Five Years Ago
Are we an ark or a fortress?
With an arrow and bow and some seeds left to sow we are staking our claim
On ground so fertile we forget who we've hurt along the way and reach out
For a strange hand to hold someone strong but not bold enough to tear down the wall
'Cause we ain’t lost enough to find the stars aren't crossed why align them why fall hard not soft….into fall not winter spring not summer cool not cold
Where it's warm not hot have we all forgotten that we're getting old
- Here and Heaven, The Goat Rodeo Sessions
When push comes to shove, literally, will we build a fortress or will we gather on the ark and save ourselves for eternity? Will we let power change our gut instincts or will we have enough faith to make wise decisions for ourselves?
To preface, I am not a “proud anything” politically. I am a registered Libertarian who holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as my primary values without violating another person’s rights. I don’t buy into “all” of anything. If you do, you will be sorely let down. I might let you down too. I am uniquely wired and so are you. Labels and categories are the death of relationships and souls.
Most of all, I love God.
2019 seems like light-years away now. It was near the end I felt something brewing under my feet. A reckoning that would grow heavier and heavier. We buried loved ones, and grew increasingly tired with media. Nothing felt good. It would soon bubble, explode and burn.
Our minds scorched with the increasing news of hills and cities on fire. Then floods. Hurricanes at increasing speeds. Death lingered as we gathered in cemeteries and listened for signs of life in the trees. The icy breeze burned at our ankles and flu hovered consistently around simple decisions to vaccinate or not. For the most part? life was normal. Or so we thought. By December 2019, little did we know a few of our friends were placed into study groups. Seems something, some kind of new viral menace, had been traveling with people from East Asia. It had a few twists as mutating viruses do.
Unmasked, we already knew that flu killed, on average, 40k human beings per year in the United States (alone).
Most of us had never heard of Wuhan. Our leaders knew of Wuhan. Scientists knew. They watched as rats, ferrets, mice, monkeys and beagles squirmed insidiously with every possible experiment thrown at them for years. No matter the halt, the pulling of funds,…the unfettered push to continue became the battle cry of the Godfather of GOF research.
Has anyone seen or heard from this Don lately?
Michael Osterholm, PhD, MPH, who was a member of the NSABB during the controversy over the H5N1 papers, said he believes the GOF work can be done safely, but he doesn't agree that scientists doing the federally funded work should be unfettered.
Osterholm said his main concern regards the public health implications of the publicly available details about how the work is communicated, which the new framework doesn't spell out. "How we detail that information needs to be considered," such as more finely specifying when findings are open to the general public, when they're disseminated on a "need to know" basis, and when the information is classified.
"Until we have that part solved, I'm concerned about the work being done," he said.
- CIDRAP News (article highlighted above)
By January 2020 a "mysterious respiratory illness was spreading in Wuhan."
CDC Director Robert Redfield offered, in a letter to Chinese officials, to send a team of CDC scientists to assist China. China did not accept the offer for several weeks, which delayed the U.S. access to the virus, important for developing diagnostic tests and a vaccine. China did release genetic data on “the new coronavirus” on January 9. -
On January 23, Chinese authorities locked down Wuhan, a city of 11 million, which heightened the urgency for the U.S. response team. The Washington Post reported that Secretary Azar (HHS) instructed his team to establish a surveillance mechanism shortly thereafter, but the money and diagnostic tests "would elude U.S. officials for months.” (really?) The entire Hubei province was locked-down January 30th and lasted 76 days.
On February 5th the twelfth case is discovered in the U.S. Another college student from Wisconsin. That day, the U.S. evacuates 345 U.S. citizens from Hubei Province and takes them to two air bases in California to be quarantined for 14 days. Another government evacuation flight takes place on February 6th containing 300 passengers, most of who are taken to bases in Nebraska and Texas. By this time, more than 500 people are quarantined at three air bases.
As of February 23, 2020, fourteen COVID-19 cases had been diagnosed from six states: Arizona -1, California -8, Illinois -2, and Massachusetts, Washington, and Wisconsin, 1 case each. Twelve of the cases were related to travel to China.
On February 24, President Trump tweeted: "The Coronavirus is very much under control in the USA ... CDC and World Health [Organization] have been working hard and very smart."
On February 24, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, when asked if people should stay away from San Francisco's Chinatown stated: "That’s what we’re trying to do today is to say everything is fine here." Pelosi said. "Come because precautions have been taken. The city is on top of the situation."
On February 25, HHS Secretary Azar testified before the U.S. Senate. National Geographic summarized his testimony, reporting that "the Strategic National Stockpile has just 30 million surgical masks and 12 million [N95] respirators in reserve." An additional 300 million of each could be required to protect health workers. HHS said it intended to purchase as many as half a billion respirators and surgical face masks over the next year and a half. National Geographic concluded that the "U.S. has only a fraction of the medical supplies it needs to combat coronavirus."
On February 25, Dr. Nancy Messonnier, Director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, delivered a briefing indicating that "disruption to everyday life might be severe."
WHO Director-General Tedros said the WHO "made the assessment that COVID-19 can be characterized as a pandemic" on March 11th 2020.
- Wiki
Within 24 hours, from February 24th to February 25th everything shifted.
For a month, the world watched in horror, the province of Hubei, China. Human beings were literally nailed into their homes, dragged from their homes and their pets were killed.
It seemed all the world needed was a majority rule of “every important head of state” to lockdown, isolate and begin to build a fortress where made-up law would become law and change on a dime.
“Fear” would be the whipping post we were tied to.
Mainstream media blasted repetitive spin in abundance from the turrets of their castles.
Big Pharma would write the prescription and all medical attendees would follow along. Some would drink their conscious out back, as sirens played on, and many never returned in the middle of the panic and “prescription for wellness.”
“Choice” was the ultimate crime.
On Sunday, March 8th, we celebrated my husband’s birthday. It would be the last normal loving family celebration we would have for nearly three years.
On Wednesday, March 11th, John’s real birthday, I urged him to get home before the sun set, so we could photograph ourselves for an anniversary gift. I laid out wine, coffee, cheese and crackers and we dressed up, grabbed his double basses, and stood in the opening to the Chevron-handled slider door in the old house I was called into two years prior. We hadn’t been photographed formally since our wedding and even that was rather informal. It took some warming up as we laughed our way through the timer clicks. 35 years of marriage would pass April 20th with a coffee outside in downtown. It was essential.
In looking back we captured ourselves within the umbrella of a happy family, where everything felt good…before the world changed.
Our family was never the same again. Estrangement and death would reel it’s ugly head and I would lie on the floor bleeding for months.
With God’s grace the two of us formed a more solid bond which, in the end, helped our family heal. The process was long. The work hard.
Tragedy can make or break you.
On Thursday, March 12th, I drove to Fontana, California, for a skin check. Everything was eerily normal. Skin became Kaiser’s number one priority that year. They weren’t going to let anyone go without a hole in their face and some repair work. Last month I finally had a re-check. I’m good despite lots of Cryo freezing.
So much for priorities.
Cancers, in particular, soared during lockdown.
My calendar for Friday the 13th says, “taxes, q-tips.” No one goes to the store for one thing, so maybe I should pick-up paper towels, toilet paper and some fresh produce?
The endowed kings and queens of the news were ringing in our ears. Was there no journalism anymore? Just theater and scripts? It felt strange. As a child I questioned everything. I highly recommend it.
Casually, I drove the three minutes over to our local Albertsons. What I experienced next was indeed the grocery store scene in Homestead. A suburban woman in a Suburban jumped a planter in the parking lot, fighting for a spot. Chaos was a leaking faucet slowly turning into a burst fire hydrant. People were drowning in self portraits. Men, women, running to their cars, arms full. Children giddy, glued onto fast paced shopping carts riding in and out of the store, parents yelling at them, “hold on!!!” Toilet paper, cereal boxes piled high, un-bagged.
Like witnessing a five-minute game show shopping spree in live-time. It was ugly.
I couldn’t escape.
As I finally approached the exit passage (along the front of the store) I spotted a tiny elderly lady holding one small and empty reusable bag. Leaning on a column by the entry door, visibly shaking from her hands downward, clutching her small purse. My mind yelled “wait, I’m here! I’ll get you!,” in the blur of cars and honking behind me.
FLASH GOES THE SELF PORTRAIT.
Shoved out of the parking lot I drove home, sobbing. What was she thinking? Would this be her last scene of the world before the grave? like those locked behind glass in nursing homes or dying in the hospital. Alone.
I entered our garage. The engine was off but the ground was moving. I disappeared from that world as the lights turned to black sitting in silence. Darn us for not getting our earthquake kit together. Where’s our flashlights?
Have no fear. I am with you.
The 14th was spent re-living the 13th and every single day afterward until now.
On March 15th, the CDC issued guidance recommending against any gathering of 50 or more people for an eight-week period, which soon turned to no more than ten people. Masks on, masks off, wipe down all surfaces and canned goods, stay six feet apart, pull each others masks up in public while yelling “you’re killing people,” cut your own hair or turn into a baboon, eat out but only on the street, buy your “essentials” from behind a spit wall. You’re essential, you’re not. Good luck. Go to Target, Kohls, Home Depot and Macys but stay away from church. That’s right we’ll get a rock and roll band together and film it for the old folk who loved the old church hymns. They’ll figure out the YouTube app. Whatever! Just don’t go near them. Oh and children/teens really don’t get this virus bad, but no school for them. School is bad. Teachers will die. Staying home, losing community and learning? good.
Immunity building? bad. Unvetted vaccine: good.
Just shut-up and don’t question anything.
Where’s our family? our grandchildren? Three months passed. Pump your own gas from dirty gas pump handles, insert your credit card that you wiped your nose on into the slot, wipe your hands on your pants if you use a beach or park bathroom. There’s no soap or paper towels. Ever. And thank our very own Governor Newsom for making sure we were the first state “saved” by telling us just stay home.
Stay home with your hand sanitizer. Buy stock in hand sanitizer.
Anyone for a bite out at French Laundry?
In the end, the seven states that allowed their citizens the freedom to think, faired the best. Sure, there was sickness and death. Look how the story begins?
My question is this, as I repeat “never again” :
Are we building an ark? a place that is dead to this world.
Or are we funding the end of the world? a fortress of greed and power?
Remember we were told we are in this together Deborah? That slogan everywhere! Thank you for writing this one.
Just before the lockdowns, a friend of mine who had migrated from East India asked me to drive her to Visalia to find hand sanitizer, using her car since she wasn’t comfortable driving out of town. Her husband, a doctor, urged her to get it as soon as possible because COVID was on the rise. Unfortunately, the entire town was sold out! 🙈 Luckily, I managed to buy a BIG bottle of wine , which we definitely needed in the days that followed when the lockdowns were enforced. It was complete chaos, and we’re fortunate that time has moved on. However, it did fracture families and end many friendships. I’m truly grateful to those who stood up for our rights during that period of madness; their support meant a lot!
What a fabulous pic for a tumultuous time! I started feeling residual PTSD unbelief last year...thanks for this.