Conveniently, I am home but my plans to move back to Oaxaca in June are cancelled along with all my classes, exercise sessions, ping-pong, Happy Hours, dinner dates, visits from my daughter and to my other daughter...all over! The world is in lock down. Who would have thought. All my savings are now about 60% of last week.
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| MY 30TH BIRTH DAY 44 YEARS AGO I CAN HANDLE IT |
Menko a real handyman from Amsterdam has been working over the Weekend putting in a new ceiling in my kitchen. Thursday he finished the Drywall sanding and some paint priming. I went to bed early with a slight mild fever.
Friday I felt the same but decided to get some fresh air and take my temperature. My thermometer was battery operated and old. It didn't work so I decided it was time for a new one. Every store I went, they were sold out of thermometers so I bought some food and returned home.
I was watching the news while Menko was finishing the drywall and putting down the first full Prime Coat of paint. Gov Ducey announced that more Test Kits arrived today and would be sent out as soon as Monday. MONDAY? He was putting Covid19 on hold over the weekend? We need masks for those that have symptoms and test kits to see if they are positive and warrant isolation. Menko finished up and left. I was now worried that if my fever increased over the weekend, I wouldn't be able to get help.
I went to Walmart where my pharmacy is. Out of thermometers! Well can you just take my temperature? No...call your Doctor. It was 5 pm when I called. They were closing in 30 minutes. I am 10 minutes away and would like my temperature taken? You must go to one of our 3 Urgent Care Clinics, the closest is 15 miles away and call first so a nurse will meet you in the parking lot. I did call and left immediately.
There was no nurse waiting for me so I entered and told the front desk I was there. Who are you? No one told me! Put on this mask and fill out this form. Why are you here? I did and she notified the nurse that jovially greeted me...David I was expecting you. My temperature was normal but now my blood pressure was high...I wonder why? The Doctor took my info and told me there was only 3 test kits available for those that are sick? It they are sick why do they need to be tested? He gave me a script for flu Medicine. I paid my Co-Pay and returned home.
Saturday Menko returned and related the story to him. He admitted that he too had a slight fever and headache from the Primer we were breathing. We brought in fans and opened the windows while he started painting some more. I left to get a toilet seat, trash bags and some ingredients for Borscht. I returned as he was finishing up. He assured me that tomorrow he will finish the job and left.
Saturday Menko returned and related the story to him. He admitted that he too had a slight fever and headache from the Primer we were breathing. We brought in fans and opened the windows while he started painting some more. I left to get a toilet seat, trash bags and some ingredients for Borscht. I returned as he was finishing up. He assured me that tomorrow he will finish the job and left.
I listened to Trump talk about how he may consider the "War Powers Act" that would give him the authority to demand companies that produce hand sanitizers, thermometers, gowns, masks testing kits and essentials for fighting the virus go full throttle 24/7? I thought he already did that. It turns out Trump never did act to get needed essentials.
No wonder the Surgeon General said we can't test everybody because the staff in the hospital taking care of the elderly hi risk people don't have enough PPE...personal protection equipment so that would created more risk for them getting the virus!
WHY DON'T WE HAVE PPE, GOWNS, MASKS, ETC! South Korea and China have it. Oh but we tested 195,000 and 193,00 were positive. We should be testing them before they become positive!! We have 1000's that are carriers running around the streets SPREADING THE VIRUS...THEY SHOULD BE TESTED AND QUARANTINED NOT THE WHOLE POPULATION TOLD NOT TO GO OUT. MY FRIENDS IN VIETNAM REPORT THEIR TEMPERATURE IS CHECKED AT THE DOOR OF EVERY PLACE THEY GO TO GET GROCERIES. WE ALL NEED TO GET GROCERIES SO ANYONE WITH A TEMPERATURE WHO WOULD BE POSSIBLE CARRIERS OR HAVE THE ILLNESS WOULD THEN BE QUARANTINED, TESTED AND TAKEN OFF THE STREETS. Oaxaca is on lock down and received 10000 rapid virus test kits with results in 2 1/2 hours and I have yet to see any lines getting tested here. Oaxaca got theirs from Germany that has been testing everyone.
Tonight I'm having a throbbing in the back of my right side of the skull. Behind my right ear. When it throbs, I feel the pressure and slight pain. I retired early and woke in the morning with no problems.
I have watched the Edge of Democracy, a Documentary about Brazil that was very good. Then a new Amazon production with Adam Diver about the Senate Intelligence Committee (which 20 years later if embroiled in a scandal), also very very good, then lastly Burt Lancaster and Clark Gable in Run Silent Run Deep, a 1958 Movie about WWII submarine warfare in the Pacific. That was really fun watching.
New last week of the Senate Intelligence Committee took the information they received in confidence as a result of their positions and Top security clearances, and four of them sold their portfolios making Millions of dollars before the Market collapsed.
I visited my friend of almost 40 years, Lar, a WWII vet, just to give you background...I can't describe his life because it's not mine but I do bow to his experiences and life adventures. I am close but he is my mentor in so many ways. We don't always agrees but always respect each other.
I stopped at ANC dispensary in New River...they are so welcoming and professional....oh and cheap. I bought some edibles that I rather do. Well one vape cartridge, and some leaf.
When I entered Shangri La Naturist resort there were signs NOT ACCEPTING DAY VISITORS. The Resort was in Lock down but business as usual. So all events are on...pickleball, sauna, hot tub, pool volleyball, dances. karaoke, and the restaurant was open. Well Lar has asbestos poisoning in his lungs, is on Oxygen, etc. So stays in is rented spot with his S.O. Bambi...who prepares heart healthy meals, when to take his meds, etc. They seem like they are doing well in such close quarters. If the Ranch gets one Covid 19 case...LOCKDOWN. Lar postponed his return to Denver because it's worse up there and the travel back. Our visit was nice and I returned with a smile.
Yesterday I found a thermometer on Amazon that was under $100 so ordered it to find they couldn't deliver it until June, so I cancelled then found another on eBay that said April 3rd...we shall see? If all these box stores are out of the essentials they must be reordering them? There are warehouses stocked with these supplies but not fulfilling the requests. Prices for hand sanitizer on eBay ranged from $7 a gallon to $34? This is criminal.
I was going to sell this condo and get out of the $7000 a year HOA , taxes and insurance then make Oaxaca my home base and travel the world. I'd rather be
traveling then rich but then I don't want to travel like the old days in hostels. Too old. I need a 3 star hotel at least or friends.
I returned from Oaxaca Christmas Eve to spend my last season in Scottsdale. I signed on for ASU classes, over 10 events at the MIM, Scottsdale Center for Arts, Mesa Art Center, exercise classes 4 days a week, two days of strength
training and lifting weights. Oh...and I was doing Ping Pong once a week. I scheduled Heather and grandchildren to come over to visit the Aquarium, Desert Botanical , etc. I booked a flight to see my grandchildren and daughter in Buffalo. I was on a roll. I lost 10 pounds was in good shape with lots of energy. And it ended in midstream. Stopped. My daughter, cancelled along with a lady friend from Chicago, my trip to Buffalo, my Japanese Drummers, Cirque de Paris from France, my college classes, ping pong, exercise....I put back on 10 pounds , lost energy and sit around all day looking at the walls....but get out for some walks and will start playing golf this Sunday.
I did see the Chieftains last concert after 58 years, Lila Downs tour from "OAXACA', three different Dance troupes, LA, Cuba, and Chicago...all great...so I got half and a taste of what it's going to be like when this virus is licked.
I will continue to stay active no matter where I am. I did book a cabin in Sedona for 4 nights to get away into nature. Keep active. 
Tonight I'm having a throbbing in the back of my right side of the skull. Behind my right ear. When it throbs, I feel the pressure and slight pain. I retired early and woke in the morning with no problems.
I have watched the Edge of Democracy, a Documentary about Brazil that was very good. Then a new Amazon production with Adam Diver about the Senate Intelligence Committee (which 20 years later if embroiled in a scandal), also very very good, then lastly Burt Lancaster and Clark Gable in Run Silent Run Deep, a 1958 Movie about WWII submarine warfare in the Pacific. That was really fun watching.
New last week of the Senate Intelligence Committee took the information they received in confidence as a result of their positions and Top security clearances, and four of them sold their portfolios making Millions of dollars before the Market collapsed.
I visited my friend of almost 40 years, Lar, a WWII vet, just to give you background...I can't describe his life because it's not mine but I do bow to his experiences and life adventures. I am close but he is my mentor in so many ways. We don't always agrees but always respect each other.
I stopped at ANC dispensary in New River...they are so welcoming and professional....oh and cheap. I bought some edibles that I rather do. Well one vape cartridge, and some leaf.
When I entered Shangri La Naturist resort there were signs NOT ACCEPTING DAY VISITORS. The Resort was in Lock down but business as usual. So all events are on...pickleball, sauna, hot tub, pool volleyball, dances. karaoke, and the restaurant was open. Well Lar has asbestos poisoning in his lungs, is on Oxygen, etc. So stays in is rented spot with his S.O. Bambi...who prepares heart healthy meals, when to take his meds, etc. They seem like they are doing well in such close quarters. If the Ranch gets one Covid 19 case...LOCKDOWN. Lar postponed his return to Denver because it's worse up there and the travel back. Our visit was nice and I returned with a smile.
I stopped at Costco on the way to Joe Duffy's for a visit while in the area. Got some wine, shrimp, and stuff. I got a 6 pack for Joe and called to see if he needed more. He wasn't real coherent, could have been my hearing or he was stoned. He didn't require anything so I filled up the tank and drove right by Joe's complex. I knew what I was looking for but am not as attentive as I used to be. After a U Turn on 40th Street I walked in his front door. We Western New Yorker's never locked our doors. Joe a bro from VN the same time in the same battles but he was battling to protect me. We didn't know each other then but that was never a requirement to be a "Bro". We served. It changed our lives.
So Joe handed me some Gummies, a Joint and some leaf to take home. Watch those Gummies...1/2 is all you will need. He had a chocolate that flattened him earlier but we opened and drank a beer on the patio while catching up on the last couple months since we saw each other. The world became this surreal dream and turned upside down. I think it's refreshing except for the part that I'm part of the Boomer Removal. John Prine went to ICU in Critical condition in like 24 hours. A ventilator for me is a Death Sentence and I know I been through a Brain Aneurysm, Triple Bypass, Lung Removal, ..seen the light once. This would be the end.
Joe was his typical jovial self who liked to talk as much as I did but usually won over the conversation. That's an accomplishment as I'm usually the one that can't stop talking. Writing is better...you have a choice and can get up and leave.
I bought my groceries back home along with Joe's gifts. When I arrived I ate that 1/2 Gumby and was asleep by 10pm
Sunday I watched my Sunday Morning on CBS while sipping my coffee and enjoying breakfast. I showered and got dressed for GOLF. My first game in years. I played on the internet, packed some Homemade Hummus for Marjorie and Wine for our Host after the game. We arrived at the Golf Course early so all of us shot some practice balls. It felt good.
We Teed off a little early on a beautiful day on a LONG course. Four "duffers" hitting balls off to the left, right, sand trap, rough...we were out almost two hours before we got 9 holes in. We did another 4 and called it a day.
I threw my clubs in the trunk after opening the door for Marjorie. Then shut the trunk and the car wouldn't start because my keys were in my bag in the trunk. I couldn't open the trunk so tried to enter from the back seat opening and couldn't reach to bag, when John tapped me on the shoulder and asked if I had a trunk release. Oh yeah, DUH. So we arrived at John and Jean's house , had some Sushi and opened the wine while John started the Lobster Ravioli. Then my phone rang and it was Doug Richards, Marks Father, We talked about my Audio Books narrated by Doug Mc...whose voice is so reassuring. I mentioned John Cameron Swayze and his eye's lit up. Then Walter Winchell, Paul Harvey, Ye Olde Philosopher, etc and how when we hear their name...we automatically hear their voice.
When we hear songs, music, we see ourselves there in that time. We could do a whole biography based on the music in our lives...from our parents, to rock and roll, to folk , to jazz, and blues, to the 50,60,70,80,...then it was over for me with my bad hearing.
A week has passed and I can't say anything happened. I ended it Sunday with a first time Zoom call to my daughter who was in bed with the Coronavirus. She seems to be over the worst stages and is recovering. Quarantine is bad with two children to cook for so I suspect they will get it and pass it to their Dad who may pass it to his Dad? I can't do anything here but her sales for NEBO are way down and they want her to start making 100 calls a day. She just started her business which is taking off and needs attention. She manages with a lot of hard work and little sleep...bad combination. Her Birthday is coming this week.
I went out yesterday and was stopped at a street light with lots of traffic around me. The light turned green and I was playing with the radio and heard "beep beep" and assumed someone got annoyed at my hesitancy to GO. No one seemed to be shaking their fists. When I realized it was a message notification on my phone. I have to change that! Or get a cochlear implant.
Scenes from Palm Sunday in Oaxaca:
I left Monday, the last week in April for 4 nights in a cabin at Dead Horse Ranch in Cottonwood. It is one of many Arizona State Parks. This one is on the Verde River with three Lagoons for fishing and walking around.
While sitting on the front porch of my cabin at dead horse ranch watching all the children ride bikes by with their families. I got thinking about how much fun they were having and how much fun I used to have and how important it was for me to have a bicycle back then. It was my freedom I couldn't believe it. I went everywhere on that bicycle. I made my money off the bicycle. I rode 5 mi every day after school when the weather was good to deliver my newspapers. We used to get gangs of us playing hockey on bicycles using croquet mallets. We would go long distance up mountains and then get on the bike and ride all the way down at what seemed 50 miles an hour. It was a fun. I remember every bike I had.
My dog used to come with me. Mickey and I went to the park behind the school and played on the swings. I jumped the tennis court net and he'd jump it after me. I climb the slide and he climb up the stairs behind me and slide down after me. Those were good memories .
I unpacked got settled in. The next day I took a walk down by the river for a short walk. The following day I walked out to a lagoon. I took photos and enjoyed being in nature. It's not all that serene here. There's the traffic on the main highway with the trucks in the motorcycles and the drone of the planes going overhead then the cars are driving in and out. I couldn't listen to my audio Kindle book. The loud interruptions. I had to stop and keep replaying it.
I got my stove together and put in some coffee to warm it up. I walked away and it all boiled over and put out the fire. It made a big mess, lost half my coffee and had to clean everything up.
The sounds of nature here are beautiful the birds, the rushing water and the river rapids. The birds singing. The serenity of the calm Ponds reminds me of when, as a boy I would go nude swimming in the Creek with my dog.
I visited a cemetery today. There are miles of hiking, horseback riding, and off road bicycling trails throughout the park. It felt good to be surrounded by nature. It was so hot, I would spend afternoons in the Air Conditioned cabin. There were 12 cabins that were mostly full as families, couples and singles came and went. Some for a day or two or just overnight. My cabin sleeps 4 people and was $60 a night. The clean showers/baths were 30 yards away and always available. They have 3 man made lagoons and the Verde River nearby.
I climbed a Mountain and took a 360% Video of the country. I felt good after being a BIG couch potato going from a fit 187 to a fat 207 while in quarantine. The edible Yummie Gumbies didn't help while binging on Bosch series and Classic Movie. Tomorrow I need to get some ice and a battery for my computer.
The Deli Lama said the closer to nature the better. He was right. It had been years since I've seen a sky with stars. Granted...they were scarce but visible and surrounded around the entire horizon with a bright glow halo that made them almost invisible. Light pollution.
I laid my foldable, portable, recliner on the porch to relax and listen to my audiobook . I got through one chapter in the quiet of the country. Then I noticed an airplane passing overhead, trucks and Rv's on the distant highway, cars coming in and out of our little 12 cabin cul de sac, children playing and shouting, parents riding by on bicycles shouting about their husbands, children, or their diets.
I have to get up 3-5 times a night to piss so I keep a liter wide mouth bottle close because the bathroom and showers are about 40 yard down the street. As a result I have had an increase in dreams. Actually, before I did this self solitaire trip to truly isolate myself, I have had little to no dreams. My last dream before returning to Snottsdale was at some Irish Bar called Stryker's.
There was a large group of us seasoned drunks with an international , mixed age , confederacy of dunces all laughing, sharing and having a great time. Then you returned from the "Loo" with a twin that you introduced as your brother. IDENTICAL and dressed with fuckin green berets , t shirts, and trousers. It wasn't St Pat's Day but youse guys looked like you came out of a vat of green Guinness , if there is such a thing.
I drove into Cottonwood to get some gas and a battery for my computer.
I topped off the gas tank at an old 50's garage run by the owner who is trying to sell. He lived in Cottonwood over 20 years. He fished and hunted this whole area. A mammoth big mouth Bass was stuffed and hanging on the wall to testify to the fact.
Cottonwood looked stark, poor, and going downhill. I went to the Dollar Tree after trying to get into Walmart. It was closed so I got back into the car but there was another car pinning me in. I saw them pull up and the passenger jumped out and ran to the door like I did, saw the sign then turned around and tried to get into my car. I think I could have been a possible victim had my door been open. He was tweaked and no telling what would have happened. The car speed away as soon as he jumped back in.
The dollar store had my battery and I returned to the Park, ordered some Ice at the drive through then pulled around to the other side where she came out and loaded the Ice into my car.
I returned to Snobbsdale the next day and arrived early to see Miriam, my maid. I asked her to return in a couple of weeks to remove the privacy film I had on my bedroom and living room windows. We made plans, chatted a bit and I unpacked.
I topped off the gas tank at an old 50's garage run by the owner who is trying to sell. He lived in Cottonwood over 20 years. He fished and hunted this whole area. A mammoth big mouth Bass was stuffed and hanging on the wall to testify to the fact.
Cottonwood looked stark, poor, and going downhill. I went to the Dollar Tree after trying to get into Walmart. It was closed so I got back into the car but there was another car pinning me in. I saw them pull up and the passenger jumped out and ran to the door like I did, saw the sign then turned around and tried to get into my car. I think I could have been a possible victim had my door been open. He was tweaked and no telling what would have happened. The car speed away as soon as he jumped back in.
The dollar store had my battery and I returned to the Park, ordered some Ice at the drive through then pulled around to the other side where she came out and loaded the Ice into my car.
I returned to Snobbsdale the next day and arrived early to see Miriam, my maid. I asked her to return in a couple of weeks to remove the privacy film I had on my bedroom and living room windows. We made plans, chatted a bit and I unpacked.
I took command in my recliner and resumed my couch potato life style. I finished 6 Seasons and the finale episode, of Third Rock from the Sun....and cried.
It's Sunday now and I'm scheduled to have a Zoom conference with my daughter Heather , in California. She requested 6 pm, when 60 minutes is on, but I watch it on the computer later so I was looking forward to another Zoom. The last time was the first time and I enjoyed it a lot. I did feel like we were right together and spontaneous...instead of email.
She even sent me a link so I could just click her on. I appreciated that but then she could hear me but I couldn't hear her. Then I realized my sound goes through my Bluetooth so I connected with my hearing aides but still couldn't hear her. Then I realized I didn't put the transmitter back in it's place to broadcast the sound.
Finally we had a nice conversation about her goals, work, her business, and then the conversation went to the family. My oldest daughter Kim who had 4 children who are all out on their own while she nests in her drug den of friends who support each other. Meanwhile her youngest daughter Emily left Phoenix and home the beginning of this year to live with her half sister, who is about 10 years older and lives in Del Mar. Emily was 17 I think. I was concerned so contacted Kelsey to see what the plan was....school, work, etc.
Kelsey, just last month called and said Emily was moving out, like it was her choice...but never said why or explained much, just that she was going to San Diego, I think and had no money. I ask for an email to contact her then wrote to say hello and offer my friendship and assistance as her Grandfather. She replied that perhaps this could be the start of communication. I had never met or talked to her as after her father died, and her mother was an addict, her grandparents on her father's side took her in , sent her to a religious school and who knows what until she just left to live with Kelsey.
Now Heather tells me that Emily was hooked on Meth and OD'd? When the Medics arrived she was clinically dead but they injected her with that PEN but it didn't work so I think she said they did it twice or three times before they brought her back to life. Jarrad, her half brother, went down and picked her up then took her back to Kelsey's in Del Mar, I think.
Well the next day I'm watching the news and heard that Interstate travel will resume slowly but "INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL MAY NOT BE AN OPTION UNTIL NEXT YEAR!"
On top of that news, Warren Buffett sold a lot of Berkshire Hathaway and proclaimed that things as we knew it at the beginning of this year, won't get back to that for 4 years at least.
Whoa, if that's the case. I better plan on moving to Mexico as soon as I can and NOT plan on returning. I don't think I could sell and get what I was hoping to so will turn it over to a Management company...RCI or Renter's Warehouse. Then apply to the Mexican Embassy for Permanent Residence and establish a place to live in Scottsdale when I'm not in Mexico but going back and forth with the Virus still unknown, I would rather rent my condo out and save some money.
She even sent me a link so I could just click her on. I appreciated that but then she could hear me but I couldn't hear her. Then I realized my sound goes through my Bluetooth so I connected with my hearing aides but still couldn't hear her. Then I realized I didn't put the transmitter back in it's place to broadcast the sound.
Finally we had a nice conversation about her goals, work, her business, and then the conversation went to the family. My oldest daughter Kim who had 4 children who are all out on their own while she nests in her drug den of friends who support each other. Meanwhile her youngest daughter Emily left Phoenix and home the beginning of this year to live with her half sister, who is about 10 years older and lives in Del Mar. Emily was 17 I think. I was concerned so contacted Kelsey to see what the plan was....school, work, etc.
Kelsey, just last month called and said Emily was moving out, like it was her choice...but never said why or explained much, just that she was going to San Diego, I think and had no money. I ask for an email to contact her then wrote to say hello and offer my friendship and assistance as her Grandfather. She replied that perhaps this could be the start of communication. I had never met or talked to her as after her father died, and her mother was an addict, her grandparents on her father's side took her in , sent her to a religious school and who knows what until she just left to live with Kelsey.
Now Heather tells me that Emily was hooked on Meth and OD'd? When the Medics arrived she was clinically dead but they injected her with that PEN but it didn't work so I think she said they did it twice or three times before they brought her back to life. Jarrad, her half brother, went down and picked her up then took her back to Kelsey's in Del Mar, I think.
Well the next day I'm watching the news and heard that Interstate travel will resume slowly but "INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL MAY NOT BE AN OPTION UNTIL NEXT YEAR!"
On top of that news, Warren Buffett sold a lot of Berkshire Hathaway and proclaimed that things as we knew it at the beginning of this year, won't get back to that for 4 years at least.
Whoa, if that's the case. I better plan on moving to Mexico as soon as I can and NOT plan on returning. I don't think I could sell and get what I was hoping to so will turn it over to a Management company...RCI or Renter's Warehouse. Then apply to the Mexican Embassy for Permanent Residence and establish a place to live in Scottsdale when I'm not in Mexico but going back and forth with the Virus still unknown, I would rather rent my condo out and save some money.
I tried to get to Mexico but non essential business doesn't allow it, thanks to our Dictator tRUMP. I have to hire Coyote's to take me over the wall to return to my Shangri La in Oaxaca! I'm gonna buy a gun! I can't go to Mexico or Cuba or anywhere right now.
I have no idea when I left off but it's now Thanksgiving Week and the whole world is hurting.
Roman, my Grandson, came to visit back in September I think. He wants to go to school here, meet his relatives on his father's side, and move here. He enrolled and visited the family for the first time then returned to Buffalo. While in Arizona we got to go out a bit.
His cousin Cameron and we to meet each other and visit.
He returned to Arizona in time to start school and unpack some of his stuff, get his doctors and insurance squared away. He is staying at Jeannie's next door, she is my neighbor, and does his homework here and cooks a bit...he has the run of both places but neither of us see much of him with school at night and job hunting during the day along with homework.
It is nice having him here. Jeannie and I both enjoy his company. He will be getting his own place come the end of December. Well , it's the end of January now so will close this discombobulated 2020 Covid experience in Snobsdale for now.
