Captains Journal: Day 19 ~ Sunday 5 April year 20

For the first time since this quarantine got going well, we have afternoon showers in the forecast.  Outdoors has that look and the phone weather says so.  Star Trek ran kinda late last night so my idea of being up early went over the transom.  But eight hours is a good defense against Coronavirus, so say the experts.  And anyway, the Admiral out slept me by nearly an hour. 

I’m beginning to wonder if this quarantine situation will work.  I have the sense that people have done just about what they will do, meaning I feel like they’re just not going to take the distancing thing much further.  Part of it is just a feeling and the hint of mistrust I think I’m seeing. 

The mask flip-flop contributed

  We didn’t get the logic all along that the masks protected health care workers, but not us.  They have their reasons with wanting the front-line people to be sure and have enough supply and all that, but that’s not the way they were selling it to us.  So the ship’s sinking but the officers are yelling at us that the women and children should put on life jackets but not the men because they won’t do men any good–well you see the logic. 

Now we have a similar thing with the Hydroxychloroquine issue getting an official stamp of approval.  Is there any real reason to hesitate using it in the battle? Or is it because the medically superior superiors are afraid there’ll be a run on it and the Lupus and arthritic patients already on it will be in trouble. It’s feeling more like ‘tell us the truth and fix the damn problem’.

… you are content to fiddle and fuss …

  When you’re out for a day sail around the buoys you are content to fiddle and fuss with just the right sail trim, pop a spinnaker and set up all the lines to gain a knot of speed off wind and douse the whole thing again when you make the upwind turn. You know all the while it’s a day sail and you’ll be headed to the restaurant or cocktails in the cockpit by dark. 

Voyaging is another matter, unless you’re in one of those mad races around the world and you carry all canvas at any cost.  That’s what I mean about this quarantine, it’s a voyage. And I’m thinking people are getting antsy for a clear-cut course and destination.  They’re seeming less willing to float in place, twiddle with this and that and wait and see, and are more willing to listen to the risks and dangers and make a plan to hoist sail and get on with it.  

In a big sense that seems to me to be the expected cut of their jib, for the American.  There are shortages of this or that and we don’t have the capacity they decry so shelter in place till the danger passes.  But the danger isn’t just the Corona.  I feel like the conversation wants to change from how to hide to how to get going again.  What’s the cost, what’s the real risk, who’s the most at risk and how can we protect them. 

I don’t think I’m alone

I’m wondering why people are so much out of jobs and why we are so much in need of building businesses to fix the shortage problems and why Congress isn’t in session and fervently working on plans to make bringing back essential production to the USA ASAP.  I don’t think I’m alone and that crowd seems to be growing.  We’ll see. The official course is still to stay the course and add a mask if you like for twenty-five more days.