Covid19

There is a story about the man in a cabin on a boat who drilled a hole in floor and let water in because he had a right to. It was his cabin. No matter that he drowned his fellow passengers. He had his rights. 

He was an idiot. He was an unintentional murderer.

That is how I feel about the people who ignore the safety measures on the virus. 

No one has a right to behave in a way that hurts me and others. I do not have the right to behave in a way that endangers them.

It have a right to throw a punch but it must stop at your nose and your right to yell fire in crowded movie theater only exists when there is a fire.

Covoid-19 is a fire. It's a mega fire worse those that have damaged the American West. 

There are consequences to stupid actions. College kids that held parties ended up back on line rather than in class. Those that didn't go to parties still they are impacted by the actions of others.

Some pastors who held church services have died and members of their congregation have died. Their ignorance and wilful stupidity have hurt others.

I don't like wearing a mask. My nose runs, my glasses fog. Between it muffling my words and my bad French accent, I repeat more times than normal. I have to ask people to repeat. I now feel sorry for surgeons who wear masks through hours and hours of surgery. I never realized they might be uncomfortable. Still, I wouldn't want to be operated on by a non-mask wearing doctor. 

If I am on the street and no one is around, I might slip my mask down--or not.

Mask-wearing is better than getting sick. It is far better on the off-chance I was positive without symptoms that I might have killed a friend, a neighbor, someone I didn't know or even might dislike.

It is not that big a pain to give contact information at a restaurant where the tables are distanced. 

I miss hugs. I know hugs aren't that francophonish, but I have several friends where locked arms bring a sense of peace. Hugs are supposed to lower blood pressure. Who knows for how long before I can give or get a good hug.

The pandemic left us locked down for six weeks in the spring. We didn't have to deal with kids and on-line schooling, and my husband and I are both writers who spend most of our time together anyway. We like each other. So no big thing. 

To go out we needed to fill out a form. We were limited to an hour and kilometer not far enough to take the dog to the beach.

As debt-free retirees that are self employed and live way under our incomes. Although some things have changed or modified, we do not worry about money.  It is heartbreaking to think of hungry people, homeless people, jobless people. We are aware of how lucky we are.

We are grateful that many governments including France and Switzerland are supporting those most hurt, but it doesn't make up for the losses. We worry about the businesses that we patronize, and our friends who own them.

A man was on the news this morning. His business is bankrupt. He spent over 20 years building it.

Our problems in the spring were more governmental because of needed paperwork in getting home to Switzerland. Even when the lock down was lifted our limit was 100 K for a 600K+ trip. We risked it and were able to enter my country. Now we have more paperwork that needs to be done and we are afraid of the limitations to once again travel from France to Switzerland to the quarantine once we get there which means we can't do the paperwork. 

Again, our problems are minuscule compared to those on ventilators, who cannot say goodbye to loved ones dying, who are afraid of eviction, etc., etc., etc. 

The 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew in France is not a problem. Our idea of a good night is with a Netflix, DVD, or book. We can still walk the dog. But there's still the paperwork we can't get to.

Anger is not a positive emotion, but it is hard for me to not feel waves of anger at the idiots who are ignoring the safety precautions, extending the pandemic and the hundreds of thousands of people across the planet who have increased suffering because of the stupidity and arrogance of others. 

Wear a mask.