Staying the Course -- February 17, 2021

[Superbob]

Heading out for our second dose of the Pfizer vaccine. Blessed to have a rare sunny day. More rainstorms will move into tonight and linger through Friday. Our latest share of the freaky winter storms, though we are far more fortunate than folks in the iced-in, sub-freezing places like Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Tennessee (among others). We did have a deadly midnight tornado just brush by us and slam our neighbors in southern Brunswick County, N.C. the other night.

Will let you know how dose #2 goes. Hope you all are safe, warm, and well.

Cheers,
Superbob

 

[Superbob]

DW and I had our second Pfizer shot midday today and so far no bad side-effects. This evening my wife is feeling mild pain at the injection site but she says pain was far worse after dose No. 1 three weeks ago. So we'll see how we're doing in the morning. I'm feeling no pain (and no I'm not drunk -- ha!)....

After midnight, we're supposed to start getting steady rain, heavy at times, lasting all day tomorrow and well into Friday. Then this weekend we're supposed to see something we haven't seen much during 2021 -- the sun. That'll be nice.

Of course, we have had it far easier than the folks in many Southern and mid-Atlantic states (even North Carolina and Virginia) with all their ice storms. The struggle to survive in a deep-freeze without electrical power in places like Texas does make me wonder --which would be worse, living in single-digit temps (even down to 0-F or below) or in 100 degree temps with high humidity? Our biggest danger here is hurricanes, usually in Aug/Sept/Oct, so I am thinking about what gear would be helpful in riding out a really rough patch in hot Carolina. I have a modest charcoal grill but maybe a larger one (propane fueled perhaps) would be good to have. And I would want some way to stir up some air on a torrid day without a-c. Maybe battery-powered fans. I could even consider a generator, though I know nothing about them or if our house is equipped for it.

Just some random thoughts. Meanwhile all this heavy rain has put a hurtin' on my exercise program, such as it is, starting with the daily dawgwalk. I could use a Peleton like Superman, or even just a plain ol' exercise bike. I keep hoping Covid finally will subside and our community workout room will reopen. Or if I'm really adventurous I could assume that in another two weeks our Covid protection will kick in fully (as advertised) and I can return to my senior fitness class.

Hope all you Courser friends are well....

 

[Superman]

Glad to hear you’re fully vaccinated! As I like to say up here when it’s raining: At least you don’t have to shovel it!

Glad for the bike too. . It was -10F (yes, below zero) when I drove the kids to school this morning. Even the dogs don’t want to walk in this. Got another six plus inches of snow overnight Monday and the kids had a snow day Tuesday. Now it’s just cold.

Well get a reprieve from the snow in April when we head to Florida. Then we’re booking houses for a Utah National Parks vacation this summer. Should be fun.

 

[rich01]

Glad to hear you’re fully vaccinated! As I like to say up here when it’s raining: At least you don’t have to shovel it!

Glad for the bike too. . It was -10F (yes, below zero) when I drove the kids to school this morning. Even the dogs don’t want to walk in this. Got another six plus inches of snow overnight Monday and the kids had a snow day Tuesday. Now it’s just cold.

Well get a reprieve from the snow in April when we head to Florida. Then we’re booking houses for a Utah National Parks vacation this summer. Should be fun.

With all the Covid-19 precautions they are taking in the schools, are they taking any on the school buses? My hunch is the precautions are for the adults, not the kids.

 

[Superbob]

With all the Covid-19 precautions they are taking in the schools, are they taking any on the school buses? My hunch is the precautions are for the adults, not the kids.

Excellent point, Rich. I haven't seen that point discussed anywhere. My 14-year-old grandson in Virginia was getting covid-tested yesterday. Apparently was becoming unusually fatigued. Anxiously awaiting the results.

 

[Superbob]

My status post on Facebook this morning. (And man is it ever pouring again here. Flood warnings all around but we are blessed this isn't ice.):

"My wife and I are now among the 3.7% of South Carolinians who are fully vaccinated. Hope we soon will be among the vast majority as the vaccines become more widely available. I appreciate the recognition of the especially high vulnerability of we in the elderly population to the coronavirus. It is good to know that society values our lives. Perhaps by being so near the front of the line, just behind the heroic health care workers and nursing home residents, we will help encourage others to "take our best shot" at quelling this awful pandemic. On the day after our second Pfizer dose administered by the wonderful Tidelands Health people at Murrells Inlet, we two octogenarians both have just some soreness around the injection site. We are doing fine."

 

[Superman]

With all the Covid-19 precautions they are taking in the schools, are they taking any on the school buses? My hunch is the precautions are for the adults, not the kids.

Everything above 6th grade is hybrid here with half the students at school and the other half online on alternative days. Everyone online on Wednesdays. Lower student traffic overall kind of sorts itself out.

Also, a lot more parents are avoiding buses altogether so pick up and drop off lines are long but mostly pretty efficient. They could do a better job of staggering start times so we didn’t have to be in two places at once. A simple 10 or 15 minute offset would solve it. Especially since they aren’t willing to open doors early, so the first delivery has to wait outside for a bit before school starts.

They are canceling bus routes as circumstances require. Really, with all the extra unemployment cash being paid out, staffing drivers has been a bigger challenge. Who wants to drive a bus when you can sit at home and make more? That was one of the concerns raised when the CARES Act was passed in the first place. But in today’s environment, you won’t win an election if you object to printing more money.

We’ve never used the bus so I can’t speak to on bus precautions. Neither my wife nor I have any fond memories of buses growing up, so we we’ve been pretty committed to finding other transportation options and have managed to make it work.

 

[Superman]

Excellent point, Rich. I haven't seen that point discussed anywhere. My 14-year-old grandson in Virginia was getting covid-tested yesterday. Apparently was becoming unusually fatigued. Anxiously awaiting the results.

A teenage boy going through puberty wants to sleep in!?! Say it ain’t so!!!

I kid! I kid!

Aside from Covid, has he been checked for BAV? My parents will tell you that they saw a diff in my overall sleep requirements as my condition progressed (regressed?) throughout my teen years. Not trying to be an alarmist. However it is hereditary and for peace of mind, an echo isn’t a bad idea.

 

[Superbob]

A teenage boy going through puberty wants to sleep in!?! Say it ain’t so!!!

I kid! I kid!

Aside from Covid, has he been checked for BAV? My parents will tell you that they saw a diff in my overall sleep requirements as my condition progressed (regressed?) throughout my teen years. Not trying to be an alarmist. However it is hereditary and for peace of mind, an echo isn’t a bad idea.

Point well taken. I've been encouraging my son for years to get regular cardio exams -- with only limited success so far. I think my grandson should be examined, too.
When the school called to report his kid was sick and might be covid-infected, my son's first thought was that he was merely wiped out from binge-playing video games on the sly late in the night. That could be. Hope it will prove to be the case. With teen-agers, that's always a good possibility -- and right now, we just hope that was the case.