Pandemic, Week 11 (Pomp and Circumstances)

On Memorial Day, a white woman playing with her unleashed dog in a protected area at Central Park was asked by a bird-watching black man to leash her dog in accordance with the posted signs. She refused, there was a back and forth, he began recording her, and she told him she was going to "call the police and report that an African American man was threatening her and her dog." She did and while doing so (finally) leashed her dog at which point he thanked her and left. The false accusation was leaked and blew up the internet as people noted how she had weaponized a potential interaction between the police and a black man to avoid responsibility for her own misdeeds. The point was further illustrated by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, also on Memorial Day. Mr Floyd was detained due to suspicion of using a counterfeit $20, which somehow resulted in an officer placing his knee on Mr. Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes as three other officers either assisted or looked on until Mr. Floyd passed out and died. Initially, the officers faced no repercussions though they were subsequently fired and one has been arrested for third-degree murder.

The incident (which mirrors numerous other interactions with police that have culminated in the deaths of African Americans) triggered protests across the country, some of which turned violent (which was probably not helped by the President tweeting, in response to the tensions, "...when the looting starts, the shooting starts"). Minneapolis has brought in the National Guard. Twitter flagged the President's tweet for glorifying violence. The country is trying to figure out what comes next, all while we're still dealing with a Pandemic.

Meanwhile, there's been 6.2 million COVID cases and 371,000 deaths world wide with 1.8 million COVID-cases and 106,000 deaths in the United States. Several states have also seen a a four to five fold increase in the number of pneumonia deaths, suggesting that we may be under-reporting the actual severity. DC began its phase one re-opening, which means you can eat outside at a restaurant (though it's not clear if you can use their restroom). 42 million Americans have filed for unemployment insurance. The school year ended. NASA launched the Dragon Capsule.

But despite everything going on in the world, our week was oddly focused on celebrations. We started out commemorating Katherine's 40th birthday with a Zoom party followed by a small gathering of less than 10 people (but more than 10 shots...) at her house. Tuesday my college roommates and I experimented somewhat successfully with neti-pots over our weekly call. Wednesday we actually won our weekly pub quiz which meant we qualified for Friday's championship (where we came in fourth). All the while, John was making inroads (much to the joy of his grandchildren) into the  Harry Potter series.

Thursday morning was Nora's Zoom moving up ceremony which culminated in her performance (in a pre-recorded "minute") of For Good from the Wicked soundtrack on her viola (despite Mr. Burst's introduction calling it a violin). That evening we enjoyed the Stuart-Hobson Drama Players', 10 Ways to Survive a Quarantine, with Owen playing Andrew, the Odysseus-loving dog-walker.

And then came Friday, the last day of elementary school for Nora (and for us ever) and the last day of middle-school for Owen. Nora recorded this week's podcast, Ants! In Hollywood!, attended her final class meeting, dropped off her library books at school and then met up with her classmates at the RFK parking lot for a final, socially distanced playdate. Owen spent the day turning in his final assignments in order to bring his geometry grade up to a C (he'll be retaking it next year at Duke) and attending an all school assembly, before he ensconced himself in his closet for his final rehearsal and performance of 10 Ways... (his moving up ceremony isn't until June 10th).

So ended the 2019-2020 school year. Hopefully next year involves less home-schooling, and a lot more peace and hope.


(To see all of this week's pictures, click here.)