Entrenched

We are supposed to learn by our mistakes. And then, if we ignore history we are bound to relive it. An apple a day keeps the doctor away. Well, I don’t know where that came from, just trying to extend the metaphor.

Here is another one: ignore (blank) at your peril. Blank could be masks, social distancing, looking like a Jefferson Davis statue, etc., etc. Feel free to add whatever the phobia of the moment is.

Much of my medical training boiled down to following the example of the attending physician. So, if they were cavalier about self and patient isolation measures, so was the rest of the entourage, for that day at least. Most of it came down to peer pressure.

Upon reviewing the pictures of front line police and National Guard, there is a conspicuous lack of facemasks. I noticed that their horses had face shields, which look oddly cute but also no masks, and they are about face level with most protestors. But I digress. To see the troops completely covered in protective gear and not wearing PPE made me wonder about entrenched corporate cultures.

Did a supervisor or officer tell the troops not to wear a mask, was it a ground swell of misplaced rebellion by the rank and file, were they following the lead of the Commander and Chief; Considering that once off the front lines it is time to interact with family and friends I would think it pays to be safe rather than sorry. There is another one of those pesky saying.

I have developed an entrenched culture. Breakfast consist of tea, toast with peanut butter and jelly, plain yogurt (Greek style preferably), and one half of a banana. At 2:30 in the afternoon a shot of espresso with a sweet treat, and a quarter bottle of white wine (preferably French) with dinner. I like to stay up late to watch YouTube vignette’s of tugboats, quirky musicians, and pilots piloting airplanes to no place in particular.

And just in case you are wondering, I wear my delightful Apple Bluetooth ear buds (declaimer, I am not nor have ever been an employee of Apple) so not to disturb Charlotte who has since gone to bed. Now if I consider my entrenched tendencies, other than for dental disease, none are self destructive.

Charlotte and I have even begun to wear life preservers when going on deck while cruising and when using the dingy. This policy took decades of self reflection to put in place, so I know it is possible to change, and to look out for oneself and others, for if one of us drowns, we cannot save the other.

It is time to end this scree for my shakuhachi begins at 11:00, and I only have 15 minutes left to set up the Skype paraphernalia. Stay safe and see you on the other side . . . of the pandemic that is!

June 2020

P.S. And if you are also wondering about those yellow orbs, they are quince, and I have yet to decide what to do with them.