Tuesday, July 7th, 2020

 Again, I woke up before 4 a.m. and had trouble falling asleep. I figured out I was cold. I put on a shirt and doubled up on my covers. I was out like a light. I have no idea why our mornings have been cold, actually cold, in July. This isn't our hottest month of the year. No, that is August, September, through mid-October. It always breaks right after Iron Man, around Yvette's birthday on October 10th. 

 I put on two sweatshirts for my morning walk. I only did 3,000 steps because my left hip was achy. It was not miserable, but it was not comfortable either. I am straighter, but that means putting more weight on that left leg. Again, we're at a juncture. 

 I called a clinic on Oahu that does stem cell transplants shortly after the pandemic started. They never got back to me.  I want to go through with that when it becomes possible. I will have to pay out of pocket, but I would much prefer that over surgery.

 I went out to check the items on the laundry line.  It had poured, really poured, the other day. The towel was dry, but the wee-wee pad I had hung up after use wasn't.

 Why do I hang out a dirty wee-wee pad? Oh, a multitude of reasons. I don't have that many.  When we first got Elsa, we had wee-wee pads. She never used them; they finally disintegrated.  As a result, it didn't seem worthwhile buying fifty pads for $45. Instead, I bought the ten-pack for $12.  The ones I bought are also biodegradable.  Neat. 

 Next, I hate to throw anything into the garbage. The county ended paper and plastic recycling because China refused our trash. Broke my heart. Then, I learned that the sun bleaches out pee, or at least human pee, out of pillows and mattresses. Here, parents just put soiled items in the sun and let it do its work.  I figured it could do the same job on the wee-wee pads. So far, that has worked fine. Only one problem: it takes forever for them to dry.

 These wee-wee pads are designed to hold liquid, and they do. Boy, do they ever. While a towel is dry after a severe soaking, the pad is still quite wet. This becomes an interesting question for me: how long will it take to dry?  I regularly check during the day to see the progress.  Today is a bright, sunny day with no threat of rain. Let's see if the sun wins or the pad does. Who wants that moisture more?

 There were only four students today for driveway yoga—four students and four dogs. One of the students informed Yvette that he had been exposed to someone who tested positive for the virus. He would be quarantined for the next two weeks. I also discovered that the server at Gertrude's tested positive for the virus and got it from her mother, who was visiting her from the mainland. Let's see if we can squelch this surge. 

 I spoke to Scott about selling the Prius.  He has been handling the sale online.  I want to be rid of it by the end of the month. I must keep it on my insurance as long as I own it. That costs a pretty penny. I told Scott to reduce the price. Then he told me he had many responses to the ad, even without the car's pictures. Wow! 

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 Musings:

 There's been talk of late of eliminating terms that remind us of racial discrimination. The terms black and white are two of them.  The terms black and white have cross-cultural significance as words describing good versus evil. The problem is that they have been misappropriated to depict skin color.

 'Whites' are not white, and 'blacks' are not black. 'Whites' are a shade of tan, and 'blacks' are a shade of brown. Even the darkest 'black' is only a very deep shade of brown.  

 These terms were imposed on the races by whites to reinforce their belief in their racial superiority. "Whites' were good, and 'blacks' were bad. It is the application of these terms that should be banned. The terms' white' and 'black' to describe racial differences should go the way of the word 'nigger.'  

 I did some cursory research on the history of white/black symbolism for good versus evil. I did find a reference to it in Homer's writings in ancient Greece. However, it strikes me that the symbolism runs deeper than that. It's the light of day versus the dark of night. A pitch-black night is more dangerous because it limits sight. You can't see your enemy. 

 Black is associated with death, not one of man's favored outcomes. We slip into darkness when we sleep.  When we faint, everything goes black.  Black has many frightening associations, having nothing to do with race.

 White and black also represent clean versus dirty.  A pure white garment without a stain represents purity.  A stain so bad that it blackens the garment is major. 

 I think eliminating the terms white and black from our use presents a huge challenge. We would have to overcome our associations with day versus night, clean versus dirty, and life versus death.  Instead, eliminate the use of these terms to describe racial differences.  We are all shades of brown.