chapter 555

May 4, 2020

Devastatingly Worrisome

who are the real nazis

There was another ReOpen NY rally at the capital so it gave me something to do. Very enjoyable though cloudy and wet. Tulip Festival & just about everything else has been cancelled for a few months and counting.

General Sheridan was famous for burning down people's homes during the civil war and killing bunches of Indians. Here he's honored with a statue while the smug Dr. Birx Coronavirus Response Coordinator calls protesters Devastatingly Worrisome.

Our grocery stores shut down bottle returns while they contemplate how to handle them. I don't quite understand are they afraid of viruses on the cans? The one way arrows on the grocery isles are a bit peevish to me as a shopper who minimizes time in store by taking shortcuts.

Satmar Orthodox Jewish Funeral in Brooklyn I only had a few car dealership swap drives down to Brooklyn thankfully. One Audi swap was to this neighborhood in Williamsburg. I never wanted to stick around long and got out of Dodge as quickly as I could. The density of people was disconcerting. Streets were dirty with bums and what seemed like all sort of degenerates. 

Also in Brooklyn Flatlands hundreds of bodies were piled up in unrefrigerated small uHaul box trucks outside Cleckley Funeral Home. I hadn't blogged about my experience in the Flatlands before because it was so disgusting but I did a Honda swap drive there in 2004 to the Jewish run Wheels to Lease facility there. Their attitude was so disrespectful to me. They gave me a leased Ford Van that I had to clean out the garbage from before even attempting to drive. Gas gage on empty, of course for my 120 mile trip back to Albany. No help from them. I was able to make it to a nearby gas station before running out. The steering wheel constantly pulled left and the exhaust fumes were sickening on the way home. I told my service manager I'd rather put a fork in my eye than do any return mission to that place.

As a contrast, this is Clifton Park's Jewish commuity. I had met with Rabbi Markowitz almost a decade ago at this Beth Shalom synagogue regarding some Biblical coins identification from Judea. Yet, it is irksome how our Governor Cuomo treats our communities the same regarding covid response and disallowing some opening of businesses upstate. 

First hike with grandson after several weeks of the semi-quarantine scenario. First time we did the Malta Ecological Park. It's so so. Lucas was bending down but his height tracking on my kitchen wall projects him to be the tallest Olmsted ever.

It was a glorious day. Mid 70's, sun was out, a 4 mile stroll thru Saratoga Springs State Park. People were out. Only perhaps 30% had masks but there's so much room at the park it did not feel germy and people gave wide berths acknowledging the need for distancing.

Had a Cinco de Mayo Zoom party on my house deck. Celebrated Shawn's completing his MBA degree and the purchase offer on his Ballston house so he can move into a bigger house near here.

The origin of the coronavirus 2019 is being further linked to the Wuhan Labs . Gain of Function is a legitimate and acknowledged part of complex field of virology academia and vaccination development.  You can learn a little by watching the first virology lecture of the year 2020 at Columbia University. While elbow bumping with a neighbor on the street I was surprised to learn he had visited Wuhan years ago and should speak with him again.

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