Mysterious Arrival In My Mailbox Of COVID-19 Self-Test Kits

At some point in time, yesterday, between five and six, I tired of being snowbound.

So, I put on a few layers of outerwear and slid my way to the mailbox.

Opening the mailbox I saw a package was inside.

I was not expecting a package. I took the package out of the mailbox and saw that it was not from Amazon, which was my initial assumption, assuming I'd forgotten I'd ordered something.

Returning to indoor warm comfort I opened the package, which was packaged in several layers, with the final layer being bubble wrap.

Breaking through the bubble wrap I was surprised to find that which you see photo documented.

Two COVID-19 Self-Test At Home Antigen Rapid Test kits, with each kit containing two tests.

Is this something that everyone is being mailed without initiating it via some request method? 

I do have one other possible explanation.

I suspect Linda Lou caused these Self Tests to be mailed to me.

Because a couple days ago Linda Lou told me she had acquired several COVID test kits, along with a supply of N95 masks.

I currently feel fine.

I shall wait til I don't feel fine, and then take one of these tests...
 

Get Well Miss Beth

A month or so ago Miss Beth was hospitalized at United General Hospital. That hospital is located halfway between my old home town of Burlington, and the town a few miles upriver from Burlington, called Sedro Woolley.

Miss Beth and I were born in the same hospital in Eugene, Oregon, with Miss Beth hatching a year before I did. 

When Miss Beth was hospitalized a month or so ago she was exposed to COVID-19. Upon release from the hospital she was put on quarantine. During the quarantine her exposure to COVID became a full blown Coronavirus attack. Soon passed on to her husband.

During the course of fighting the virus, Miss Beth has had good days and way worse days. The way worse days have become way worse.

Miss Beth is back in the hospital due to having trouble breathing.

I hope she does not have to be put on a ventilator.

I am looking forward to seeing Miss Beth next summer. There has been talk of having a making raspberry almond tarts party, using my mom's recipe, which Miss Beth thought she also had, via my mom giving it to her mom.

I am not much of a fan of that sending thoughts and prayers thing. It always sounds so superficial to me. But, if I was a fan of such, I would be sending thoughts and prayers to Miss Beth. 

Well, now that you are causing me to think about it, I am sending thoughts to Miss Beth, lots of them. The prayer thing, not so much...

Hot Humid 2nd October Saturday With Wichita Water Falling

 

I really think I am beginning to go COVID stir crazy. I have not been further than 40 miles from my abode since last March. I do not remember any period in my existence of such a length with going so few miles from my home location.

On Facebook of late I am seeing plans being made for my high school class to have a reunion next summer. I don't see that happening. And I sure don't see myself attending, for a variety of reasons. I do see myself being in Washington next summer, should this COVID nightmare abate sufficiently.

So, today, feeling that stir crazy feeling, I decided to take that long five mile drive north, to Lucy Park, to hike along the Wichita River to the iconic symbol of Wichita Falls.

As you can see, above, I was not alone in deciding to do this today, such as there is that lady you see, taking pics with her phone. I do not know if she had yet noticed the other group getting into position to take some adventurous selfie photos.

The sign says "WALKING OFF PAVED TRAILS AND STEPS BY THE FALLS IS PROHIBITED".

I suspect that group you see being scofflaws did not see the sign. The sign is not positioned in a location where every Falls visitor can not help but see it.

Continuing on I opted to take the brick paved trail which serpentines to the top of the falls and the cemetery source from which it flows.

On the way to the top of the Falls I had another view of the group taking closeup selfies at the edge of the Falls.

Another view, this time from the lookout looking out over the top of the Falls. As you can see the selfie takers are not really getting too close to falling over the Falls. Hence, limited danger.

A final view, this time from the lookout which looks over the biggest fall of the Falls. That group you see at the bottom of the Falls are not being scofflaws, they are on one of the approved paved trails.

And that was my excitement for the day. That and going to Walmart, where I got a pork roast I will grill on the smokeless grill tomorrow, along with okra.

Speaking of COVID. And who isn't? Wichita County has had a record number of new cases four days in a row. I may be off on the number by a case or two, but Tuesday there were 61, Wednesday 67, Thursday 82 and Friday 103, with two deaths.

It is getting worse fast at this location. Or so it seems...

Hope Luke Don't Get COVID But Hope Hicks Do

 

Rolled my bike a few miles this mighty fine first Saturday of the October version of 2020. The temperature barely in the 70s. 

Eventually I rolled around Sikes Lake where I found a lot of chalk drawings drawn on the cement trail. There are dozens of these cryptic drawings. I could sort of glean they were mostly personal well wishes directed at specific people, such as the one you see above, only part of which I photo documented.

The message was telling someone named Luke "You got this, don't get COVID..."

I was in Walmart yester evening for the first time since we learned our Dear Leader has contracted COVID. This was the first time I have been in Walmart since wearing a mask was mandated that I did not see a single fool disobeying that directive and arrogantly wandering Walmart mask-free.

Has the Dear Leader getting COVID rendered the pandemic deniers totally confused? 

Speaking of idiots, and who isn't, a related item, from Facebook.

Prior to learning our Dear Leader and his Third Wife have the virus, we had learned Trump aide Hope Hicks had tested positive.

Someone on Facebook posted one of those meme things, which simply said...

"HOPE HICKS GETS COVID-19"

Now, as a sad example of how annoying Facebook can be, and how many ill informed ignorant type people are on Facebook, always ready to scold people for this that or the other thing which the scolder usually misunderstands. Multiple people scolded the person who simply posted the fact that Hope Hicks had contracted the virus.

On person simply said "how rude". Others scolded variations chastising the cruelty of hoping people get COVID.

Think of how stupid and ignorant one has to be to not know Hope Hicks is a person, working for our Dear Leader, and to think this Facebook poster is hoping that "Hicks" get COVID-19. And by "Hicks" I am assuming the scolders think the Facebook poster means Redneck Dumbclucks. You know, your basic Trump supporters, also known as Deplorables.

Anyway, we are living through troubled times, hopefully better soon, in a variety of ways...

Has COVID-19 Lost Us Our Freedom To Wonder About Trump & Romans 8:38-39?

A few days ago I took my driving lunch of McDonald's cheeseburgers to Archer City.

Driving around the thriving metropolis which was the location for The Last Picture Show, along with Larry McMurtry's bookstores, I saw for the first time those giant banners proclaiming "KEEP AMERICA Great TRUMP 2020", which in the days which followed I saw also at those embarrassing Liberate America protests where herds of right wingnut redneck yahoos identify themselves as moronic idiots.

I have yet to see one of those banners stuck on someone's house or in someone's yard here in Wichita Falls. I suspect if I drove around enough I would see one. Or two.

And then yesterday I rode my bike to Sikes Lake. On the way, pretty much almost right across the street from my abode I saw that which you see above stuck to a local's house.

COVID-19 HAS CAUSED US TO LOSE OUR FREEDOM
BUT WE STILL HAVE FAITH HOPE & LOVE
BELIEVE IN ROMANS 8:38-39

Biblical scholar that I be I immediately knew the content of the bible verses being referenced. Okay, truth obviously is, I had to Google it to find out that...

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

I admit I am an extremely stupid person and that I have no clue what the point is which the above bible words are trying to convey, or what they have to do with COVID-19 or our supposedly lost freedoms, the loss of which is supposedly caused by the viral pandemic.

I guess it has been a tad inconvenient not to go the grocery store or a restaurant whenever the whim strikes. Or get my haircut. Or a new tattoo.

But, for some reason I do not feel any less free than I felt before the pandemic began to impede upon my mobility. I do feel real free to be part of helping stop the spread of this pandemic, so that we can get back to what passed as normal in pre-pandemic times.

Trump regularly reads my blog, among all the other regular reading he does. So, I expect at today's Trump Show he will now cite Romans 8:38-39, pompously, arrogantly, as if making some sort of point, and thus cause yet more Americans to come over to the side which thinks our Dear Leader to be insane with obvious mental health issues of the malignant narcissistic personality disorder type.

Meanwhile, stormy weather is preventing any bike ride discovery of any other embarrassing house ornaments today...