17 December 2020
Several years ago I was walking Rocky and met someone heading the opposite direction. In our neighborhood, most people will speak or wave or in some way acknowledge your presence, particularly if you have a dog. I’ve always maintained we know people by their dogs, not the person. In any case, the passerby waved and said “another Chamber of Commerce day!”
That’s a perfect description for south Florida for at least six months of the year and I’m pleased to announce we are in that cycle of weather where we have Chamber of Commerce days. Temperatures are in the high 70’s and low 70’s and even some nights of 60 degree weather. The humidity varies but at least it is tolerable for the majority of the next six months. We’ll start warming up again and have high humidity again around May. Coincidentally, this is the time of year that south Florida has the highest temperatures in the nation – everyone else is in the deepfreeze.
As far as Covid news, it’s both good and bad. The good news is we are now receiving the Pfizer vaccine. The bad news is it is in limited quantities. My endocrinologist will get his doses because of his ties with Hollywood Memorial. Personally, I’m glad he’ll be getting the vaccine since I see him every six months.
Additional bad news is that I now know of 5 friends who have tested positive for Covid. Up until this time, I didn’t really know of anyone with the virus. Fortunately, three of those people who had full blown Covid have totally recovered. Two others have only tested positive and have no serious symptoms as of this writing.
More bad news…. The Sun-Sentinel has reported a “mysterious” gap in reporting of Covid cases for Florida. That gap seems to correspond with the November election. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.
Since the governor’s office controls the release of all data from the state, I wonder if possibly someone my come to the conclusion that the data was withheld in order to make the state’s Covid numbers look better just before the election? Of course, it could simply be that no one in the state died of Covid days before and after the election on November 3rd.
Florida reported 13, 148 new cases of Covid today with 101 new deaths.
On a more positive note, a neighbor (Chris) and I walked the neighborhood last night to view the holiday decorations. I don’t think there was as many houses decorated as in the past but we got to see some really nice displays. We walked three finger isles in the neighborhood plus cross streets. The night was a little humid due to an approaching cold front but it was a nice night for viewing.
An added bonus was seeing Jupiter and Saturn in close proximity. Apparently, on December 21, will be the closest these two planets appear from an earthly viewpoint in the last 800 years. It’ll be 2080 before they seem to be this close again in the night sky. Just look at the southwestern horizon around dusk. Last night, the sliver of moon was just below the two planets. Jupiter is the brighter of the two. You can’t miss them, they are pretty bright. You won’t confuse them for stars since stars twinkle and planets don’t.
That reminds me of a field trip I took with Broward College students down to Flamingo in Everglades National Park. There were about six of us all total and we were camping out under the stars to get a view of Haley’s comet. The comet really did look like a dirty snowball and not very bright against the night sky.
In getting ready to view the comet, we awaited nightfall around a picnic table and battled mosquitoes. As night fell, one student piped up that it didn’t look as though we would get a good view of the comet. I asked why and he said because of all the clouds in the sky. I looked up to a perfectly clear sky. I asked “what clouds?” He drew his hand in a diagonal across the night sky. As I followed his hand, I realized he was seeing the milky way. Too often I forget that city kids know nothing about rural life, particularly about light pollution from cities. It was kind of nice to explain to him he was looking at his home galaxy.
During my four years in the Coast Guard, I spent 18 months aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Reliance stationed out of Corpus Christi. I was a radioman copying dits and dahs of Morse code. Going to sea was not the most pleasurable of events – there was the smell of diesel fuel, seasickness and the accompanying smell of regurgitation in all the heads (bathrooms), the bad food while at sea, and the sleepless nights below the water line.
However, there were some really nice parts. One was watching dolphins in our bow wake and watching flying fish leap out of the water as we cut through the waves. Another was to go on the bridge at night and look at the night sky. Only when you are in the middle of the Gulf (or either ocean) do you get some small sense as to the vastness of the universe (or at least our galaxy) when you look up into a night sky with zero light pollution. It takes your breath away. It is actually so intense you can literally see things around the ship and on the water due to starlight.
Speaking of starlight, my song recommendation is Jimmie Dale Gilmore’s rendition of “Don’t Let the Stars Get In Your Eyes.” I first heard this song as a very young child sitting in my parent’s old two-tone brown and tan Plymouth in downtown Meridian, Mississippi. I must have been all of 3 or 4 years old. The version I heard back then was probably the 1952 one of Perry Como with The Ramblers. I still like the song.
Stay tuned and stay safe!
