31 January 2021
I wonder if January is similar to March – in like a lion, out like a lamb? I don’t think we could get more lion-y than an attempt to overthrow the government on January 6th. At least it seemed to calm down somewhat from the point of the inauguration of Joe Biden and Kama Harris.
At one point, the Republican party seemed to try to distance themselves from Donald Trump. It didn’t last long. I wonder if Washington D.C. ends up being an occupied city for the rest of my life.
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, California leads with the number of hate groups at 88. Guess who is second? Florida has 67 and we edge out Texas by 4 more hate groups. Nationwide, there are 940 hate groups. Choose your hate and there’s probably some group out there for you.
One big event in my life lately has been the second dose of the COVID vaccine. I received it on January 29th. It took me about 2 1/2 hours in line to get the vaccine and another 15 minutes waiting for any reaction. Now I have a fourteen day period before the full effect of the vaccine. My fourteen day period ends on February 12th. I’m already salivating at the prospect of going somewhere, anywhere! I’ll still socially distance and wear a mask but at least I feel there is the possibility of life after COVID.
Then there are the variants. Florida has the U.K. variant and the South African variant. The only good news is we don’t, as yet, have the Brazilian variant but south Florida has a large Brazilian population so it is only a matter of time before we have our first positive case. I’m sure we’ll soon have boosters for those variants and I suspect we’ll soon accommodate ourselves to have “annual” COVID vaccinations, like the flu.
Social distancing in Florida seems to be a suggestion. I’ve mentioned one night club in Fort Lauderdale that was closed due to people being packed in like sardines (sans masks). My friend Holley sent me a photo of the famous (infamous) Elbo Room in Fort Lauderdale – again sardines without masks. In theory, Fort Lauderdale should be fining those establishments and threatening closure but south Florida really has no economy other than tourism so no one is going to put a damper on that.
You’ll be happy to know, from my last post, that I got a few household repairs accomplished (the microwave handle is replaced) and another added to the list (the bottom kitchen cabinet doors overlap). Baxter Restoration who did my kitchen and floors sent someone out on Friday and determined a new hinge will be required. I assume they’ll be back next week.
Life continues with zoom meetings, exercise, naps, and reading, not necessarily in that order. I can now say I’ve gone 21 days without booze. I felt I was overdoing the drinking this past year. I suppose one can justify it with the pandemic but in reality, it got a little too comfortable. I also stopped because of my reflux disease. Normally, when I wake in the mornings, I go through a short coughing routine due to the reflux. It got to where it was lasting longer than mornings and then it even progressed to the afternoon and into the evenings. Stopping the alcohol seems to have put me back to phase one on the coughing and even the morning ritual has been reduced.
Like Andrew Jackson, when asked why he didn’t drink, he replied he liked it too much. When I was a freshman at Ole Miss, many students told me they had to develop a taste for beer. I never had to. I always like the taste of beer and any other alcoholic beverage but I always had to be careful and imbibe with moderation. Both parents were alcoholics.
Strangely, I don’t miss my nightly nightcap. I guess that’s a good thing. So, I’ve mostly cut out meat from my diet and booze from my diet. Wonder what to cut out next?
My song recommendation is Billie Holiday’s “Gimme A Pigfoot (and A Bottle of Beer).” You can keep the pigfoot.
Stay tuned and stay safe!
