Us, May 10, 2020: Roy, John, Leo, Shadow, Ondine
Us, May 10, 2020: Roy, John, Leo, Shadow, Ondine
HAPPY 18th BIRTHDAY TO LEO! We had his birthday celebration yesterday evening. We got in an ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins (chocolate cake with
Snickers ice cream and chocolate cream frosting with mini M&M sprinkles), and for dinner Leo chose Mexican take-out from Los Pancho's, his favorite taco shop.
Everything there is really good. And, Barbara came over to make the celebration complete. Here's a photo from the archives of Leo on his second birthday!
(Wow, 480 x 640, that used to be full-screen!) And, a photo of all of us 16 years later!
In old news, the fire on the amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard was extinguished after several days, but hot spots remained for days after. It is afloat, but apparently extensively burned throughout. Initial Navy thinking is that it is repairable, but that doing so might not be worth the cost.
In other old news, the Trump administration remains determined that school districts across the country return to in-person schooling by Fall. As of now, science partially supports school reopening, with evidence building that young children are not only less susceptible to the virus, but also less susceptible to carry it - something to do with immune system receptor development. By the age of 12, though, the science goes the other way, indicating that adolescents may both carry and succumb to the virus. A common-sense solution given the science and the need to socialize children might be a return to school for K-6, with online classes for middle school on, but so far very few people on either side are talking sensibly.
Coronavirus continues to spread like wildfire, despite denials from the White House. President Trump finally came out pro-mask, and was photographed wearing one for the first time last week. Meanwhile, the nation's top medical and scientific advisors are under heavy attack for standing up to the adminstration on issues from social distancing and mandatory mask wearing to college and business closures.
Life goes on, though, and many affected businesses, like small restaurants and salons, have gotten permission to do business outside, in their parking lots. More and more restaurants are expanding outdoor seating into parking lots and neighboring spaces. Locally, The Trails restaurant between Keil's and San Carlos Hardware used brightly painted concrete carriers to block off the parking spaces right in front of the restaurant, transforming them into an outdoor patio for dining.
The Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Tracker shows that COVID-19 has been confirmed in over 14,774,800 people worldwide, and has claimed over 611,600 lives. That's over 1,600,100 more cases and over 36,900 more deaths since last Tuesday. The U.S. now has over 3,858,600 confirmed cases and over 141,100 deaths, up over 464,600 cases and another 5,300 deaths since last Tuesday. In San Diego, our local toll exploded to 24,135 cases with 478 deaths.
Ondine is back at work (at home) after taking a vacation week off. During that week, she completed a writing class, signed up for another writing class, got a website up (check it out at www.ondinealegra.com), submitted her novella to two agents, and did a lot of other writing, including mapping out her next project. She also went to the beach once with the kints.
John is cranking away at his two classes, the equivalent of a full-time schedule because the classes are condensed during the summer term. He also enrolled in three fall classes, ordered his transcript from Cal State Fullerton, and found out about getting an academic counseling session so he can be officially enrolled in the Certificate in Archaeology program at City College.
There's not much to report about Leo or Roy right now, since they're both in full summer vacay mode. Roy has been going out with Danielle and his friends. Leo is looking for a class to enroll in for now and in the fall, having skirted the issue for several weeks. He also has been helping Barbara trim and clear a bunch of shrubs.
Neighborhood gas prices are about $3.29 per gallon.
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Forward to the next Weekly Journal, July 28 2020.