When the alarm went off at 7, I turned it off. I got up at 8:30. Not too bad. Elsa and I set out for our walk. I find as my leg gets stronger, I cover ground in fewer steps. Which is more important, the number of steps I take or the distance I cover? Given my circumstances, I vote for the number of steps I take.
I've given up picking up trash as I walk. The other day, I picked up a beer can. I realized that the careless drinker who tossed it from their car window might be contaminated with the virus. I threw it out and promptly washed my hands.
I couldn't visit my Easter Island statues today. The workmen were taking the day off, and the gate was locked. I found that I could get a good view through his neighbor's boundary shrubs a little further up the hill.
Coming down the hill, I saw the family who lived right above the empty lot at the end of my block pull out on what looked like two four-wheel motorcycles powered by a lawnmower engine. I waved to the guy to stop. I have wanted to ask him if homeless people lived in that lot below him. However, seeing these vehicles, I realized that it might have been those that made those tracks leading into the lot. He said his children road them around there. No homeless were living there. Can't wait to tell Mary Ann and Paulette.
Besides the long walks up and down the steep island hills, I have been doing the 5 Tibetan Rites and bouncing on my half-balance ball. I do some additional steps on it while holding on. I'm not prepared to risk life and limb- yet.
I finally got some gardening work done in the yard area off my bedroom. It's been neglected for a long time. I cleared out the accumulated fallen palm fronds and placed them on the pile the gardeners had left in the front yard to be picked up tomorrow. Every time I've contemplated tackling the job, it's seemed too much. It wasn't. It was downright easy. Next, I have to get to work weeding.
As I worked, I noticed a pineapple growing on one of the two plants. This development is close to a miracle. I planted them years ago, and I haven't had any fruit. I planted the tops of some pineapples, as I should, but I didn't cut down the tops close enough to guarantee fruit.
I did two laundries. The first load I was able to dry on the line. When I went to hang up the second, I saw the raindrops on the garden furniture before I felt them. I took down the linens I wanted to use for tonight and threw them into the rarely used dryer.
I did a lot of work on the blog today. I am almost caught up. Well, I'm five days behind. If I do two or three a day, I should be up to speed soon. I have no idea why I fall into this pattern. I always write entries on the day of, then leave them to be proofread somewhat later. That's where I fall off. Of late, I have also been writing just notes to myself. This isn't as good as writing at the moment. The events are more vivid, and my language more concrete when I write them out at the time. I don't know about my readers, but the concrete language makes rereading the entries more interesting.
I spoke to Jean M. and Shivani, and Sidney today. Jean is recovering beautifully from her breast surgery. They are pretty sure they caught all the suspicious spots in her breasts. That would be fantastic.
Shivani is doing all right too. She usually works outside the home. I imagine that the adjustment to confinement is much more difficult for people who have jobs or think they should have them. For me, as an old, retired person, it is just a little more of what I do anyway. The default pattern is to stay at home, do nothing, and wait politely for death. What I'm doing now is just more of the same. It's not a major adjustment for me.
Shivani had expressed concern for her three-year-old son, Sidney, should she have to be hospitalized. Today, she told me that she spoke to some of her friends from the parents' group at the day school. They all assured her that they would make sure he was cared for. This information has given her some relief, but as she said, one never knows what will happen. These others may get sick themselves and be unable to care for him. She is also concerned about having her home violated by people who are desperate for food. Will it come to that? I sure hope not. How did they deal with the food problem during the bubonic plague or the Spanish flu? There was no government intervention at the time. I heard a historian on NPR say that the modern form of government was created in response to the bubonic plague. People wanted some centralized agency to do more to help the population. I wonder if that would have helped in that situation.
Our advanced communications help us share information about what is happening. But of course, our advanced transportation is what is helping to make the virus spread. Or maybe not. They didn't have airplanes in 1919, yet the Spanish flu seemed to have no problems moving across the globe. I just checked the information on the Internet. Indeed, it was a worldwide pandemic. It makes me think that the factor of transportation is not a big difference. Hopefully, closing borders is helpful. However, it's a little like closing the barn door after the horse escaped. Too little, too late.
Meantime, we are still doing well here in Hawaii. We have a total of 57 identified cases, with only three on the Big Island, where I live. B. says the two additional cases which popped up the day before yesterday were visitors. I assume they have been quarantined. We'll see.
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