Virus Blog

9/13/20

Lawn Care. Technology is a wonderful thing. Aging is an evil thing. As we age men get increasingly angry about things that mess up their lawn. The term "cranky old man" is something I find myself turning into. I care about my lawn and it upsets me if others think that my lawn is an invitation for them to enjoy it with anything more than their eyes. And this cranky old man is also a hypocrite. You see I walk my dog through the neighborhood every day and there is nothing she loves more than to relieve herself on well watered lush lawn. Apparently there is nothing better. Possibly like signing your name in the snow for the rest of us. I digress.

One of my neighbors recently installed new lawn technology. Attached to a hose and connected near the spot is a powerful sprinkler head that fires the moment it senses any movement. I could be walking on the other side of the street but the censor sees me and fires of the sprinkler. Now the neighbor's lawn gets new water at regular intervals (and it looks mighty lush) plus there is the added benefit that anytime a dog might come near, the water sprays to deter any lawn encroachers.

It was 107 a week ago and as I was walking the dog I aimed for the lawn hoping to get doused with water as a cooling strategy for both dog and walker, but sadly the water pressure's intensity had been adjusted so that little more than a drop made it over to us standing in the street. I admired this bit of technology. I thought about incorporating it into our front lawn. Might be a good way to deal with the raccoons that periodically roll back the lawn like carpet. And then it dawned on me. The world is going to base. They are taking a "me first" mentality. Everything from Nationalism to the hoarding of toilet paper to the increased purchase of guns, all suggests that at the end of the day as a society we seem to be isolating more and cooperating less.

That's it. Just an observation, but I'm still considering a fence around my lawn!

9/14/20

Hitting Home. Ask someone the question, "Do you know of anyone with the virus," and the answers are pretty skimpy and pretty distant. At the beginning of August one of my colleagues lost his father with no underlying conditions other than age. Yesterday, I got two emails from work colleagues one with a death and the other with four family members spread across multiple hospitals. We see astronomical numbers every night and we hear horrible story but I would argue that it's still a relatively distant threat. As we go into the flu season it's hard to believe that this won't ultimately touch home rather quckily.

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