer require mask wearing for the fully vaccinated – and I am – I’ve opted to wear a mask indoors for the nonce. This is in support of the store workers, most of whom are still required to mask up.

Signs Of a Toxic Work Culture—And How To Correct Them.

Remote Workers Could Quit When Asked to Return to the Office.

Best Websites to Help Kids Learn From Home in 2021.

Amy Biancolli: lessons from a blow to the head.

7 VA Loan Tips for Veterans, Service Members, and Military Spouses.

Homeless Oaklanders were tired of the housing crisis. So they built a ‘miracle’ village.

How to Be Sustainable in College: 18 Green Tips for Students.

Eric Carle didn’t want his hungry caterpillar to get a stomach ache.

When I heard that F. Lee Bailey, the “high-flying defense attorney” had died, the first person I told was Paul Rapp. Seriously.

Larry Gelman, R.I.P.

Jack Parker White (1931-2021). He was the husband of my wife’s cousin Diane, who I’d see almost every year at the Olin family reunion near Binghamton. He, my late FIL Richard, and I would test each other over baseball statistics.

Speaking of baseball, Ken Levine on how he’d fix MLB. I agree with most of these, especially getting rid of the abomination of “the stupid extra-inning rule where a runner starts at second base.” But the shift, and fouling off ideas I wouldn’t change.

How ‘One Hundred and One Dalmatians’ Saved Disney.

Sister Cindy Is a TikTok Star. “Some of those who turn out to see her [said] they question whether her internet celebrity status is deserved.” Is “internet celebrity status” deserved?

Johnny Carson as Reagan, a “Who’s On First” spoof.

15 Clichés To Avoid With a Ten-Foot Pole.

Now I Know: The Buses That Make a Bee Line and The Tribe With the DIY Spies and Evolution, Eyebrows, and the Pets We Love and The Kids Are All Right and Why The NYC Police Darkened Their Blues and Refrigerators that Ribbit?

MUSIC

Nite Ride and Sunrise by Jean Sibelius.

You Really Got Me – MonaLisa Twins.

The Last of England by Nikolas Labrinakos.

In Her Family – Peter Sprague, featuring Rebecca Jade.

Black Dog – Robert Plant and Alison Krauss.

Coverville 1359: The Bob Dylan Cover Story VIII and 1360: Cover Stories for Psychedelic Furs, Keane and the Four Tops.

Tiny Dancer – Elton John.

In the year of the masks

do I want to know a secret?

In some way, there was no date more 2020 for me than December 7. I received three packages. All contained masks.

One was a package of 50 disposable items I had ordered about a week earlier. The second was a mask featuring the mustache of John Green, which I had ordered about a month and a half earlier. It was a Pizzamas thing; don’t worry about understanding that, because I don’t either.

The third, though, I had ordered so long before that I had forgotten about it altogether. Ten black masks with the letters UNITY in white silhouette. Within each letter, a message. all in caps.

Healthcare for all. Back Lives Matter. Save the Planet. Protect Dreamers. Ensure voting rights. The image description from Democracy for America: “We believe there is more that unites us than divides us. These issues are not just for the few, they are for all of us.” I hope so.

In my Christmas stocking, Santa brought two more masks. One was a woodsy scene. The other was a black mask with Day-Glo musical notes. I like these.

One more

Finally, in the mail on New Year’s Eve, came a mask with a card, sent ostensibly from my church’s address. The lettering was intentionally designed to obscure the handwriting of the sender. The white mask had a pinkish rectangle that featured a white cross. In red letters:
FIRST PRES CHOIR
2020

For the last few years, an anonymous benefactor had left the choir t-shirts and pens, both emblazed with messages about the church, left near the choir loft. Since we haven’t sung since March 2020 – haven’t even been in the building – I was particularly surprised by this largesse. I have a theory about who it might be; my wife thinks it’s someone else. Thanks to the choir Secret Santa once again, whoever you are.

Football!

I went to the local grocery store on Tuesday, moving through as quickly as possible. The cashier wore a Pittsburgh Steelers mask. I asked her if her team was going to win this weekend. She said, “I hope so. They only lost by two last week, and they rested some of their players.” I added, “And the Cleveland Browns needed that game. But what about that three-game losing streak?” She sighed, “I don’t know WHAT that was about.”

I mention this because, too often, the mask is a sign of less sharing. You can’t see people’s facial expressions. But at that moment, the mask facilitated a human connection that I too often miss.

Here’s hoping that in 2022, I won’t need the masks anymore. But I keep seeing those newspaper headlines. LA Times, Jan 1.: Spiraling COVID-19 deaths leave morgues overflowing and funeral homes turning away grieving families. And even around here. Times Union, Jan. 1: In Albany County, the mark of 346 new infections in one day is 77 more than the prior record. So know I’ll still have those masks available in 2021. It’s good to have a variety…

At least I don’t have to deal with these folks.