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  2021-04-21T18

  Dinner and Hearts

  As of yesterday, my two weeks was up and I am now "fully vaccinated" per the CDC guidelines. My wife got there Friday, and my mother has been fully vaccinated since February. Per the CDC, since we are all fully vaccinated, we can visit each other and not have to wear masks. We had Mom over for dinner for the first time since before the pandemic. After dinner we played a few rounds of hearts. I had to reacquaint myself with something that used to be "normal" before COVID-19. I was a bit rusty at playing cards, but I soon got back into it. It does not seem like that big a deal, but it was good for Mom to get out of her house for a while. It was good for all of us, and I am looking forward to more such evenings.
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  2021-04-06

  Finally got my second shot

  I got my second dose of the Pfizer vaccine late on the evening of Tuesday, April 6. While the process at the vaccination site at State Farm Stadium went smoothly enough, it took a lot longer. The drive from South Tempe is about 35 minutes, but there was an accident on Interstate 10, so we had to take a detour that lengthened the trip. I had an appointment for 9:21 PM, but there was a much longer line this time. By the time I got my shot and we left, it was about 10:35 PM. I felt pretty tired the next day. Nonetheless, I feel very relived to be fully vaccinated, and I am looking forward to things I will be able to do on April 20, when the vaccine will have had a full two weeks to take effect.
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  2021-03-26

  Open Questioning of Authority

  On Wednesday, March 24, 2021 Governor of Arizona Doug Ducey decided to lift all COVID restrictions on businesses. The governor's action contradicted CDC guidance. On Friday morning, I vented my frustration about the governor's action. A young man came to our house on the morning of Friday, March 26 to fix an appliance. I met him at the door wearing a face mask. The young man was not wearing a mask, but pulled one out of his pocket and said he would wear it if I preferred. I indicated that I did want him to wear the mask, and without thinking I blurted out that "the governor is an idiot." The young man expressed understanding and put on his mask. Actually, I don't really think the governor is an idiot. I think he knows better but does not have the courage to do the right thing in the face of pressure from constituencies that have made public health a political issue. Unfortunately, these people endanger us all.
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  2021-03-22

  Vaccines Now Widely Available

  COVID-19 vaccine distribution seems to be hitting a critical mass. My son, a third-year student at the University of Arizona, got his first dose on Monday, March 22 at the mass vaccination site on the U of A mall.
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  2021-03-16

  Finally got my shot

  I'd been trying to get a COVID vaccination appointment on the State of Arizona's website since late January. Finally, on the evening of Monday, March 15, I found a couple of slots open on the following evening at the State mass vaccination site at the Arizona Cardinals Stadium. It was about a 35-mile trip, and my wife drove me out there. Once we got to the site, everything went really smoothly and the staff were very pleasant. I got my first Pfizer dose and an appointment for April 6 for the second. It was nice to see the ASU banner at the site. Altogether, the travel time and the process on site took about an hour and forty-five minutes. I feel immensely relieved.
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  2021-03-05

  Vaccinations at the University

  This photo shows people lined up to get COVID-19 vaccinations outside the Sun Devil Fitness Complex at Arizona State University in Tempe. My wife received an email from an ASU official sent about 8:00 PM Thursday, March 4 offering university employees access to a distribution of Moderna vaccines at clinics on March 5 and 9. My wife signed up right away and got an appointment for early afternoon on Friday, March 5. I have not been able to get my own appointment through other channels, so I went along with my wife to see if I might be able to get the vaccine. I was turned away, but fortunately my wife now has her first shot and an appointment for the second. It's a start.
• 2021-02-25

  Conditions of Release

  My 80-year old mother got her second vaccine dose on January 25. She is now anxious to get out in the world. She wants to resume doing her own grocery shopping, and she really wants to get her hair done. I half-jokingly told her that the family would have to confer about her "conditions of release" (the kind of term used when people are released from jail or prison). After having just such a conference, we decided that after the second shot had two weeks to become effective, we thought it would be all right for her to start shopping in stores again, under the condition that she of course wore a mask and went out when stores would not be crowded. We advised her not to get her hair done, as that would put her in close proximity to one person indoors for an extended period. Mom was disappointed about that, but accepted the conclusion.
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  2021-02-04

  It Looks Like Its Not Just Me

  I came across this article about how many people are "hitting the wall" with COVID fatigue, and it helped me realize that my current state is not unique. Lately, I have been feeling the cumulative effects of the isolation that the pandemic has created. I feel less physically healthy, and mentally as well. Frankly, I do not think I am as mentally sharp as I was a year ago. It is at least comforting to know that I am not alone in this. There is also now hope that the pandemic will end and that life will return to some degree of its former normality, but it seems clear that this will take some time.
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  2021-02-04

  My Mother Will Be 80 Years Old This Week

  My mother will have her eightieth birthday this Sunday. She is not likely to share her story here. She has a computer and uses the Internet. However, she usually only looks at other people’s posts on Facebook and does not use Twitter at all. I will therefore tell some of her story myself. My mother has been stuck in her house for nearly a year now. She lives only a mile or two from each of us, so my sister and I get her groceries for her so she does not risk exposure to the virus. My mother was resistant to this for a while, from a combination of independence, a disinclination to impose on others, and a plain desire to get out of the house. My mother probably has not gotten a hug from anyone in nearly a year. We call her nearly every day, and we do visit with her on patio, but we always keep our distance. As much as she would like to see people more, she does not want to break social distancing. In her view, she has stuck with it this long and does not want to waste that effort. When I talk to my mother, she often expresses boredom. She reads, works on puzzles, watches television, and calls family (although she does not want to bother people). The other day I half-jokingly suggested that she spend some time writing her memoirs. It would be a gift for her children and grandchildren to record her life experiences. My mother has started writing several pages a day. She writes long-hand in a notepad, then types up what she wrote on her computer. I was amused when she told me this, because I have not written that way in more than thirty years, and younger generations likely could not imagine doing it this way. My mother made one of her rare trips outside the house last week. She was able to navigate the website and get herself an appointment for a COVID vaccination. I was rather proud of her for persistently navigating a website that I found confusing and difficult to use. Her persistence in seeking a vaccination speaks to her eagerness to get life back to normal.
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  2020-04-10

  Navajo Nation Hit Hard: Approaching Top 3 Hot Spots in Nation and Running Out of Water

  597 people in Navajo Nation have tested positive for Coronovirus while people also are running out of water. National Guard rushing potable water to rural Navajo families while also setting up emergency health facilities. #IndigenousStories
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  2020-04-09

  South Dakota Non-Profit Group Launches $10 Million Covid-19 Response Project for Indigenous People

  In response to the "unique impacts and challenges" experienced by Native Nations in the wake of the pandemic, the Rapid City-based NDN Collective, Inc. announces the creation of the NDN Covid-19 Response Project to provide grants, communication, and strategic support to tribal nations and Indigenous organizations. "The overall design of the project is to provide quick response resources to Indigenous communities bracking from economic impacts, stresses to public services and combating the spread of misinformation due to Covid-19."