Day 3844

Was today a holiday or not? A lot of businesses were closed, but the mail still got delivered. The grocery stores were packed with people buying for holiday meals even though gatherings of any kind are strongly discouraged. Most of the large cities in North Texas have canceled Fourth of July fireworks displays, but some of the smaller towns in the area are still planning parades and celebrations. I guess you can take your pick of what you want to do in Texas. There's something for everyone. I welcome fewer fireworks, but I'm sure there will still be enough loud noises tomorrow night to frighten all the city's dogs.

It was a little cooler this morning, so we were able to complete our normal five mile walk. Dawn actually did very well today. A few degrees can make a big difference in the summer. It did warm up quickly though. By the time I took my afternoon walk the temperature was almost 100 degrees. It was too hot to go up on the roof. I think I'm just going to let the water evaporate.

When we were eating dinner this evening, I got one of those loud alerts on my phone. For some reason, these alerts appear on my Apple Watch as well. I thought this was another Amber Alert or tornado warning. Nope. It was a message from the governor telling me to wear my mask.

Things are getting bad in Texas, but I keep wondering what there is to compare this to? I'm still convinced that when the coronavirus has finally disappeared, I will still know many more people who have died from cancer than from the virus. I already know of dozens of friends who have died from cancer and zero people who have died from the virus. I do know of two people who caught the virus, but neither of them lived in Texas and both recovered quickly.

Why do I keep thinking that if we reported statistics on every single person who had been diagnosed with cancer on a weekly basis, complete with ominous looking charts and graphs, we would become very alarmed. A cancer diagnosis is actually pretty common, but many people recover. I suspect the same is true with coronavirus cases. I'd like to hear more reporting about recoveries.

Maybe the only way you can get Americans to comply with anything is to scare the hell out of them. I'm old enough to remember when nobody wore seatbelts. When I was a kid, our family took us on vacations all over the country in a car without seatbelts. When I first began working in an office, everyone smoked. Changing behavior is a long, slow process. If living with deadly viruses is really part of our long-term future, I imagine that there will be other changes as well.

Seatbelts do save lives. I wear one all the time. I'm glad that fewer people smoke these days as well. Change is inevitable and a lot of change is actually good. I don't think you change things by erasing what you don't like. This is the problem with cancel culture. Even statues can teach you something. You can still smoke if you are so inclined. You can still buy cigarettes even though they will kill you. I'm not in favor of banning things or tearing them down. Learn from others experiences and then decide for yourself. This is why history should never be erased. Sometimes you can learn more from the things you don't like than from the things you approve of. I wouldn't be criticizing Washington, Jefferson and confederate generals so much. Just wait and see how future generations criticize you.

Bob Hope is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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