The Daily Dose/April 9, 2020
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy
Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience…
THIS JUST IN: World Health Day was Tuesday. We couldn’t be bothered to write about then, of course, probably because we were too busy being healthy, but it certainly had good timing, coming as it did in the middle of the coronavirus/COVID-19 troubles.
Broad, Historical Context: As She’s done from time to time over the millennia, Mother Nature – either through a conscious effort at population control or merely through circumstance – has issued humanity another illness. In centuries past, all we could do was sit and take it, but the planet’s mobilized in a manner unprecedented in human history.
Fly In The Ointment: Our battle is showing mixed results. Some countries have handled this well and some haven’t. Taiwan, right next door to China, has few cases. America, which knew about this at the highest level months ago, ignored it and was left ill-prepared and scrambling when it did decide to do something. We now have the most cases and deaths of any country in the world – perhaps not a bulletin because of our size, but significantly more than we would have had had we been on the ball and capable.
Running The Numbers: The figures can say what you want them to. One the one hand, the 88,965 deaths represent a mere .0000115% of the world’s population. On the other hand, the death rate amongst closed cases is 21%, a staggering figure that was at 5.7% a month ago.
Dry, Technical Matter: Us humans, of course, have been dying needless deaths since time immemorial and soon enough the number of 2020 COVID-19 deaths will exceed the number of deaths from our planet’s biggest wars in 2019 (105,000, give or take).
The Bottom Line: So take this seriously and do what you can for yourself. Take a walk. Stay away from others. Wash your hands every five minutes. We even found ourselves wearing a mask on a recent shopping trip. It was given to us by someone we know and while I thought it was a bit of overkill, we were mindful that the person who issued it cared about us and our town. So care for others, too. Realize that if you’re reading this you still have a device and Internet access which is more than some others might have right now. Not everyone may be as fortunate as us.
Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually.
The Diary of a Nobody: Sparrow has been the county veterans service officer for a year now. Today’s Diary.
Today is my one-year anniversary here at the Veterans Service Office (VSO) and I am pleased to report that I have leveled up significantly, having gone from knowing squat about the job to knowing very little, all of it acquired on my own, too, because recall there was no training…
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On This Date
Great moments in us.
In 1865 – Confederate General Robert E Lee surrenders his Army of Northern Virginia to Union Army Commanding General Ulysses S Grant at Appomattox Court House in Virginia. The surrender happened in the afternoon and followed a brief morning battle that resulted in a decisive Union victory. This surrender spurred others throughout the Confederacy, though the war did not officially end until the CSS Shenandoah surrendered in, of all places, Liverpool, England on Nov. 6. The crew was absolved of any war crimes by the British and were later released.
In 1958 – Bob Pettit of the St Louis Hawks establishes a new NBA Finals record for most free throws made in a game in 102-100 win over the Boston Celtics in Game 5. Pettit made 19 free throws and broke the record of 17 his teammate Cliff Hagan had established in Game 2 and the record is now held by Dwayne Wade of the Miami Heat, who made 21 free throws in Game 5 of the 2006 Finals against the Dallas Mavericks. The Hawks would win the series in six games.
In 1977 – ABBA is at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the only week with Dancing Queen. It was the group’s seventh Top 40 hit in the US and their first of four Top 10 hits and Dancing Queen remains their only #1 song in America. The song went to #1 in 16 other countries, including ABBA’s native Sweden – where it spent 14 weeks at the top – the Soviet Union and Great Britain and was Billboard’s twelfth biggest song of the year. The song spent 15 weeks in the Top 40 and, rare for a #1 song, actually stalled at #66 for two weeks before resuming its ascent up the chart.
Quotebook
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
All teachings are mere references. The true experience is living your own life. – Deng Ming-Dao, 365 Tao
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
It’s not who you know, but what you know.
Patrick Marleau, currently with the Pittsburgh Penguins, holds the record for most years in the playoffs without winning the Stanley Cup with 19.
Today’s Stumper
Cheaper than Trivia Night at the bar.
In what city did the St Louis Hawks start? – Answer next time!
