Name of the book: Pandemic Journal late evening 20 Nov 2021 Author: M.W. Bell Type of book: pandemic journal
There have been an amazing number of plagues in the past several centuries. There wss one in 1832 which no one spoke of or wrote about. My Grandparents or Parents never mentioned the Spanish Flu to my brothers, cousins or me.
In 50 years people will have forgotten about covid-19:unless it and it's variants become endemic.
Official start
There are a numbrr of places which give the official starts to the Pandemic. I am going to talk about my perspecctived.
In late january 2020 there were news reports of an epidemic in Wuhan China. This souned like a respiratory diseas3 thqt degene4rqtes into pheumonia. i had 2 cases of the flu that went to pneumonia betweeen 1998 and about 2006. i stqart4eed gettingt th eflu shots religiously and that stopeed my getting the flu. I also took pneumonia shots when they were availa le. Before the ccovid-19 I was given a pneuonia shot that proteted againsst the five most common pneuonia virus.
I was calm and figured my flu and pneumonia shots would protecct me from what Trump was already calling covid-19 "China Flu" or the "Kung Flu" or the "Wuhan Virus"
I was wrong!
In February 2020, there were news reports of an epidemic in New York City. there were reports of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) shortages. I remembered having bought two N-95 breathing masks years before. I found them in the garage; they were still in the origional packages. I decided to do a good deed and took them to the loccal hospital to donate them.
The usual entrance was locked and the rooms beyond the doors were dark. there ws a sign instructing visitors togo to a seonddary entrance, whicg]h i did. At tghe end of a corridore was a desk with a young man in his early 20s. I walkd to him and said "I'd like to donate some N-95 masks to you" anh put them on his table.
He replied "we dodn't need them" and pushed them into a garbage can . I had not epected this bllshit and retried the.
'The news says you need these protectiv masks."
"we don't", he replied.
"Fine," I said, "I'll just tak them to the Cancer Centgr" across the streeet."
He immdiately said "We'll take them" anf took them from me.
I guess he realized thee masks were aactually valuable and he did not want to be accused b y his bcoss of turnign away soethg valuabl;. I thought about postiny this onn facbfook but didn't see any point. I would probbly post this transation today.
In late February the news was talking about needing to wear masks, social distance and sanitize surfaces. The Dodge City Distillery was handing out little bottles of alcohol based disinfectants. Kathie told me to give them some money anyway. I got in line and when I was handed a bottle, I asked "are you taking donations?"
The surprised woman blurred out "Yes!"
I gave her what I had and I think it was a $20.
Kathie went by latet, got a bottle and gave them a $20.
Later, there were news reports of the ATF finding out distilleries were giving out booze for free. It seems the tradition is for distilleries to give booze to the state or federal control agencies and they sell it back to the distilleries who then sell it. It took some good lawering to GRT the km to back off!
Disinfectants
Taking masks to hospital mid Feb 2020
Surgery
On 10 March 2020, I arrived at the DodgeCity Hospital to be prepped for Prostate Surgery. After the usual paperwork I was told.
After being discharged from the hospital, Kathie drove mevhome. I sat on my usual chair in the living room and wondered "what now?" I watched some TV and sat drowsy for donevtime. Kathie made dinner and I didn't eat much. I went to bed early.
Since I was under Doctor's orders not to drive, I wondered between living room and bedroom. My recreations included reading, watching TV, dishes and cleaning out the liter boxes. The next week, we wete UT into lockdown as covid-19 was suddenly discovered to be widespread.
My wife watched TV with me and did crossword puzzles She is an extrovert while U am an introvert and the being stuck in the house wore on her much more than it did on me.
I was terrified of going around bother people because we kept hearing the death totals on TV. Sure they were only 1.6% fatal with upwards of 5% very sick but te numbers were staggering! I was lucky and recovered from the Pandemic in Mar h 2020. Kathie sick for about 8 days but has made a full recovery.
During this time, I real II zed I had lost my sense of smell,sense of taste and had almost no appetite. I was not hungry. I did find I would have some hunger at the start of A meal. Generally hunger would stop. I found that if I took teo or motecbites, my stomach would foil and sometimes I would be on the verge of vimiting. So, when the appetites stopped, it was forks down!
I was gradually becoming scared of going outside the house.
I mowed the lawn because thedamn thing kept gtowing! In mid April 2020, m wife asked me if I wanted to go shopping wit het. She planned on going to Mr. G's Liquor for wine and beer (LandShark or Stella Artois) and then to Dillions to pick up A prescription or two.
I put on a nice shirt and combed my hair. I needed a haircut but I see Barber Shops as small and poorly ventilated places that just teem with viruses. Looking shaggy is better than being sick!
Loss of smell, taste and appetite.
Out to Mr Gas and pharmacy; I dressed up.
Out by myself, my driving sucked
In late April 2020 I drove to Dillions to get a preacription. After not driving and still feeling "puny" my driving wss distracted and somewhat dangerous. It took a few more road trips before II "got my mojo back". Before I settled back into my normal driving I thought I was a bitvscarey.
On the way hone, I took my usual shortcut and saw no one outside and no cars in motion. I got to my turnoff and saw two digs casuall lying in the strert. A large rabbit mossed across the street and starting eatting tall grass. There were squirrels casually taking in yhevday. It was like a screen out if the TV series " Earth After People".
Note to the future: Covid-19 was a real Pandemuc. Covid-19 killed a lot of people. Covid-19 was no hoax! Believe this as well: the next Pandemic will happen in the the early 22nd Century or so the virus experts fear. Don't be surprised at the upcoming poor and disorganized tesponse! (The Trump Administration did a poor job of dealing with civic Pandemic. They did try to make be speedy effort at creating and distributing the vaccines however.)
There were a number of times when states ordered Personal Protective Equipment only to have FEMA steal, ah, confenscate it!
Times out to dinner
We did and out from Appleby three times. This was quitea tres!
Going out to dinner:
We went to "Prime On The Nine" for Katie's Birthday in July 2020.
We went to Casey's Downtown for m birthday in August and our 41st Wedding Anniversary in October.
We sent to Wichita several times for me to go to the VA Bob Dole Hospital.
We also went out of town a couple of times for lions events.
POTUS Donald J.* Trump held a number of campaign rallies which featured:
No masks
No social distancing
No vaccinated people present (theublic did not have access to vaccines or rapid tests)
Massive disrespect towards the news media covering these events
*The "J" is John not Jesus
Check appointment dates with VA
Leaving house to !ow yard
Pattern of life in lockdown
Katie's need to be out of house
Several times getting take out from Appleby a
Wearing mask
Losi MN g weight
We both noticed I had lost weight between 10 March 2020 and my km medical appointment in July 2920. Kathie and I were both afraid my Prostate Cancer had met a sized and hungry v cancer caused my weight to drop from 288 pounds to 235 without metryi job g. However both my Urologist and Oncologists assured me my prostate cancer wss benign. The concerns was I'd had covid-19 in March 2020.
Trump Trains
Some odd customs appeared, seemed destined to last and faded away. One of these was the "Trump Train". This was typically made up of pickup trucks with flags. These could be a US flag at the center of the truck tailgate with a Trump Flag or perhaps even the Stars And Bars (s ppl with and without a drawing of a military rifle on that flag). T uh eh would have the Proud Boys (" pb")flag and the "Qanon",** flag.
**" Qanon" is a bizarre social movement that I kackv ppl the words to adequate II describe; it ca job only be read about. Truly, a number of our fellow citizens have buckled under the pressure of the Pandemic and "our President". Truly a number of our fellow citizens have lost their fucking minds<\b>!
Going back to work was svarey! We wore masks, did social distancing a job d stood behind spit shields around places workers could be found. We also checked body temperatures on the fotehead; mine just tested at 97.5 °F
First masks:
Kathie started cutting up old socks to make masks. I came out of the bedroom wearing a jock strap over myvface. She was surprised!
We got several different makes of masks and wore them.
Getting tested.
Blood test for covid antibodies
World wide the Pandemic response has pretty much been A cluster fuck! Countries v that thought they had beaten the Pandemic have seen A recurrence in it. There is an excellent history of the " Spanish Flu" called "Flu" written by $$$ Look it up and study it!
The serious errors committed in the late 1918 - 1920 period have been repeated (i.e. no masking and opening up too soon) and will be when the Pandemic of the latec21st century ambells in.
You'll be surprised and you'll bevsorry!
Back to my story:
We had been in the habit of going out to dinner too often. From fear of crowds we simply stopped. But, we also desired to say "screw the Pandemic" and we risked our health by going out on special occassions.
reddit
We went to Prime On The Nine for Kathie's birthday, Mike Casey's "Casey's Cowtown" for my birthday
Caseys Cowtown for our Anniversary and several times sinc see
We went to the Airport Hilton I. Wichita several time the night before I had an appointment at Bob Dole VA Hospital
We went to a nice hotel in Hayes before Lions Conventions
Weapons did take away from Applebys 3 times. Another major effect is I have been totally blocked and can not write anything long. There is an event in November called "write a Novel In A Month". I wrote novels in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2025, 2016 and collected short stories in 2017, 2018 and 2019 (Hey! A novel is what an author says it is!l)
After about 2 weeks in " lockdown", I was becoming A bit depressed and there were news items on our fellow (military) Vets committing suicide at the rate of 22 A day. I started a novel about avWW2 Sailor driven to almost committing suicide. He is saved by the forces of "Evil".
I could not bear to finish it. The working title was:
" Hell Ain't Half Bad"
As an aside, I think a large number of my fellow citizens have lost their fucking minds. Not getting the vaccinations and boosyets, not wearing masks and not socially distancing has not stopped thevcovid-19 Plague!
If we tentatively assume the World Population to be 7.4 billionad nd skill rate of 1.6% world wide we are looking ata"population drop" of some 118,400,000. Of cource, this is a theoretical maximum and hopefully won't happen.
Back to my story:
When I returned to work, it was with mask on. The entrance to my job site had an entrance podium where an IR scanner was used to read people's forehead temperatures. If someone came in without A mask they were offered free masks. Without A mask properly on their faces they simply were not allowed to enter!
Country losing it's fucking mind
an Canon
Mask wearing Plastic spit shields
Waiting for tests
Kathie getting the Plague
Watching 7 pm MSNBC and Rachel
Trump and awful suggestions
BLM and Anteva {sp}
Going to ICT for VA appointments
On the US covid-19 death total exceeded the number of Service members who died in 'Jam (Vietnam War). I had the vague hope Trump would give A sad speech about this but he didn't. He did blather on in a "I love me" speech.
Military and medical resistance to getting vac
My impression and that of a number of others was Trump simply did not cate!
My weight loss and hA1C reduction
Getting asked for first Modetna and second
Katie's first and second Modern
Gigantic Trump Rallies, we which became super spreader events
Resistance to masks and vaccines
People apparently thinking their immune systems and prayer would keep them safe
People going into the open without masks 😷
Masks In wore. Jock Strap. Others.Navy Vet. Lions masks b
Fear from going into places like "Red Beards" coffeevwhile wearing a mask toget coffee and chocolate muffin
Sitting in museum looking outside whilst thinking of the gigantic ball of life and death and how it' UV could be killing the covid-19.
Delta variant and how it is leading to multiple deaths
Going to Lions meeting and de-masking on faith alone 😉.
Story I started and why BBC I guitar it
The kids not getting vaccinated
Wearing masks at the USA-Canada Lions Leadership Forum in Des Moines Iowa 2021
Plans in 2019 whilst on a European Cruise to save up for acruise in March 2021. We even tried planning excursion then the pandemic hit. The Cruise wad cancelked. We did take a "cruise" (in a manner of speaking) whenwe got vaccinated...
😊
I need to put Aunt Noreme's {sp} Coffee Cake Recipe in someplae with a footnte abouthow I like to publish this. Also put the "Andrson Metbod" in.
I wonder if theLions could host A session about writing A Pandemic Journal in remembrance at theLibrary? Who could come up with a suggested outline?
People upset at suggestions they get vaccinated.
Unvaccinated people catching the Delta Cariant, going to hospitals and taking g ICU beds that should have gone to cancer, heart attack, car accident, shooting victims all v because they were convinced not to get cvaccinated!
Tell me again how we have the world's best medical care? If you can not pay for your medicalcare with cash or insurance you are fucked. This does not happen in Canada or the UK or Europe. Why do we tolerate this? Ah, yes, this is the way the Republican d's and their rich supporters like it...
===
11/20/2021: I thought I would never get this Bluetooth Keyboard connrcted! I don't know if I can replicate this feat!
===
11/20/2021
An all too frequent event is occurring in Texas: an active shooter situation in Arlington Texas.
CNN broke in to their regular show to report this event. All that has been reported is this High School is in lockdown and Police from multiple agencies and the ATF "are pouring in'. No casualty reports ATT (at this time).
Texas is a gun loving state so their folks are often fire arms skilled. I fear there will be multiple casualties but we can hope the shooter(s) missed!
The good news is we have had comparativey few such killings this year.
===
The shooter was caught. He turned out to be anv18-year old who got into a fight with one and possibly as many as three boys. He pulled his piece and fired. I won't call his targets " innocent" because when teen aged boys fight in high school then one or more ate likely bullies or gang members. The shooter looks to be a "minority" and thus responding to aggression. No, I am not defending the shootet, I am simply offering a rationale for his "wild west" action.
===
On a happier note, this is the 42nd annivwesary for Kathie and me.
I boughtt flowers for Kathie.
She ordered a cake, whiick I picked up along with Vinallia Ice Creamme. I'm taking left over casserol for lunch.This was our dinner last night.
We went to "Prime On The Nine" which is a fancy restaurant over looking the golf course. We had steaks (Prime Rib), loaded baked potatoes and I had a lager (Stella Artois).
We had cake and vinallia ice creame when we got home.
===
11/20/2021 A Thursday...
On a different subject, Senator Dr. Roger Marshall told his followers that President Biden's recent Presidential Mandate requiring vaccines and mask wearing is unconstitutionsl Marshall finally noted these violate the Tenth Amendment - State's Rights. He was correct. However, if one we're to apply the Tenth widely then I fought if the "War On Drugs" would pass muster. There are other actions taken by the Government that are also suspect.
===
I got the latest flu shot a week or so ago and my wife is getting her's this afternoon.
My second Moderns shot was seven months ago as of 5 October 2021 and my wife's six month wait ended on the same day. We're going to drop by Ford County Medical or our "Moderna Boostet" (i.e. Moderna third) some time next week.)
There are news reports of a drug that can be taken at the first signs of the Pandemic. They supposedly cure the common variants. New variants are coming - this is just a continuination of the current trends - and I suspect that theanti-vaxers will ensure the Pandemic becomes endemic.
There was a time last year when foreign countries would not let US Citizens in because the Pandemc was out of controlin the US of A. That reportedly abated. The persistence of anti-vaxers may well bring a return to this!
===
I will be getting off work about 1:30 pm and will go to Dillions Grocery to buy groceries for dinner tonight (Lazanna).
===
CNN had a quick story this morning. A teaching hospital in Colorado is refusing g transplant surgery to those who test positive or are unvaccinated against covid-19. They said that immune surprise isn't drugs are given to those who receive transplants and this raises their chances of dying from covid-19 by 20 percent. In other words giving the unvaccinated a transplant is a waste of a very valuable organ...
A month or so ago an unvaccinated person went to board a cruise ship for a transatlantic cruise to Europe. She tested positive for covid-19 and was told her ticket was recinded and that she would be refunded the money she had paid.
She would lose the money spent on her plane fare as she could have, should have, been tested before leaving home. Had she "tested positive" back home, she would have been able to get full refunds on plane tickets, hotels and cruise. (This sounds nice and I wonder if the plane fare and hotel reservations would actually have been refunded? I am cynical..🤗 )
She didn't grasp the notion that she would be spreading the virus in every Room she went into. There could be unvaccinated people there or people whose vaccines have not fully kicked in.
There would be no way to tell when she would sicken and have to go to medical. She would need frequent invasive medical exams (temperature and listen to breathing).
The Governor of Florida issued an order forbidding Cruise Companies from banning covid-19 testing positive people. The Cruise Lines said they would stop coming to Florida. The cities standing to lose a lot of money cinvinced the governor to back off!
"Money talks, bullshit walks!" If she got sick then th medical staff would be devoted to her and not to many other passengers.
Bottom line: she was an avoidable catastrophe that was avoided!
11/20/2021 Once again I wonder why so many people believed bullshit aboutvtesting, vaccines, social distancing and staying home. Mass gathering could have been fun but being in hospital lying in bed sick is not fun and dying in an induced coma whilst having the tube of a ventilatio machine in your throat can hardly be called fun.
===
11/20/2021
A numbrr of members of the Armed Forces are refusing to get vaccinated. Real news reports are speaking of members refusing to get vaccinated and commannds apparently are not doing a very good job of finding out why they are refusing. these senior officers and NCOs truly need to find why so they can counter these beliefs. Thet need to do this "sooner rather than later!"
When I went to Navy Boot Camp at Orlando Navy Boot Camp and was in Company 170-70 (company number 170 of year 1970, Company Commander MMC P.G. Smith. "Company Commander" or CC was the Senior Drill Instucctor), we were orderd to take off our shirts, roll up our t-shirt sleves and we were marched in single file between pairs of Medical Corpsman. Each Corpsman had a Gas jet Injector and gave the recruits between them a shot int the closest arm. It was not too bad..
No one was allowed to skip any of these "shots" simply vecause they did not wannt it!
Now, a number of military people are refusing to take the shots. They should simly be ordered to "take the damn shots" or be subject to frequant Quick Response Tests (Q-tip up the nose) and being told tht liberty in foreign lands is curtailed due to that foreign ccuntry not allowing unvaccinated Sailors and Marines ashore or to leave bases oon thir land. (Actually this will probably not be much of a threat since these foreign countries want the money US Military (Cash cows) have too much of,,,.
===
11/20/2021 Kathie and I both wen7777777777777777777777777t to Fored County Health to get our Moderna B ooster. There was one man ahead of ujs and he said he eas there ort a flu shot. There was a woman and small girl behind us whi apparently was there for a covid-19 shot. It was ridiceoud just how empty the County Health Clinic was...
Later today that gadfly Marjorien Taylor Greene was preaching the US should have a "divorce" beteweern Republian and Democrat states. Yhis is preaching a Civil War, This means she is vilating her Oath of Office4 in which all members of Congrss swear to "protedt and defend the Constitution of the United States of America from all enemies foreign and domestic". Preaching and encouraging such a "divorxe: is treason!
I hope the silly bitch is eventually forgotten!
11/20/2021
Yesterday, the leader of an international organization (I don't recall which and don't care which) said it was "immoral" for people in the US of A to be getting booster shots when so many in poor countries have not gotten initial shots. Somehow, the boosters my wife and I got the day before yesterday could have gone into foreigners instead???
The news talks of vast amounts of vaccations being sent to these foreign nations (e.g. in Africa and both Central and South America). Failures of giving these shots sounds like a supply chain problem at the distant end. There have also been stories of corrupt local officials charging large sums of money for the shots. (I admit these were "older" reports...
So, I finally did some online data searches regarding the "Religious Argument" for not getting vaccibations. It seems that in the early 1950s, two fetuses were voluntarily aborted. Some of this fetal tissue went into creating cell lines which have been essential to vaccine production since.
I was taken aback and realized that in theory, every vaccination shot I have taken was made with the aid of these cells. It is far too late for me to quibble. Life comes from death.
Perhaps MDs, DOs and RNs should save fetuses which died during or after a miscarriage or which were delivered dead. These deceased fetuses could provide new cell lines. Perhaps cells from living persons could be changed into the appropriate cells to rep!ace these "tainted" fetus derived cells? (This would be interesting if true...)
In the mean while, we have a new category in the argument regarding using medical data obtained from "tainted science" or "tainted medicine". I will continue getting vaccinations as needful since I am 70 years old and don't intend to die based on " principles". Still, "they" should replace these cell lines. How am I writing this? I'm seated on a comfortable chair writing on a tablet computer (A Kindle Fire) as the Spirit moves me...