March 18, 2021

As I sat at the redesigned drive-thru window at a local restaurant I was amazed as a semi-truck carrying six different types of vehicles stopped in the middle turn lane of the busy main street in the town where I live.  The street serves as a main through fare going east for most of the small towns of central Arkansas.  I watched as the driver got out, pulled out his ramps, and then proceeded to back each vehicle off the truck.  The cars shot off (in reverse!) at about 40 miles an hour before reaching the used car lot 100 yards away.  He then ran back up the street to get the next one.  I was not sure if this was legal but assumed the reason for his hurry was because it was not.  With the new drive-thru I rapidly got my order and hurried off before I saw if he got caught.

One aspect of the pandemic has been all the construction that has happened.  There are new houses being built all over town where I live.  Whole subdivisions have hurriedly gone up overnight.  While the covid-19 pandemic plunged the US into a recession that left millions of Americans out of work and hungry, the housing market has boomed.  Between September 2019 and September 2020, homeowners accumulated a collective $1 trillion in additional home equity.  The exploding demand and historically low supply of housing has led buyers to desperately bid up the prices of available properties.  This boom has been welcome news for the 65% of households that are owner-occupied.  It is not so good for the growing number of Americans who are being shut out of the housing market.

New units are not the only construction boom that has happened.  As people began to work from home the realized they needed more space.  There is something about working at your computer while trying to make breakfast and tutor your 10-year-old that makes an extra room for an office seem attractive.  That is also true when you realize not being able to go outside for recreation means you need redesign your existing space to meet your new requirements.  In the “good ol days” we hurried to move, now we remodel.  The same hurry is evident in business real estate.  Economists project that more than 100,000 small businesses shut permanently in the first months of the pandemic.  Data suggests at least 2% of small businesses are gone, and that rises as 3% of restaurant operators have gone out of business.  Still, business construction is booming, and restaurants are remodeling to accommodate drive-thru pickup.

Thoughts:  The greatest disparity emphasized by the pandemic has been economic inequality.  This is true for corporations as well as people.  The four largest corporations in America (all global) now control 21% of the GNP.  The top 1% of earners in the US account for about 20% of the country’s total income annually.  Meanwhile, the lowest-earning quarter of Americans account for just 3.7% of annual income.  While some struggle to survive, others are in a hurry to make more.  The rich seem to be winning.  If economic insecurity is not a priority, we will all be left behind.  Do the work.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

March 17, 2021

I finally got into the dentist today to repair a capped tooth.  I have never been good about going to doctors or dentists for no reason (read, preventative checkups).  When I was younger it was because I had no insurance, but it also came from a lack of trust in medical science.  I have always said there is a reason they call it medical “practice.”  That mellowed as I grew older.  One reason is because I now have insurance but also because I know with my age comes more potential for things to go wrong.  Age has forced me to both doctors and dentists to fix what I had neglected in my youth.  To quote Doc Holiday (a dentist) from the 1993 movie Tombstone, “my hypocrisy only goes so far.” 

Like many medical offices, things have changed during the pandemic.  While that includes the safety protocols, it also means no longer providing nitrous oxide to help nervous patients (that would be me).  As I sat in the chair, I recalled one of my favorite scenes from the movie Little Shop of Horrors.  The online trailer said this “horror black comedy musical film” was released in 1986 and adapted the 1982 off-Broadway musical comedy of the same name.  This was in turn based on the 1960 film The Little Shop of Horrors.  The 1986 film stars Rick Moranis, Ellen Greene, Vincent Gardenia, Steve Martin, and Levi Stubbs as the voice of the carnivorous alien plant Audrey II.  The film also featured appearances by Jim Belushi, John Candy, Christopher Guest, and Bill Murray.  With so many of my favorite comedians, how could I not like it?

The film is about a geeky florist shop worker who finds out his Venus flytrap has an appetite for human blood.  One of my favorite scenes from the movie happens with a visit to the dentist.  Steve Martin was cast as Orin Scrivello, DDS, a sadistic, nitrous oxide-addicted dentist.  The patient was played by Bill Murray as Arthur Denton, a hyperactive masochist who visits Orin the dentist for “a long, slow root canal.”  The more pain Scrivello inflicted on Denton the more they both enjoyed it.  While I did not suffer the same fate, there have been times in the past when I have believed I was coming close.

Thoughts:  One thing I have been forced to realize is that when I ignore problems they rarely go way on their own.  In the past I probably would have ignored the tooth because it did not hurt.  The problem with that approach is that by the time it did hurt, the problem would have intensified.  By taking care of the problem early I avoided greater discomfort in the future.  We took my former approach when it came to addressing the pandemic.  We ignored it, said it would go away, and then denied it even existed, until the pain was too great.  Some have decided to do the same with the new vaccines now available.  If enough others get vaccinated, we will develop herd immunity and they will not have to worry.  That ignores the pain caused if you do get the virus or if you spread it to others you love.  I got the vaccine.  Follow the science.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

March 16, 2021

Now that it has gotten warmer all the bugs and critters in my yard have come back in full array.  I always wondered what the robins and blackbirds were eating as they canvased my yard until I read about the insects that stay just under the surface to avoid freezing during the winter.  When it begins to get warm, they emerge and then rest on the grass to warm up and gain strength before taking off in flight to find a mate.  Many of them do not make it much farther than the blades of grass as the birds devour them.  Unlike the insects who hibernate as larva, mosquitoes find animal burrows or similar shelter and enter a state of torpor to survive the cold.  Now that it is warmer, they are again on the loose and I have seen several large ones on the windowpanes of my bay window in the kitchen.  Time for the birds to go to work.

Insects are not the only thing brought out by the warmer weather.  The grubs and worms that inhabit my yard have also become active.  The recent rains have forced them out of the ground for the apparent mass suicide they tend to suffer.  When I looked online for an explanation, I found an article by Teri Balser, an associate professor of soil and ecosystem ecology at UW–Madison.  The answer starts with worms breathing through their skin.  “Oxygen from air or water passes directly from their outer cuticle into their blood vessels.”  Normally, soil has a 50/50 mix of air and water in the pore space between the soil particles.  After a rain, the soil pores and the worm burrows fill with water.  Oxygen diffuses about a thousand times slower through water than through air.  The worms cannot get enough oxygen, so they come to the surface to breathe.

Why they get lost on the surface is less clear.  Once they get out on the surface, they seem to become confused and cannot find their burrows after they dry out.  They move around trying to find safety, but those who wander onto the concrete driveways or gutters have no way to go back into the ground.  As the sun begins warming the concrete and the water dissipates, the worms dry out and die.  The three worms I found yesterday had taken refuge under my garage door.  Two appeared to have succumbed and dried out but one was still alive and wiggling.  I threw them all back in the yard, just in case.

Thoughts:  Almost every earthworm in North America came from somewhere else.  Native earthworms north of Pennsylvania were all but all but wiped out by the glaciers of the Pleistocene ice age 10,000 years ago.  Even the southern earthworms were forced to compete with the European worms brought by European settlers as early as the 1600’s.  They crossed over in root balls or the dry ballast of ships.  As the British, French, Spanish and Dutch colonized the American continent, European worms came with them.  These species thrived in the upper soils of forests and gardens, while any native earthworms remained deeper underground.  Europe’s earthworms established an empire that outlived any built by its nations.  It is odd to think the Canadian night crawlers I use for bait are descendants of immigrants.  Ironically, so are all of us.  Do the work.  Follow the science.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

March 15, 2021

When I came back from work yesterday, I noticed the pear tree planted in our front yard had exploded into bloom.  The entire tree was covered with showy white flowers.  I had been noticing the buds on the tree for several days but did not think anything about them.  I just knew the cold caused the tree to stop shedding its remaining berries that drop on our cars.  These are sticky and clump on the bottom of your shoe to be drug into the house.  I was glad to be rid of the berries, and pleasantly surprised by the intensity of the flowers.  Even those this is my third year in the house, I did not pay much attention to the yard plants until last year.  It makes a difference when you know what you are looking for.

When I looked online, I found that the Bradford pear (Pyrus calleryana ‘Bradford’) is a spring-flowering tree that has been widely planted throughout the eastern US, especially over the last decades.  It is so popular that it can be found in nearly every city within its growing range and is the most common tree planted in South Carolina.  The Bradford grows 30 to 50 feet tall and 20 to 30 feet wide.  It has a wider, more erect, and branchier canopy than other trees of the species.  Early spring flowering may last two weeks unless caught by a late spring frost.  The species is a native of China, Taiwan, Japan, and Vietnam.  The flowers, unfortunately, have an unpleasant fragrance.  Melissa calls it our “stinky tree.”

The varieties of Pyrus calleryana are on the Invasive Plant Pest Species of South Carolina list.  Although the ‘Bradford’ pear was originally bred as sterile and thornless, they readily cross-pollinate with other cultivars of callery pears and subsequently produce viable fruit.  The ripened fruit is eaten and disseminated by birds, which results in thorny thickets of wild pear trees.  These escapees are generally unnoticed until spring when the edges of fields, abandoned lots, and forests are white with blooms.  Unlike the Bradford, most callery pears have thorns ranging from ¼-inch to over 2-inches long.  The thorns are known to cause extensive damage to equipment as land managers try to remove them from their property.  The Clemson Cooperative Extension site recommends planting native white-flowering trees rather than the invasive Bradford.

Thoughts:  As is the case with most invasive species, the Bradford pear was specifically brought to the eastern US because of its rapid growth and beautiful flowering.  The resulting cross-pollination brought unforeseen consequences and the species are now not only invasive but considered a pest.  The Asian carp presents a similar problem.  It was brought to the US because of its rapid growth and reproduction.  When flooding allowed the carp to escape their containment ponds it has gone on to dominate much of the Mississippi River system, decimating native species of fish.  We need to realize that when we transplant species from one location to another, they rarely have any of the natural checks found in their natural environments.  The same could be said for covid-19.  Follow the science.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

March 13, 2021

I read an online news article from the New York Times by David Leonhardt that addressed how we need to face the world with the proper amount of optimism.  He pointed out the early coronavirus mistakes were mistakes of excessive optimism.  Neither the scientists nor the press grasped the depth of the threat.  The president exacerbated this mistake with a series of false statements minimizing the problem.  Now one year later and 544,000 deaths, politicians continue to show undue optimism by ending mask mandates and allowing full restaurants.

While over optimism caused errors, pessimism does the same now.  Thousands of schools remain closed even though epidemiologists say that many can safely open (with guidelines).  Irrational talk about the vaccines has created a reluctance to get them.  A widespread notion that life will not return to normal this year has caused people to give up trying to follow the science.  Leonhardt stressed that while difficult truths can be a vital public-health tool, so can optimism.  Optimism can help people get through tough times and be willing to make sacrifices, with the belief that better days are ahead.

A realistic optimism is what Biden tried to present in his first public address to the nation on Thursday night.  After a somber recitation of the cost of Covid-19, Biden offered a challenge and an optimistic result.  If we wear masks, maintain social distancing, and get vaccinated now, there is a good chance we will be able to gather in backyards for cookouts and barbeques by Independence Day.  We have faced the grim reality of the pandemic for the last year.  Biden offered a factual picture of our current state but went on to provide a source of motivation to do the right thing that was not based on fear.  It was an optimistic promise.

Thoughts:  One of the best parts about Spring Training in baseball is the optimism.  This is a time when teams get to evaluate the health of veterans, test the strength of potential rookies, and enjoy the game as a game.  Up until April 1st, even the worst team in the league is tied for first.  Now that I have received my first vaccine shot, I have new optimism.  I realize there is still the second shot and then the ten-day waiting period, but there is a renewed hope.  I also know being able to have a back-yard barbeque is not the same as jumping into a Spring Break pool with 500 of my closest friends.  My optimism still needs to face reality.  Follow the science.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

March 12, 2021

I was in that wonderful state of sleepy wakefulness this morning when an amazing idea for a Blog came to me.  I played this out as I always do in my mind before beginning to write.  I knew the point and the illustrations I was going to use to make the point.  I understood the plot twist I like to put at the end in my “thoughts” section.  I even convinced myself it was sooo good I needed to get up and write it down before it went away.  I got up and shook myself awake as usual, and then realized the whole concept had been lost by the act of getting fully awake.  I had lost my focus and the only thing I had left was the title, “Comments.”

When I mentioned this to Melissa, she suggested I needed to start keeping a pen and paper next to the bed so I could write down my ideas before they left me.  I had done this before when I wrote my thesis.  I had immersed myself in the research for two years prior to beginning to write and the basis was taken from research I was doing working with the state.  That meant total focus in the task.  When I did begin to write I was constantly waking up in the middle of the night with a new thought or a nuance that I should explore.  At first, I would go back to sleep and dream on.  I found when I woke up in the morning, I could not remember the great idea I had the previous night.  The pen and paper helped me focus. 

When I mentioned this to Melissa, she told me, “busy creative minds do not rest.”  While I am sure that is true, I have found that when we focus a large part of life on one aspect, that is what we also dream about.  A case in point is in the 1970’s when I worked as a cook in a taco shop.  We had a sale on weekends with five tacos for a dollar yes, really).  That meant families would come in and order 25 tacos, knowing it would only cost five dollars.  I worked the dinner shift and people would flood into the store.  I recall at one point during the sale I was behind on the orders by 250 tacos.  After the rush died down the workers began to talk and share taco stories.  I came to find out that amid our focus we had all been having dreams about being overrun by tacos.

Thoughts:   When I retired, I was no longer confined by the constraints of a job.  This left me with a lot of free time.  At first, I went aimlessly from task to task without any real focus.  If something needed to be done, I did it.  If I did not want to do what was needed, I ignored it knowing it would still be there tomorrow.  What I soon realized was I needed focus in my life.  That is when I began to be purposeful in my garden and fishing.  Over the last year I have also added birding (and yes, a job).  One of the hardest aspects of the pandemic for many has been removal of the focus we used to have.  For some that has been the loss of a job.  For others it has been separation from grandchildren.  There is also the task of trying to juggle work, family, finances, childcare, and tutoring, none of which has provided focus or left a lot of free time.  For many, this overload has resulted in a lack of ability to focus.  This happened before the pandemic, but then we called it a single-parent household.  Do the work.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

March 11, 2021

During the first week of March, governors in Mississippi, Texas, Alabama, Arizona, West Virginia, and Connecticut announced significant loosening of statewide pandemic restrictions, including mask mandates and indoor capacity limits.  They were joined by several others in loosening statewide coronavirus restrictions in early 2021.  During 2020, other states like Georgia and Alaska chose to never implement statewide mask mandates.  Last September, Florida became one the largest states to roll back Covid-19 capacity restrictions when the governor reopened bars and restaurants to full capacity.  This is happening while the number of Covid-19 cases in the US crossed 29 million and more than 524,000 people have died across the country.  The CDC says one way to make a difference is to wear a mask.

When I substituted for several local Elementary and Jr. High Schools last year, I was constantly amazed by what students wore to school.  The lockers were shut down for safety reasons so what the students had on was what they came with.  More correctly, I was amazed by what they did not wear.  I grew up with the definition of a sweater as, “something you wore when your mother got cold.”  These students seemed to not get cold at all, having neither coats nor sweaters, and quite often wearing shorts in sub-freezing weather.  When they did bring outerwear, it was usually left on the back of a chair or crumpled in the corner when I closed the room for the day.

I have been amazed during the last year by how many masks I have found lying on the ground (no, I did not pick it up!).  These have been both the disposable paper masks and the reusable cloth masks.  When governors loosening the restrictions are asked about the wisdom on news reports, they have universally responded that “people know the risks and they will do the right thing.”  The reason for the mandates is because people refused to do the right thing, and Spring Break, Memorial Day, and 4th of July sent the numbers through the roof.  The only masks I have not seen on the ground are the homemade cotton masks.  Apparently, when you or a loved one takes the time to put in the love to make a mask you take better care of them.

Thoughts:  One of the things I have often heard this last year is that it is the students and not the adults who take the mask mandates seriously.  When I first heard of the school mask mandates, I had visions of masks spread out in a line from the classrooms to the bus in a modern replay of the breadcrumbs of Hansel and Gretel.  Students not only wear their masks but know how to wear them properly.   In recent weeks health officials in the US have repeatedly warned that the emergence of the new variants and loosening open restrictions will cause another spike in cases.  That means we need to be vigilant and not open until cases stabilize.  Many refuse to heed the warning.  Follow the science.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

March 10, 2021

Melissa and I have been so concerned this winter with trying to keep the succulents in our outside beds alive that I ignored the other species that share the same space.  When I walked out of the house on Monday, I noticed a flash of yellow under the mesh we used to cover the succulents to keep them warm.  I was excited as I thought this was a cactus flower that had bloomed now that it is warmer.  You can imagine my surprise when I pulled back the covering and saw a single yellow Daffodil with a grape Hyacinth growing within its foliage.  I had forgotten these Spring blooms were even in the bed when we planted the succulents last fall.  Their blooms served as a reminder.

Daffodil is one of the common names for flowers of the Narcissus genus.  Other common names include narcissus and jonquil.  All Narcissus genus plants have conspicuous flowers with six petal-like tepals surmounted by a cup- or trumpet-shaped corona.  The flowers are generally white and yellow (ours are yellow) but also orange or pink in some garden varieties.  The genus is generally considered to be about ten sections with approximately 50 species.  The number of species has varied, depending on how they are classified, due to similarity between species and the continuous resulting hybridization.

When I checked online, I found that flower longevity varies by Narcissus species and conditions, ranging from 5–20 days.  After flowering leaf and root senescence sets in, and the plant appears to be ‘dormant’ till the next spring, conserving moisture.  However, the dormant period is also one of considerable activity for the bulb.  Like many bulb plants from temperate regions, a period of exposure to cold is necessary before spring growth can begin.  This protects the plant from growth during winter when intense cold may damage it.   Warmer spring temperatures then initiate growth from the bulb.  I hope my booms are the kind that last for 20.

Thoughts:  Just as many hoped 2021 was going to bring a new beginning, so too Spring has always been a time of rebirth and hope for a new beginning.  This rebirth brings the wonderful blooms that have taken over my mailbox planter and have snuck under the blankets and mesh that grace the front house bed.  It is always surprising that while we try and create a world that conforms to our vision and wishes, how the world goes forward on its own terms.  This is a good thing for my flower beds as the Spring blooms add color to the dormant succulents.  It is also a caution knowing that the planet has the capability of self-correcting when things go too far.  That has resulted in the five mass extinctions and many more minor corrections.  Some believe the pandemic is an example of one of natures “minor” corrections.  Follow the science.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

March 09, 2021

Last night’s news reported they were staging a pop-up vaccination site today at the Senior Center.  This was a drive through event for the first 100 eligible arrivals.  As the story continued it mentioned a local Pharmacist also promised an additional 50 shots for those wanting to come inside and listen to a spiel about the vaccine and what to expect.  I had placed my name on a waiting list two weeks ago but have not heard anything back.  When I called, I was told it generally takes at least a month.  I decided it could not hurt to try and get the vaccine, but I was not hopeful.  They were only administered from 8-10 am and the site was 20 miles away.  I woke up early, so I decided to give it a try.  I grabbed my fish bait thinking worst case scenario I could get in a few hours fishing this morning.  Then I took off for the Senior Center.

I arrived at the site a little before eight and was surprised to see that while the lot was full, there were only about 30 cars in line.  I guess some preferred the in-person experience rather than drive-through.  I had brought my paper anticipating a long wait.  When I opened the paper, the front-page story was about the growing number of Seniors.  Arkansas’ 50-plus population was expected to grow from 36% in 2018 to 40% by 2050.  We have already grown from 494,000 to 559,000 between 2016 and 2021.  The gist of the article touted Seniors as the next market economy.  According to Herb Sanderson of the Arkansas AARP, Fort Smith has everything seniors are looking for: mild weather, favorable tax base, local attractions, affordable housing, public transportation, parks, and available retirement communities.  When I retired it had what I wanted as well, Melissa.

As I waited in my car to get my shot, I was reminded how age does not improve your manners.  As the line grew behind me there were several cars who purposefully took a different entrance, snaked through the parking lot, and then pulled into the second lane in front of about ten cars that had been waiting patiently (including me).  I was not surprised when these were expensive vehicles.  I have heard stories of similar behavior as people have been able to jump the line to get vaccinated ahead of the essential workers who are at higher risk.  Apparently, wealth means you do not need to wait.

Thoughts:  I was surprised that more people did not show up to receive the vaccine.  I was vaccinated and completed my mandatory 15-minute wait by 8:45 am.  By the time I pulled out of the parking lot there were less than 10 cars in line and no new ones arriving.  Maybe they had already administered the available shots, but when I went to the pop-up, I expected long lines and delays.  While the Senior Center sounded like a good vaccination site, it was in an area that required a vehicle to access.  This emphasizes the difficulty with vaccination across the country.  Many sites are in locations that are hard for the poor to access.  Washington DC is vaccinating by zip code with the vaccination sites in the zip code area to target high risk populations.  Like most things, if you do not purposefully plan to be equitable, you will fail to be so.  Do the work.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

March 08, 2021

This morning my sister let me know today is International Women’s Day.  The earliest Women’s Day observance was called “National Woman’s Day” and was held on February 28, 1909, in New York City.  It was organized by the Socialist Party of America.  In August 1910, an International Socialist Women’s Conference preceded the general meeting of the Socialist Second International in Copenhagen, Denmark, which proposed establishment of an annual “Women’s Day.”  The following year on March 19, 1911, International Women’s Day (IWD) was marked for the first time.  Women in Europe and America marched and demanded they be given the right to vote and to hold public office, as well as to protest sex discrimination in employment.  In 1914, IWD was held on March 8 in Germany, possibly because that was a Sunday.  The day is now celebrated on March 8 for all countries.

I have been grateful as my birthday has been acknowledged and celebrated across America.  Martin Luther King Jr. Day (January 15^th) is a federal holiday in the United States marking the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr.   Acknowledgement of King’s birthday was first suggested soon after his assassination in 1968.  Federal support began to take hold as discussion around the day took place during the 1970’s and 1980’s.  It was finally signed into law in 1993 and was first celebrated in 1996.  Due to the Uniform Monday Holiday Act (effective January 1, 1971), it is observed on the third Monday of January.  While not always on the 15^th, it is on the actual date every six years.  I call this David L. Schirer Day. 

UN Women (and IWD) is now sponsored by the United Nations and is dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women.  As a global champion for women and girls, UN Women was established (July 2010) to accelerate progress on meeting women’s needs worldwide.  Amid the challenges offered by the world-wide pandemic, the 2021 theme is #ChooseToChallenge.  As stated on the UN Women website, “A challenged world is an alert world.  Individually, we’re all responsible for our own thoughts and actions – all day, every day.  We can all choose to challenge and call out gender bias and inequality.  We can all choose to seek out and celebrate women’s achievements.  Collectively, we can all help create an inclusive world.  From challenge comes change, so let’s all choose to challenge.”  This is a challenge worthy to acknowledge.

Thoughts:  I also received a quote from Serena Williams concerning IWD’s 2021 theme.  “Every woman’s success should be an inspiration to another.  We’re strongest when we cheer each other on.”   The year 2020 brought many challenges.  While some hoped that 2021 would be different, it certainly did not start as such.  The challenges are great and cut across various intersections of American and world culture.  Just as each woman’s success is an inspiration to another, it should also be an inspiration to all.  Great things are accomplished when individuals step forward to face a challenge, and then inspire others to take up the cause.  This year has promise for great accomplishments if we acknowledge and embrace the challenges.  Do the work.  Follow the science.  Change is coming and it starts with you.