Another week has passed and we are still in isolation. It appears the virus will keep us in this state throughout the coming holiday season. For me, this includes the entire week of Passover. For my Christian friends it includes Easter. And for our Muslim neighbors it will soon encompass the holy month of Ramadan. All of these involve, in normal times, getting together with friends, and especially with family, to enjoy festive meals. Alas, that is not going to occur this year. Anyone who does meet with persons outside their normal daily routine runs a much higher risk of becoming infected.
In my little village we are definitely among the senior citizens. As such, our risk of dying if we are infected is significantly higher. To combat this risk the younger residents have formed a group to assist us, Every senior has a helper to run errands, deliver medicines and groceries, and even bring little gifts, like a small bunch of flowers, to try to keep up our spirits.In our case, our children keep in contact regularly via telephone, Skype, Zoom, and whatever other means comes to hand. It certainly helps.
Having facebook has also been advantageous. It seems that everyone with even a slight trace of comedian in their personality wants to show it to the world. There are satiric songs, poems, stand-up routines, and whatever else comes to mind alongside stories of hope and tragedy. One item that caught my attention was that local animal shelters are experiencing an increase in requests to adopt a pet. The enclosures where the stray/rescue animals are kept haven’t been so empty for a very long time. I just hope that all the new pets have now found permanent homes.
On the less optimistic side, there has been a marked increase in scams, especially computer based ones. We have heard of people visiting homes, claiming to be Health Department affiliates, and asking for lots of personal data which they later use to defraud anyone who was gullible enough to give them the data they asked for. There are also a number of similar things happening on-line. If you get a suspicious e-mail, especially from someone with whom you don’t regularly correspond, don’t answer it. You can consider forwarding it to your local law enforcement, but they are probably too busy to follow up on this right away.
To wrap up this post I have a question. How many uniformed services are there in the US? Most are familiar with the armed forces branches; Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. There are three more. The most important of those is the US Public Health Service. The Chief of that branch is Vice Admiral Jerome M Adams. You’ve probably seen him on TV. The USPHS wears a uniform like the Navy or Coast Guard but they have slightly different symbols. Their main emblem looks like the one the Navy uses, but one of the navy anchors is replaced by a caduceus. A caduceus is the winged staff with a serpent curled around it. Another interesting fact about the USPHS is that all the members are commissioned officers. They also should be saluted when in uniform. VADM Adams is the surgeon-general, but his medical training was in anesthesiology. Other members were trained as pharmacists, nurses, and even physical therapists. Many are assigned to the CDC. All of them have been working very hard during this pandemic crisis. They deserve as much recognition as the front line medical professionals treating the victims.
Wetherhorn 