I didn’t mount an expedition yesterday or call a friend. I did receive two calls. One was from my therapist; out session today is going to be by phone. I told her weeks ago this would happen. It’s how you stop a disease from spreading. This was much tougher on people before the internet and streaming television. The other call was from Angela Page, she interviewed me about Social Distancing Streaming Concerts for Folk Plus her radio show. Right after calling me she called Abbie Gardner. Folk really is a small town where we all know each other. I don’t know where I’d be without the Folk community.
The world being what it is two streaming concerts I wanted to watch overlapped, Miss Tess and Carey Farrell. I watched Tess, then flipped back and forth while they were both on and ended with Carey. I’m hearing more live music now than before COVID-19. I have no idea what I’m watching tonight, that’s why god invented Social Distancing Streaming Concerts. Oh wait, I invented that. I don’t need to keep the information in my head.
I had poutine for dinner again. It’s going to run in streaks like that as once open the meat gravy its shelf life is limited. It does not lose its effect on me. It still makes me happy.
I woke up at 3 AM coughing. I have post-nasal drip, so I cough at times. I am trying to be good, so I’ve been taking my temperature to be sure that it’s not COVID-19. There was a problem, I reached over in the dark for my thermometer and couldn’t find it. I turned the light on and couldn’t find it. I got out of bed and went to the living room where I spend most of my waking ours to look. It wasn’t there. I went back to my room and made one more search. It was on the shelf right next to my bed just where it was supposed to be. It was behind my water bottle and a piece of paper found its way on top of it. I had no fever. I realized that I’m not afraid of getting sick, I’m afraid of being in quarantine. I’m isolating now but I still go outside. If I had it I’d have to create a wall of separation between me and my roommate. That’s what bothers me. It would take a lot of work. I’d feel terrible if she caught it from me.
I’ve been putting off a political rant for a while; I might as well do it now. Democracy is difficult. You have to put up with most other people being wrong. It’s just like everything else but this has personal consequences. What makes it extra tough is that we all live in our bubbles and think we are in the majority when we aren’t. This was driven home when Saddam Hussain was ousted, and Iraq had to try democracy. The Sunni majority were convinced that they were actually the majority. The same thing happens here. People think their positions are the most popular and if they don’t become law it’s because of the nefarious doings of them. Of course, each group has a different image of who is them and what their agenda is. Remember when Nixon coined the phrase Moral Majority? That idea had legs. They think of themselves as the real Americans under the thumb of the liberal elites on the coasts. It’s much easier to blame them than convincing others to take your position. You want change? Work at convincing others to want the same change. Don’t decide that every position is fixed, and the only strategy is to bully the opposition into submission. The best example I know of persuasion working is same-sex marriage. It went from unthinkable law of the land and accepted by the majority. It’s difficult. It took a lot of work. It involves swallowing your pride at times. It denies you the pleasure of telling others what terrible people they are. But it’s possible and if you want change, it’s how you get it.
Wise Madness 