Waiting for the Flight to Paris

Posted on by Thor

The flight out of Orlando went to Atlanta, Georgia. There was a several hour layover before the flight to Paris. I had read warnings that flight to and from Paris would be delayed once the air traffic controllers went on strike. Thankfully that strike would start a week after my flight. I did not book a return flight since I am not exactly sure where I will be once the 75th Infantry journey is complete. I know for sure that I will end up in Germany. I just need to figure out which airport is best to fly out of. that is a choice for another day. My goal right now it so keep pushing forward, following in my father’s footsteps.

I thought my subject for this sketch was sound asleep. He must have had one eye open however since he stopped by to see how the sketch turned out as I was packing it away. This is Robert Varis who is a very accomplished artist. He was returning from a convention where he sold his work which is bold and fluid n a style that is easy to read from a mile away.

I wish I had the ability to drop off to sleep like this. My mind races at a thousand miles an our contemplating all that can go wrong. I can’t turn that sound track off an relax. Trust me, if things can go wrong, they do go wrong in my world. Every sketch is just a compilation of thousands of mistakes.

There was a duty free store being Robert as e slept. Do people actually buy duty free alcohol at the airport? What is the point? I didn’t have a lick f alcohol the entire flight, though I bet a single glass of red wine would have knocked me out. But would it e a good cup of wine? If it was a fine beautifully blended wine I might have considered it. I think airplane wines come in a box. If I drank wine then I might have to pee before we landed.  Those airplane toilets have that strange trap door and I always think it might rip open and I would fall thousands of feet to my frozen death. I didn’t pee for 8 hours. I am quite proud of myself, my body couldn’t have done that months ago when I had a softball sized prostrate making me have to pee like a pregnant woman every half hour or so.

When we landed, I got several hundred dollars in Euros as pocket change for emergencies. I should have gotten more. It turns out the trip has been one endless emergency.

Someone Died In My Bed!

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Roughly 1800 kids were hospitalized with COVID-19 in the US last week, a 500% increase in the rate of COVID-19 hospitalizations for children since early July, according to data from the CDC. Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said “If your child needs an ICU bed, or more likely if they have COVID and need an ICU bed, we don’t have one.” He said “Your child will wait for another child to die before getting one.”

Emerging data from a large study in Canada suggest that children who test positive for COVID-19 during the Delta wave may be more than twice as likely to be hospitalized as they were when previous versions of the virus were dominating transmission. The new data support what many pediatric infectious disease experts say they’ve been seeing—younger kids with more serious symptoms.

Children under 12 still have no access to a vaccine, so they are facing increased exposure to a germ that’s become more dangerous with little protection, especially in schools where masks as a faint suggestion rather than a much needed mandate. Florida Children’s Hospitals are overwhelmed. Florida education officials who are trying to protect the children with mask mandates are having their jobs threatened by Florida Governor Ron DeathSantis. Florida’s Orange County Public Schools said it would require students to wear masks, except pupils whose parents opt them out with a signed note. Employees, visitors, volunteers and parents also will be required to wear masks, the district said. The CDC recommends that everyone – students, teachers, staff and visitors – wear masks in schools.

8,400 Tampa Florida area students and faculty are in quarantine after being exposed to the virus after just one week of school. An emergency school board meeting will be held the evening of August 18, 2021 to discuss the spread of the virus and take up the issue of mandatory mask wearing in schools. If approved, that could put the school district directly at odds with DeathSantis. Schools in Atlanta, Georgia reported over 4,000 COVID cases in just two weeks. Ten districts in that metro area have already suspended in-person learning.

Over 50 children are being hospitalized with COVID every single day in Florida. The state now leads the U.S. in new COVID-19 infections and has the highest rate of hospitalizations among children in the nation.

Cheersport Nationals

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Gimme a C, gimme an O, gimme a V, gimme an I, gimme a D! Whats that spell?! COVID!!!!!!  40,000 fans are expected to converge on Atlanta Georgia, for the Cheersport Nationals. Though event organizers are taking some precautions against COVID-19, it doesn’t take an expert to figure out that it will likely be a superspreader event. By CDC standards, the event is at the highest risk of Covid-19 transmission.

A CDC study from October found that indoor sporting events — even those with far fewer players than the cheerleading competition — can easily turn into superspreading events.

10,000 competitors are expected to take part in the annual Cheersport Nationals event, about half the number of competitors who usually attend. Georgia just recorded its highest single-day COVID-19 death toll. Atlanta where the cheer event is taking place, has seen a 9.8% Covid-19 positivity rate over the last two weeks, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health’s most recent report.

Public health doctors are worried that competitors and their families could further spread the virus in between competitions and around town. After the competition they then will return home and seed the virus all across the country.

The convention center where the event is being held also houses Covid-19 patients with mild to moderate illness. Attendees “assume all risks related to exposure to Covid-19” by taking part. All coaches and cheer performers are required to wear a mask to enter the building and “during the transitions” between practice and performance. The cheerers don’t need to wear masks during their performance.

 

Days Apart

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A Douglas County, Colorado couple in their 70s died within days of each other from COVID-19.

An Oklahoma couple married 45 years, died days apart. They texted each other “I love you” before going into coma.

In Jacksonville, Florida a mother and daughter died 19 days apart from COVID-19.

A Wisconsin couple married for six decades died from COVID-19 just 2 days apart.

A California couple married 35 years died from COVID-19, 11 days apart.

The wife and husband behind Seattle’s Kona Kitchen died from COVID-19 just days apart.

A South Carolina couple married for 66 years died days apart from COVID-19.

A Louisiana woman lost both of her parents days apart due to COVID-19.

An Atlanta, Georgia couple married for 49 years died days apart from COVID-19.

Three members of a Freehold Township, New Jersey family died days apart after contracting COVID-19.

Just as the United States is rolling out COVID-19 vaccines, the numbers have become gloomier than ever: Over 3,000 Americans died in a single day, more than on D-Day or 9/11. One million new cases in the span of five days. More than 106,000 people in the hospital. The U.S. recorded 3,124 deaths Wednesday, December 9, 2020 the highest one-day total yet, according to Johns Hopkins University. Up until last week, the peak was 2,603 deaths on April 15, when New York City was the epicenter of the nation’s outbreak.