I’m finally back among the living after a week of being really sick. Not the COVID, thank God. Had a bad reaction to some new pain meds the neurologist prescribed for my trigeminal neuralgia. It took several days for that med, and the ones to counteract side-effects of that drug, to leave my system. After I stopped them all, my body had a lot of adjusting to do.
The other day I was able to get this photo of one of my cats napping with my dog.
It isn’t exactly “The lion lying down with the lamb,” but it struck me how two species that are not usually friends have worked things out regarding this crate. It belongs to Dusty, but the cats have started taking it over more and more. Instead of aggressively chasing the cats out, Dusty finds a way to get to a space where he can lie down and nap. Hermione, who is normally very skitzy, barely moved when the dog settled in.
If only all things could be worked out so smoothly.
A note to people who are waiting for local, state, or federal leaders to tell you what to do during this rise in cases of the corona virus in so many states in the U.S. Don’t wait for them to get over political posturing to come up with a plan. Be smart. You can decide to wear a mask. You can decide to practice social distancing. You can make choices on where to go and when.
I know that’s harder for younger people who have to go to work, or shop, or try to have a social life. But even then, there are safety practices that can help stop the spread. The most important being to wear a mask whenever you have to go out.
Sadly, a lot of men refuse to wear a mask because it’s not cool. Perhaps that’s why our president refuses to wear one. In this article in The Atlantic, The Dudes Who Won’t Wear Masks, Julia Marcus wrote:
Some Americans believe that requiring people to wear masks is an infringement on civil liberties. In practice, if Americans are going to mask up, public-health officials will have to cajole, not compel.
This will not be easy. When the president mocks mask wearers for appearing weak and sees face coverings as a political statement against him, it’s no surprise that some Americans are loudly declining to wear them. Mask refusers are more likely to be politically conservative, an ominous trend when new coronavirus cases and hospitalizations are increasing steeply in some red states—the very states where mask mandates are least likely to be adopted.
That’s the end of my Friday rant and now here’s some fun from Slim Randles to help us get through the weekend on a positive note.
Windy walked out away from his house, but kept his mask in his pocket. There was never any quit when Windy decided to whip something, and this time it was that corona-virus. Our little valley had pretty much shut down, just like almost everyone else’s.
For the loquacious Windy Wilson, whose most precious word was “audience” it was an especially tough time. Stay home. Wash your hands. Wear your mask, and don’t go where there are more than five people.
Well, that wiped out any visit to the Mule Barn truck stop coffee shop. So what was left? He couldn’t even corner any school kids coming home from class, because they weren’t going to school right now.
So Windy went home, petted his dog, Ramses, and picked up the phone.
“Hi Mamie. Windy here.”
“Hi Windy,” she said, cheerfully, “what’s up?”
“It’s this danged coronary virus goin’ round,” he said, “they tell ever-body to stay home and don’t do nothin’. Quarantine, they said. So I was a wonderin’ if you would like to quarantine with me ‘til they get this thing whipped.”
“You mean,” said the very pleasant holistic widow, “live in the same house?”
“Well, we don’t hafta go that far. I could go home and stay there overnight and then we can quarantine-up again in the mornin.’”
She chuckled. “Windy, you are a wonderful guy, but I don’t think it works that way. Quarantine means staying home alone.”
“With just my dog?”
“Afraid so.”
“Wonder why them doctors invented this here virus in the first place. Sure ain’t fun.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Brought to you by the nice people who call up friends and relatives just to ask how they’re doing.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Many thanks to Slim who is so generous with his columns. They are always free for our enjoyment. If you like what you read here on my blog, I think you’ll really enjoy reading his books. Check out all of his award-winning books at his Goodreads Page and in better bookstores and bunkhouses throughout the free world.
That’s all for me folks. I do hope everyone has a safe and happy rest of the weekend.