March Gray

There’s a cold gray light that only comes in March, and that light is with us today.

Controversial Topics

Asian Americans targeted in a hate-fueled Atlanta shooting spree.

Harry and Meghan go on TV to accuse the royals of racism.

Sen. Ron Johnson claims that the capitol rioters are law abiding citizens who love their country and respect police, but mostly peaceful Black Lives Matter protesters scare him.

Migrant children flood the southern border. (Didn’t someone build a wall to prevent this?)

The bachelor dumped his honey for dressing up like Scarlet O’Hara.

Gov. Cuomo, pandemic hero, now accused of inappropriate sexual advances.

Women of color (that phrase just doesn’t seem kosher) face opposition in Senate confirmation hearings.

State legislatures are passing hundreds of new Jim Crow laws to discourage minority voters.

Have I missed anything? Are there any other topics upon which I dare not comment?

Oh, here’s a safe one: Spring Break is in full swing as deadly variants rage. Yes, I could probably say something about that without getting into trouble.

Oh, what the heck... 

She wasn’t forced to marry into that family. It’s not as though she’s the daughter of a nobleman and the marriage was arranged to bring peace to the kingdom. She could have done what the bachelor guy did and said, “I care about you, but I don’t think that you’re ready for this.”

It takes guts to do the right thing when it means making a sacrifice. I admire that dude.

That’s it. I’m done. Fire away.

Conversations

I hope that I will see you 

Once we’ve moved past these times 

We’ll share long conversations 

While I look into your eyes 

Please Let’s All Work Together Against The Virus

When a virus goes into a living being, it replicates itself, but it’s not a perfect replica. Since the mission of the virus is to infect and replicate, it uses information from the host’s DNA to improve the infection capability of the next generation. It’s like a criminal teaching his children to be better criminal than he is.

The evolutionary process creates a steady stream of mutations, the so-called variants that we hear about on the news.

One approach that some people suggested early on in the Covid-19 pandemic was to let the virus infect as many people as possible. The most sensitive people would die off, but the rest of the population would reach a state of herd immunity. When the virus no longer had people to infect, it no longer spreads.

This theory fails to take mutation into account. The virus keeps evolving into new variants, some of which will be more transmissible and potentially more dangerous. When more people are infected, more variants emerge. When the variants change significantly from the original strain of the virus, they can infect people who were infected previously. Variants can kill people who survived prior infections.

We are in a race against time. We need to stop the virus before it creates variants that existing vaccines cannot control. Companies can create new vaccines and boosters, but the virus will always be some number of steps ahead.

Please get vaccinated unless your healthcare provider recommends that you don’t. We need to get to a point where the virus can’t spread easily. That’s the only way to slow the evolution of mutations. 

Please also do your part by following the essential public health guidelines that have been recommended from the beginning of the pandemic. Wear masks in public and when you’re with people who don’t live in your home. Avoid crowed indoor gatherings. Wash your hands frequently and avoid touching your face.

If we all work together, we can slow this thing down and finally get back to our normal lives. If we avoid vaccination and relax other precautions, the virus will keep spreading and mutating, and this dreaded scourge will grind on far longer than it has to.

No Hesitation

Don’t hesitate to get the vaccine. The virus won’t hesitate to get you.

Leadership Matters

In recent weeks we have heard grumbling from the Right about a few thousand jobs lost due to the suspension of the environmentally hazardous Keystone XL pipeline project. Granted, a job loss is never welcome news.

Today, the CEO of American Airlines told 13,000 workers who were scheduled to be furloughed in April to “tear up your [furlough notices].” The airline made the decision after Mr. Biden’s American Rescue Plan has cleared all obstacles toward passage and will be signed into law.

Businesses will receive financial relief. Non-profits will receive financial relief. Schools will receive funds to make ventilation and safety improvements. Communities across the country will receive funds that will enable them keep workers on the job and fund work projects. Individuals will receive checks and tax breaks that will enable them to pay bills and put money back into the economy. 

The American Rescue Plan will create an estimated 7 million jobs. Leadership matters.

Up To Expectations

If I haven’t lived up to

Your expectations

Get in line

I’m still living

Up to mine

Tumbling Toothpaste

The moment when you have just enough toothpaste for one last brushing, and it falls into the sink.

Closet Thinking

The mind is like a closet. It works best when you throw out all of the stuff that you no longer need.

Cleverness

Guy rhymes with lie.

Woman doesn’t rhyme with anything.

I spent half an hour trying to turn that into something clever. I failed.