QUARANTINE BLOG # 89

June 27, 2020

Moderna Inc said on Thursday it was partnering with drugmaker Catalent Inc to prepare an initial 100 million doses of its coronavirus vaccine for the United States, starting in the third quarter of this year.  The vaccine, among the first to be tested in humans in the United States, was found to produce protective antibodies in a small group of healthy volunteers last month.  Moderna is preparing to begin the final stages of testing in July to evaluate the vaccine’s effectiveness in preventing the respiratory illness in around 30,000 adult trial participants.  The company aims to produce 500 million doses initially and 1 billion doses a year beginning 2021.

👉 The Pro Football Hall of Fame has canceled the NFL’s preseason-opening game between the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers and postponed its annual enshrinement ceremony because of the coronavirus pandemic.  The Cowboys and Steelers, who were scheduled to play on Aug. 6 in Canton, Ohio, will instead play in the 2021 Hall of Fame Game, and the enshrinement ceremony – originally slated for Aug. 8 – will be held next year.  David Baker, president and CEO of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, said, “The health and safety of our Hall of Famers, fans and volunteers who make Enshrinement Week so special remains our top priority.”

👉  When the SpaceX capsule blasted off atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket May 30, NASA managers had not specified a return date.  But flight controllers now are looking at an early August splashdown.  The six week interval between launch and splashdown would give engineers time to thoroughly evaluate the spacecraft’s first piloted test flight, before clearing the decks for an operational, full-duration mission with four astronauts in the mid-September time frame.  Americans flying an American-built spacecraft and launched from an American space port – priceless!

👉  Hoping that there is a 2021-2022 cruise season, Princess Cruises announced that the Majestic Princess is heading to the West Coast.  Princess said the ship would offer cruises to the  Mexico, Hawaii and the California Coast as part of a five-ship deployment from Los Angeles and San Francisco.  The new Discovery Princess, the Grand Princess, the Ruby Princess, and the Sapphire Princess will join the Majestic on the Left Coast for the hoped-for season.

👉  One of the most incredible woman of all time was born on this day in 1880.  You’ll know her name as soon as I tell you she was born deaf and blind, but earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Radcliffe College, where she graduated as a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and later wrote her autobiography, The Story of My Life, which was adapted as a play and a film as The Miracle Worker.

At 19 months old, Helen Keller contracted an unknown illness described by doctors as “an acute congestion of the stomach and the brain.” which might have been scarlet fever or meningitis.  The illness left her both deaf and blind.  She lived, as she recalled in her autobiography, “at sea in a dense fog.”  She was able to communicate somewhat with Martha Washington, the two-year  older daughter of the family cook, who understood her signs; by the age of seven, Keller had more than 60 home signs to communicate with her family, and could distinguish people by the vibration of their footsteps.

Helen Keller’s life changed dramatically when Anne Sullivan, herself visually impaired, became Keller’s instructor. It was the beginning of a nearly 50-year-long relationship during which Sullivan evolved into Keller’s governess and eventually her companion.

👉  Muskie Muskrat, Vincent Van Gopher, Moley Mole, Pig Newton and Ty Coon were among the adversaries of one of my favorite cartoon characters, Deputy Dawg.  His boss is the Sheriff and his wife is Mrs. Deputy.  Old DD was created by Terrytoons in 1960 and featured 34 one-half hour episodes.  Deputy Dawg was a deputy sheriff in Florida.  As the episodes progressed, the location changed to Mississippi, and later to Tennessee.  I’ve searched for one of my favorite episodes (I don’t know the title, so I’m searching in the dark).  Deputy Dawg falls into the creek and hollers to Muskie for help: “Help Muskie!  Help!  I’m sinking in the creek mud!”  You have to read that with a very bad Southern accent and the imagination of a 13 year old.

But since I can’t find it, here is an episode entitled “National Lazy Day” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rmw3IROt-s Today is not National Lazy Day.  It is August 10th.  You have time to get ready.

👉 Today’s closing piece is adapted from Joyce Meyer.

The enemy likes to fill our minds with thoughts like “I can’t,” and “I’m not strong enough.”  He wants us to be weak minded so we’ll give up before we even try.  But if you have Jesus, then you have what it takes to do anything you need to do, and anything He wants you to do.

Paul said, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV).  Through Christ you can find the strength you need.  We all feel weak at times, but when we do, we can go to God and His Word and receive His limitless strength.  John tells us that God lives in us, and “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4 NKJV). 

The strength I’m talking about comes only from our relationship with God through Jesus.  We’re not strong in and of  ourselves.  Jesus said “without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5 NKJV).  Paul testified, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13 NKJV).  Learn to lean on Him https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbLAXpRsPhI for everything.   You are stronger than you think you are!

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