Post #6 — Worrying News From Florida
Five hours of sleep last night -- better than usual. I only got up once to read the news.
I have an aunt who is 89 and lives in Florida. She's the last survivor of that generation on my mother's side of the family. She can be a challenge, in large part because she's tough and independent. She's lived alone most her life. For a while, she was married to a ne'er do well whose crowning achievement occurred the day he died from cancer. He was in a coma and we sat around his bed all day, watching TV when Jeopardy came on. He was a lifelong fan. At the end of the program, Alex, as he always does, read the final Jeopardy question, when Roger suddenly woke up and gave the correct answer. He died a few minutes later with a look of triumph on his face after I, taking pity on him, refrained from saying, "Roger, I'm sorry but you didn't put it in the form of a question."
Anyway, in her former life, my aunt was a gym teacher on Long Island. She lived in our house and in many ways filled the parenting gap opened by my parents. She had a library of great books that were always available to me, and she made terrific Toll House cookies. Being a gym teacher, she would also draw home plate on the sidewalk in chalk and teach us out how to hit. At one point, she she became a gymnastics judge. One of the best in the country, we used to see her on TV during broadcasts of Wide World of Sports, but her work dried up because she refused to cheat.
These days, she sits in front of the typewriter and writes crime stories, and Law and Order scripts. They're pretty good too. She still drives, heaven help us. In Florida, by law, you are allowed behind the wheel up until six years after your death, which raises an interesting point. Will Florida's death rate actually decrease during the virus, due to the fact that because of restrictions fewer seniors are careening around its highways?
The other day, she put on her mask and scarf and went out to the store for food and goods that she needed. She wrote to say the shelves were empty. Because she suffers from intestinal issues, she needs special food but the company is not producing it. She tried reaching them by phone but no one answered. There was no recording. Amazon doesn't carry it.
She has a two-week supply left.
I wrote to her to say I was a pretty good scrounge and let me have a go at it, but she's too proud and said she would keep trying. If she goes out hunting for food, she's bound to become infected as a result of a weakened immune system coming in contact with too many who haven't been tested and don't have access to tests. The governor, Rick Scott, is a Trump fan.
If she does become sick, at 89, they're not going to give her one of the few respirator slots an already over-burdened hospital system has. She's not going to make it through this. Sue and I went to visit her in December. I thought it might be the last time I would ever see her. I just didn't think it could happen this soon.
She is the crisis.
I have an aunt who is 89 and lives in Florida. She's the last survivor of that generation on my mother's side of the family. She can be a challenge, in large part because she's tough and independent. She's lived alone most her life. For a while, she was married to a ne'er do well whose crowning achievement occurred the day he died from cancer. He was in a coma and we sat around his bed all day, watching TV when Jeopardy came on. He was a lifelong fan. At the end of the program, Alex, as he always does, read the final Jeopardy question, when Roger suddenly woke up and gave the correct answer. He died a few minutes later with a look of triumph on his face after I, taking pity on him, refrained from saying, "Roger, I'm sorry but you didn't put it in the form of a question."
Anyway, in her former life, my aunt was a gym teacher on Long Island. She lived in our house and in many ways filled the parenting gap opened by my parents. She had a library of great books that were always available to me, and she made terrific Toll House cookies. Being a gym teacher, she would also draw home plate on the sidewalk in chalk and teach us out how to hit. At one point, she she became a gymnastics judge. One of the best in the country, we used to see her on TV during broadcasts of Wide World of Sports, but her work dried up because she refused to cheat.
These days, she sits in front of the typewriter and writes crime stories, and Law and Order scripts. They're pretty good too. She still drives, heaven help us. In Florida, by law, you are allowed behind the wheel up until six years after your death, which raises an interesting point. Will Florida's death rate actually decrease during the virus, due to the fact that because of restrictions fewer seniors are careening around its highways?
The other day, she put on her mask and scarf and went out to the store for food and goods that she needed. She wrote to say the shelves were empty. Because she suffers from intestinal issues, she needs special food but the company is not producing it. She tried reaching them by phone but no one answered. There was no recording. Amazon doesn't carry it.
She has a two-week supply left.
I wrote to her to say I was a pretty good scrounge and let me have a go at it, but she's too proud and said she would keep trying. If she goes out hunting for food, she's bound to become infected as a result of a weakened immune system coming in contact with too many who haven't been tested and don't have access to tests. The governor, Rick Scott, is a Trump fan.
If she does become sick, at 89, they're not going to give her one of the few respirator slots an already over-burdened hospital system has. She's not going to make it through this. Sue and I went to visit her in December. I thought it might be the last time I would ever see her. I just didn't think it could happen this soon.
She is the crisis.
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