Pen-demic

On one hand, the number of cases that have been diagnosed is down; the number of people hospitalized is down; the number of people who have died with a diagnosis reflecting a covid 19 cause is down; the President of the US has declared the pandemic is over , BUT   Covid 19 is still raging around the world .  A look at the NY Times Coronavirus Vaccinations Around the World tracker, shows that as of Sept 4, 2022, only 69.7% of the world’s population (more th an 5.35 billion people) has received at least one dose of the original vaccine. It would be easy to say that third world countries aren’t vaccinated while first world countries are, but the numbers sho w a more interesting set of data.   The US has 79% of the population vaccinated with at least one dose, but only 67% of the population have received the necessary second dose of the vaccine and only 33% have received the necessary boosters . Nicaragua on the other had has 97% vaccination rate with an 87% having had ...

  March 2020, was when we knew we were in a pandemic. Now it’s almost July 2022.   The Pandemic still swirls around us, but here in our “safe” suburban world, most people ignore it. The newspapers give it maybe a 2 in by 3 in column here and there. Primarily when the World Health Organization comes out with something new, or a resurgence “somewhere else” brings up talk of masks or quarantines. Right now, the talk is of vaccinations for infants finally being available and do we need to tweak the vaccinations we have to better work against the latest variation of the virus.   And yet the latest variation, Omicron (I think it’s called), is far more transmissible than the earlier variations, though my understanding is that the symptoms aren’t as bad if you get it. I connect with people who tell me that, though vaccinated and boosted and having avoided Covid all this time, have come down with the latest variation. My son and his girlfriend among them. Several days of high...

“Just had my second vaccine shot! Went well. Feeling fine so far.” That was my Facebook post of yesterday.  So far, it’s had 81 ‘likes’, certainly the most I’ve ever had for anything I’ve posted.  I added a comment that got its own share of responses, “ In two weeks I can go wild and crazy. Hmm, wonder how to do that…” Some of the likes and responses are from people I connect with all the time, but others are from I haven’t heard from in a long time.  One thing is certain: I have spoken to the issue of the moment. We don’t get together in person these days, but Zoom  provides a kind of a substitute.  Many of these Zoom get togethers seem to start out with people sharing where they are on the vaccination spectrum, followed by suggestions of alternatives that could move you ahead, like go to Ohio or keep calling back. My own story consists of a bit of luck in a neighbor who alerted me early on to something she had heard of Rite Aid openings and...

 by Judy Richardson January 19, 2021  Needing others we are lost  Epidemic trapped  Seeking God to see us through  I remember my grandmother’s last days. Ella Hanks had been a first grade teacher for many years. After she retired and Grandfather had died, she had time alone and she was very sad and told me how lonely it was without him to help her feel connected.  My Uncle George came to live with her and I know she enjoyed his company, but his eating habits drove her crazy. One day, she fell and hurt her shoulder. She had tripped over a table leg and fell. She said she was shocked that he appeared naked from his shower and immediately pulled her up to a standing position. It is possible that his “help” was what caused the damage to her shoulder.  My uncle was so afraid that she would fall again and he would not be able to help her properly that he insisted she enter the nursing home across the street.  Her days in the nursing home were long. When...

  WAITING SEASON To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under Heaven.  Eccl. 3:1 First it was football season when most conversations included a comment about a favorite team, the time for the games on the weekend.  Next came the holiday season with plans for putting up house decorations, present purchases, special meals, the worship service schedules.  Then came the beginning of another year and the waiting season.  That’s where I am stuck just now. I am just waiting for Spring and some signs of new life.  I am waiting for our national politics to change for the better.  I am waiting for the distribution of the vaccine and a time when the COVID-19 pandemic is more controlled.  And my patience is wearing thin. So, what did the ancient poet of the Old Testament have to say.  All in good time.   Good things come to those who wait.  To everything there is a seaso...

Several months ago, our daughter asked me to read a book to her children using YouTube.    Since I haven’t spent much time with them this past year, nor can I visit them in their new home, I agreed to give it a try. First, I needed to buy a tripod for my phone with a halo light—plenty available on Amazon at a reasonable cost.    We also agreed on a book— Number the Stars by Lois Lowry—not terribly long, and it was one I had previously read.     I felt like this was a good fit for me since I had also been a secondary reading teacher. Because my “audience” was grandchildren ages 13-5, I had to explain vocabulary from time to time.    Then, I got the idea to teach them “think-alouds”.    That’s reading a story out loud but also saying the thoughts that run through a person’s head while reading:    making comparisons, asking questions, predicting,    commenting.    Every now and then, I inserted family stories...