I contracted COVID last week.
Indoors, I wear my mask. Outdoors, I wear a mask in large gatherings — for instance, while at the farmers market. I’m fully vaccinated and boosted. The one place I chose not to wear my mask was the one place I acquired COVID.
My symptoms began with a sore throat and cough that developed into head and chest congestion within two days. I was exhausted for three days. Five days later I fully recovered and tested negative.
The vaccine and booster shots I received last year worked to reduce symptoms and protect against serious illness or long-term damage. The experience was a good reminder to check updated CDC guidelines to protect against serious COVID illness. It’s not too late to get vaccinated or boosted.
I’ve witnessed an odd trend in local eateries recently: grown adults on one side of the counter asking young adults on the other side of the counter to cut their food. On several occasions I’ve had the unfortunate experience of being in line behind someone who orders a $5 pastry and instead of paying and moving on, requests additional service to divide a single serving portion amongst multiple people in their party. These people are paying the minimum amount while requesting the maximum amount of service.
One patron requested a pastry be cut into two thirds. I’m a writer, not a mathematician, but you simply cannot cut a whole pastry into two thirds. The whole must equal the sum of the parts.
The person continued to request the impossible, “and then cut the remaining half into two thirds.” Universally accepted laws of math came screeching to a halt. Cumulative, associative, and distributive Laws crumbled into disarray. Planets fell out of alignment. The patron received a divided pastry, and it resembled anarchy.
In other news where things don’t add up, a publication is showing up on local store shelves, pedaling conspiracy theories and misinformation through yellow journalism. Yellow journalism is the inflaming of national division using scare tactics and pseudoscience.
The effect of yellow journalism on a society is increased violence and discrimination. How dangerous is yellow journalism? Well, it fueled the Spanish American war, and that is just one example in our country’s history.
What else is inflaming and a sign of violence? An assault rifle imposed over the American Flag. On a bag of coffee beans. I ask, what is the purpose? What, do either of those things have to do with a cuppa?
While shopping locally recently I discovered both of these: yellow journalism and violent symbolism.
We have basic human rights in America: the right to an education and the right to vote are just two of those basic human rights. With the prevalence of school shootings and now the Jan. 6 violent attempt to overthrow a fair election, an assault rifle on the American flag is a blatant symbol of violence against these basic human rights. Full stop.
For the record, all my pastries remain undivided.
