It is very difficult not to think that this is not the Apocalypse. First along came the coronavirus, which in San Francisco anyway, does not seem to be going away or going anywhere. . Nowhere at ala, just staying and infecting and infecting even though everything here is not only but down,, but bolted down. It is criminal and people are rebelling, admittedly making matters worse but who can blame them? Then along came the wild fires, prevalent throughout California but many in the San Francisco Bay Area – which makes air quality unbearable. Then, just for good measure, along comes a heat wave, which even affects San Francisco, which is unusual. It is unspeakably hot, – 90 degrees Fahrenheit at 11:05 in the morning. Then just to top things off there was an earthquake yesterday centered in San Lorenzo apparently. Now it was a small one, only 3 point something on the Richter scale but REALLY! Cannot imagine what is gong to be next. The Devil, or whomever is causing all of this, must be running out of tortures and tools.
I remain sanguine in the midst of it all. Sanguine’s meaning? Optimistic or positive, especially in an apparently bad or difficult situation. Its synonyms are optimistic, bullish, hopeful, buoyant, positive, confident, cheerful, cheery; upbeat. ANTONYMS gloomy. How do I remain hopeful and buoyant. Well, for the strangest of reasons. I was awoken this morning by a ping from my phone. A young woman from Qatar was asking for help with her homework, so I helped her. She wrote after some time.
She: I just finished my work.
Me: I am proud of you My hard-working young woman!!
She: Your words never fail to make me happy!
Me: How wonderful because your presence in my life makes me happy.
We spoke of other things and then she said:
She: Granny wish me luck. I start my on line Arabic quiz now.
Me: You are taking online quizzes and your Granny is reading the Quern? Huh? Hahahaha
So what will become of our friendship? Who knows at this point in time because of the mismanaged handling of the pandemic here in San Francisco. She invited me to visit, said her parents want to meet me and offered me her room as it is the coolest in the household. But it does not appear to be happening any day soon.
Qatar is in much better shape, this month everything will be open including the mosques. But it is because of excellent leadership. The Emir attended a June conference in London and spoke to the delegates. It was an excellent presentation, chock full of facts and optimism but at the same time, being most realistic. Here is the link – do watch it, it is not that long. https://youtu.be/D5jqFVwxCaU. Would it not be wonderful to have a President with so much wisdom and responsibility? The answer to that question is yes. But is it going to happen? Very doubtful, for a number of reasons.
Then there is another huge factor. Education and knowledge is so important – the more one knows about the virus the more careful, in sensible ways, one becomes. The media in this country does a dreadful job – most confusing, most alarmist. Contrast that with the presentation on Al Jazeera The link is https://youtu.be/GOkni7yg1Og . The last word spoken is Education, Education, Education. That is the answer. So do not be lazy, watch it! But be sure to Skip Ads – they keep popping up at all times in a most inconvenient manner.
So that is all. Follow the links and learn something. Do I have to spoon feed you??? Hahaha
The photograph is of my face masks – artfully organized. We seem to be stuck with the damn things, might as well make it fun.
