Now And Today, October 20, 2020 Promised Land. Promised Time. Outside the gate the fog is gone and the fields are clear. Time for you to run through. Away from rules and strictures, from fences. The air freshens, the light brightens, and the sounds ring just a little bit truer. How great it is. You've gone somewhere or you are somewhere and the pandemic didn't follow in full. Vacation, a … [Read more...]
Wave Two–From 2020 To 1918: October 5
October 5, 2020 by
Speed Now And Today, October 5, 2020 The speed is incomprehensible. From nowhere, the virus appears in one, then five, then twenty. In a small space, person to person, contact to contact, the virus spreads in a matter of minutes and shows signs in a matter of hours. One day you see someone you know, the next day you see them behind glass, mask on, isolated and removed. Then they start, the … [Read more...]
Wave Two–From 2020 To 1918: September 17
September 17, 2020 by
Near the site of The New Era, Lancaster PA Now And Today, September 17, 2020 It just goes and goes and goes. Our pandemic. Where's the edge? I can't see it. Where's the end? I don't know. Where's the clarity? Good luck finding it. So you continue, the slog continues. You do your day the best you can. More masking, spacing, and limited face-to-facing. If you have anyone in any form of … [Read more...]
Learning From The 1918 Influenza Pandemic: Day 56
May 7, 2020 by
A tough place for a decision Perched on the fence with a strong wind blowing. That's what Day 56 feels like, the second day of November 1918. The fence is the issue of re-opening or not, the perch is the indecision over which to do, to stay closed or to end closures, and the wind is the trend of most American communities to stop quarantines, stop the bans on all sorts of public … [Read more...]
Learning From the 1918 Influenza Pandemic: Day 53
May 4, 2020 by
The French Lick Hotel, 1918 Blurred, mixed, and ragged. Most of the time you're dealing with lesser evils and shifting boundaries. Sound familiar? Then you're right at home with influenza on Day 53, October 30, 1918. There are places where things are getting worse. The leading newspaper in Idaho informs readers that "stricter rules may be needed to curb influenza." Nearby, the health … [Read more...]
Learning From The 1918 Influenza Pandemic: Day 50
May 1, 2020 by
A World War event, Grant Park, Chicago No river runs straight all of the time. The question is the bend—how big, how sharp, how different once the turn is made. You only know by going round. On top of Carter's Mountain in North Carolina, you hear the sound of a hammer hitting a nail. A man makes a coffin. A stack of lumber is nearby, ready material for the second one to be made. Wha-ping. … [Read more...]
Learning From The 1918 Influenza Pandemic: Day 9
March 21, 2020 by
John Dill Robertson He's known as "Dill Pickle" by some in his department, by some of his followers. He is Dr. John Dill Robertson, public health director for the city of Chicago, Illinois. On this day, Day 9 of the Influenza Pandemic (September 16, 1918), Dr. Robertson announces to the people of Chicago that influenza is now a reportable disease. Big deal? Honestly, yes, it is for the folks in … [Read more...]
