7-Quick Takes – the COVID-19 Chronicles

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 This content uses referral links. Read our disclosure policy for more info. This means if you make a purchase, I get a little change to keep up my Diet Coke habit. It’s a win/win. 

1.

Dr. Amy Acton has resigned from her position as Director of Health for Ohio. She was a polarizing figure. I think people either loved or loathed her.

I think she meant well and tried hard. Nobody knew what to expect in early March, so I totally understand the shutdown and her initial comments. But her predictions were just wrong. We never got the 100,000 cases. We don’t even have half of that in Ohio. However, when it was apparent that the virus was particularly hard on the elderly and that the hospitals were not going to be overwhelmed, they should have changed the tactics instead of doubling down.

I think it was scary to have her issue orders late at night instead of during the day. Keeping the young people in lockdown helped fuel some of the outrage we have seen recently. I also think the rhetoric of “Don your mask and your cape” was misleading and lead partially to what we saw a few weeks ago – lots of people, many wearing masks, not social distancing one little bit.

We also know that as of today there has not been a spike from that – and not a word was mentioned in the press conference announcing her resignation. You can’t have it both ways. They talked all the time about how scary this was going to be back in March, but nary a word today when the scary spike never happened? This kind of thing makes people more distrustful of Dewine and his administration.

2.

Americans, use your critical thinking skills.

Leave it to a lab person to create the pic that’s worth 1,000 words #WearAMask https://t.co/wCLovmrLUE

— Julie Hull (@juliejhull) May 25, 2020

The first question that comes to mind is, what kind of mask? I mean a lab tech probably has access to a medical quality mask, which is nowhere near the same thing as a cloth mask you whip up on your Singer Sewing Machine. What was the distance of this cough? How many days was this done before the photo was taken? Is that Covid-19 in the second dish or normal flora? Great idea, but I remain skeptical. Here’s why.

Nonetheless, I get that people are still scared to death about getting this virus that kills like 0.2 percent of those that test positive. So since I have a few weddings to work this summer I ordered these. I figure, when this is all over I will still have some nice scarves.

3.

The results of the Covid shutdown are still affecting my family. We got our property tax bill, but since we literally received no money during the shutdown, paying that is going to mean dipping into savings, which still sucks.

My newly graduated Government Foreign Affairs major can’t find any government jobs because they are all in a hiring freeze. The shutdown kept people from working; when people aren’t working they can’t pay taxes; and when there are no taxes, governments have to make cuts – except that they are demanding taxes. None of it makes sense except I know we’re going to keep experiencing pain from this even if we never ever contract a case of Covid-19.

4.

People are just on edge. Izzy was at a retail store yesterday where people in line at the cash register were fighting with each other over stupid things, like taking too long to make a return. Two ladies were screaming at each other in the store.

Two of my neighbors were screaming at each other last night over how one neighbor didn’t like how the other neighbor mowed the lawn. The police were called. And lest you think I live in a privileged neighborhood in the burbs, this was in the hood of the city. Maybe that’s why the police arrived so quickly.

People don’t need to worry about racism, or privilege, or any of that. They just need to remember one simple thing that everyone seems to be forgetting. Just do this, and watch the world settle down.

5.

Our local Legion of Mary has set up a website to keep track of daily rosaries prayed. You visit the site at  www.legionofmaryatstsebastian.com directly.  The Legion’s goal is to present Mary with 10,000 rosaries prayed on her birthday, which is September 8th. I am finding that instead of reading the vitriol on Facebook or Twitter or the news, it’s much better to simply say the rosary.

I am a happy member of the Rosary of the Month Club and have received some beautiful rosaries over the past few months!

6.

Oops. Somebody picked a bad time to bash homeschooling. Right before the Covid-19 shutdown all over the country, Harvard hosted a symposium of sorts featuring Elizabeth Bartholet. Bartholet wrote an article for Harvard Magazine’s May/June 2020 issue about the dangers of homeschooling and is calling for a presumptive ban. The hilarious part of all this is the timing since the majority of America’s students were sent home to learn on their laptops and iPad this spring.

Barthlet will be debating a very accomplished homeschool mom, Kerry McDonald this coming Monday, June 15, live streaming. Check it out here.

7.

The Friday Freebie – Super Scholarships for Humble Homeschoolers free webinar!

Are you worried about being able to afford college? I was too! It seems like an overwhelming amount of money, especially if, like so many homeschool families, you’re getting by on a limited income. If you like getting free information that will help your child earn scholarships, then you are going to love Lee Binz’s latest free training event, “Super Scholarships for Humble Homeschoolers” on June 16 & 18, 2020! 

Listen to Lee Binz discuss the secrets she used to get two 4-year full-tuition scholarships from her kid’s first choice university in the same year.