Day 4240

Dot got a bath today. That was about the extent of today's excitement. We were going to take her to the vet for a bath, but decided that she would end up in a cage licking her paws for a while while the groomers were working through their schedule. We took her to a self-bathe place instead and Janet got some special shampoo that is supposed to relieve itching. I'll be glad when Dawn finishes her antibiotics so we can concentrate on finding a solution to the licking problem. We've added a probiotic to her diet, but it isn't wise to do any allergy testing until she has completed the antibiotics and her bacterial infection is gone.

My gym has reinstated a mask mandate. It's only a matter of time before other places do the same. Whenever I'm out and about I've noticed that almost nobody is wearing masks anymore. I don't think a new mandate is going to go over well. Everyone is sick of the pandemic and nobody knows who to believe. You should never politicize a disease, but that's where we are. I'm convinced that the story is a lot more complicated than what we are hearing in the media. The young Hispanic plumber who came over to the house the other day thought he was safe from Covid because he didn't go to bars. He wasn't planning to get vaccinated. Our vet has returned to normal office visits, but several other vets I know still require you to stay in your car while they come out and take your pet inside. Some people are excited about going back to rock concerts and sporting events, while other are still driving around alone in their car with a mask on. There is no consensus about anything.

I think I am a rational person, but Covid has affected me as well. I don't want to go near a hospital now. That's where the disease is. I don't even like to sit in a doctor's waiting room. One of the main reasons I switched doctors a while ago was my old doctor's waiting room was always full. I keep postponing my colonoscopy because the procedure is done in a hospital under sedation. You wouldn't catch me getting on a bus or a subway anymore, but I'm comfortable going to the gym without a mask. Go figure. Covid is going to be around for a long time because we live in a world full of people that all have their own fears and phobias. The more politicians talk the more suspicious we all become.

It was a little cooler today so I decided to take my six mile walk instead of going to the gym. Maybe I was just mad at my gym's new mask mandate. Things were going so well there for a while. Walking outside in the summer is hot and sweaty, but nobody can mess with you in the woods. As long as you watch out for snakes and poison ivy, you're OK. I'm sure I'll end up back at the gym soon enough. Texas summers are brutal and I can't stand the heat anymore. I've certainly got plenty of masks. Both our cars are full of them.

The Boeing Starliner launch got postponed again. I applied for credentials for this one and got rejected. It's just as well. This launch has gotten postponed so many times that I would have had to return home without seeing anything. Florida is a Covid hotspot again too, so there's that as well. Maybe someday I'll return to Kennedy Space Center with a bag full of cameras and a story to write. It's not looking good now though.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

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