Tuesday, July 28
Oregon Health Authority: deaths 303 (+14) cases 17,416 (+328)
We made a visit to the coast today, straight west to Newport and then north a few miles to Beverly Beach. Lots of traffic everywhere and the day use parking area was almost full. Beverly Beach goes on for miles, though, so it didn’t even begin to be crowded. There was a strong wind from the north and a hazy cloud bank just off shore. Three or four miles inland it was 80 degrees; at the shore it was 60 and the wind made it startlingly cold. It was wonderful to walk along the beach, seeing the varying colors of the sea, sand and shore. Whenever we walked on dry sand, if we looked down, we could see a constant flow of windblown grains at ground level, like a shallow tide running fast across an endless furrowed plain. The blowing sand was so fine that a fair amount got through the fabric of E’s shoes. After 40 minutes or so we had had enough and headed back to the car, which made for a welcome shelter from the wind. E emptied her shoes out before we left, but when she got home there was still black sand around her toes.
Wednesday, July 29
Oregon Health Authority: deaths 311 (+8) cases 17,721 (+305)
Tertulia at Bodhi’s once again. E tried a thing they have there called a breakfast roll, which is something like a cinnamon roll, but with the dough knotted. She loved it. Foolishly, M settled for a blackberry scone. After breakfast, we walked back across town to pick up the Mazda after its oil change. Met some old colleagues as we passed the Wednesday Farmers’ Market.
Back at home, M went on line to spend one of his birthday presents, an Amazon gift card. Such a challenge! What sort of thing is there in the world that he might want? In the end, he spent $20 on a linen/cotton tee and $30 for a copy of The Phenomenology of Perception by Maurice Merleau-Ponty. Exciting stuff, eh? As early as Friday, he could be wearing a new shirt and reading 75-year-old French philosophy.
It was E’s night to cook and she put together a nice summer meal of shrimp cocktail, corn on the cob, Milton crackers, and a couple of glasses of cabernet.
Then…we watched TV…and suffered a blow which has left us reeling. Naz has been murdered! In the first episode of Season 3! Can Naz really be gone? Because you know, in the last episode of Season 2, Feyza appeared to have been killed, only to reappear in Season 3, the bullet apparently having missed her heart. But there is much less ambiguity about Naz’s death. It seems that she will be seen no more, except in flashbacks or dreams. More on this later.
Thursday, July 30
Oregon Health Authority: deaths 316 (+5) cases 18,131 (+410)
Corvallis school officials have announced that school will open in the fall, but that classes will be on-line only for at least six weeks. Also today, Barack Obama delivered the eulogy for John Lewis. E heard most of it on the radio and was impressed all over again by his decency and his vision. She mentioned how lucky she felt to have had at least the eight years of his tenure. M took a three-hour ride in his little car, setting out early in the morning while it was cool enough to have the top down. At 4:00 E had her laughing class; at 5:00 she had a meeting of the Lemon Meringue Pie Society, in the backyard of one of the members. M was on his own for dinner.
E and M have talked a bit about the loss of Naz. It is a blow, because she was the character that we liked the best. The crux of melodrama is good against evil but the foundation is often the possibility of true love. We long for evil to be vanquished so that good people can find love and happiness. As we get more involved with a series, we more and more come to love certain characters and hate others. That’s the test; if you start a series and don’t begin to love some characters and hate others, you’ll probably abandon that series and look for something else.
We’ve stuck with I Am Blind partly because we were longing to see things work out well for Naz. Her relationship with Ali Nejat was the deepest foundation of the story. Well, so much for that. Now what’s going to happen? Who even cares? Is it worth the trouble to watch the final 10 hours of the series? I suppose we’ll continue on, just to see. Could this have been an elaborate trick? Will Naz pop up alive somewhere? Doubtful. But one can never say never in soap land.
Friday, July 31
Oregon Health Authority: deaths 322 (+6) cases 18,492 (+361)
Went for a walk today at Minto-Brown Island Park, up in Salem. The park is named for Isaac “Whiskey” Brown and John Minto, two barbarian usurpers who established farms there in the 19th century. In 1857 Brown established himself on an island near the west bank of the Willamette. In 1869, Minto purchased land on another island near the east bank. The land on both islands was in agricultural use for many years. During that time, the main channel of the Willamette shifted and both properties ceased to be true islands. The land is subject to periodic flooding and was therefore never developed any further. In 1970, both properties were acquired by the City of Salem, creating an 883 acre park consisting of both agricultural fields and riparian woodland. M remembers visiting the “park” in the late seventies or early eighties. It seemed–to his untrained eyes–like nothing more than a very large vacant lot that nobody wanted. Since then, both M’s eyes and the park environment have improved. In 2013 the city purchased an adjacent 307-acre parcel, a former Boise-Cascade industrial site. Cleaned up and restoration began soon after.
So the park now comprises about 1,200 acres. There is a 30-acre (!) off-leash dog park and a total of nine miles of walking, running and biking trails. We walked a little over two miles, partly through the vastness of the dog park, partly along the river, and partly through the woods near the sloughs where there is lush growth everywhere, much of it in the shade of gigantic cottonwoods.
So it’s quite a lovely place. But still our overall experience was not so nice. We went in the morning when it was coolish, and so did everyone else. The parking lots were jammed and people were everywhere. The dog park was actually the safest part. It’s where several large agricultural fields used to be and there was plenty of open space with room for everyone. On the trails, though, things were less good. The main trails are paved and in some parts are quite wide, so in theory one could keep one’s distance most of the time. Other trails, the nicer ones, were very narrow. About 80% of the walkers we met were wearing masks, but that’s not quite enough. And even when everyone was masked, squeezing past oncoming groups was sometimes nerve wracking. Worse were the cyclists and runners, who were mostly unmasked and who of course were breathing hard, spewing droplets in all directions. It’s hard to say how dangerous it really was, but it wasn’t too pleasant. We were relieved to get out of the wooded areas and back to the car.
Saturday, August 1
Oregon Health Authority: deaths 325 (+3) cases 18,817 (+325)
E made another heroic trek over to the Patissier this morning and fetched us back some croissants–both pain au chocolat and almond paste. Oh they were good. Two were eaten; two were frozen for later. Then we worked in the garden on the two W’s: watering and weeding. After lunch Eve finished a new mask while M read and worked on the diary.
Sunday, August 2
Oregon Health Authority: deaths 326 (+1) cases 19,097 (+280)
Well…we’ve gone ahead and made reservations for a stay at the coast. We’re getting a room for two nights at the Inn at Otter Crest, a resort where E once had a time share. The restaurant and pool are closed, but that’s fine with us. We’ve reserved a room with a kitchenette and plan to eat most of our meals from supplies brought with us from Corvallis. The area is still in Reopening Stage 1 because of a largish outbreak related to a seafood plant. What we want is a view of the ocean and a base from which we can do some coast range hiking and perhaps a beach walk or two. We still thinking about getting a take-out dinner one night, but otherwise we plan to avoid nearby towns entirely.
Amazon has delivered M’s copy of Merleau-Ponty’s The Phenomenology of Perception but not his new t-shirt. These two items were ordered on-line on the same day and have become conflated in his mind. M has already read a few pages of TPOP but is hesitant to continue. He fears he will not get the full effect without the shirt. Thoreau tells us to “beware of all enterprises that require new clothes, and not rather a new wearer of clothes.” But M is wary of enterprise of all sorts and has never truly desired to become new. He will wait.
Monday, August 3
Oregon Health Authority: deaths 389 (+0) cases 19,088 (+330)
On the 130th day of our record keeping, it’s time for another update to PD’s Oregon Curve chart. But first, a little history. The chart immediately below is from the beginning of July, when things looked pretty hopeful. Remember those days? The second chart is the updated one, which traces how it all went sour over the last 30 days.
