Pandemic, Week 32 (The Reckoning)

This week Pope Francis endorsed same-sex unions, stating that as children of God, homosexuals have a right to be in a family. Democrats boycotted the committee vote to advance the Supreme Court nomination of Amy Coney Barrett; the full Senate vote is expected eight days before the election. The Justice Department has been unable to locate the parents of 545 migrant children separated from them by the Trump administration. The President announced a peace deal with Israel and Sudan. Intelligence officials concluded that an email purportedly from the Proud Boys threatening violence if recipients didn't vote for Trump was actually sent by Iran. An Executive Order was issued which will except certain federal workers involved in policy making from civil service protections. Trump and Biden faced off at their final (though only second) Presidential debate and the first one ever to employ a mute button. There is now a website that will tell you if the ice cream machine at the McDonalds near you is broken.

The number of total COVID-19 cases in the world hit 42.9 million while deaths rose to 1.2 million. The U.S. reached 8.8 million cases and 230,000 deaths, after reporting its largest daily number of new cases since the pandemic began on Friday (though the President claimed during the debate that the virus was "going away"). Hospitals are reporting shortfalls of basic drugs needed to treat the virus while hospitalizations increased in 38 states this week. Texas now has the most case of COVID-19, at 908,000. 

We managed to get in a bike ride at the Arboretum (though it ended a little abruptly due to complaints about hills...) and dinner with the Telfair-Chas. I dropped a Diet Coke from the top-shelf of our cupboard which proceed to explode and the resulting 20 foot blast radius took a half hour to clean up. Owen got his official concert suit for Duke Ellington and his first tie-tying lesson from his father. He also had a zoom cello recital. Meanwhile, Nora has written two Acts and six songs for a musical with her friends (that they had kind of forgotten about).

But most poignantly, this week a new art installation opened up by RFK Stadium which represents each COVID-19 death in the U.S. with a white flag. Allen biked there early Friday morning; when I walked there on Saturday afternoon there were already 1,755 more flags. And, sadly, there will be thousands more by next week

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(To see all of this weeks pictures, click here.)

Pandemic, Week 31 (GOTV)

This week the California Republican Party placed unofficial ballot drop boxes throughout the state. Trump, declaring that he was now immune from COVID, returned to the campaign trail this week and held rallies in Florida and Iowa, which locals advertised as a "Superspreader" event and where he offered to "kiss everyone in that audience."  After the President refused to agree to a remote debate following his positive COVID test, competing town halls were scheduled for the candidates. Biden's went on for two hours and was compared by republican operatives to an episode of Mr. Rogers Neighborhood; the Trump town hall lasted only an hour an included the President refusing to denounce QAnon and stating that the only thing he knew about the online conspiracy movement, which the FBI has labeled a domestic terrorist threat, is that "they are very much against pedophilia." The Amy Comey Barrett Supreme Court confirmation hearings concluded with Barrett failing to list all five freedoms protected by the first amendment (she forgot "protest") and Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein declaring it one of the best sets of hearing she'd participated in before giving chairman Lindsey Graham a hug.

The world hit a total number of 39.9 million cases of COVID-19 and 1.1 million deaths this week while the the U.S. reached 8.1 million cases and 224,000 deaths. Several European countries reintroduced restrictions due to a rise in the COVID infections: France and Germany imposing curfews and England considering a 2-week lockdown. The U.S. is now bracing for its third wave of the virus.

We returned home from the Chesapeake and to our regular lives. Nora was cast as Little Red Riding Hood and Puss-n-Boots in the latest Stuart-Hobson online play, Virtually Ever After (though she was hoping for Goldilocks). Owen found out that he would be recording the Star Spangled Banner with the Duke Ellington Orchestra for the Washington Football Team and then promptly missed a mandatory rehearsal (and instead got his flu shot). Hundreds of cyclist wearing costumes and adorned with disco lights biked past our house Wednesday night. Nora and I got haircuts (which was my first since March); Allen stopped by his EPA office (the first time since March) to pick up some paperwork. 

But most importantly, I voted (Allen mailed his ballot weeks ago). Please do so as well.

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

Pandemic, Week 30 (Saint Michaels)

On Monday, the president was release from Walter Reed Medical Center and returned to the White House, where he promptly removed his mask and claimed he felt better than he had in 20 years (which might be because he's taking Dexamethasone, an extremely strong steroid). The president lost out on the Nobel Peace Prize to World Food Program, which was chaired by Hunter Biden from 2013-2019. The Vice-Presidential debate took place in Salt Lake City this week, with the candidates separated by a plexiglass. The barrier did not, however, stop a fly from landing on Mike Pence's hair and resting there for two minutes while he and Kamala Harris were discussing systemic racism. A group of six domestic terrorists were charged with plotting to kidnap Michigan's governor, Gretchen Whitmer, while an additional seven were charged with plotting to target law enforcement and attack the state capitol building. Eddie Van Halen died.

This week the world hit 37.5 million for the total number of COVID cases and 1.1 million deaths. The U.S. reached 7.9 million and 219,000 deaths. The president held a rally at the White House after his physician declared that he had met the criteria for the safe discontinuation of isolation – they have not indicated that he has tested negative for the disease, however.

But we were largely immune to it all, having rented a house on the water in Saint Michaels with the Telfair-Chas. The week, intermixed with school, work and conferences, has involved a lot of kayaking (and blue heron sightings), biking, puzzling, crabs, Polar Bear Club auditions, campfires, lots of fine dinners (including A5 Wagyu steak) and cocktails and most importantly, Allen and Owen (as well as Steve and Gabriel) got haircuts. And while not entirely without drama (apparently little old ladies don't like it when you kayak by their docks too frequently and will attempt to sick their dog on you while voicing their displeasure; also, when freezing chicken necks for crabbing purposes, think about extraction before placement...), hanging out with good friends in a beautiful place was a welcome reprieve from all the craziness going on in the world around us.

Which is why we're already making plans with them for the inauguration...

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

Pandemic, Week 29 (Only Average)

A lot happened this week. On Sunday the Nats were eliminated from the playoffs and the New York Times revealed that Trump had paid only $750 in federal taxes in for 2016 and 2017, and no income taxes at all in 10 of the previous 15 years. On Tuesday, the Presidential candidates met in Ohio for what was advertised as a debate but has been generally described as a "shit show" with near constant interruptions, and name calling. Most alarming, during the debate, the President refused to denounce a white supremacist group, instead asking them to "stand by." A tape was released of the First Lady complaining about planning White House Christmas Decorations and criticism about detained migrant children. On Thursday, Presidential aid Hope Hicks was diagnosed with COVID-19. Later that evening, the President, announced that both he and the first lady had COVID. The President has been subsequently hospitalized and has been given an experimental antibody treatment. The Amy Coney Barrett nomination ceremony appears to have been a super spreader event.

This week there were a reported 35.5 million COVID-19 cases in the world and over one million deaths. In the U.S. there have been 7.6 million cases – including the President, the First Lady, Senators Thom Tillis, Mike Lee and Ron Johnson, former Governor Chris Christie, the President of Notre Dame, RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, several White House aids including Kelly-Ann Conway and three reporters – and 214,000 deaths, which means that the U.S. which accounts for 4 percent of the world population has been responsible fro 20 percent of all COVID-19 deaths.

But while a lot happened at the national level, it was actually a pretty quiet week for us. We skipped the debate but enjoyed Enola Holmes for family movie night. Boris, the microwave repairman, made a house call, despite John's absence, and grudgingly not only fixed our microwave, but taught Allen how (since "it's not rocket science") so that he never has to do it again. Owen enjoyed the Minecraft live reveal. Nora painted a rock and got a shoutout at the Stuart-Hobson sixth grade Town Hall for her September birthday. She also taught herself to use flipbook in order to create a video for one of her recent songs which kind of characterized the whole week.

But while this week was largely "only average," next week looks far more promising as we spent Saturday driving out to Saint Michaels for a week of bubbling with the Telfair-Chas on the Chesapeake.

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