Small Talk: The Polygamous Cul-de-Sac

[Meowwww]

There’s still no TP in western Wisconsin/eastern MN.  It’s so weird.  

[Absolom]

The TP crisis is still a bit mystifying.  The manufacturer of Charmin' says they are running at 120% of normal capacity so they're chugging it out.  Our stores almost all have purchase limitations so why is it still not available?  Where is 120% of normal vanishing? Are price gougers still trying to buy up the supply by having a dozen family members go in and buy as soon as they find some? 

[DakotaJustice]

12 minutes ago, Absolom said:

The TP crisis is still a bit mystifying.  The manufacturer of Charmin' says they are running at 120% of normal capacity so they're chugging it out.  Our stores almost all have purchase limitations so why is it still not available?  Where is 120% of normal vanishing? Are price gougers still trying to buy up the supply by having a dozen family members go in and buy as soon as they find some? 

that's what I don't get either.  One can only use so much TP.  And my Safeway has a 1 per shopper limit.  

I just checked and I have 25.7 rolls left in my TP supply.  I average about 1 roll a week so I think I'm good for now.

 

ETA i found this site and apparently my 25+ rolls will last 133 days.

https://howmuchtoiletpaper.com

Edited March 29, 2020 by DakotaJustice

[Pickleinthemiddle]

1 hour ago, Absolom said:

The TP crisis is still a bit mystifying.  The manufacturer of Charmin' says they are running at 120% of normal capacity so they're chugging it out.  Our stores almost all have purchase limitations so why is it still not available?  Where is 120% of normal vanishing? Are price gougers still trying to buy up the supply by having a dozen family members go in and buy as soon as they find some? 

I know.  I just want one package.

[Yeah No]

4 hours ago, Absolom said:

The TP crisis is still a bit mystifying.  The manufacturer of Charmin' says they are running at 120% of normal capacity so they're chugging it out.  Our stores almost all have purchase limitations so why is it still not available?  Where is 120% of normal vanishing? Are price gougers still trying to buy up the supply by having a dozen family members go in and buy as soon as they find some? 

I've been wondering about this myself and I know there are people hoarding TP, but I don't think that's the only explanation for the continued shortage.  I've read that it's not just happening here in the US but in other countries as well.  My theory is that in addition to some hoarding you have a unique situation where everyone is looking to have a large package of TP to get them through a month or two at the same time.  When I think about it I can't think of one thing that EVERYONE needs and can't live without quite like TP.  (OK, there are flushable wipes but there are never that many of them available in the stores and a lot of people don't use them, or if they do not as a complete replacement for TP.) 

Even paper towels are not as universal and indispensable as TP since there are alternatives like wet wipes and even cloth towels.  In decades past before we had milk alternatives we may have had more of a milk shortage but even back in the day there were people that were lactose intolerant or just didn't use milk that much.  And in a pinch people can just use less milk.  Plus I've read that there has actually been more of a milk-alternative shortage, specifically the shelf stable kind or the ones that don't expire so quickly.  So it may just be a matter of mathematics.  If everyone in the US bought at least a month or two of TP at the same time it would cause more of a shortage of it than with other products, but then with the added hoarding it becomes even worse. 

Also, and this can't be overlooked, what with the constant product downsizing and cheapening going on with manufacturers, a large package of TP doesn't last as long as it used to.  I follow a site called "Consumer World" where a blogger runs a weekly column called "Mouseprint".  In it he periodically posts "before and after" photos of products that have been sneakily downsized by manufacturers while the price remains the same.  He only just did one earlier this month and both Charmin and Angel Soft were called out as having been downsized.  You can see the article here.  Now mind you, this is by far NOT the first time both of them have been called out for being downsized by this writer either for a reduction of the number of sheets per roll or the actual size and/or thickness of each sheet.  So it's no wonder people seem like they're buying a lot, but if you look at the "mouseprint" you find out they're really buying less than they used to in each "mega" package.

I know people are griping about the hand sanitizer shortage, but in my area even before this pandemic we didn't have a lot of it available in the stores, even Walmart, which seemed to carry only a little bit and it wasn't in stock all the time.  The only store where I saw any consistent inventory of it was in Target.  Even CVS and Walgreens didn't carry that much of it.  I know because I'm a germaphobe from way back and always have it in my purse and at home.  So it is no wonder that with the increased demand it ran out quickly.  Add the price gougers and it's even worse.

Anyway, that's my theory.  I am going through my own personal hell right now, but I'll save that for another time.

Edited March 29, 2020 by Yeah No

[suomi]

At that mouseprint site someone posted about auto manufacturers changing the size of gas tanks to inflate gas mileage claims.

That reminded me of one of my dad's pranks, when he worked at Douglas Aircraft in SoCal (before it became McDonnell-Douglas and then became Boeing). In the very  early '60s a co-worker was the first guy they knew who bought a VW Bug and they soon got tired of him bragging about his gas mileage compared to everyone else's. Every day, every day with the mileage so they started sneaking gas into his tank. He was getting 40, 44, 49 miles per gallon. They kept it up, his mileage was in the mid-50s and still climbing. They had to come clean after he wrote a letter to VW asking them to inspect his vehicle and VW was interested. And he was PISSED!

Another Douglas story: my dad sometimes took pictures of trick-or-treaters and one night the flash blinded some kids and they fell off the porch. He took the photos to work and passed them around and they're hee-hawing about the kids falling in the shrubbery and one guy goes "Those are my kids" and he did not hee-haw, no he did not.

Sometimes my dad was a tool.

[Yeah No]

24 minutes ago, suomi said:

At that mouseprint site someone posted about auto manufacturers changing the size of gas tanks to inflate gas mileage claims.

LOL, I haven't had my caffeine yet, but how is that possible when it's miles per gallon, not miles per gas tank? 

[Kohola3]

45 minutes ago, suomi said:

Sometimes my dad was a tool.

Loved the gas tank story though!  What a hoot!

[DakotaJustice]

It's gonna be another rainy day here in the Bay Area. What are you ladies doing today? I have online church at 8:30, picking up a fresh loaf of country sourdough bread and a decadent sourdough chocolate loaf (made with Guittard chocolate - their factory is two or three miles away from me and for a half mile around the air is filled with an aroma like brownies in the oven...) Going on a bazillion walks, working on my needlepoint, and listening to a book I'm absolutely OBSESSED with at the moment. Just sent it to Mom, who is still self-quarantined. 

The book is Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover, and Me by Adrienne Barbour. It's a delicious read - any of you ladies picked it up yet? 

The NPR review: 

https://www.npr.org/2019/10/17/770911878/a-daughter-becomes-an-accomplice-to-her-mothers-affair-in-wild-game

Edited March 29, 2020 by DakotaJustice

[suomi]

1 hour ago, Yeah No said:

LOL, I haven't had my caffeine yet, but how is that possible when it's miles per gallon, not miles per gas tank? 

Because miles per tank was the come-on in the ad. It was a VW ad and VW has always been underhanded.

I didn't state it correctly. They didn't change the size of the tank so they could make the inflated claim but after they changed the size they took the opportunity to make the claim.

The early Bugs had 8 gallon, then 9 gallon, then 10 gallon gas tanks.

If that makes sense.

Edited March 29, 2020 by suomi

[Kyanight]

1 hour ago, DakotaJustice said:

It's gonna be another rainy day here in the Bay Area. What are you ladies doing today?

We've had a bit of snow in the Rockies but most of it has melted.  It's just gloomy and overcast - perfect for my mood lately.

I went to Mountain Man (fruit/nuts/candy) yesterday - who knew they were considered an essential store? I've mentioned before how much I love their stuff.  I was the only person in the store - maybe the only customer she had the entire day.  I got a few bags of necessary goodies.   If I might die in the next few months, I want to die with a happy tummy and spiked blood sugar.  

Today I plan on cleaning the house, finishing up some laundry, reading and snarking on the message board here, snarfing my sweets here and there and... no, can't think of anything else.  So that about sums it up.   I will probably watch Sister Wives tonight and maybe Before the 90 Days, as well.

One of my sons wants to get take out (lunch) for us from a new place called "Mugi Ramen and Poke".  It's right up his alley - definitely NOT up my alley, but I try to keep an open mind.  My oldest daughter and her husband are coming over to work on my garden.  Pull out dead stuff and put down a little rich top soil maybe?  I have no clue what all they will do.... but my daughter is hyper-vigilant over this virus, so I doubt she will come in to visit.  She also has asthma and I have kitties, so that is never a good mix.   I'm kind of depressed lately so my thought was "Why bother?" regarding the garden - but that's not thinking very positively.

I lead such an exciting life.    I love hearing about you other ladies, though!  : )

7 hours ago, Yeah No said:

Anyway, that's my theory.  I am going through my own personal hell right now, but I'll save that for another time.

If you decide to share, we are definitely here for you!!

[ehall1052]

12 hours ago, Absolom said:

The TP crisis is still a bit mystifying.

So is the egg shortage! I haven’t seen eggs in weeks. Why is that? Each chicken lays about 1 egg a day. We still have the same number of chickens. Why no eggs in the stores? 

[Kohola3]

Watched CBS Sunday morning and binged on explore.org (especially the puppies and the elephant herd at the watering hole in Africa).  Now heading out to walk before the winds pick up and the rain moves in.  Will paint some Easter cards and try and finish the articles for our newspaper insert.

I am the secretary of the Friends group at Tawas Point Lighthouse and State Park.  The local newspaper does a "Get to the Point" insert, 8 pages long, in early May. I need to get the articles all finished and submitted by the end of this week and submit our pictures as well.  Of course, listing upcoming events is going to be a bit tricky!

Finally, after 3 days of trying which wasn't too bad, snagged a time slot for groceries from Walmart at 6pm tomorrow.  Not my normal store, I try to support the local independent one, but Wallie World is the only place that will bring the bags to the car.  Couldn't get everything on the list but nothing essential or I cannot work around.  That should carry me for the next couple of weeks.  I will leave everything except the ice cream in the bags in the trunk for 24 hours so I don't have to disinfect everything.

[suomi]

Find a recipe for what you have in your cupboard.

"Which kind of cake mix would you like in the recipe?"

https://www.yummly.com/recipes/quick-breads-with-cake-mix

[Roslyn]

2 hours ago, DakotaJustice said:

It's gonna be another rainy day here in the Bay Area. What are you ladies doing today?

My husband and I started our day in muck boots keeping the water run off going in the right direction.  We have had one heavy downpour after another for more than a day.  The township is supposed to deal with the run off at the road, but since the railroad behind the house dug out their drainage...and flooded our yard in the process and then all the fine mud and silt clogged up the drainage system.  So. We have been keeping the water flowing and shoveling silt and rock off of the drain grates so it will flow on the surface to the creek. NO idea when the township will bring their equipment to clear the clogged pipes.

Other than that...I'm doing a full inventory of my fridge and freezer for meal planning and a list of any needs for when we do go to the market. Most all pantry staples are hit very hard or non existent in the local markets.

In all of this I feel very sad for people who just don't know even the most basic of cooking and/or don't even have kitchens set up for cooking.  It is odd because right before this all hit the news I did a major bulk spice order.  I am very glad that I did now.

[Kohola3]

Oh, dear, my dog is looking at me in horror. I tried to order her dog food on chewy and they are out of most flavors of her brand, had to settle for a grain free one.  And then got the bad news it could take 7-10 days.  I have a week's worth left - after that I guess we're going to TV dinners.

[Absolom]

45 minutes ago, ehall1052 said:

So is the egg shortage! I haven’t seen eggs in weeks. Why is that? Each chicken lays about 1 egg a day. We still have the same number of chickens. Why no eggs in the stores? 

Plus hoarding eggs has to be harder than hoarding toilet tissue.  They're perishable.

[suomi]

America Stress-Bought All The Baby Chickens

In times of anxiety we hoard the sources of eggs.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/28/style/chicken-eggs-coronavirus.html

[Kohola3]

9 minutes ago, suomi said:

In times of anxiety we hoard the sources of eggs.

 

Oh, good grief.  I can do without eggs quite nicely.  Now chocolate, that's another matter. You'd need to pry that out of my cold, dead hand.

[Kbo]

Have a story that might lighten the mood a little. My two oldest kids were both working last night, so Mr Kbo and I decided to try ordering something from Uber Eats. We ordered from a local restaurant we’ve never tried before, and we’re excitedly waiting...and our food never shows up. To their credit, Uber Eats responded really quickly and said the driver didn’t follow procedure, and we got our money back. 

Fast forward to this morning, and I see the following post on Next Door 😂.  Glad somebody enjoyed our food!  She posted a picture of the receipt, it was our food all right.  But with things being so dismal, if it brightened her day I’m glad.
 

Edited March 29, 2020 by Kbo

[xwordfanatik]

4 hours ago, Kohola3 said:

Watched CBS Sunday morning and binged on explore.org (especially the puppies and the elephant herd at the watering hole in Africa).  Now heading out to walk before the winds pick up and the rain moves in.  Will paint some Easter cards and try and finish the articles for our newspaper insert.

I am the secretary of the Friends group at Tawas Point Lighthouse and State Park.  The local newspaper does a "Get to the Point" insert, 8 pages long, in early May. I need to get the articles all finished and submitted by the end of this week and submit our pictures as well.  Of course, listing upcoming events is going to be a bit tricky!

Finally, after 3 days of trying which wasn't too bad, snagged a time slot for groceries from Walmart at 6pm tomorrow.  Not my normal store, I try to support the local independent one, but Wallie World is the only place that will bring the bags to the car.  Couldn't get everything on the list but nothing essential or I cannot work around.  That should carry me for the next couple of weeks.  I will leave everything except the ice cream in the bags in the trunk for 24 hours so I don't have to disinfect everything.

I'm lucky to have a Fred Meyer store that offers delivery to my vehicle.  Otherwise, I'd be using Walmart too.  I wish the local Safeway offered curbside delivery.

I walked today, windy as March can be, and I got rained on a bit.  I passed several other walkers, some with dogs, and everyone was mindful to wave or say hi, and keep a distance.  

I've been leaving mail and parcels outside for at least 24 hours.  Perishable food gets frozen or put in the basement refrigerator.  Everything else gets left outside like the mail, on the patio or in the garage.

That's one thing I do miss...shopping in the store.  Otherwise, I tend to be an introverted hermit, so business as usual.  I may get to see how much grey hair I actually have!  That should be fun! 😛

[Kohola3]

58 minutes ago, xwordfanatik said:

 I may get to see how much grey hair I actually have!  That should be fun!

I wonder how many of us will just let our hair go to the natural color after all of this.  I am due for a haircut and color in 10 days and that's not happening until heaven only knows. I have dyed it for many years (started getting gray hair at 16) mainly because, as sole support of myself I couldn't give potential employers an idea of my real age. I'm retired now so I really could get away with it.  My mom had beautiful white hair.  I don't know if I'm quite brave enough to abandon hair dye yet!

I have, and have always had, short hair.  Not getting a regular cut is going to just about do me in.

[Sandy W]

25 minutes ago, Kohola3 said:

I wonder how many of us will just let our hair go to the natural color after all of this.  I am due for a haircut and color in 10 days and that's not happening until heaven only knows. I have dyed it for many years (started getting gray hair at 16) mainly because, as sole support of myself I couldn't give potential employers an idea of my real age. I'm retired now so I really could get away with it.  My mom had beautiful white hair.  I don't know if I'm quite brave enough to abandon hair dye yet!

I have, and have always had, short hair.  Not getting a regular cut is going to just about do me in.

I braved it about 10 years ago.  Like you, I had short hair for several years and had it colored before I even started to go gray, just for variety.  When I noticed my roots seemed to be uniformly white, I chose a time when there were no big social events coming up, and let it rip.  There was about a month that I resembled Mykelti but keeping it short, I didn't have to endure the root contrast as long as she is experiencing. 

Go for it Kohola, just think of the time and money you'll save! 

[Teafortwo]

34 minutes ago, Kohola3 said:

I wonder how many of us will just let our hair go to the natural color after all of this. 

I dyed my hair for 25 years, after it started graying in my early 30s. I stopped coloring it in Nov. 2018 when I developed dermatitis, thinking the chemicals might be the cause (they weren't). 8 months later it had grown out enough to cut short. I now have salt and pepper hair in a short cut that I really love! I don't have to deal with the mess of coloring it every other month (alternating with professional coloring to save money), the supplies, the fear of getting it my eyes.  I haven't cut it myself yet but my friend does that with her short hair, so I may be experimenting soon. When and if it is completely white I may feel differently, but for now I couldn't be happier with it.

[Marshmallow Mollie]

11 hours ago, DakotaJustice said:

The book is Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover, and Me by Adrienne Barbour. It's a delicious read - any of you ladies picked it up yet? 

The NPR review: 

https://www.npr.org/2019/10/17/770911878/a-daughter-becomes-an-accomplice-to-her-mothers-affair-in-wild-game

I haven’t read it, but I am dying to! On Gretchen Rubin’s podcast, Happier, she interviewed her in Jan or Feb about the book. I’m so glad you like it!

[Kohola3]

Ah, my life has a whole hour of bliss - Call the Midwife is back.  Ironically, with a diphtheria outbreak which caused a quarantine.

[Gramto6]

A long time ago I dyed my hair but for the last 20+ years have just let it do it's own thing.  Usually I keep it shoulder length so I can pull it back off my face. I am long overdue for a cut, which now isn't going to happen anytime soon, so I just twist it up and use a clip to hold it. I live alone and anywhere I would go is not fancy so I say to anyone that thinks it is weird...deal with it!

I just walked into my kitchen after a rain squall passed through and saw the most beautiful double rainbow outside!! That has got to be a good sign! It sure warmed my heart!

[Meowwww]

I’m watching 90 Day Fiancé right now, I love that stupid show. 
I am reading too much on the virus, I think. It’s scaring me and affecting my emotions.  Joe Diffie died of it today. 
I believe it about the chicks.  People obsess over strange things. And yet here it’s still life as normal. 

[Kyanight]

1 hour ago, Meowwww said:

I’m watching 90 Day Fiancé right now, I love that stupid show. 
I am reading too much on the virus, I think. It’s scaring me and affecting my emotions.  Joe Diffie died of it today. 
I believe it about the chicks.  People obsess over strange things. And yet here it’s still life as normal. 

I was so sad to hear about Joe Diffie!  He was only 61!!  He had some great songs.

I'm starting to get into Before the 90 Days.  Talk about characters.

[DakotaJustice]

2 hours ago, Marshmallow Mollie said:

I haven’t read it, but I am dying to! On Gretchen Rubin’s podcast, Happier, she interviewed her in Jan or Feb about the book. I’m so glad you like it!

I'll have to listen to the podcast - there's a wonderful interview with the author at the end of the Audible version - the narrator does a great job on the book BTW 🙂

[ginger90]

Thinking too much has become my own virus.

If you wear gloves, technically you should discard them and wash your hands, then put on a clean pair between tasks. 
It’s like providing care to one patient, wash hands, apply gloves, discard gloves, wash hands. Go to the next patient, and repeat.

Many cashiers, etc. wear gloves, but they don’t do the above between customers.

It gets my mind to thinking, provide personal cares to someone, then go to the next without changing gloves. Disgusting, right?

I wish my mind had a switch.

[Kohola3]

1 hour ago, ginger90 said:

Thinking too much has become my own virus.

I fear that's the case with most of us.  The bad news is just unrelenting that it's hard to think of anything else.  And the social isolation isn't helping that as well. I am a mentally healthy individual and it's beginning to get to me despite have the ability to video conference with others.  I have nothing to complain about, I am sheltering in place in a relatively safe rural area but it's still a fight to see any bright side at all.

Good to have this page to share our experience though.  

[DakotaJustice]

I had taken NextDoor off my phone because the notifications were getting insane - all you have to do is "like" a post and then you're inundated 😞
so I put it back on because I have a ton of heirloom tomato seedlings that I'm going to offer free (i really overdid it this year with the seeds) and that's when I found out that the city has closed all the parks and trails because people weren't practicing social distancing.  Which is true - i was up at the most popular trail in my area, a six-mile long paved trail called Sawyer Camp and it was PACKED with people and there were cars parked for a half-mile radius around the entrance!  You'd think it was Disneyland.  

Anywhoooo the park rangers had put up a big warning sign about keeping six feet apart, not gathering in groups, calling while passing if you're on a  bike/scooter/jogging/running and were even driving up and down the trail warning people, all to no avail.  So now all our parks are closed because people just can't follow social distancing rules I guess.  Oi vey.

[Kohola3]

12 minutes ago, DakotaJustice said:

So now all our parks are closed because people just can't follow social distancing rules I guess.  Oi vey.

Honest to god, every time you think people can't be more stupid, they prove you wrong.

[SunnyBeBe]

13 hours ago, Kohola3 said:

Ah, my life has a whole hour of bliss - Call the Midwife is back.  Ironically, with a diphtheria outbreak which caused a quarantine.

Oh, no.  I can't watch it then.  I'm trying to stay out of reality type things, thus, I'm watching mostly TLC and Bravo.  lol 

[Roslyn]

My son works night shift at a large corporate market in town.  His hours are through the roof.  His usual shifts of 5-6 hours are now 8-10 hours with a few 12 hours when the panic buying hit hard.

I decided to pop into the market, even though the best time for ANY shopping right now is first thing in the morning, since I was already there. I did a inventory of my pantry and had a few things on my "need soon" list. I was surprised to find regular granulated sugar on the shelf.  When I am at home I limit my reading about "the outside world" and I read everyone's personal experiences on here.  You just can't be absolutely positive with some things you read, so I limit my exposure.  However, walking through a mostly empty shelf market is really surreal.  It was also the first time I have been out that most of the other people shopping have been wearing masks and then instead of the usual irritating music played over the speakers in that store it was a disturbing message that sounded like something from a movie to be honest.

In a voice that reminded me of the movie "Aliens", when the spaceship was about to self destruct.  And this flat and lifeless voice kept repeating "You have 3 minutes to reach minimum safe distance" as the countdown went on.  Well...that is exactly what this voice sounded like.  It kept saying "There are no food shortages, the supply chain has not be disrupted. Please only buy what you absolutely need, there is no reason to panic.  Manufacturers are producing what is needed." It probably was the creepiest thing I have experienced to date.

[Yeah No]

In addition to dealing with the emotional impact of this situation I have also been dealing with my 92 year old father who lives 110 miles from me in NYC.  For the past few weeks I have been unable to visit him because of the travel warnings, plus I have been holding my breath as he normally has to let in caregivers such as nurses, physical therapists, doctors and his personal attendant.  All had been attending to him with masks and gloves, so I was just praying and keeping my fingers crossed.  Suddenly last week both he and his personal attendant came down with a "cold".  My father had been in robust health for at least a month before this after having been treated for a minor leg infection and given vitamin B shots, etc.  He was doing well and his nurses said he was recovering from his cold 'nicely' until Friday night when he suddenly started to sound winded and weak.  He insisted he was OK and sounded that way because he was "napping".  I was concerned.  I next spoke with him on Saturday morning and he still sounded weak and unlike himself.  His personal attendant, who was keeping away from him since she herself started feeling ill, called him on Saturday afternoon and called me to tell me she also didn't like the way he was sounding.  I tried reaching his building superintendent but of course both he and the doorman are not around on weekends.  I was getting more concerned but keep in mind that my father often leaves his cell phone in the other room and doesn't hear it ring, then realizes it the next morning (he does not have a land line, which somehow he disconnected a few years ago - not something I liked, but he often didn't hear that either and no one could convince him to get a hearing aid). 

When no one could reach him yesterday morning, I was beside myself and calling his visiting nurse service to ask for help.  They managed to convince his personal attendant to get out of her sick bed (she has the keys to his apartment) to do a wellness check on him while they also called the EMTs and police.  When they got there my father was conscious but too weak to get out of bed on his own.  He was obviously oxygen deprived and fighting with the EMTs who wanted him to get into a wheelchair to take him to the hospital.  They called me and gave me some kind of ration of crap about how they "couldn't force him to go to the hospital without his consent" and "if I were there maybe they could do something".  I told them not to make me responsible for not being there when NYC is ground zero for Covid and I'm at risk, plus we are being told not to come there under any circumstances.   I also told them that he doesn't listen to me anyway and if he is going to listen to someone, it would be his personal attendant.  And despite telling them that I have every possible durable power of attorney and health care proxy on him they gave me some garbage about how they needed his consent anyway.  This despite the fact that he was obviously failing and not in his right mind at the time (my father normally does not have dementia or Alzheimers AT ALL).   "If he didn't have Covid the hospital would just discharge him", they told me.  It was clear that they just didn't want to take him.  I told them that he was not sounding well and that if they left him at home and he later died it would be their fault.  I was literally crying and shaking at the time.  His personal attendant was upset and also telling them the same thing.  It was awful and ridiculous and once again illustrated one of the big reasons why I left NYC almost 30 years ago.

Anyway, his personal attendant told me she would work on him and call me back.  I later heard from his visiting nurse manager, (who was the angel of mercy that made this all happen), who told me that they were on the way to the hospital, which is a short ride from his house and part of one of the great hospitals of NYC.  He has been there a couple of times before, once for a gallbladder operation in 2002 and once in February of this year for his leg infection.  So it is a familiar and relatively smaller pavillion of one of the huge medical centers at the northern tip of Manhattan.  I later got a call from an emergency room doctor who told me that he was conscious but confused, and that he had a lot of the classic signs of Covid.  She was wonderful.  She told me he was in the right place, we did the right thing, and not to come down there under any circumstances because visitors are not allowed as the entire hospital and everyone there including staff pretty much has Covid.  She told me they were putting him on oxygen and that if necessary he might also be able to take that malaria drug they're giving to patients now in NYC.  I thanked her and she told me someone would be calling me later.

At 1:00 a.m. this morning I was woken up by a phone call from another doctor, who said my father would be transferred to a non-emergency room where he would be evaluated and given tests by a team of doctors this morning.  He said his oxygen level was "good" since being put on oxygen (note that the earlier doctor said it was low before this).  He told me I would be getting a phone call today with more info.

So I am praying and holding out hope for his recovery.  I have read that his chances aren't as bad as I thought even for his advanced age.  It looks like the absolute worst statistics anywhere in the world show a mortality rate of under 20% past 80, and probably more like 15% here in the US.  He has been in great health for his age except for a triple bypass operation about 11 years ago.  He doesn't suffer from high blood pressure, sugar or other issues like a lot of older people, plus he never smoked or drank or did anything to abuse his body other than eating a diet I think could have been a tiny bit healthier.  He also does not have any weight issue.  

Sorry to go on so long and for not writing so well, but I've had little sleep and am still a mess inside as you might imagine.  Please say your prayers for my Dad.  He is my only close family member left.  It's just me and my husband here on our little "life raft" here in CT and the telephone and video chats to keep us in touch with our friends, some of whom are down in NYC and frightened out of their minds at what's going on down there.  Say your prayers for all of us and may God bless you and your families and keep you safe.

Edited March 30, 2020 by Yeah No

[Roslyn]

Lots and lots of love @Yeah No ❤️

[Kohola3]

24 minutes ago, Yeah No said:

Say your prayers for all of us and may God bless you and your families and keep you safe.

Your story is heartbreaking.  All good thoughts your way. I miss both of my parents but am so glad that they didn't have to live through this nightmare.

[Kyanight]

25 minutes ago, Yeah No said:

So I am praying and holding out hope for his recovery. 

When I clicked on the heart for your post - it was meant as a I "heart" you, not that I liked hearing your father is having issues.  I have added him to my prayer list, and I am SOOOO relieved that he is in the hospital where he can get the care he needs, instead of at home - alone.  I was actually shaking as I read your post, waiting to hear that he was in good hands.  

[Aethera]

Folks, I totally understand the fear, concern, heartbreak, and stress in this current situation, and Small Talk is a good place to have the discussion about it all and offer each other support. 

I just ask that we please remember the politics policy. Keep politicians out of the discussion, please. And stay safe and healthy.

[Kohola3]

1 hour ago, SunnyBeBe said:

Oh, no.  I can't watch it then. 

No worries, it turns out fine.  Mother Mildred kicks some ass, too.

[MargeGunderson]

@Yeah No, you and your father (and all of his caregivers) are in my thoughts. 
 

(That seems like such an insignificant thing to say these days, but I’m at a loss for anything better.)

[Teafortwo]

10 hours ago, Yeah No said:

Sorry to go on so long and for not writing so well, but I've had little sleep and am still a mess inside as you might imagine.  Please say your prayers for my Dad. 

Your post was eloquently written and very moving. Sending good thoughts and best wishes to you and especially to your father for a full recovery. My heart goes out to you Yeah No - and to those on the front lines fighting this and suffering from it.

[Gramto6]

8 hours ago, MargeGunderson said:

@Yeah No, you and your father (and all of his caregivers) are in my thoughts. 
 

(That seems like such an insignificant thing to say these days, but I’m at a loss for anything better.)

In mine too. Bless your dad and I hope he recovers.

We all need to pray for all of us at this time, we have to have faith that this too will pass. Life may well be changed for a long time but life will prevail and we will get through this. ❤️

[Yeah No]

Thanks to all of you, and don't worry, no thought, no wish, no heart emoji or feeling sent at a loss for words goes unappreciated by me and my husband.  Bless all of you for sending them.

This is an extremely rough time for me as I'm sure you can imagine.  Today no one from the hospital called me.  I had to call them and ask to speak to someone, anyone that could update me on my father's condition.  A nurse in the station near where he is told me that he is still doing OK on oxygen and will be taken to a permanent room by the morning.  She said I should be able to get more information after that.  Maybe I can also speak with him soon too. I suppose it's good news that he isn't getting any worse.  I guess anyone with any kind of flu doesn't recuperate overnight.  I am just happy that he is in a familiar hospital where I know he is going to get good care.  It's all I can ask right now.

I spoke with his personal attendant and she said she is feeling better.  Thank goodness for that.  I just feel so helpless.  I was keeping busy and trying to stay positive as we confine ourselves at home due to the crisis, but now with the added situation with my dad I'm on a roller coaster ride of emotions.  Sometimes optimistic, sometimes in utter despair.  This sucks so bad I can't even believe it.

On another note, and indulge me as I try to take my mind off my worries, I just saw a report that almost gleefully predicted that this pandemic is going to make more people shop online more for good now and that while all our brick and mortar stores may go away many of them will still exist online.  Like this is an OK thing.  WTF?  Do they even understand what it's like to be a woman that's hard to fit or someone that maybe just enjoys a little diversion into "retail therapy"?  Do they even care about all the people employed by those stores that might be put out of work and instead offered horrible jobs working for Amazon?  Are we all going to become these self contained Borg-like automatons that do nothing but sit at home in our hovels holed up in dark rooms alone at the computer wearing nothing but sweats and letting our hair go wild and gray?  Like for good now?  Oh, and somehow this is OK because this is what some out of touch someone somewhere seems to think the rest of the average world wants.  Meanwhile we've had like 20 years of online retail and somehow even after all those years it hasn't accounted for more than 27% of all retail sales, and that percentage seems to have leveled off in recent years so it's not like it's been going up all that fast. 

Word to the media:  Most people really don't want to see brick and mortar stores go away, especially women.  Maybe not your rich women that never even have to blow dry their own hair much less shop for themselves, but the rest of us average women out there.  Of course those that don't shop for themselves don't give a crap about brick and mortar stores and are always pushing the idea that everyone actually WANTS to buy everything online.  Ummm.....no, they don't.  They should look at the statistics.  I'm just sick of the way they presume to speak for everyone. 

And PS, I think that once the pandemic is truly over people are gradually going to go back to normal and at some point go out shopping like they did before because they will be so freaking TIRED of sitting at home and actually want to go out and DO something for a change.  It will be like the effect we see here in New England after a particularly bad winter.  Once spring comes the stores are PACKED and there's insane frantic traffic everywhere.  I just hope that by then we will still have stores to go shop in and that the pandemic hasn't wiped them and all the restaurants off the face of the earth.  It looks like the mouthpieces might see their predictions come true, but not because anybody really wanted it.

Sorry for the rant!

Edited March 31, 2020 by Yeah No

[Meowwww]

@Yeah No

So many prayers and so much love to you and your dad.  Please keep us posted, the power of group prayers/wishes is very powerful.  Hugs. 

[ginger90]

[suomi]

I just discovered this genre today and now I'm steadily hunting 'em down. Chickens on a seesaw. A marble race. ROFL. (More videos at link). 

Quote

With the absence of sports spawned by the novel coronavirus pandemic, fans have sought to fill that gaping void with game simulations, replays and sports movies. Buck’s contribution to the effort began March 22, when he committed to offer play-by-play for videos as simple as preparing dinner.

Cordisco rarely tweets and primarily uses Twitter to follow news. But by Tuesday evening, just after he finished a conference call, Cordisco saw hundreds of notifications rolling in. He immediately knew why.

“Look at this,” Buck says as Cordisco places the wings onto the grill. “They were already hot coming out. They’re back on the grill. The sauce is inside the bowl. Reaching back in. Wanting more. They keep coming out of that bowl. How many can you give us, Andrew? Unbelievable!”

Buck, the son of legendary announcer Jack Buck, has called 22 World Series and six Super Bowls for Fox. From his St. Louis home, he is now calling these lighthearted videos, which Fox dubbed “Quarantine Calls.”

Buck has provided humorous analysis of dogs chasing each other on an empty field, chickens wandering around in their coop with a seesaw and an airline employee marshaling a plane to its gate. Dozens of these videos fill Buck’s Twitter feed and have combined for millions of views.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/03/31/joe-buck-quarantine-calls/

 

Edited March 31, 2020 by suomi
deleted inches of empty space

[suomi]

Sorry this is such a long one but we're not gonna have a baseball season this year. (Yes, big money has ruined professional ball anyway but that's another post for another day).

My family bled Dodger Blue in the '60s and '70s and Sandy Koufax pitched a perfect game at home against the Cubbies in '65. Hometown announcer Vin Scully once again showed why nobody called a game like he did (for 67 seasons). Radio and TV sound engineers always had a hard time calibrating their broadcasts because Vin was blasting from so many transistor radios in the stadium. 

We didn't have season tickets but we went to at least a dozen home games every year. The players came out of their gate after they showered and spent what seemed like forever talking with kids who waited for them and they were so patient and so nice. (I guess the ones who weren't like that used a different exit. I don't recall Drysdale hanging around, if he did it wasn't for very long).

They remembered where you lived and asked about your travel time to the park and where you were headed to eat afterward. (Garvey-Lopes-Russell-and-Cey is still the longest-together infield in MLB - 833 games - and they were hella good to their fans). 

We couldn't go to this game in '65 because Tuesday was the first day of school (I was 15) and this was two days later and we lived two hours one-way from the stadium. We were bummed but as usual we listened to 50,000 watt powerhouse KFI 640 AM Los Angeles on our transistors in our rooms.  And as soon as the game heated up we went to the living room and laid on the floor in front of the hi-fi where my mom had the speakers maxed. 

We loved Koufax because he was a gentleman and we loved Drysdale because he was a barbarian and both were outstanding pitchers. 

Quotes from Drysdale (who hit 154 batters in his 14 seasons with the Dodgers): My own little rule was two for one. If one of my teammates got knocked down then I knocked down two on the other team. 

I hate all hitters. I start a game mad and I stay that way until it’s over.

The pitcher has to find out if the hitter is timid and, if he is timid, he has to remind the hitter he’s timid.

When the ball is over the middle of the plate, the batter is hitting it with the sweet part of the bat. When it's inside, he's hitting it with the part of the bat from the handle to the trademark. When it's outside, he's hitting it with the end of the bat. You've got to keep the ball away from the sweet part of the bat. To do that, the pitcher has to move the hitter off the plate.

Quotes about Drysdale: Batting against Don Drysdale is the same as making a date with a dentist. (Dick Groat)

Don Drysdale would consider an intentional walk a waste of three pitches. If he wants to put you on base, he can hit you with one pitch. (Mike Shannon)

The trick against Drysdale is to hit him before he hits you. (Orlando Cepeda)

I hated to bat against Drysdale. After he hit you he’d come around, look at the bruise on your arm and say "Do you want me to sign it?" (Mickey Mantle)

Home plate is 17 inches wide. But to Don Drysdale it is divided into three parts – the inside four inches, the middle nine inches, and the outside four inches. To him only the middle part belongs to the hitter; the inside and outside parts belong to the pitcher. (Dave Anderson, NY Times)

I personally think it’s too bad if a batter gets hit crowding the plate. I know that Don Drysdale, Larry Sherry and Stan Williams felt the same way when they pitched for the Dodgers in the late 1950s and early ’60s. That was the formula I was raised on. Come to think of it, I’ve never seen a batter apologize for smashing a line drive off some part of a pitcher’s torso. (Roger Craig, Inside Pitch)

[The score is 1-0 Dodgers, top of the 9th inning. Chicago pitcher Bob Hendley had a no-hitter until the 7th inning and LA's only run was unearned.]

Vin Scully: Three times in his sensational career has Sandy Koufax walked out to the mound to pitch a fateful ninth, where he turned in a no-hitter. But tonight, September the 9th, Nineteen hundred and sixty five he made the toughest walk of his career, I'm sure. Because through eight innings he has pitched a perfect game, he has struck out eleven, he has retired twenty four consecutive batters ...

... the strike two pitch on the way, fast ball outside, ball one. Krug started to go after it and held up and Torborg held the ball high in the air trying to convince [home plate umpire] Vargo but Eddie said "No, sir!" 

... and there's 29,000 people in the ball park and a million butterflies. Twenty nine thousand, one hundred and thirty nine paid.

In the Dodger dugout Al Ferrara gets up and looks down near the runway and it begins to get tough to be a teammate and sit in the dugout and have to watch. Sandy, back of the rubber, now toes it, all the boys in the bullpen straining to get a better look, as they look through the wire fence in left field. 

A lotta people in the ballpark now are starting to see the pitches with their heart. The pitch was outside, Torborg tried to pull it over the plate but Vargo, an experienced umpire, wouldn't go for it ... 

... and Koufax with a new ball takes a hitch at his belt and walks behind the mound. I would think that the mound at Dodger Stadium right now is the loneliest place in the world. 

The time on the scoreboard is 9:44. The date September the 9th, 1965. 

He has struck out, by the way, five consecutive batters, and that's gone unnoticed. 

Sandy ready, and the strike one pitch VERY HIGH and he lost his hat, he really forced that one. That's only the second time tonight where I have had the feeling that Sandy threw instead of pitched, trying to get that little extra. 

It is 9:46pm ... 
 

 

https://sports.yahoo.com/news/the-greatest-call-ever-the-story-of-vin-scullys-ninth-inning-of-sandy-koufaxs-perfect-game-161923355.html

Edited April 1, 2020 by suomi