QUARANTINE BLOG # 14

April 13, 2020

From Business Insider, April 10, 2020: “Cruise ships may not be able to sail in US-controlled waters until July, according to an order issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday. Cruises, the agency said, accelerate the spread of COVID-19.”

A representative for the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), a trade group for the cruise industry, said, “We will continue to work ... in our shared commitment and priority for the health and safety of passengers and crew.”

I did some research about the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus and deaths onboard cruise ships.  The information was current as of April 11, 2020.

According to the Cruise Market Watch https://cruisemarketwatch.com/capacity/ (figures from 2018) the total ocean wide capacity was 314 shops (Carnival – 103, Royal Caribbean – 42, Norwegian – 26, All others – 143.  World-wide news sources reported https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_coronavirus_pandemic_on_cruise_ships there were 20 ships that had guests and/or crew test positive.  1,898 positive tests.  33 deaths.

Another bit of research turned up this fun fact.  In 2018 28.5 million people cruised.  4.5 BILLION people flew the airlines.  Which industry is completely shut down by the CDC and required by them to provide an “action plan” to prevent virus spread before going active again?

I am unashamedly biased where the cruise industry is concerned, so it will come as no surprise to anyone reading this blog that I am in complete agreement with the CLIA representative: “While it’s easy to focus on cruising because of its high profile, the fact is cruising is neither the source or cause of the virus or its spread.” 

Do all you can to control and rid us of this plague, but the time for scapegoats is past!

👉 One Sunday at Macedonia UMC the teens were talking about scaring someone with spiders, good naturedly, of course.  I told them, foolishly, that I hate, loathe, and despise spiders.  They said they would catch one with which to scare me.  I told them if they did, they would learn that PD (Preacher David – what the kids called me) knew more words than they could imagine.  One question I would like to ask the Almighty is, if spiders were absolutely necessary for this planet which You created, why did they have to be so repulsively ugly?

I tell you that so you know that the person who will be referenced below is not alone in her screaming dislike of certain of God’s creatures (and I’m not even talking about the person who called me one day from a perch atop a kitchen chair where said person had leaped after covering a crawling creature with a cup and asking me to come kill it).

So in honor of that family member, and any of you out there who jump, shiver, or scream when you see ugly, crawling creatures, I dedicate the following edition of “Baby Blues.”

👉 Brian, in Victoria, British Columbia, sent me his COVID diary which he said was not in competition with mine.  I read it, wiped the tears from cheeks which were rolling freely as I was laughing and reading it to Bonnie, and promptly wrote back and asked him for permission to share it with you.  Here is Brian’s “Self-Isolation Quarantine Diary.”

Day 1 – I Can Do This!!  Got enough food and wine to last a month!

Day 2 – Opening my 8th bottle of Wine.  I fear wine supplies might not last!

Day 3 – Strawberries: Some have 210 seeds, some have 235 seeds.  Who Knew??

Day 4 – 8:00pm:  Removed my Day Pajamas and put on my Night Pajamas.

Day 5 – Today, I tried to make Hand Sanitizer.  It came out as Jello Shots!!

Day 6 – I get to take the Garbage out.  I’m so excited, I can’t decide what to wear.

Day 7 – Laughing way too much at my own jokes!!

Day 8 – Went to a new restaurant called “The Kitchen”.  You have to gather all the ingredients and make your own meal.  I have No clue how this place is still in business.

Day 9 – I put liquor bottles in every room.  Tonight, I’m getting all dressed up and going Bar hopping.

Day 10 – Struck up a conversation with a Spider today.  Seems nice.  He’s a Web Designer.

Day 11 – Isolation is hard.  I swear my fridge just said, “What the hell do you want now?”

Day 12 – I realized why dogs get so excited about something moving outside, going for walks or car rides.  I think I just barked at a squirrel.

Day 13 – If you keep a glass of wine in each hand, you can’t accidentally touch your face.

Day 14 – Watched the birds fight over a worm.  The Cardinals lead the Blue Jays 3–1.

Day 15 – Anybody else feel like they’ve cooked dinner about 395 times this month??

👉 In QB 10 I told you about Class Central, an internet site that offers free online classes.  As I said, I started “The Mediterranean, a Space of Exchange.”  It is from the University of Barcelona, and all of the videos are in Spanish.  Fortunately they either have English subtitles, or a full transcript.  Still, I wish THE foreign language taught way back when at Southern Garrett County Junior Senior High School had been Spanish, instead of French.

👉 Speaking of QB 10, and 11, and 12, and etc., have you read Leon Uris’ novel, QB VII?  It’s a courtroom drama published in 1970.  His QB stands for Queen’s Bench.

👉 Several years ago Bonnie and I were blessed to be in Rome on Easter Monday.  We discovered as we waited for our train back to Civitavecchia that Easter Monday is a national holiday in Italy.  Not every route was running and we literally ran to catch the last train of the day back to our lodgings.  Thinking of Easter Monday, I offer the following passage from Paul’s letter to the Colossians (3:1-4), first from the New King James Version, and second from the Living Bible.

“If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.”

“Since you became alive again, so to speak, when Christ arose from the dead, now set your sights on the rich treasures and joys of heaven where he sits beside God in the place of honor and power. Let heaven fill your thoughts; don’t spend your time worrying about things down here. You should have as little desire for this world as a dead person does. Your real life is in heaven with Christ and God. And when Christ who is our real life comes back again, you will shine with him and share in all his glories.”

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