Us, May 10, 2020: Roy, John, Leo, Shadow, Ondine
Us, May 10, 2020: Roy, John, Leo, Shadow, Ondine
It's Graduation Day! Off we all go to USD to celebrate Leo's graduation from Patrick Henry High School in one of the great college halls. Then, we'll go out to dinner! Or, that's what we would've been doing today, in a pre-COVID-19 life. Some of us are relieved to not have to go to a big to-do. Leo, though, misses hanging out with his friends. He's in touch via social media and gaming, but that's about all.
Leo's graduation could've been marked last week by a car parade at the high school, had he opted to go. He decided against it, though, because he couldn't be with his friends. So his Class of 2020 graduation day today is marked by nothing more than this journal, and some socially distant well wishes from friends and family. We plan to celebrate this weekend, with take-out of his choosing.
Graduation day also means tomorrow marks the first day of summer vacation for Leo, although he's been out of school since March. The school district's "hold harmless" grading policy guaranteed he passed his senior year, despite his not doing a lick of school work since before spring break. Yup, these are the kids who'll be entering college and the workforce. Hmm.
Leo has, however, been working on his education. He's well into a four-week online course in Music Production, taught by producer and YouTube notable Andrew Huang.
Coronavirus update: Another sad milestone was passed when global coronavirus cases hit 7 million. The Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Tracker shows that COVID-19 has been confirmed in over 7,185,500 people worldwide, and has claimed over 408,900 lives. That's over 605,700 more cases and over 10,700 more deaths since Saturday. The U.S. now has over 1,973,800 confirmed cases and over 111,700 deaths, up over 56,800 cases and another 2,000 deaths since Saturday. In San Diego, our local toll rose to 8,619 cases with 296 deaths.
Nonetheless, San Diego camping areas and beaches are largely open now, as are most dine-in restaurants (not that we've been), parks, and stores. Cowles Mountain remains closed, however.
Despite all states rapidly opening up, the World Health Organization says the pandemic remains a threat, and appears to be surging as more governments re-open their economies and more people start abandoning strict social distancing protocols.
Protests over the disproportionate number of Black American deaths at the hands of the police have led to calls to defund police agencies, transferring some of the duties of police departments to other agencies and organizations, and refocusing police agencies on law enforcement and criminal investigations. The protests here in San Diego have been largely peaceful, with police forces clearly changing their approach to large gatherings.
Roy hung out with Danielle all day Saturday; he says they drove out to the desert to look at the sculptures. Sunday afternoon he took Leo with him to Coldstone and then to the Lego Store in Fashion Valley. Monday he went to the park with Danielle and apparently scootered/roller skated around.
Ondine hosted a small gathering of friends and neighbors in the front yard Saturday evening. Ondine's childhood friend Jackie was there, along with Barbara, Joan (Jackie's Mom), Doris, and Ofelia. Ofelia made some beans to share.
John is still swotting up for a test in Forensic Archaeology through the University of Durham. He wants to get it done before his City College class in Cultural Anthropology starts next week. He had been waitlisted, but the professor reached out offered add codes so he bought the textbook and will enroll when he receives the code. That'll be in addition to a Physical Anthropology class starting in July. Like last year, it'll be a six-unit summer for him. He's also still plodding away at learning Latin through Duolingo. And, he's reorganizing his office, shifting it away from the ad biz and making it easier to do classwork online. Away go 35 years of awards and portfolio materials!
The weather was nice for the last journal, it even rained a bit late last week! But now we're headed into 95+ degree weather for the rest of this week. What happened to June Gloom?
Neighborhood gas prices are still about $3.09 per gallon, and right now the stock market is hanging at around 27,270.
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