Here are the numbers as of yesterday:

Infections worldwide:  3,212,262
Deaths worldwide:  228,299

Infections United States:  1,040,488
Deaths United States:  60,999

It seems hard to believe that tomorrow is May 1.  What is also hard to understand how republicans continue to put money and wealth before the well being of the people of the United States.  And that is why we have a failed response to this plague.  Republicans consider us worker bees to be expendable as long as the wealthy are able to maintain their wealth...AND ARE PROTECTED.  The rest of us are on our own.  Quite simply the administration of Olde Pucker Lips and his republican enablers have blood on their hands.

However, it is hard to be gloomy today for it is a beautiful spring day.  The sun is shining, the grass is green, the trees are budding and it is forecast to be 65 (F) degrees.  It is going to be a wonderful day to be outside.

Here are the numbers as of Thursday, April 23, 2020...and therefore they have been rapidly outdated.  Yet they will give a glimpse of this nasty virus and its effect on humans:

Worldwide infections - 2,994,960 with 207,270 deaths
United States infections - 965,933 with 54,877 deaths

It gets discouraging when one observes the politics in Washington and witnessing the inhumanity of the #republican party and #Trump (aka Olde Pucker Lips).  The flaws of this country are viciously apparent.  Now we are being warned of meat shortages and this is along with flour shortages, medical supplies, etc.  In three years under the administration of Olde Pucker Lips we have descended into a third world power full of corruption...that cannot do anything right.

Most days during this time of SIP, I am ok.  But...BUT...after all it is only CJ and I and I get lonely at times.  The hugs of beloved friends and family are a precious commodity that is not to be enjoyed for some time.  I could go on listing my petty problems but it does no good for myself or anyone else.

I remind myself that I am healthy today.  I remind myself that although it is a rainy and cold spring day, that the wee cottage in the woods is warm and comfortable.  I remind myself that I have the companionship of my cat CJ.

​And lastly, I remind myself that someday we will get to the other side of this. 

Spring sincerely arrived here in the Northwoods yesterday.  The high temperature during the sunny afternoon was 67 (F) degrees.  I spent time sitting on the deck sipping wine, enjoying the warm sun and listening to the symphony of birds.  Perhaps I drank too much wine for I have a touch of a hangover today and the usually ironclad stomach does not seem happy.

I also hired two kids to do the spring yard raking...to remove the leaves from all of the garden beds.  They are charging me a whopping $10 per hour.  If they do a good job, it is money well spent.  If they do a so-so job, then it is a learning experience for all of us.  It always amazes me how things come back to life so quickly during a day of warm sunlight.  My crocuses will probably bloom today.  Yay!

Meanwhile, sadly, the death toll in the United States passed the number 50,000 yesterday.  This is so unnecessary.  This is so sad.

Today is to be sunny and mild once again.  I had a cup of coffee on the deck early this morning.  Although it was a touch chilly at that hour, it was nice.

​And another day begins.

It is another Saturday of "Shelter-in-Place" or "Safety-in-Place."  The day is sunny with a forecast of mild temps this afternoon.  Before this plague struck, such a spring Saturday would have been filled with errands.  There would have been a stop at the nursery and perhaps a stop at the grocery store....and there would have been guests for a grilled dinner in the evening.

Instead all is very quiet.  Thru the window I gaze at people walking their dogs.  I watch the birds at the bird feeders.  Lastly I contemplate the book I will be reading this afternoon.

And I remind myself that it is far easier to deal with boredom than it would be to be sick and fighting for one's life.

Today I am not in a negative frame of mind but neither am I overly positive.  I just am what I am today...nothing more and nothing less.

​The birds are singing.

This morning while reading K. M. Soehnlein's novel "You Can Say You Knew Me When" I came across the great quote which I will paraphrase here:  "The City lived in his memory as Oz, where wishes were granted and everything reached out from a glowing horizon, beckoning him forth."

It so captured my experience of living in San Francisco for over 35 years that I knew I had to share it.  I am so happy for all of my experiences while living there both the good and the bad.  The good memories far outweigh the bad.  When I moved to San Francisco it was a place of magic and of unlimited possibility.  It was filled with quirky and fun people whose creativity made a vibrant soul for the city.

Now days the magic is gone and it has been replaced by money and greed.  I do not mean to bash the place for it still is beautiful to look at.  However, it is not so much fun living there any more.

I was able to enjoy the good while it happened and that is enough.

And that is also enough reflection for today.  The "Shelter-in-Place" for this part of the country has been extended to May 26, 2020.  There are a few people upset and out protesting but my thought is staying home is for the greater good of all of us...and that these protesters are fools.  I borrow another quote regarding these protesters...from an ER physician:  "Ok, to everybody who wants to lift quarantine restrictions, here’s an offer for you (and btw I’m an ER doctor): let us close ALL the ambulance services, hospitals, ER’s, urgent care clinics, doctors’ offices, and all other health care facilities indefinitely, and then we’ll lift the quarantine. You do whatever you want, and THOSE OF US AT HIGHEST RIK OF GETTING COVID-19 will hunker down at home and be safe until all you stupid ass*oles are dead and we don’t have to put up with your idiotic ideas any more. How’s that for a deal? Fair? Can we shake on that? S. M. F. H. some people are just fools..."

All I have to say to that is Amen and Amen again!

Yesterday I learned that a friend that I'd known since I was nine years old had passed away.  We were/are the same age so the news came as a shock.  Although we'd not seen each other for many years, I'd always thought we'd see each other again now that I had moved back to this part of the country.  I guess not.

Since yesterday my mind has been a constant video replay of memories shared with him...of his twin sister, of his parents, of his grandmother, of the farm where he grew up.  I can honestly say he was a good man and now that he is gone I wish I would have done better at keeping in touch.

He was also my first...the first man with whom I had sex.  We started fooling around in our early teens and it continued until we were well into our 20s.  We never identified ourselves as "gay" but as I look back with the understanding of years I realize that it was a time of my identity coming into being. I truly believe he was bi-sexual for he went on to be married and have children and never looked back.   Perhaps during those years of physical intimacy we were discovering ourselves while providing an outlet for our sexual energies.

His passage is also a reminder of my own mortality.  It was always a comfort of sorts knowing that he was around...and now life seems a touch emptier because he is no longer here.

​God bless you my dear friend...I have so many wonderful memories of knowing you and you will never know the wonderful impact you had upon my life.  Then again, maybe you do know that now.