{"id":4716,"date":"2020-03-17T19:30:40","date_gmt":"2020-03-17T23:30:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=4716"},"modified":"2020-03-17T19:46:23","modified_gmt":"2020-03-17T23:46:23","slug":"covid-19-day-5-march-16-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=4716","title":{"rendered":"COVID 19 DAY 5: MARCH 16, 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"
Day 5,  COVID 19 PANDEMIC  <\/p>\n
March 17, 2020<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Canada\u2026this morning 444 infected\u2026now 7 p.m., 598 infected in Canada<\/div>\n
as expected\u2026are we flattening the curve?<\/div>\n
Social Distancing \u2026 now a good thing  \u2026 a month ago the term had a negative ring.<\/div>\n
today it is  a term of hope.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
1)  We are not hoarders really but Marjorie did buy two gigantic  sacks of<\/div>\n
Quaker rolled oats a couple of months ago.  Great.  Years ago when I was<\/div>\n
a prospector rolled oats were a staple.  Initially we used  oats to make porridge\u2026but<\/div>\n
that took time and work\u2026so we then began to eat them raw with milk and brown sugar\u2026then<\/div>\n
we ran out of canned and powdered milk so began to eat them raw with water and sugar.<\/div>\n
Sugar ran out.  So we ate taw rolled oats.  No problem. <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
 Then, years later, I noticed a Skeoch recipe<\/div>\n
from my Aunt Greta\u2019s old cook book dating back to the 1840\u2019s which mentioned farm hands<\/div>\n
drinking something called  \u201cBroze\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
“What is Broze, Aunt Greta?\u201d<\/div>\n
“That was a  drink for the boys cutting hay and grain\u201d<\/div>\n
A drink?\u201d<\/div>\n
Yes.<\/div>\n
“How do you make it?”<\/div>\n
“Just put some raw rolled oats in with drinking water, maybe a little sugar\u2026sometimes<\/div>\n
we cooked  it and let it cool.\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Bottom line:  Seems  we can live on these two sacks  of rolled oats for a long time.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
2)  What a difference.   Today our Canadian cabinet led by deputy PM Freyland held a<\/div>\n
news  conference that was confidence building\u2026serious, positive, personal, fact laden\u2026<\/div>\n
Yesterday I  watched  the same kind of thing from Trump but his performance was the <\/div>\n
reverse.   I was very unsettled after Trump spoke   I scanned the faces of those behind<\/div>\n
him and my opinion the faces evasive, troubled, scattered, unsure.  Our deputy PM<\/div>\n
has taken the reins with confidence \u2026 willing to share the stage with all.  Could Trump\u2019s <\/div>\n
vice President do the same?  Not too sure about that but maybe if thrust into first place…<\/div>\n
VP of US might be less adoring of Trump and more willing to see the real world.  Right now we<\/div>\n
just have Trump, a narcissist who cannot even read a teleprompter.  I noticed today that<\/div>\n
our leaders used their written scripts accurately and  were not afraid to look at their notes.<\/div>\n
These are tough times\u2026not times in which to \u2018wing it\u2019.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
3)  Emergency Measures  Act  could be used if  need arises.   A very serious matter but <\/div>\n
TO  be used carefully lest crisis clash with provinces.  Federal government has the power though<\/div>\n
I am confident that Quebec will  support such.  Not so confident about Alberta.  Ontario under<\/div>\n
Ford seems to going into line but i fear his use of politics.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
4)  Lost in Paradise:  A friend of ours, who I will only call Pat, is trapped at the south end<\/div>\n
of Florida where the beaches are warm and inviting\u2026beaches where I would love to wander<\/div>\n
picking up flotsam and jetsam (and maybe a pair of  skates from Federal Express*) <\/div>\n
*Movie titled CASTAWAY with<\/div>\n
Tom Hanks as a lonely survivor<\/div>\n
Hopefully Pat will send  me (us) notes from the beaches under the title Lost in Paradise.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
pictures sent by Patricia and Dave today, March 17, 2020   Lost in Paradise<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Patricia and Dave: Lost in Paradise<\/div>\n
Paraphrasing: \u201cWel, Dave, our flight home just went up in smoke\u2026all flights cancelled.  Here<\/div>\n
we are Lost in Paradise..loving the sandy ‘no person\u2019s land’ of South Florida.  Look, there is<\/div>\n
dolphin nosing around as the tide comes in.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cI guess we have to think about getting home sometime soon.  The boat is gassed up<\/div>\n
for storage.  The marina is in full operation right now but maybe not for long. What do<\/div>\n
you think of buying a used car and making a run for the Canadian border?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s not just yet.  right now we are in paradise.\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
3)  Today I broke a tooth.  Small thing in normal times.  Big thing now.  Dentists are in a dangerous <\/div>\n
profession and have been advised to close shops.   My tooth break is minor but it focuses things.<\/div>\n
I have now been hived in the house for only 5 straight days but it seems like an eternity.  Marjorie<\/div>\n
has done a little shopping and  says Port Credit seems  deserted\u2026shops closed.  But food not an issue\u2026<\/div>\n
had half  a dozen Easter buns this morning..,,with honey from Russ V\u2019s bees.  Why significant?  Because the bakers are baking.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
4) Andrew:\u201dWe went for dinner last night and were the only people in the restaurant, then<\/div>\n
we went to see the movie  \u20181917′ and  were alone except for one other couple.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cAre you working?\u201d (outdoor job)<\/div>\n
\u201cyes,, we have seven jobs on.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cDangerous\u2026touch people?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNo one around.\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
next    Day 6,   March 18, 2020     <\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Day 5,  COVID 19 PANDEMIC   March 17, 2020 Canada\u2026this morning 444 infected\u2026now 7 p.m., 598 infected in Canada as expected\u2026are we flattening the curve? Social Distancing \u2026 now a good thing  \u2026 a month ago the term had a negative ring. today it is  a term of hope. 1)  We are not hoarders really […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4716","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4716","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4716"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4716\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4716"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4716"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4716"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}