College Football Super Spreaders

Posted on by Thor

College football stadiums across America have been packed this Labor day weekend. The number in attendance at some of the country’s biggest stadiums was staggering. The University of Michigan hosted Western Michigan with close to 110,000 spectators standing shoulder to shoulder. The University of Texas defeated Louisiana on September 4, 2021, cheered by more than 91,000 screaming and cheering fans. And the list could go on and on as more than 80 games were played during the long weekend.

“I don’t think it’s smart,” said Dr Anthony Fauci of the huge college football crowds, amid a surge of Covid-19 cases in the US.

“Outdoors is always better than indoors, but even when you have such a congregate setting of people close together – first, you should be vaccinated. And when you do have congregate settings, particularly indoors, you should be wearing a mask,” the president’s leading infectious diseases expert told CNN on Tuesday.

Penn State, the University of Wisconsin, and the University of Alabama are planning for full-capacity crowds and are not asking for vaccination records. Iowa fan and critical care pharmacist at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Alyssa Sykuta, commented on her team’s fans waving to the Children’s Hospital behind the stadium before the game on September4, 2021. “As an Iowa fan this is one of my favorite college football traditions, but in the context of the past 18 months, it is cringe worthy,” she wrote on Twitter. “Maybe a moment of silence to honor kids at @UIchildrens who have been impacted by Covid instead? And for the love of God mask up and get vaxxed.” “ICUs are full, children are being hospitalized as schools reopen. College football stadiums full of mask less fans. I don’t understand,” said a retired hospital employee Rick Green on Twitter.

Experts have pointed out that being outdoors is less likely to spread the virus but if you are sitting shoulder to shoulder with thousands of other shouting fans the doesn’t just disappear. On top of that people gather in the bathrooms and then in bars after the game further heightening the chance of spread.

The 2021 NFL season begins on September 9, 2021 when defending Super Bowl champions Tampa Bay host the Dallas Cowboys with a capacity of more than 65,000 people. Masks are not required but recommend for the game.

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.

 

The Range

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Clare Brown took her parents, Terry and I for a tour of where she does her research and work on the Louisiana State University. We started in the basement where she showed us huge freezers that house thousands of tiny test tubes full of bird muscle samples. These samples are used to find the birds DNA sequencing. Another basement room was full of formaldehyde filled jars with birds inside. That room would have made a good sketch.

Upstairs, Clare showed us her office which was a tiny cubicle. About four other researchers shared the same room. On the walls of the cubicle were hints of the exotic places the researchers travel to. On the same floor were the schools art class studios and stepping into those made me feel quite at home. The hallways were full of nude figure studies. Since it was a student break, I suspect only the worst paintings were left behind.

We then went inside the LSU Natural History Museum on campus.  Large dioramas with stuffed animals inside recreated environments from natural settings. The display for birds of the word was a tight hall where stuffed birds in flight were enclosed in glass cases. Only a stuffed owl had escaped the glass enclosure and he flew up towards the ceiling. The star attraction of the museum was a stuffed tiger. The school athletics mascot is named Mike the Tiger.

Mike I was born in 1935, he was purchased from the Little Rock Zoo
with money raised by collecting 25 cents from each LSU student for a
total of $750. Originally named Sheik, the new mascot was renamed in
honor of Mike Chambers, LSU’s athletic trainer at the time, who was the
person most responsible for bringing him to the school. Mike assumed his
duties as the living symbol of LSU only three days after arriving on
campus in 1936. Mike was kidnapped by four Tulane students. He
was not abandoned, the cage was not painted Tulane green, but decorated
with green and white crepe paper. A return
was negotiated, and escorted by police, Mike was returned shortly before
the game. Mike I lived for 20 years before dying of kidney disease in 1956.When you press a button next to the display, Mike I roars.

A huge room next to the museum is known as “The Range”. The room is filled with row after row of metal lockers. Inside metal drawers can be pulled out to inspect stuffed birds from every continent. Rachel is an avid birder so this was a birder’s paradise. Terry refused to go in the range. She had been here once before and Clare showed her the stuffed Cockatoos. They reminded Terry of our pet cockatoo, Zorro, and thus saddened her. She likes to argue with her sister that cockatoos have feelings just like humans. That debate raged for our whole visit. Rachel and Joseph inspected drawer after drawer of birds. Rachel got to hold and inspects birds she had never seen before. The birds plumage remains vibrant and bright and if kept as they are they will last hundreds of years. Some specimens are already that old. They say the eyes are mirrors to the soul. These birds eyes were missing. Cotton hinted at what filled their inner void.

Whiskey River

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Terry and I had been to Angelle’s Whiskey River once before. When we returned to Louisiana this is the one place Terry wanted to share with her niece Claire Brown. This Cajun dive bar can only be found by driving over a dirt road over the levee. Terry’s iPhone apple maps sent us in a round about way through trailer park suburbs. Finding the dirt road was tricky because it forked back making it impossible to see the sign from behind. There was a five dollar cover but the band played tirelessly hour after hour.

Whiskey River is a ramshackle place built on stilts right next to the river.  The floor is just plywood planks and the place shutters when everyone is dancing. The band ironically was the same group Terry and I danced to last time we were there, called “Gene Delafose and French Rockin’ Boogie.” This weekly Cajun dance hall was once again packed. The dance floor was always full for every dance number. Older gentlemen in cowboy hats knew every Cajun dance move and the whisked a new woman around the dance floor for every number. Terry danced with several men who spun her ceaselessly as I did this quick sketch. For some dances, everyone knew to dance in sweeping circles clockwise.

Men lined up to dance with Claire and one asked her for her number, but she has a boyfriend. When the sketch was done, I joined Terry on the dance floor until we were both exhausted. Huge fans cross ventilated the dance floor but with so many heated bodies the place was hot despite the cold temperature outside. The dance floor would always empty the second the band stopped playing. Terry was the one person who wanted to remain on the dance floor waiting for the next song to begin. She loves Cajun music. We even had a Cajun band perform at our wedding. My family seemed confused by all the dancing but Terry’s family danced the whole time.

By the time we left we smelled like cheap beer and cigarette smoke. The fans kept the air breathable but the smoke seeped it’s way deep into our jackets. Claire offered to wash our winter jackets at her place and the next day we smelled squeaky clean.

Sea Ark

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One of Clare Brown’s instructors offered to take us out on his boat.The Atchafalaya River was perhaps an hour drive from the Louisiana State University. The river has thousands of islands and inlets making an easy place to get lost in. It was incredibly cold as well. The boat ramp was under a highway overpass, making a less then ideal natural setting to start. Once we lost sight of the highway however, the river was gorgeous. Everyone had binoculars. Clare is working on an ornithology Theseus. Terry like to bird watch when she is around experienced bird watchers. I’m sure she added some life birds to her list.

Clare was seated next to me with her little dog, so they didn’t make it into the sketch. Clare was baby sitting the pup, so she had never taken the him onto a boat, and was a little afraid that he might jump in the water. He knew better. When the boat traveled at top speed the wind whipped right through my several layers. When we traveled at top speed, my gloved hand got wet when the bow spray caught me by surprise, so I had to ditch that glove. I just kept blowing into my drawing fist to keep it working. Terry and I aren’t used to this kind of cold, but we survived. Periodically we cut the motor and everyone looked for movement in the trees. Birds were everywhere. As the sun set, the light grew golden illuminating the tree tops. As it grew dark the temperature dropped quickly. Luckily we got off the river before it got too cold. What a great way to discover the Louisiana Bayou.

Christmas Eve Bonfires

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On Christmas Eve, the Mississippi levies in Louisiana have over 100 teepee shaped log structures that are ignited creating a ten mile long series of bonfires. Different families are responsible for building and igniting their bonfires. Building these structures is a family tradition that has been passed down the generations. Cane reeds are added inside some of the structures. The cane reeds explode when on fire acting like a poor man’s fireworks. Of course many fires also had fireworks inside. The homes near the levee had tents set up and large spreads of Gumbo to share with neighbors.

Claire Brown drove her parents along with Terry and myself to a parking spot a few blocks away. We walked to the levee and got there just as they were all ignited. It was a freezing cold night and I immediately started sketching as everyone else explored. When my fingers got to cold to move, I walked to the nearest bonfire to warm my hands and then I would go back to work. Huge professional grade rockets were being fired into the air only a few yards from me. It felt like a war zone. Traffic along the levee road was bumper to bumper with the red brake lights blazing.

Someone unfolded a long sheet of black plastic creating a trail down the steep slope. Children were given cardboard sheets that they could use as sleds and they barreled down the hill. The cold breeze blew the embers from the fires over the Mississippi river. Teepee bonfire structures began to fold and collapse inwards. Orange embers floated up to the star filled sky. This was truly a once in a lifetime experience. It is worth a trip to the Saint James Parish to experience it first hand.