First of all, let me say this. My San Francisco apartment was once ideally located in those all so long ago pre-pandemic days, but it was small – a one bedroom (actually a glorified studio . None of my Marin possessions joined me – it was an extremely well equipped apartment but none of it was me or mine. The ideal location was not, at an altogether deal, as my windows overlooked Fell Street – one of the busiest traffic congested streets in the entire universe, I am sure. The endless traffic would slow down in the early evening but during the late night nd early morning hours, huge trucks loaded with cargo would speed through the City connecting it to Highway 101. But one does get used to traffic noise (I thought). The ideal location became utterly irrelevant as “stay at home” descended ing in March, stuck in the I was confined to my small apartment due to the onerous conditions of home shelter, stay at home, or as I began to call it -being locked in solitary confinement for a crime I did not commit. Dust poured in the open windows and, as the pandemic advanced, the streets in Hayes Valley became littered with dog excrement – having a big dog in a small apartment appeared to be a badge of honour, and perhaps courage. The people, furiously walking their dogs, were confused and crazy so I stayed in – venturing outsize only for medical, dental appointments and weekly trips to the grocery store, I was the most observant and safest person in all of San Francisco. But it was so worrying and rather crazy making. Marin was an oasis – stores open, outdoor dining everywhere, my hair stylist open for business. One day Kim suggested that I move to Marin, I immediately got into Personal Driver’s car, drove up the Boulevard and within an hour became a Marin County Resident yet again, I was in bliss shortly after moving stuff from storage on December 1 leaving the apartment in San Francisco vacant of people (me) The first night in the Marin apartment was sheer bliss, sleep in absolute quiet = no traffic noise, nor homeless people screaming at one another. The best sleep in years as my Vancouver apartment was also noisily located.
This blog was intended to provide a glimpse into a day into the life of me, but things got in the way. The break of dawn saw me reading a New Yorker article about David Hockney, a man who has been my real hero for years and years. There was a magnificent major exhibit of his works at the DeYoung in San Franciscos prior to my departure for London. There was a special weekend conference with him in attendance. I bravely approached and questioned:
Me: What is it that makes you so creative, so endlessly creative, always exploring new things
He: It’s the cigarettes.
Now, I was amused at this answer but somewhat put off by the casualness of his reply. The recent article spoke of the new pathway of his creativity. He will be fashioning tapestries which shall be exhibited in Paris – hopefully it may be possible to travel there again, one day.
Then to Al Jazeera did I roam to listen to Rev. William Barber, shedding light on the fact that Americans did not vote to return to normal, as it was not good, he implored convincingly. He pointed out a simple truth – that truth and lies cannot coexist together and lies have become the new norm under the ‘leadership’ of Trump. He and his colleagues will be drawing up a fourteen day plan, informing President Biden of their plans for the first days of the administration. Best Biden listen and learn. An interesting fact – Dr, Martin Luther King’s famous speech was not entitled I Have a Dream but rather Normalcy Never Again. First and foremost, Barber argued, there must be establishment of justice and then to address the failure of public policy. Americans must realize and fact the horrible fact that 50% of their brethren live in poverty. Now admittedly it is rather unusual to be receiving news and information from a network based in Qatar, which is, to the uninformed, in the Middle East. But their coverage is excellent – no silly Fox News, nor CNN for me.
The morning was also highlighted by an Islamic Question and Answer session held in Dubai some years ago, but more about that later.
But the next morning was not so jolly with news from a NPR website, absolutely ridiculous events from around the world, this time from the UK. Boris has shut down Christmas. Now, need I remind you, that Boris shut down pre-Christmas so that those Brits could have a Christmas Clearly that did not work, but that is not stopping him. His philosophy of life seems to be if something does not work be SURE to try it again and again and again. Sorry Bois but this is a dangerous pattern of behaviour – almost as dangerous as your weird haircut. Could I suggest shaving your head? It is not a solution to the virus and Brexit, however, you have nothing to lose except for unruly hair. Even if it is cold in the dreary UK, hats were invented some time prior to 1066 and may be worn by anyone, not just those in the landed gentry. Where do I get these weird ideas from? Don’t ask me but it has to be my brain, which is a bit unruly. But Boris my hair is most ruly, straight, white (the same colour as yours) but now covered up due to my conversion to the Islamic faith. Another idea, perhaps, Boris you could borrow the Arabic head gear from the Ruler of Dubai – with all of his money, he may have an extra one. Oh, better yet, the Emir of Qatar – much more money and the Emit not tainted by the finding of a High Court of London on charges of kidnapping and abducting his two daughters and mistreating his six wife. As far as I know, the Emir of Qatar has not mistreated his sixth wife and, honestly, I would know as I was once a member of the inner circle. Much of the world does not know the Emir has six wives (and something like 38 children). Talk about having too much a good thing – although admittedly, he can afford them (financially although not perhaps emotionally).
But back to the boring virus and this rather terrifying news. “The new mutation could be up to 70% more transmissible than earlier variants of the virus, Susan Hopkins of Public Health England told the BBC. This variant was first identified in the middle of October from a sample taken in September, Hopkins said.
“In early December, while we were trying to understand why [cases in] Kent and Medway had continued to increase despite the national restrictions, we found a cluster that was growing very fast.”Only this week did researchers realize the variant was more transmissible than other variants, Hopkins said. They alerted the government on Friday, and the new restrictions were announced the next day.While the new variant seems to be more infectious, scientists say there is no evidence that it leads to a more severe illness, according to Vivek Murthy, who President-elect Joe Biden has announced as his nominee for U.S. Surgeon General. “There’s no reason to believe that the vaccines that have been developed will not be effective against this virus as well,” Murthy said on NBC’s Meet the Press.” I do occasionally wonder why everyone in the whole world is so stupid, and I am so smart. How could the ‘old” vaccine be effective against the ‘new’ virus when no one even knows how the new virus is transmitted? Now perhaps the old virus can be brought under control with the current vaccine but that does not mean that it will be effective against the new virus which is causing all of the problems in these recent days. This is pathetic, that an old lady, born in Saskatchewan, should have to suddenly become the expert on communicable diseases, moreover need I remind one and all that I was a lawyer by profession and not a medical doctor. I do admit that I did love getting in that comment, (yet again) about my humble Saskatchewan birth pleased me no end. I do hope that some of this blog brought cheer and laughter – they are the antidote to the virus., both the old guy and the new mutation. The photograph is me going forth in the world, Photo taken on my patio with my very favourite Christmas sweater, a face mask and head scarf. Photo by Caregiver.
