QUARANTINE

Quarantine -- Just what does that mean? Apparently, it means different things to different people!!

WEBSTER: (qua ran tine) a state, period, or place of isolation in which people or animals that have arrived from elsewhere or been exposed to infectious or contagious disease are placed.

It's Labor Day weekend here in Covid19 land. Usually time for get togethers, bbq's, cookouts and the like. This year we are in quarantine.

Apparently, to my neighbors, to my right and to my left, this means having an even bigger party than in previous years. I have seen over 30 people arrive and apparently all of them are forgetful. No one brought a mask to wear. If it were Halloween, they all would be wearing masks! Many don't know what six feet looks like unless they are looking at three peoples' shoes. I'm afraid they will learn what six feet means when they are in their casket riding down. I figure they are all healthy or very brave or very stupid taking such risks just to party. Does no one there know that over 189,000 people have died in the United States? 881,000 have died in the world? Do they not believe what they read or hear on the news? Okay, fake news abounds. Have they not known at least one person who has died of the coronavirus? I do, several in fact who have died.

Me, I'm an elderly old lady with health problems. You know, one in that "at risk" group. I'm fairly healthy except for weight and slight asthma. I am prone to pneumonia. I have been out only once in since February, 2020 and THAT was a necessary doctor appointment. I wore a mask, minded my distance, wore gloves, washed my hands. Heck, I even showered before and after my appointment. I go out of my way to have necessary things I need brought to me via "contactless" delivery: This makes me go out of my way financially as well paying delivery charges and tips. I miss going to the nail and hair salon. I miss in store shopping. I miss my friends and I miss my family. BUT I do it to avoid getting and avoid passing it on, in case I somehow do have it. I have no symptoms, but one does not know for 14 days. Well, wait, I may have had one symptom: purple toes. I read somewhere that at one point they were considering THAT a sympton. I'm not sure as I also have gout and purple toes can be a sign of insufficient oxygen. I am also using a CPAP machine so I don't choke to death in my sleep when my throat closes. So for those who don't know what "at risk" means, we don't wear a sign on our foreheads letting you know that your need to put your mask on!.. I miss going to BINGO, movies, plays, casinos and restaurants. But I respect my fellow human beings. It is NOT easy to stay home all the time.

What do I do at home? I try to keep busy. I tutor online. I do surveys. I pray. I worry. I talk to people online and video chat. I keep up with the latest efforts in curbing this pandemic. I miss being able to hug and be hugged by someone. I place diamond dots on paintings. I sew. I read. I surf the internet. I read apologies from people who have died from Covid 19. Yes, people who have gone out and affected their friends and family and as a last ditch effort have written apologies for having done so right before they have died. I can't imagine anyone doing this if it wasn't true. But stranger things have been done.

I write. I garden. I chase squirrels out of my garden. I try to learn something new each day. I take courses. I clean and I clean some more. I bird watch. I do crafting. I sleep. I nap. I wonder when and if this quarantine will ever be over. I watch my neighbors come and go, obliviously. I conclude that this will never end as long as people are so flippant in the face of death.

Labor Day Weekend....a time to celebrate our work....not many are working, people are laid off, shops are closing..... should we be celebrating? Labor Day was established around the 1880's when working conditions of the Industrial revolution yielded low pay and dangerous working conditions. The Haymarket Riot, in which railroad pullman car operators went on strike, and rioted bringing the railroad to a halt. Police and workers were both killed in those riots. (Now, why does that sound familiar???!!!??) Other workers in other fields also joined in and unions were formed. The result, in the hopes to smooth over differences, Labor Day, the "working man's holiday" was established by President Grover Cleveland when he signed a bill stating that the first Monday, in September be put aside to celebrate the American people's progress and labors.

Seems this year, we have taken a few steps back. Maybe we should not be celebrating it this year with business closings, lay offs, ineffective unions, riots, and deaths?