Tuesday, March 31, 2020
Sojourn #34
“Many people suffer from the fear of finding oneself alone, and so they don't find themselves at all.” ― Rollo May, Man's Search for Himself
Monday, March 30, 2020
Sojourn #33
“Guard well your spare moments. They are like uncut diamonds. Discard
them and their value will never be known. Improve them and they will
become the brightest gems in a useful life.”
―
Sunday, March 29, 2020
Good Thing They Had the Bailout or They Wouldn't Be Able to Pay Their Administrators
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts informed members of the National Symphony Orchestra that they would no longer be paid just hours after President Trump signed a $25 million taxpayer bailout for the cultural center, according to an email obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.
Nearly 100 musicians will no longer receive paychecks after April 3, according to an email from the orchestra's Covid-19 Advisory Committee.
Nearly 100 musicians will no longer receive paychecks after April 3, according to an email from the orchestra's Covid-19 Advisory Committee.
Saturday, March 28, 2020
The Art of Fixing Diocesan Prayers
Original, authorship unknown:
In union, O Lord with the faithful at every altar of your Church, where the Holy Eucharist is celebrated, I desire to offer you praise and thanksgiving. I present to you my soul and body with the earnest wish that I may always be united to you. And since I cannot now receive you sacramentally, I ask you to come spiritually into my heart. I unite myself to you, and embrace you with all the affections of my soul. Let nothing ever separate you from me. May I live and die in your love. Amen.
Revised by yours truly:
O Lord, we present you praise and thanksgiving in union with the faithful at every altar of your Church. We offer our souls and bodies, earnestly striving to be in covenant with you. As mortal circumstance prevents us from physically receiving the Body and Blood of Christ, we welcome your spirit into our hearts. We unite ourselves to you with the affection of our souls. May sin and the caprice of human will never separate us. May we live in your love, now and forever. Amen.
In union, O Lord with the faithful at every altar of your Church, where the Holy Eucharist is celebrated, I desire to offer you praise and thanksgiving. I present to you my soul and body with the earnest wish that I may always be united to you. And since I cannot now receive you sacramentally, I ask you to come spiritually into my heart. I unite myself to you, and embrace you with all the affections of my soul. Let nothing ever separate you from me. May I live and die in your love. Amen.
Revised by yours truly:
O Lord, we present you praise and thanksgiving in union with the faithful at every altar of your Church. We offer our souls and bodies, earnestly striving to be in covenant with you. As mortal circumstance prevents us from physically receiving the Body and Blood of Christ, we welcome your spirit into our hearts. We unite ourselves to you with the affection of our souls. May sin and the caprice of human will never separate us. May we live in your love, now and forever. Amen.
Sojourn #31
“In order to understand the world, one has to turn away from it on occasion."
―
The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays
Friday, March 27, 2020
Panic in the Year Zero!
Hundreds of rolls of toilet paper spilled along I-85
All the "Toilet Paper Weird" people are now racing to North Carolina.
All the "Toilet Paper Weird" people are now racing to North Carolina.
Sojourn #30
"Each way means loneliness — and communion. We must always take risks. That is our destiny. Every moment is a fresh beginning." - T.S. Eliot
Thursday, March 26, 2020
Gee, I Wonder Why the Contagion is So Virulent in NYC
Almost two weeks after the U.S. government's travel ban on China, the chairman of NYC Council's Health Committee laid this on Twitter:
That really was a "powerful show". Good advice, bud.In powerful show of defiance of #coronavirus scare, huge crowds gathering in NYC's Chinatown for ceremony ahead of annual #LunarNewYear parade. Chants of "be strong Wuhan!"— Mark D. Levine (@MarkLevineNYC) February 9, 2020
If you are staying away, you are missing out! pic.twitter.com/NGBUAfHWpl
I Rarely Say This: I Wish I'd Written It
It’s hard to see the heroism in staying home. If social distancing
works, we will have saved lives indirectly, never knowing who we helped.
One animation tried to make absence tangible by showing a network of infection,
and highlighting individuals in the growing, branching chain. One
figure is labelled “This person worked from home,” another “This person
didn’t go to that BBQ.” Because they stayed in, they are marked as
uninfected, and each person downstream of them is suddenly freed of the
virus they would have passed on.
Without the image, it’s hard to make the connection. After all, when someday our children ask us “What did you do during the coronavirus pandemic?,” it won’t seem exciting to tell them, “I moved my book club to videochat.” It’s more exciting to imagine that the sacrifices asked of us will be dramatic and romantic.
But it’s no surprise to Christians that we should value the invisible economy of grace over more worldly signs of effort and accomplishment. We are a people who believe that cloistered sisters, praying privately, have a powerful effect on the world. We are a people who believe that prayer, fasting, and humiliation are as much a part of our response to a pandemic as work on antivirals.
Without the image, it’s hard to make the connection. After all, when someday our children ask us “What did you do during the coronavirus pandemic?,” it won’t seem exciting to tell them, “I moved my book club to videochat.” It’s more exciting to imagine that the sacrifices asked of us will be dramatic and romantic.
But it’s no surprise to Christians that we should value the invisible economy of grace over more worldly signs of effort and accomplishment. We are a people who believe that cloistered sisters, praying privately, have a powerful effect on the world. We are a people who believe that prayer, fasting, and humiliation are as much a part of our response to a pandemic as work on antivirals.
Sojourn #29
“The greatest thing in the world is to know how to belong to oneself.”
― Michel de Montaigne, The Complete Essays
Wednesday, March 25, 2020
Moondog Time
68 years ago, the very first large rock and roll extravaganza was held. Naturally, it was in Cleveland because, I mean c'mon. Not only did the term "rock and roll" get coined through this event, but the police shut it down shortly after it began, thus creating the outlaw paradigm for rock music that exists to this day.
If you ever wonder why the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is in Cleveland, here you go.
More about The Ball may be read here.
It would be good to read about Alan Freed, too, as he was the impresario behind it and the DJ who brought us the music and the experience. The scene, if you will.
Bonus: Not only did I buy my first "real" record album at Record Rendezvous [it was Sgt. Pepper], but I graduated from high school in Cleveland Arena.
Surprising No One Who has Ever Spent Time in the Ivies
Harvard, Boasting $40 Billion Endowment, Lays Off Dining Hall Workers Due to Coronavirus
The Ivy League enjoys grand abstract gestures but is often baffled when dealing with just plain folks in person. Also, that $40 billion is tax-free, making it one of the world's richest hedge funds.
The Ivy League enjoys grand abstract gestures but is often baffled when dealing with just plain folks in person. Also, that $40 billion is tax-free, making it one of the world's richest hedge funds.
Sojourn #28
“When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives mean the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares.”
― Henri Nouwen, Out of Solitude: Three Meditations on the Christian Life
The Media Should Quit Trying to Make It One
Covid-19 is not a ‘generation war’
The Covid-19 pandemic will have huge consequences: for human life and health, for the global economy, for people’s livelihoods. Coping with these consequences largely depends on developing a strong sense of social solidarity: drawing on the ties that bind us to our communities, friends and families, and setting aside petty differences and grievances.
This can mean many things, and will need to take many creative forms. But, however we do it, we must bring young people into the project of meeting this challenge, by encouraging the best in them rather than presuming the worst.
Tuesday, March 24, 2020
Sojourn #27
“We live, in fact, in a world starved for solitude, silence, and private: and therefore starved for meditation and true friendship.”
― C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory
I'm Guessing the Latter
Do we really need the feds to order more ventilators or do we just need the feds to get out of the way? https://t.co/i7YKw8XJLA— reason (@reason) March 24, 2020
Monday, March 23, 2020
Pandemic Control Seems a Little Uncoordinated
So, I can't go out for a meal or worship in a church on a Sunday, but this is America's air traffic this evening?
Those Who Were Last are Now First
We were often told globalized elites on the coast were the deserved 21st-century winners, while the suckers and rubes in-between had better learn coding or head to the fracking fields.
But who now is more important than the trucker who drives 12-hours straight to deliver toilet paper to Costco? Or the mid-level manager of Target who calibrates supply and demand and is on the phone all day juggling deliveries before his store opens? Or the checker at the local supermarket who knows that the hundreds of customers inches away from her pose risks of infection, and yet she ensures that people walk out with food in their carts? The farmworker who is on the tractor all night to ensure that millions of carrots and lettuce don’t rot? The muddy frackers in West Texas who make it possible that natural gas reaches the home of the quarantined broker in Houston? The ER nurse on her fifth coronavirus of the day who matter-of-factly saves lives?
My favorite sentence in the article:
But who now is more important than the trucker who drives 12-hours straight to deliver toilet paper to Costco? Or the mid-level manager of Target who calibrates supply and demand and is on the phone all day juggling deliveries before his store opens? Or the checker at the local supermarket who knows that the hundreds of customers inches away from her pose risks of infection, and yet she ensures that people walk out with food in their carts? The farmworker who is on the tractor all night to ensure that millions of carrots and lettuce don’t rot? The muddy frackers in West Texas who make it possible that natural gas reaches the home of the quarantined broker in Houston? The ER nurse on her fifth coronavirus of the day who matter-of-factly saves lives?
My favorite sentence in the article:
Do we really need to ask such questions of whether the presence of the czar for diversity and inclusion at Yale is missed as much as the often-caricatured cop on patrol at 2 a.m. in New Haven?
Sojourn #26
A prayer composed through The London Oratory:
Lord Jesus Christ, you travelled through towns and villages curing every disease and illness.
At your command, the sick were made well.
Come to our aid now, in the midst of the global spread of the coronavirus, that we may experience your healing love.
Heal those who are sick with the virus.
May they regain their health and strength.
Heal us from our fear, which prevents neighbors from helping one another.
Heal us from our pride, which can make us claim invulnerability to a disease that knows no borders.
Good Lord, healer of all, stay by our side in this time of uncertainty and sorrow.
May those who have died from the virus rest in peace and rise in glory.
Be with the families of those who are sick or have died.
As they worry and grieve, defend them from illness and despair.
Be with the doctors, nurses, researchers and all medical professionals who seek to heal and help those affected and who put themselves at risk in the process.
May they know your protection and peace.
Be with the leaders of all nations. Give them the foresight to act with prudence and charity for the well-being of the people they are meant to serve.
Stay with us, Lord, and grant us your peace. Amen.
A Lamentation
I'm not really prone to depression. I'm not the most giddy person in the world, certainly, but I'm not organically or situationally given to the low tide of emotion. In fact, my cynicism is a pretty good shield. I don't expect much, so I'm rarely disappointed. More often, I'm pleasantly surprised.
Our current times are a bit of a challenge. So far this year, our town's first selectman revealed that she didn't know the name of our church, confusing it in her article in the town newsletter with the one across the street. There are only two churches in town, so this was a bit of a surprise since I've worked in larger towns and cities, certainly with more churches, and the political leader not only would know the names of each church, but the names of the clergy, too. I found it said more about Protestantism's absence of relevance in our society than it did about a poorly informed politician.
Then, of course, there is the plague. I'm an introvert, so working from home and staying away from the human race is my preferred state, anyway, so this isn't a burden. However, I found myself again disappointed when learning that churches in Connecticut were to be designated "non-essential". Gun and liquor stores are essential, but not churches or other religious congregations.
Now, I expect the pezzonovante to have a low regard for us, as indicated by our local political leader, but what left me empty was the fact that our bishops didn't fight against this classification. They didn't vigorously argue against it with all of the remnant might of our poor corner of Christian witness. They would have probably lost, but that doesn't really matter. Even in a lost cause, it is best to do what one may to stand up for what you are. It is the battle, not the outcome, that determines our identity. [I'm Augustinian, by the way. Did you notice?]
It doesn't help that my guitar business, small as it may be [we prefer "boutique"] has, for the first time in its sixteen years, received no new orders. Musicians aren't performing and aren't earning, so they aren't buying and haven't the wherewithal to afford repairs to their current instruments.
Then there is the church's budget. Yeah, no public worship, no envelopes in the plate, no shared moments of community all means that I'll turn the lights out when I leave. All that work in balancing the budget and enabling a capital campaign is for naught. I had planned on staying until I Biden-ed out, but I'm looking at reducing my hours and my pay and, since I've reached the point where my pension allowance would be greater than my salary, it's tempting to pitch it all now. That my closest and longest clergy friend, the only other member of my peer group who has not yet retired, decided to file his papers this morning didn't help.
The knowledge that, without something to do, I'd be dead in about three weeks is about the only thing keeping me attached to the job at this point.
Oh, great. It's snowing. How perfect. This is turning into scene in a Russian novel.
Well, Lent didn't need much help from the artificial acts of surrendering things or taking them on. Circumstance did that for us. I'm just really hoping that this season of imposed austerity and disruption will, as with the liturgical Lent, reveal a time of resurrection and hope.
From Henry Nouwen's Dark Night -
Our current times are a bit of a challenge. So far this year, our town's first selectman revealed that she didn't know the name of our church, confusing it in her article in the town newsletter with the one across the street. There are only two churches in town, so this was a bit of a surprise since I've worked in larger towns and cities, certainly with more churches, and the political leader not only would know the names of each church, but the names of the clergy, too. I found it said more about Protestantism's absence of relevance in our society than it did about a poorly informed politician.
Then, of course, there is the plague. I'm an introvert, so working from home and staying away from the human race is my preferred state, anyway, so this isn't a burden. However, I found myself again disappointed when learning that churches in Connecticut were to be designated "non-essential". Gun and liquor stores are essential, but not churches or other religious congregations.
Now, I expect the pezzonovante to have a low regard for us, as indicated by our local political leader, but what left me empty was the fact that our bishops didn't fight against this classification. They didn't vigorously argue against it with all of the remnant might of our poor corner of Christian witness. They would have probably lost, but that doesn't really matter. Even in a lost cause, it is best to do what one may to stand up for what you are. It is the battle, not the outcome, that determines our identity. [I'm Augustinian, by the way. Did you notice?]
It doesn't help that my guitar business, small as it may be [we prefer "boutique"] has, for the first time in its sixteen years, received no new orders. Musicians aren't performing and aren't earning, so they aren't buying and haven't the wherewithal to afford repairs to their current instruments.
Then there is the church's budget. Yeah, no public worship, no envelopes in the plate, no shared moments of community all means that I'll turn the lights out when I leave. All that work in balancing the budget and enabling a capital campaign is for naught. I had planned on staying until I Biden-ed out, but I'm looking at reducing my hours and my pay and, since I've reached the point where my pension allowance would be greater than my salary, it's tempting to pitch it all now. That my closest and longest clergy friend, the only other member of my peer group who has not yet retired, decided to file his papers this morning didn't help.
The knowledge that, without something to do, I'd be dead in about three weeks is about the only thing keeping me attached to the job at this point.
Oh, great. It's snowing. How perfect. This is turning into scene in a Russian novel.
Well, Lent didn't need much help from the artificial acts of surrendering things or taking them on. Circumstance did that for us. I'm just really hoping that this season of imposed austerity and disruption will, as with the liturgical Lent, reveal a time of resurrection and hope.
From Henry Nouwen's Dark Night -
It certainly was a time of purification for me. My heart, ever questioning my goodness, value, and worth, has become anchored in a deeper love and thus less dependent on the praise and blame of those around me. It also has grown into a greater ability to give love without always expecting love in return.... What once seemed such a curse has become a blessing. All the agony that threatened to destroy my life now seems like the fertile ground for greater trust, stronger hope, and deeper love.
Sunday, March 22, 2020
Oh, Quelle Surprise
Top 10 Reasons To Believe the Wuhan Virology Lab Caused 2019-nCoV
This was enough to turn me into Alex Jones.
This was enough to turn me into Alex Jones.
He's Got a Point
Thus far, people are denied socialization at work, school, restaurants, congregations, places of group conviviality, and sporting events. We are social animals and will resist this very soon; possibly in ways forthright and aggressive.Unless you start arresting people who go out outside, it’s not going to last that long. https://t.co/FyjOxkPS9v— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) March 22, 2020
Sojourn #25
“The spiritual life is first of all a life. It is not merely something to be known and studied, it is to be lived.”
― Thomas Merton, Thoughts in Solitude
Saturday, March 21, 2020
Sojourn #25
“My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.
And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.”
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.
And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.”
― Thomas Merton, Thoughts in Solitude
Old Enough To Know Better
From P.J. O'Rourke:
Trump is much too old and far too big for his britches to be hanging around the political playground making up nasty nicknames and teasing the wimpy kids. One of these days, his big fat old ego is going to get stuck in the slide, bend the monkey bars, or break the swing set seat.
Joe Biden is a zombie from the policy cemetery of the Carter era, with a stump performance like Election Night of the Living Dead.
And Bernie Sanders is the decrepit grouch who should be sitting on a park bench in Boca Raton, grouching about his grandchildren voting for Bernie Sanders.
The Resilience of Homo Sapiens
A novel solution to the N95 mask shortage from the brilliant Dr. Slatnick and the Innovation Team at @BostonChildrens . Reusable. $3. Uses existing hospital inventory. #VisualAbstract below. #Covid_19— Andrew M. Ibrahim MD, MSc (@AndrewMIbrahim) March 21, 2020
Video demonstration: https://t.co/YMqtrXSPww pic.twitter.com/34DxyfxSLf
Our Country is Toilet Paper Weird
A woman in Springfield, Missouri has given birth in the toilet paper aisle at Walmart— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) March 20, 2020
But, But, But, We Prefer Hysteria. Now, Let's Cancel Something Else, Eh?
Evidence over hysteria — COVID-19
Best observation: #21 People fear what the government will do, not infection
Related:
Best observation: #21 People fear what the government will do, not infection
Related:
“I fear we are losing our minds over Covid-19. Yes, it is a serious pandemic. But there have been worse pandemics in the past and we didn’t respond by shutting down society and decimating economic life. There’s a feeling of hysteria around this.”— spiked (@spikedonline) March 21, 2020
Brendan O’Neill on Sky Australia pic.twitter.com/FPxikQmFnv
Because I Miss Eating in Restaurants
The 101 Best Restaurants in America
The Most Expensive Restaurant in Every State
America's 35 Best Seafood Shacks [Frankly, a little surprised that I've been to five of them.]
The Most Expensive Restaurant in Every State
America's 35 Best Seafood Shacks [Frankly, a little surprised that I've been to five of them.]
Friday, March 20, 2020
A Modestly Pungent Suggestion, or a Pungently Modest Suggestion
A modest suggestion: Could we call it "physical distancing" instead of "social distancing"? The former is more accurate given how socially connected we are online and through prayer.
Sojourn #24
I said, ‘You are my servant’;
I have chosen you and have not rejected you.
10 So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. - Isaiah 41:9b-10
I have chosen you and have not rejected you.
10 So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. - Isaiah 41:9b-10
Princess on the Steeple
Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California and three of her Senate colleagues sold off stocks worth millions of dollars in the days before the coronavirus outbreak crashed the market, according to reports.
It's not so much what they sold that bothers me, I sold off some stock, too. It's what they bought. Clearly, they knew a mass quarantine was coming.
It's not so much what they sold that bothers me, I sold off some stock, too. It's what they bought. Clearly, they knew a mass quarantine was coming.
Thursday, March 19, 2020
Read the Whole, Accurate Article, If You Wish
American society breeds a laser-like self-focus, consumer materialism, and practical atheism—not by refuting faith in God, but by rendering it irrelevant to people’s “now.” As Christopher Lasch noted in The Culture of Narcissism, it also tends to create weak personalities dependent on group behavior and approval, and therefore more vulnerable to advertising and product consumption. The social sciences effectively replace the clergy as a source of guidance and meaning. Social media and mass entertainment abolish solitude and personal reflection.
As a result, in an age of radical self-absorption, authentic individuality—real self-knowledge and mastery—withers, because the autonomous communities that root an individual in distinctive moral codes, beliefs, and histories (i.e., churches, families, etc.) are unable to compete with the noise and flash of consumer society.
A “new” evangelization must therefore start by admitting that much of the once-Christian world, and even a great many self-described Christians, are in fact pagan—or rather, worse than pagan.
As a result, in an age of radical self-absorption, authentic individuality—real self-knowledge and mastery—withers, because the autonomous communities that root an individual in distinctive moral codes, beliefs, and histories (i.e., churches, families, etc.) are unable to compete with the noise and flash of consumer society.
A “new” evangelization must therefore start by admitting that much of the once-Christian world, and even a great many self-described Christians, are in fact pagan—or rather, worse than pagan.
A Pungent Comment
"Imagine" by John Lennon is one of the most insipid songs ever written, composed, performed, and recorded. The fact that a collection of puzzlewits always feels the need to sing it in times of quandary doesn't improve it. That just trivializes the social issue and renders the song even more insipid, which is nearly impossible.
Needlehooks: No Kidding, Sherlock
Study: Global Pandemic Could Have Been Avoided If China Had Acted Sooner
Although this has been handy in identifying which media outlets rely heavily on money from Chinese industry. Also, I'm glad that China's employees in the National Basketball Association were able to be tested so quickly.
Needlehooks are articles that catch the attention of The Coracle's staff. This is not an indicator of ideological agreement, necessarily, just a representation of differing points of view.
Although this has been handy in identifying which media outlets rely heavily on money from Chinese industry. Also, I'm glad that China's employees in the National Basketball Association were able to be tested so quickly.
Needlehooks are articles that catch the attention of The Coracle's staff. This is not an indicator of ideological agreement, necessarily, just a representation of differing points of view.
Sojourn #23
There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. - 1 John 4:18
Wednesday, March 18, 2020
Sojourn #22
From the New Zealand Book of Common Prayer, rendered in English and Maori.
God be your comfort, your strength;
God be your hope and support;
God be your light and your way;
and the blessing of God, Creator, Redeemer and Giver of life, remain with you now and for ever. Amen.
Or
Mā te Atua koe e manaaki
e tiaki i ngā wā katoa
e noho i roto i te aroha o te Atua:
ko te aroha hoki te mea nui.
Āmine.
God be your comfort, your strength;
God be your hope and support;
God be your light and your way;
and the blessing of God, Creator, Redeemer and Giver of life, remain with you now and for ever. Amen.
Or
Mā te Atua koe e manaaki
e tiaki i ngā wā katoa
e noho i roto i te aroha o te Atua:
ko te aroha hoki te mea nui.
Āmine.
This is Worth Reading
OK, here are my questions. We had a perfect petri-dish coronavirus disease (COVID-19) experiment with the cruise ship “Diamond Princess”. That’s the cruise ship that ended up in quarantine for a number of weeks after a number of people tested positive for the coronavirus. I got to wondering what the outcome of the experiment was.
So I dug around and found an analysis of the situation, with the catchy title of Estimating the infection and case fatality ratio for COVID-19 using age-adjusted data from the outbreak on the Diamond Princess cruise ship (PDF), so I could see what the outcomes were.
As you might imagine, before they knew it was a problem, the epidemic raged on the ship, with infected crew members cooking and cleaning for the guests, people all eating together, close living quarters, lots of social interaction, and a generally older population. Seems like a perfect situation for an overwhelming majority of the passengers to become infected.
And despite that, some 83% (82.7% – 83.9%) of the passengers never got the disease at all … why?
So I dug around and found an analysis of the situation, with the catchy title of Estimating the infection and case fatality ratio for COVID-19 using age-adjusted data from the outbreak on the Diamond Princess cruise ship (PDF), so I could see what the outcomes were.
As you might imagine, before they knew it was a problem, the epidemic raged on the ship, with infected crew members cooking and cleaning for the guests, people all eating together, close living quarters, lots of social interaction, and a generally older population. Seems like a perfect situation for an overwhelming majority of the passengers to become infected.
And despite that, some 83% (82.7% – 83.9%) of the passengers never got the disease at all … why?
Tuesday, March 17, 2020
A Pungent Observation
Not the best day to be a resident of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, what with no St. Patrick's Day parade, closed churches, and Tom Brady packing his bags. I'm sure they're handling it well.
Sojourn #21
Healing is a journey, too, as many of us know.
Sanctify, O Lord, the sickness of your servants, that the sense of weakness may add strength to our faith and seriousness to our repentance; and grant that we may live with you in everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Sanctify, O Lord, the sickness of your servants, that the sense of weakness may add strength to our faith and seriousness to our repentance; and grant that we may live with you in everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Monday, March 16, 2020
Sojourn #20
Heavenly Father, thank you
for the promise to walk with us always and through all times.
- Early monastic prayer.
- Early monastic prayer.
Sunday, March 15, 2020
Sojourn #19
God of the seekers and dreamers, the disaffected and disillusioned, the worn out and burnt out, the rejected and leavers.
We ask for blessings as we travel, as we doubt, as we meander.
We ask for the grace to leave when necessary, to come home when we can, to create new homes when we need.
We pray you lead us where we need to go, by whatever route it takes.
We pray for new ways to see You, to understand new ways of being in the world.
We pray for healing and for redemption, and, where possible, reconciliation.
We pray for all of this so we can know wholeness, know each other, know You.
We ask for blessings as we travel, as we doubt, as we meander.
We ask for the grace to leave when necessary, to come home when we can, to create new homes when we need.
We pray you lead us where we need to go, by whatever route it takes.
We pray for new ways to see You, to understand new ways of being in the world.
We pray for healing and for redemption, and, where possible, reconciliation.
We pray for all of this so we can know wholeness, know each other, know You.
A Pungent Question
In the past five days I’ve been to a café, a restaurant, several stores, and a health club. None of them are closed; all are taking reasonable measures to control exposure to any virus. All of them welcome a rich variety of our fellow citizens. Why is it, then, the churches are closed?
Amen
In America, neighbors are checking on neighbors. Grandchildren are delivering groceries to their grandparents door steps. As all public events are being canceled, life is slowing down. As the CEOs of the major pharmacies gathered around a podium together in the rose garden and pledged to forgo potential profits for the good of the people, I was reminded of what makes this country great. The economic engine of capitalism is revving, and we are about to see what it can do. Google has developed a free app to help those who believe they are infected find tests, and grocery stores are implementing new procedures to limit infection. A vaccine is certainly on the way.
We are doing the two things we’ve always done when faced with a challenge, innovating and coming together. It has been a long time since we had need to flex our muscles. Life has been easy and we have perhaps become complacent. This week we’ve seen just a taste of what America, of what free people are still capable of when faced with a crisis, be it real or imagined.
We are doing the two things we’ve always done when faced with a challenge, innovating and coming together. It has been a long time since we had need to flex our muscles. Life has been easy and we have perhaps become complacent. This week we’ve seen just a taste of what America, of what free people are still capable of when faced with a crisis, be it real or imagined.
Saturday, March 14, 2020
Sojourn #18
Come along with me
as a sojourner of faith.
Bring along
a sense of expectancy
a vision of high hopes
a glimpse of future possibility
a vivid imagination.
For God's creation is not done.
We are called to pioneer
a future yet unnamed.
As we venture forward,
we leave behind our desire for
a no-risk life
worldly accumulations
certainty of answers.
Let us travel light
in the spirit of faith and expectations
toward the God of our hopes and dreams.
May we be witnesses
to God's future breaking in.
Come along with me
as a sojourner of faith
secure in the knowledge
that we never travel alone.
~Susan Gregg-Schroeder
If I Seem to Be Taking This Virus in My Stride...
...It’s because, in large part, my character was forged by guys like this:
Friday, March 13, 2020
Sojourn #17
O God, Who brought our fathers through the Red Sea and carried them safely through the deep as they sang praises of Thy name, we humbly beseech Thee to guard Thy servants aboard ship, and having repelled all adversities, bring them to the desired port after a calm voyage. Through our Lord, Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who livest and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, world without end. Amen.
(This is the prayer used by Cunard Lines back in the good old days. It is wood-burned into my great uncle’s sea chest from his service as a 12-year-old cabin boy.)
Thursday, March 12, 2020
Sojourn #16
Show us your ways, Lord. Teach us how to walk again. Lead us to new places. Blaze for us paths of grace, mercy, integrity and love. Find in us a good companion on the way. - Tribal American Christian prayer.
Wednesday, March 11, 2020
Sojourn #15
O Almighty and merciful God, who hast commissioned thy angels to guide and protect us, command them to be our assiduous companions from our setting out until our return; to clothe us with their invisible protection; to keep from us all danger, and finally, having preserved us from all evil, and especially from sin, to guide us to our heavenly home. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Tuesday, March 10, 2020
Sojourn #14
Lord Jesus the Wanderer, we walk in the hope that only you can give. Our way is unclear. Our path is filled with twists and turns and confusion. Guide us to what is true and right so that we may walk your paths in light. Amen.
- Early Tribal American Christian prayer
Monday, March 9, 2020
A Reporter of My Acquaintance has an Epiphany
“My point has to do with this: they offered an honorarium, which I declined, because I’m doing okay and it would seem low to take money from church-basement ladies. They had some charities they supported that could use it. They suggested it go to the homeless family they’re supporting? Fine! Or how about the food shelf? That’s fine too! Or we hav this other outreach - you make the call. That’s just one small church on a back street in a suburb. They all do this. Every church you pass as you drive or stroll or fly over does this.”
Hysteria is More Fun, Though
Nations are closing borders, stocks are plummeting and a New York Times headline reads: “The Coronavirus Has Put the World’s Economy in Survival Mode.” Both political parties have realized the crisis could severely impact the November elections — House, Senate, presidency. And sacré bleu, they’ve even shuttered the Louvre!
Some of these reactions are understandable, much of it pure hysteria. Meanwhile, the spread of the virus continues to slow.
More than 18,000 Americans have died from this season’s generic flu so far, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2018, the CDC estimated, there were 80,000 flu deaths. That’s against 19 coronavirus deaths so far, from about 470 cases.
Worldwide, there have been about 3,400 coronavirus deaths, out of about 100,000 identified cases. Flu, by comparison, grimly reaps about 291,000 to 646,000 annually.
Some of these reactions are understandable, much of it pure hysteria. Meanwhile, the spread of the virus continues to slow.
More than 18,000 Americans have died from this season’s generic flu so far, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2018, the CDC estimated, there were 80,000 flu deaths. That’s against 19 coronavirus deaths so far, from about 470 cases.
Worldwide, there have been about 3,400 coronavirus deaths, out of about 100,000 identified cases. Flu, by comparison, grimly reaps about 291,000 to 646,000 annually.
Sunday, March 8, 2020
A Pungent Question
Why are members of a political party lamenting the absence of women, people of color, young people, and non-millionaires among their remaining candidates? Tulsi Gabbard, anyone?
Sojourn #12
O God, Who did cause the children of Israel to traverse the Red Sea dryshod; Thou Who did point out by a star to the Magi the road that led them to Thee; grant us we beseech Thee, a prosperous journey and propitious weather; so that, under the guidance of Thy holy angels we may safely reach that journey's end, and later the haven of eternal salvation.
Hear, O Lord, the prayers of Thy servants. Bless their journeyings. Thou Who art everywhere present, shower everywhere upon them the effects of Thy mercy; so that, insured by Thy protection against all dangers, they may return to offer Thee their thanksgiving. Through Christ our Lord.
Saturday, March 7, 2020
Sojourn #11
Now I walk in beauty,
beauty is before me,
beauty is behind me,
above and below me. - a Navajo travel prayer
Friday, March 6, 2020
I've Seen Bad Math Before, but This has a Certain Splendor to It
The ‘Million Dollars Per Person’ Affair Is Telling
Reminder: These are the people who control the information flow.
Reminder: These are the people who control the information flow.
Sojourn #10
"In how many families do you hear the legend that all the goodness and graces of the living are nothing to the peculiar charms of one who is not. It is as if heaven had an especial band of angels, whose office it was to sojourn for a season here, and endear to them the wayward human heart, that they might bear it upward with them in their homewoard flight. When you see that deep, spiritual light in the eye,---when the little soul reveals itself in words sweeter and wiser than the ordinary words of children,---hope not to retain that child, for the seal of heaven is on it, and the light of immortality looks out from its eyes." - Harriet Beecher Stowe
Thursday, March 5, 2020
I Read About This Somewhere Else
Earth may have been a waterworld 3.2 billion years ago
No kidding. It’s in the first book of the Bible.
No kidding. It’s in the first book of the Bible.
Sojourn #9
How often I found where I should be going only by setting out for somewhere else.
~ Buckminster Fuller
Wednesday, March 4, 2020
Tuesday, March 3, 2020
Nowadays, One Must Be "Woke" About...a Virus
DO - talk about people “acquiring” or “contracting” #COVID19— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) March 2, 2020
DON'T - talk about people “transmitting COVID-19” “infecting others” or “spreading the virus” as it implies intentional transmission & assigns blame https://t.co/yShiCMfYF3#coronavirus pic.twitter.com/RLfFIvrlo5
I'd feel better if WHO were concentrating on diagnosis and treatment, instead of telling us what words we are allowed to use.
Monday, March 2, 2020
Sunday, March 1, 2020
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