A NEW MONTH,
with update
with update
It is a new month on the calendar. In this hour of crisis, time is becoming skewed and distorted. It was just two and a half weeks ago that we began our stay-put policy. Surely it was six months. It surely feels like it. The days, the hours, all lose definition as our habits change to meet the needs of the moment.
Our guiding lights, our national treasures of the moment, Drs. Fauci and Birx gave us revealing but sobering news yesterday. The next two weeks will be critical as the plague gets worse and worse. After two or so weeks we may see a changing of "the curve" when the rate of spread starts to slow down, that is, if we practice stay at home and social distancing. They said overall, we can expect between 100,000 and 240,000 deaths in America (4,000 have died so far). And, that is the "best case" scenario. It could be worse, even much worse. The Spanish Flu killed 600,000 Americans a century ago when the population of the country was less than a third of today. In today's terms, that would be about 2,000,000 dead.
Meanwhile, the numbers of the sick and dying continue to skyrocket everywhere. In the last twenty-four hours, the world has seen over 71,000 new cases, up to 873,000. Deaths in the world, in the last day, were 4,532, up to a total of 43,275. In the U.S., in the day, cases rose from 164,610 to 188,639. That is 24,029 new cases---in one day. In the U.S., there were 884 deaths in the day, for a total of 4,059. In general, numbers of sick and dying are doubling about every three days. Thus, in two weeks, we will see staggering numbers of plague victims in our country. (A good source for statistics is Worldometer. Find it here .)
In South Carolina, there were 100 new cases in the last twenty-four hours, for a total of 1,083. A total of 22 people have died there. In Alabama, cases went up from 925 to 999 in the day. A total of 23 people have died there. My native state of Florida now has 6,741 cases and 85 deaths. Experts say in a couple of weeks Florida will be reeling under massive numbers of the sick and dying, partly as an aftereffect of spring break, much as Louisiana is now paying for Mardi Gras. One worrisome factor about Florida is the high number of elderly residents.
In short, we are in for a difficult, tense, and stressful next few weeks. Then, the experts say, if everything works as well as we hope, things should start to ease up even though the down slope may last for many months to come and thousands more get sick and die.
It looks as if our stay at home is going to last much longer than we first thought. In Virginia, the governor has set June 10 as the prospective end. This seems to be realistic. No one wants to think about it, but we may be at home for more than two months to come. Even so, this is a small price to pay for keeping people from getting sick and from dying. We really must listen to what Fauci and Birx are telling us.
As for me, I am fortunate to have a large and pleasant garden. I am tending it as never before. I need it and the garden needs it. It is a mutual aid society and it works well. In spite of the descending night of the plague, spring goes on, not just in my garden, but around the world, bringing radiant light and life to a suffering world. I take it as God's way of saying, I am in control; there is an order in the universe; all will be well. That is a truth we need to remember at this dark moment in time.
Right now the star of my garden is "snowball." Every year at this time, without fail, it puts on a spectacular show of white light and beauty. It brightens up my whole neighborhood as all of my neighbors marvel in its glory.
Our guiding lights, our national treasures of the moment, Drs. Fauci and Birx gave us revealing but sobering news yesterday. The next two weeks will be critical as the plague gets worse and worse. After two or so weeks we may see a changing of "the curve" when the rate of spread starts to slow down, that is, if we practice stay at home and social distancing. They said overall, we can expect between 100,000 and 240,000 deaths in America (4,000 have died so far). And, that is the "best case" scenario. It could be worse, even much worse. The Spanish Flu killed 600,000 Americans a century ago when the population of the country was less than a third of today. In today's terms, that would be about 2,000,000 dead.
Meanwhile, the numbers of the sick and dying continue to skyrocket everywhere. In the last twenty-four hours, the world has seen over 71,000 new cases, up to 873,000. Deaths in the world, in the last day, were 4,532, up to a total of 43,275. In the U.S., in the day, cases rose from 164,610 to 188,639. That is 24,029 new cases---in one day. In the U.S., there were 884 deaths in the day, for a total of 4,059. In general, numbers of sick and dying are doubling about every three days. Thus, in two weeks, we will see staggering numbers of plague victims in our country. (A good source for statistics is Worldometer. Find it here .)
In South Carolina, there were 100 new cases in the last twenty-four hours, for a total of 1,083. A total of 22 people have died there. In Alabama, cases went up from 925 to 999 in the day. A total of 23 people have died there. My native state of Florida now has 6,741 cases and 85 deaths. Experts say in a couple of weeks Florida will be reeling under massive numbers of the sick and dying, partly as an aftereffect of spring break, much as Louisiana is now paying for Mardi Gras. One worrisome factor about Florida is the high number of elderly residents.
In short, we are in for a difficult, tense, and stressful next few weeks. Then, the experts say, if everything works as well as we hope, things should start to ease up even though the down slope may last for many months to come and thousands more get sick and die.
It looks as if our stay at home is going to last much longer than we first thought. In Virginia, the governor has set June 10 as the prospective end. This seems to be realistic. No one wants to think about it, but we may be at home for more than two months to come. Even so, this is a small price to pay for keeping people from getting sick and from dying. We really must listen to what Fauci and Birx are telling us.
As for me, I am fortunate to have a large and pleasant garden. I am tending it as never before. I need it and the garden needs it. It is a mutual aid society and it works well. In spite of the descending night of the plague, spring goes on, not just in my garden, but around the world, bringing radiant light and life to a suffering world. I take it as God's way of saying, I am in control; there is an order in the universe; all will be well. That is a truth we need to remember at this dark moment in time.
Right now the star of my garden is "snowball." Every year at this time, without fail, it puts on a spectacular show of white light and beauty. It brightens up my whole neighborhood as all of my neighbors marvel in its glory.
Even in the gloom of a grey, cloudy day, as yesterday was, there is beauty in God's creation if you only look for it. This "snowball" viburnum is the unrivaled star of the garden in early spring. It is about to devour this dwarf palmetto.
Although snowball is a common shrub in the south, I have not seen one as large or as densely flowered as this one. This bush is obviously entirely content in this spot. I tend it very little and it still flourishes with countless "snowballs," which are actually flower clusters. It blooms for about two weeks, usually in early April. Somehow, this common shrub seems more beautiful than ever this year, perhaps because I need it to be.
So, what are we to do now? We should get prepared for a very difficult next few weeks. Life is going to get harder and harder as we see thousands, perhaps even millions of our compatriots, and people around the world, falling sick to the insidious bug. At the very least, we ought to do our part to stay at home as much as possible, and to practice social distancing. Through it all bear in mind, the plague will come to an end one day.
Above all, remember we are here for the living of this hour. Peace.
_________________________________
UPDATE. 4:00 p.m.
St. Andrew's Church, of Mt. Pleasant, just released this statement:
"Steve continues to recover in the hospital. He is no longer in ICU and is in a step-down unit. He is able to talk with his family and is now eating on his own. After being on a ventilator for over a week, he does need time in the hospital to let his body continue to repair and strengthen before being discharged."
So, what are we to do now? We should get prepared for a very difficult next few weeks. Life is going to get harder and harder as we see thousands, perhaps even millions of our compatriots, and people around the world, falling sick to the insidious bug. At the very least, we ought to do our part to stay at home as much as possible, and to practice social distancing. Through it all bear in mind, the plague will come to an end one day.
Above all, remember we are here for the living of this hour. Peace.
_________________________________
UPDATE. 4:00 p.m.
St. Andrew's Church, of Mt. Pleasant, just released this statement:
"Steve continues to recover in the hospital. He is no longer in ICU and is in a step-down unit. He is able to talk with his family and is now eating on his own. After being on a ventilator for over a week, he does need time in the hospital to let his body continue to repair and strengthen before being discharged."
