(Note to readers. A draft version of this week's blog was mistakenly sent out on Saturday. My apologies for the error.) 

Staying Home
by Hank Silverberg

Are you staying home? 

I've been holed up for over two weeks now. I have been teaching my communications students on-line, but except for a few quick runs to the grocery store, it's been my house or my backyard. 

(My temporary classroom for on-line teaching) 

Like many people, Social Media has helped a lot.  I have spent some time with family and friends on the phone from other parts of the country whom I haven't talked to in a while and I have caught up with many others on Facebook and elsewhere on line, but I really miss the in- person contact. I have always taught my students that face-to-face contact is the best way to communicate. That's almost impossible now. Many of you have probably had similar experiences, so you may relate. 

I had a follow-up visit to my doctor, (I'm not sick) and it was very strange. When I got there, I went into an empty waiting room. The receptionist, wearing a mask, asked my name and cell phone number and then told me to go back to the parking lot and sit in my car until they called me to come in. The lady in the car next to me (six feet away) was doing the same thing. It worked, but it was bizarre. The only person who I came in contact with was my doctor. It was faster than take-out food. 

Then came  Saturday when I got a surprise in the mail.  This post card from President Trump! 

(Helpful information or campaign literature?)

What's disgusting here is that it's really from the Centers for Disease Control. On the back are the same guidelines we have been getting for weeks about washing our hands (mine are getting cracked from all the washing), staying at home and social distancing.  While the postcard is a good reminder of the advice, what it really is --and I am not joking--is literature from the Trump campaign sent out to every household in America at the taxpayer's expense. Advice like this sent out in other times would not have had the President's name on it. But in Mr. Trump's mind, everything is about him. So he gets a free campaign ad.  

But otherwise,there are ways to keep from going stir crazy. (I mean how many movies can you watch on Netflix?)   

My wife and I spent two hours raking the leaves in the yard (11 bags worth). We had our usual walk around the block. Others were doing the same thing, but everybody was crossing the street or turning another way to avoid getting too close as they waved or shouted hello.  

Teaching on-line is not ideal. Some of my students in Introduction to Communications did their oral presentations, including visuals, on-line. They did a great job, but it was not the same as doing it in front of a class where body language like eye contact is important. They didn't have to overcome glossophobia (fear of public speaking), which is a key component of the class, and for some of them that was actually a relief. There are also a few students who will be left out because they don't have a computer, a web cam or wi-fi. NOVA (Northern Virginia Communiry College) is trying to help them but it's a huge task.  

The people who deserve the credit these days are not the politicians. Congress took WAY too long to pass that $2 trillion stimulus bill and the politics surrounding it was appalling. The bill does have some mandatory oversight provisions put in by Congress at the insistance of the Democrats, to make sure the money goes where it's supposed to instead of something like a Trump connected business or say--a border wall. But Mr. Trump has already indicated he will ignore that provision in the bill. My stimulus check will go right back to the government to pay my taxes. Does $1200 even cover one months' rent for many people? 

Also of note: most of us, based on our tax filing method, will get our check as a direct deposit right into our bank accounts. Many others will get an old style check from the U.S. Treasury. But here's another issue. That check will have Donald Trump's signature on it. That too has never happened before and is yet another campaign ad for Donald Trump at the taxpayers expense.   

Kudos do go to first responders as usual, but also to delivery truck drivers, supermarket cashiers, the pizza delivery guy, and folks at the U.S. Postal Service and other package carriers among others.  They are still working and making contact with other people.   

And the biggest heroes are the medical workers, doctors, nurses, medical technicians who remain at their posts even as their personal protective equipment, the PPE'S you have heard much about, continue to dwindle. I have a second cousin who is a nurse at Yale New Haven Hospital. His mother tells me he expects to get the virus. But he's young and healthy and he says he's not worried about it. I suspect he is worried, but like most medical professionals, he's on the job.  

(The USNS Comfort on left returning from a
previous mission,  Photo courtesy US Navy)  

Mr Trump finally took some positive action, by ordering the Navy to deploy it's massive Hospital ships. The USNS Mercy was sent to Los Angeles, and the USNS Comfort, based here in Virginia, was sent to New York City. I got a tour of the Comfort a few years back. When you are 
inside it has the look and feel of a major hospital with more than a thousand beds and state of the art equpiment. It has served people all over the world on many good will or disaster missions and both ships should be of massive help to LA and NYC. Deploying those ships is one of the few things Trump has done that may actually help stem the tide of the pandemic.         

I'm not going to write much about the growing death toll or number of cases. You hear them elsewhere. But I can say they spur my continued reaction--anger at Donald Trump and the people around him. There were warnings from medical professionals, the World Health Organization and even the U.S. Intelligence community as early as January.  As China dealt with the virus, those organizations were saying that Covid-19 was coming here and it was going to be bad. But the anti-science people in the White House ignored the warnings and didn't prepare in ANY way.  They didn't even check to see if there were enough masks in the federal emergency warehouses to meet the need. 

So, sorry Mr. Trump. Your postcard is dishonorable. And when this is all over, the voters should remember what you did and didn't do. 

We can take some heart though, from those medical professionals who are on the job. When New York's Governor Andrew Cuomo called for volunteers from people who used to work in medicine but had retired or moved to something else, he got more than 50,000 responses.

People across the country are sewing masks that can be used to treat people who do NOT have Covid-19, freeing up the most protective, the N95 masks, for the Coronavirus cases. I suspect World War Two syle victory gardens will pop up as the weather breaks, because it could mean one less trip to the market.  
  
In the meantime  I will continue to end my blog with some entertainment when possible,  to divert you from the latest Covid-19 news. Here is my friend, John Bolster, doing a Woody Guthrie tune from the Great Depression era.  

I doubt there will be much change on the "stay home" advice in the next few weeks, even as Passover and Easter pass on. The President seems to have no clue on what's going on with this virus. But hopefully it will be over before the 4th of July. 

             (Your suggestions and comments are welcome)
   

(Copies of my book "The Campaign" are available from Amazon.com, BN.com or directly from me at a reduced price, with my signature, by emailing me at hanksilverberg@gmail.com)