Meandering on the Way

Tuesday, August 4

Oregon Health Authority:  deaths 333 (+5)    cases 19,699 (+333)

M’s new tee shirt has finally arrived, allowing him to delve further into Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s The Phenomenology of Perception, a work of deep abstraction and profound irrelevance. Nevertheless, off we go.

Let’s start with Merleau-Ponty’s ideas about what is known as the Müller-Lyer illusion:

The German sociologist Franz Carl Müller-Lyer devised this diagram in 1889. We’ve all seen variations of it by now and we know the trick. When you first see it, the three horizontal lines are all different lengths. But of course they are not, say the scientists, as can be proved with a ruler. In fact, you don’t even need a ruler. All you have to do remove all twelve of the short diagonal lines and you will be freed from the illusion. 

Merleau-Ponty strongly objects to this reasoning. You will not be freed from illusion, he says, because there never was any illusion. The lines you saw at first glance in the diagram were not the same lines as the lines seen later, after you were instructed to ignore or erase all of the short diagonal lines. The lines in the diagrams were not just lines at all. What you saw first were three complex shapes, because that’s how perception works. If you erase all the winglets (the short diagonal lines) you’re not looking at the same thing any more. The horizontal lines that are component parts of the complete designs are neither equal nor unequal to the lines without winglets; they are merely different.

We know they are different because we just saw the difference with our own eyes. There is a reason that we see the difference and that reason lies in the nature of perception. We see the difference because–after centuries of evolution–that’s how our eyes and brains work. So we were never mistaken, never in the thrall of an illusion. In fact, we are being tricked, but we are being tricked by the scientist who is attempting to sucker us into believing that real experience and natural perception are inherently inferior to the idealizations that are the foundation of a scientific definition of knowledge. Scientists, says M-P, are both naive and dishonest. In the specialized vision of “objective” science, it is valid and useful to speak of equal and unequal lines. Science achieves its clarity by departing from the reality of experience into the realm of abstract reasoning about reality. But if we want to know what is really going on in the world, and what makes humans do what we do, the model fails because it is precisely the human perceiver that must be removed in order for the model to proceed.

For Merleau-Ponty, we cannot explain the Müller-Lyer illusion by assuming that there exists some thing in the world called a line, another thing in the world called consciousness, another thing in the world called the observer who has the consciousness, and an event in the world called perception which connects them all and which sometimes goes wrong. For M-P, the world is perception and that’s all it is. “I” do not “perceive” the “world.” Those three words are all just different names for the same thing.  

He goes on to say that we can reflect on our perception world, we can reason about our perception world, and we can also imagine different perception worlds. Humans do a lot of all those things. But our thoughts or acts of imagination about the world do not exist apart from us–and nor does anything else–though it is easy to mistakenly think that they do. Implicit in this critique, I think, is the idea that such thoughts and imaginings can help us, but they can also lead us very far astray. The difficulty about perception is that it is so basic and all-encompassing that we forget about it. And when we do that, we forget ourselves. The project of phenomenology, it seems, is to remind us.

Meanwhile…math. An article in our paper today has this headline: “Second-lowest COVID case total since July 8.” Inside, the article says “The new daily case total…is the lowest number reported in the past 12 days…and the second-lowest since July 8.” Does the article also mention that yesterday’s total of test results was the lowest since June 15th and that yesterday’s test positive ratio was one of the highest on record? No, these details are omitted. 

Wednesday, August 5

Oregon Health Authority:  deaths 338 (+5)    cases 19,979 (+280)

Arrived at the coast a bit after 4:00 and got settled into our kitchen-equipped room at the Inn at Otter Crest. Here’s E getting settled.

When her kids were young, E had a time-share in the Otter Crest complex and has many good memories of the place. She hadn’t seen it though, for more than twenty years. It’s still very nice. We took a walk down from the Inn to the hamlet of Otter Rock, where there’s a Mo’s Chowder restaurant, a surf and skate shop call Pura Vida, and a café called Cliffside Coffee and Sweets. Mo’s was closed, but business was good at the surf shop, with lots of people returning their rented wetsuits after a day of surfing. The coffee shop was also busy, with a line of young people out the door, some masked, some not, and nobody distancing. Sigh.

Back in the room, our dinner was hamburgers with lettuce, cheese, ketchup, dill slices and a big beautiful tomato. It was great. The corn on the cob would have been great too, except that we didn’t remember to bring it. Fortunately, we had remembered the tempranillo.

Thursday, August 6

Oregon Health Authority:  deaths 339 (+1)    cases 20,636 (+246)

This morning we drove about 50 miles up the coast to this place called Cape Lookout. 

It’s a two-mile finger of basalt that dates back to a time of massive lava flows about 15 million years ago. The hike is 4.8 miles in total, beginning at a parking area somewhere among the trees in the upper right of this photo. The first part of the trail goes along the south rim. Here’s the view from there.

Later the trail crosses to the north edge. Here’s a view looking directly down from that side.

The plant life on the cape is spectacular, with giant old-growth hemlock and Sitka spruce growing right up to the edges of the 400-foot cliffs on either side. The lush undergrowth of salal and ferns is almost impenetrable. The trail is smooth and well-graded–at first. Then it mostly isn’t. It had rained the night before and we ran into a little mud here and there. Also a few roots.

Friday, August 7

Oregon Health Authority:  deaths 348 (+9)    cases 20,636 (+411)

Returned home today from our coastal adventures, tired and a little out of sorts. It’s not the coast’s fault. We had a wonderful hike that was followed by a fine take-out meal from Local Ocean in Newport. We shared a beautiful sunset and a very tasty Black cod dinner in our little dining nook looking out at the sunset. 

So that was all good. But then we made the mistake of watching the final hour and a half of Kördüğüm/I Am Blind, which Netflix inexplicably calls Intersection. The last few episodes had been a little clumsy. They had their moments, but there had been some continuity failures, such as the time Naz gave Ali Nejat his ring back at the end of one episode and was busy arranging wedding decorations at the beginning of the next. Then Naz was killed, which took a lot of sparkle out of the story. It was almost as if some of the remaining actors felt it too. By the second to the last episode they were just going through the motions, trying to get if over with. In the finale, lots of things were wrapped up and happiness seemed to be in the cards for several couples, but none of it was terribly satisfying or particularly moving. We blame the story runners for losing inspiration right at the end. But maybe it wasn’t all their fault. Maybe it’s just us expecting too much. The final stages of any addiction are much less fun than the beginning; that’s the way it goes. 

Saturday, August 8

Oregon Health Authority:  deaths 355 (+7)    cases 21,010 (+374)

More gardening today. M mowed, dug weeds and extended an irrigation line; E fought in both the weed wars and the mite wars, fertilized a bunch of things, and picked up a bushel of fallen apples. She found a few apples from the far tree that were edible. M tried a good looking one from the near tree, but it was still bitter. Patience.

Dinner came from Ba’s in Albany. Ginger chicken with rice and kimchi for M, vegetarian noodle salad with egg rolls for E.

Then, continuing with the gardening motif, we watched a documentary called The Biggest Little Farm, which was suggested to us by a veterinarian we know. It’s the story of a couple who leave their tiny apartment in Santa Monica and go off into the wilds of Ventura County to do farming the old-fashioned way. Along the way they are mentored by Alan York, a master horticulturist with whom we were already familiar from having read about his work with biodynamic vineyards in Oregon. The Biggest Little Farm is an inspiring story and it’s helping us deal with our Turkish soap withdrawal issues. 

Sunday, August 9

Oregon Health Authority:  deaths 356 (+1)    cases 21,272 (+262)

A quiet Sunday. We had a long walk in the cool of the morning. Did a few errands, including the carwash and the candy store. E did some alterations and read poetry. M made some progress on his British crossword, a Sunday Times Jumbo cryptic from 2006. He’s been working on it for weeks. Just five clues left. 

Monday, August 10

Oregon Health Authority:  deaths 357 (+1)    cases 21,488 (+216)

Monday is our new grocery shopping day. M went to Market of Choice; E went to Natural Grocers. No trouble with any of the things on our list.

M has penetrated a bit further into Phenomenology of Perception, where he found this:

An object looks attractive or repulsive before it looks black or blue, circular or square.

Cited by Merleau-Ponty in PofP, the quote comes originally from a 1925 book by Kurt Koffka, who is best known as one of the trio of German psychologists who developed Gestalt theory in the 1930’s. I don’t what exactly this sentence means. I don’t know if it is true or not. I don’t know whether it much matters. But it’s a good example of the kind of thing that phenomenologists find important. It is an indication, they would say, about the nature of reality, about what is important and what is not.

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.

Tuesday, July 21

Oregon Health Authority:  deaths 269 (+7)    cases 15,139 (+292)

The number of Oregon residents who have been tested for COVID has risen to 352,000, which is about 8% of the total population. As of today, the overall positive rate since March 30 is 4.37%.  The volume of testing has increased greatly over the last four months. In April, Oregon reported an average of 1,407 test results per day, in May the daily average was 2,435, in June it was 3,605 and so far in July it has been 5,216. 

Michaelsday, July 22

Oregon Health Authority:  deaths 271 (+2)    cases 15,393 (+254)

A lovely day today. M got to install a new induction cooktop. First the electricians came and installed the new wiring, then M put it into place. Besides sawing and drilling, this process involved a lot of cursing and groaning, so we know he was having a good time. 

Meanwhile E went to a doctor’s appointment and got some good news. Part of it was that the doctor saw no need to fire a laser torch at her big toe. That’s always nice to hear. Another part is that he gave her a couple of those individually packed squares of Ghiardelli chocolate, which is also nice, especially during those times when your dentist is temporarily unable to give out cupcakes. 

Today’s food was generally excellent. Our tertulia with J&R was at Bodhi’s Bakery and we were able to sample their version of chocolate chip scones while seated outside on a nice cool morning. Hearty and delicious. Then there was that smoked salmon for dinner followed by Chambers sized pieces of birthday chocolate pie from the 57th Street Grill, aka Taylor Street Ovens. (Which is to be found neither on 57th St. nor on Taylor, of course.)

Later we watched two hours of Intersection, a.k.a. I Am Blind, our Turkish soap opera. Pediatrician Naz and race driver turned businessman Ali Nejat have been engaged for a while now. As far as we know, they haven’t had sex yet. The Pandemic Diary stylesheet says to avoid the expression ‘have sex’ and prefers ‘slept together’ cuz it’s classier. But Naz and Ali Nejat have slept together in the same bed several times. It’s just that in all cases adorable little Kaan slept in the same bed right between them, which has made adorable little Kaan very happy but has made E start to worry a little about just how they’re going to deal with this kid in the long run. 

But there’s been a lot more going on besides that little triangle. Naz’s mother Ayşen, who runs a real estate business, is becoming involved with Ali Nejat’s friend Ayhan. Ayhan is a cheerful and charming restauranteur who has been married four times. He mentioned this to Ayşen early on, saying something along the lines of “I’m trying hard to be a good guy and I think I am, but I have to tell you that if you talked to my ex-wives you might get another story.” That was a wise move on his part because Ayşen is smart enough to have already figured out some of that for herself. 

There has been a lot of action involving Ali Nejat’s sister Feyza and his father Tarik. Feyza, whose young son was killed in a car accident that occurred when Ali Nejat was driving, has just got engaged to the sinister Murat, who has gotten all chummy with her father and has dragged them into an investment scheme that promises Tarik a new level of wealth and power. Ali Nejat has come to distrust Murat and will have no part of it. He has sold his shares in the family business, which has estranged him from both sister and father. He continues the warn them about Murat, though, from time to time, which just angers them both. 

Feyza’s ex-husband, Enver, has returned from a long exile in Dubai. He had fled Turkey several years ago when a warrant was issued for his arrest for something or other. Resourceful fellow that he is, he has somehow arranged for the case to be dropped, allowing his return. The motives for his return to Istanbul are unclear. He has, in the past, been a mentor for Murat. But he has told Feyza that he still loves her and wants, more than anything, for them to be together again. So there are two men who say they love Feyza, but can she trust either of them? We in the viewing audience have started rooting for Enver, as we see more and more sliminess from Murat. 

And here comes another figure from out the past–Ali Nejat’s first love, Eylül, who happens to be Enver’s younger sister and who has been living in Germany working for a design firm, the same firm that–oh lord never mind. Needless to say, she still carries a torch for Ali Nejat and he’s not entirely over her either. And what about Gokçe and her boyfriend Emre, he of the white Porsche Panamera? Lots happening there. She dumped him after one of her friends texted her a photo of Emre kissing another girl. But Emre refused to accept dismissal. We will always be together, he says, until I say we’re not. He confronted Gokçe’s friend who sent the photo and roughed her up a bit. Then, a few days later, he really let loose on Gokçe herself, punching her several times, cutting her lip and bruising her cheek and left eye. Gokçe is in shock and doesn’t want anyone to know, especially her brother Umut (Naz’s ex) because she thinks that if he finds out he’ll just kill Emre and then have to go to prison. She knows, as do millions of viewers, that impulse control is not one of Umut’s strengths. But she finally does tell Genco, Umut’s old friend and assistant mechanic. Genco immediately wants to have some direct conversation with Emre, but Gokçe begs him not to do anything because then he will get into trouble. At this point Gokçe knows that Genco is in love with her and she’s starting to wonder how she feels about that. Anyway, Genco tells her not to worry about it and that nothing’s going to happen. He tells her he’s got to go off to work, but instead goes and finds Emre, stuffs him into the trunk of a borrowed car, and drives back to the garage where he works. After putting up the closed sign, he takes Emre out of the trunk and into the back room where he proceeds to spend some time beating the crap out of him, pausing when he gets winded but then going right back at it. (Or so we assume–not all of this is shown. But the initial blows were fairly graphic, as were the several blows that Emre dealt Gokçe.) To see what happens next, we must go on to the next episode…if we can find the strength.

Thursday, July 23

Oregon Health Authority:  deaths 273 (+2)    cases 15,713 (+320)

It’s 4:33 in the afternoon and M is having difficulty concentrating amidst the raucousness of the Laughter Yoga class that is Zooming into the living room. Part of today’s lesson seems to be How to Imitate Animals Laughing.

Friday, July 24

Oregon Health Authority:  deaths 282 (+9)    cases 16,104 (+391)

As this is the 120th day of PD record keeping, it’s time to update the Oregon curve chart. Grim news today on the virus front. There were nine deaths reported, the highest total ever for the state. Deaths per day in the last ten days averaged 3.8, also a record high, as you see.

Saturday, July 25

Oregon Health Authority:  deaths 286 (+4)    cases 16,492 (+388)

In the fantasy world of I Am Blind, Naz has broken off her engagement to Ali Nejat. Lately it seems that she has been more of a baby sitter for Kaan, while Ali Nejat goes off and does what he does, which includes things like finding out who murdered his nephew, trying to save his father’s company, and, just by the way, having soulful conversations with former lover Eylül, whose intention of leaving Istanbul and returning home to Germany has first weakened and then finally dissolved. Hmm. Now, Eylül is taking care of Kaan–that was quick–while Ali Nejat goes to an important meeting. Kaan, the fickle little beast, thinks Eylül is wonderful because she took him to a stable so he could ride a pony. 

Umut and Genco were pretty pleased with themselves for beating up Emre and then dumping him in a vacant lot; but now they’re nervous. When they dumped Emre off, he may have been much the worse for wear but he was very much alive. Later that day, though, he was found very much dead by a vagrant searching through a nearby dump. Darn it! Why does life have to be so complicated? 

Sunday, July 26

Oregon Health Authority:  deaths 289 (+3)    cases 16,758 (+266)

A nice Zoom meeting today with with the three J’s: Jim, Joanne and John. E took her iPad out to the back yard and we sat under the apple tree for a bit. At one point Joanne noted that we should all be going out for ice cream, a sentiment of which we all approved. We also got an update on John’s new little house at the lake, which now has plumbing and an appliance or two. He claims that a Certificate of Occupancy may be signed within the week. Hopefully, we will be able to travel sometime and go see it. Also during the meeting we picked up the iPad and gave a quick tour of our yard, in the course of which we noticed that our wireless signal reaches to the farthest corner of the garden and also that the our rhubarb patch was flourishing. Well. After the meeting E went out to pick some and then later in the afternoon she turned around and baked a pie.

Tuesday, July 14

Oregon Health Authority:  deaths 244 (+7)    cases 12,805 (+367)

This is the 110th day of our record keeping, so it’s time for another update of our Oregon curve graphic, now based on 11 consecutive 10-day averages. As you see, the latest ten-day average is equal to the previous high back in early April. Looks like a second wave to us.

Wednesday, July 15

Oregon Health Authority:  deaths 247 (+3)    cases 311,111 (+276)

Tertulia in our back yard this morning. We baked scones. And because it’s berry season, we filled our scones with luscious semi-sweet chocolate chips. Yum. Later a little yard work, a little sewing, and a little reading. A warm summery day. It was nice to stay indoors for most of the afternoon. We did some searching online and ordered E a stand for her iPad mini. She’s been doing a lot of Zooming of one kind or another and her cobbled together holder had finally failed. For dinner E arranged take-out from Ba’s in Albany. Ba’s is run by a wonderful young couple who offer what they call Vietnamese comfort food. It’s delicious. After dinner we watched a little of our Turkish soap, but then moved on to a new jigsaw puzzle.  

Thursday, July 16

Oregon Health Authority:  deaths 249 (+2)    cases 13,509 (+428, new Oregon record)

Nice day, definitely summer. Errands and a short hike in the morning: first Bottle Drop, then the Shell station, thence up the road to the Calloway Creek trail. It was still cool in the forest in the late morning. After the hike M donned his gloves, picked up some cutters, and went out to our sprawling blackberry bush to see if he could bring it under some semblance of control. It’s a native variety, very thorny, one that is used to surviving in hostile conditions. In the relatively benign environment of our garden it becomes very enthusiastic, sending out ridiculously healthy new canes in all directions, including up over the fence, where it could threaten the physical safety and mental tranquility of the entire neighborhood. Hence, action was required. 

Friday, July 17

Oregon Health Authority:  deaths 254 (+5)    cases 13,802 (+293)

Last night we went out around 11:00 to see if we could see the comet Neowise. We knew that we wouldn’t be seeing it from our house because the comet was low on the northern horizon and there are wooded hills just north of us. So we drove to a place where the land was flat to the north and sure enough there it was, dim but visible to the naked eye, and even more visible through E’s binoculars. It was pretty cool. Neither of us could remember when we’d last seen a comet–if ever. Neither of us had been out after eleven for a while either. 

Oregon COVID news continues bad with little sign of any impending improvement. Fatalities have now reached 254, a rate of 5.91 per 100,000. 

For reference, total Oregon fatalities in the 1918 influenza pandemic totaled 3,675. Oregon’s population at that time was approximately 781,000, which yields a fatality rate of 471 per 100,000. That rate is far higher than any reported figures for COVID anywhere in the world. One explanation for the large differential is that the influenza virus caused its victims to develop a number of fatal secondary infections and conditions for which no treatment was available in 1918. COVID can cause similar secondary problems, but in the intervening 100 years medical science has advanced, and many of these associated conditions can now be managed.  

Saturday, July 18

Oregon Health Authority:  deaths 257 (+3)    cases 14,149 (+319)

M’s birthday looms on the horizon. A birthday present has been ordered and there has been discussion about ordering a pie. Before that, though, we’re having guests over for dinner on Sunday. E is planning another paella, out on the patio of course. And speaking of food, we have now gone more than a week without pain au chocolat. It’s all right. We’re OK. And our take-out meal today was from Sybaris–such a lovely restaurant. E loved her brie and almond croquette over salad greens; M had deviled chicken, which consisted of half a bird, mostly deboned but still in one piece, the whole thing roasted in coarse crumbs. It was served with a salad of warm white and sweet potatoes with fresh arugula, green beans, snap peas, and summer squash, all with a Gubbins sauce dressing. Awesome. Has M now fallen in love with Gubbins sauce (made with cream, tarragon vinegar, butter, and English mustard?) No, he has not. But just this once, it was grand. 

Sunday, July 19

Oregon Health Authority:  deaths 260 (+3)    cases 14,579 (+430)

As we continue documenting the pandemic, here’s a photo showing two different consumer items that are all the rage these days. First, jigsaw puzzles. Everyone from NPR to WSJ has noted the jigsaw puzzle shortage. Puzzle makers cannot keep up with demand. “We have never seen anything like this,” said one manager. “Oh my God, how could we have been prepared for this?” asked another. Both of those comments translate as “If only we’d stockpiled 500,000 more units, we’d be rolling in it!” E and M have contributed to the surge in demand, having bought this puzzle a month or two ago, picking it up curbside from an otherwise closed bookstore. It has turned out to be a good puzzle for us, 1000 pieces and just challenging enough. 

And then there is the market for Zoom-related doodads. Plenty of those being purchased. E just got herself this tabletop stand. She found a dizzying selection of stands and holders, but fell in love with this one, partly because it seemed sturdy and flexible and mostly because it was the best looking of the bunch. 

• 

• 

Now she wants wireless earbuds. 

Monday, July 6

Oregon Health Authority:  deaths 215 (+0)    cases 10,395 (+165)

E did some grocery shopping today and mostly had a good experience–sensible procedures and few other shoppers. She found everything we wanted except one. It seems that the entire Adams natural peanut butter selection has gone missing. There was no creamy, no crunchy, no you stir, no pre-stirred. There was plenty of Jiff, which is sold by the same company as Adams, and plenty of Skippy, but none of the good stuff. Hardly a critical moment in world history, but it’s the kind of thing that’s been happening around here. Last week E was looking for low-sugar recipe pectin. We ended up checking every store in town. They all had regular pectin in the yellow box, but the pink boxes of the low sugar type were nowhere. How about online? Well yes it was there, but at three times the usual price. Bleh. Very annoying at berry picking time.

Speaking of shopping, we remember back at the beginning–oh so many months ago–we were all told to stay home and to minimize our trips to the grocery store, especially if we were over sixty. We were supposed to grocery shop just once every two weeks.. We have to confess that we never managed that. We did stop going shopping together as we used to. Now we take turns going alone. But the longest we ever lasted between store visits was a week and now we’re much worse. It seems to us, however, that around here it’s not just about how often you go, it’s also about when and where. A crowded store seems like an outbreak waiting to happen even if you go into it only once. A well-managed store when it’s mostly empty seems very different and doesn’t really scare us. E’s experience today was typical. She went at ten in the morning on a Monday, got in and out quickly, and was never closer than eight or ten feet to anyone except the checker who was behind a barrier. 

Tuesday, July 7

Oregon Health Authority:  deaths 220 (+5)    cases 10,605 (+210)

Today was M’s turn to go grocery shopping. Both TJ’s and Mother of Markets were almost empty between 9:00 and 10:00 and everyone he saw was masked. The haul? Wine and dried fruit from Trader Joe’s, fresh vegetables, canned soup and two take-and-bake baguettes from the other place.

Later M also had to go to the hardware place–again–because it turns out that when he went the first time he had not bought enough cedar for his footstool project. He realized this only when he was staining the component pieces that he had cut out and sanded. During that process he was able to determine, by means of counting, that he had not provided his stool with a sufficient number of legs. Kuçuk problem vardı. E, with her unreasonably high standards, would likely object to using a two-legged stool.

In the evening, there was more Turkish TV. Remember how Umut jumped off the jetty and everyone–except for a few million television viewers–thought he was dead? The writers brought him back in the very next episode. Jeez.

Wednesday, July 8

Oregon Health Authority:  deaths 224 (+4)    cases 10,817 (+212)

We met J and R for tertulia this morning at the coffee shop. We sat at a table outside. It was a lovely morning, mild and partly cloudy. What an odd time this is. Everyone puts on a mask just before entering a shop, and then, instead of robbing the place, they pull out credit cards! 

Later M worked on his wood project and E spread bark mulch and planted Zinnias. There was leftover paella for dinner. Deluxe.

Thursday, July 9

Oregon Health Authority:  deaths 230 (+6)    cases 11,188 (+371)

All bad news today from OHA, lots of new cases, high rate of positives, and the day’s death toll was among the highest ever. 

M had two medical appointments in the AM, then went for a drive in the country to unwind. Best driving music of the day was Neil Young and Crazy Horse, Ragged Glory. Loud enough to hear at speed with the top down. 

E’s Zoom enabled exercise class did drumming today. Improvised equipment consisted of a drum made from a large cardboard box set up on an upside-down laundry basket. Two wooden spoons served as drumsticks. Great fun. Afterward, Eve, the laundry basket and the spoons were all fine, but the cardboard box–which had underlying health issues–did not survive.

That was in the morning; later she had her first session of Laughter Yoga. She says that it was pretty easy. Just sit in a chair and laugh.

Friday, July 10

Oregon Health Authority:  deaths 232 (+2)    cases 11,454 (+266)

Saturday, July 11

Oregon Health Authority:  deaths 232 (+0)    cases 11,851 (+397)

Take-out from Tacovore for dinner. Tacovore is one of the best restaurants for these times: online ordering and curbside pickup. Other good places that we know of include Pastini’s and Burgerville in Corvallis, plus Sybaris and Ba’s in Albany.  

Sunday, July 12

Oregon Health Authority:  deaths 234 (+2)    cases 12,170 (+319)

E and M have both been re-reading West With the Night by Beryl Markham. It’s a wonderful book that is filled with love for and insight into some of her favorite things: Africa, dogs, horses, and airplanes. The book does not deal much with men, but apparently she loved them too. She was married at least three times, though one source reports six. Husband #2 was Mansfield Markham, whose name she took and stuck with. Husband #3 was a journalist who at one point claimed to have written most of West with the Night. Beryl Markham’s biographer, Mary Lovell, is unconvinced. If anyone inspired the book, says Lovell, it would most likely be Antoine de Saint Exupèry, to whom Markham was not married, though they did spend some quality time together. Markham also idled away a certain number of hours in the company of the Duke of Gloucester, the son of King George the 5th. This relationship, so it is said, was broken up by the Windsor family who were so eager for her departure from the scene that they granted Markham an annuity. A few years before that, Beryl had stolen Robert Redford away from Meryl Streep. How many women can say that? Or was it Denys Finch Hatton that she stole from Karen Blixen? Or did she take up with Hatton only after Blixen was done with him? Hard to say from here. The only thing we know for sure is that while Blixen was played by Meryl Streep in Out of Africa, Markham was played by Stephanie Powers in a TV movie called In the Shadow of the Sun. Score one for Blixen there. 

But never mind all that. Beryl Markham was, for years, a pioneering aviator in Africa, flying in primitive, and radio-less, machines over uncharted expanses. She was the first person to fly west from Europe to North America–a more difficult feat than Lindbergh’s because she had to fly against the wind. When not flying, she was a successful race horse trainer.

Wednesday, July 1

Oregon Health Authority:  deaths 208 (+1)    cases 7,817 (+275)

Both of us have been reading a book called Something Wonderful. It’s about Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein and the era when they were such a large presence in American musical theatre. We’ve been reminded that their first mega-hit was Oklahoma! in 1943; their last was The Sound of Music, which opened in 1959. In between came Carousel in 1945, South Pacific in 1950 and The King and I in 1952. Because neither of us was very familiar with Carousel, we decided to have a listen to it, and, after a brief argument with Siri, we were able to hear the soundtrack of the 2018 Broadway revival. It turned out that we did recognize one song from the show, or at least one particular line of that song. The song starts like this:

The memorable part comes just a little later:

You can probably guess which line it was that seemed familiar. But something else seemed familiar, too. The song is about spring, something that happens every year in temperate climes, but it also serves nicely as a metaphorical foretelling of the great Pandemic of 2020, at least as it transpired around here. Just add the interpretations in parentheses below:

The song about June goes on for several more verses. One verse is about rams and ewes, one of them is about fish (fish?), one is about human romance, and there’s one more about saplings bursting with sap and suchlike. Great stuff. Something Wonderful is an interesting and thorough book. We lukewarmly recommend it.

Thursday, July 2

Oregon Health Authority:  deaths 209 (+1)    cases 9,636 (+363)

We’ve finished Episode 12 of our Turkish soap, whose Netflix title is Intersection and whose original Turkish title is Kördüğüm. We naturally thought that kördüğüm was some fancy word for intersection. But it seemed weird. Intersection is a noun, but in Turkish üm is a verb ending. So finally we looked it up, only to find that Kördüğüm does not mean intersection at all and is not a noun. It’s a sentence, and it means ‘I am blind.’ Now you may well be asking, “How can one word in Turkish be a three word sentence in English?” That is of course a very excellent question, so we want to try and answer it, even though it is technically off topic. Alas, even though we kinda know the answer, we are not the best people to ask. What you should do is take some basic Turkish lessons. You can do that online here. In fact, we are looking for two more people to study with, because you need four people to make an actual class, which is much cheaper than private lessons. If you are, for some bizarre reason, interested in this, starting in August, please let us know. We have details on pricing and schedules. We know the instructor and he’s good.

But now back to unreality. How did Netflix get from I Am Blind to Intersection? We don’t know. Does the original title relate to the fact that some of the characters are blind to the machinations of the treacherous evil doers who claim to be their friends? Possibly. For example, we are getting to know a new character named Murat, an old childhood friend of our handsome and good-hearted hero, Ali Nejat. Murat appears very wealthy and wants to help Ali Nejat realize his long held dream of starting up a business to make beautiful cars. Will Ali Nejat accept his help? We sure hope not because at the end of Episode 12 we found out that Murat’s real goal is the total destruction of Ali Nejat and all his dreams. But why?

Meanwhile, Ali Nejat has just spent a lovely and leisurely day alone with Naz at the family dacha in the hills somewhere around Istanbul. This is the first time they’ve ever spent a whole day together and they are both smiling. They were smiling a little bit a week or so back, after Naz separated from Umut. But then Naz found out she was pregnant. The child was Umut’s, of course, because all that Naz and Ali Nejat ever do is smile and look longingly at each other. Given how determined they are to be good, it may be all they ever do. So is Naz still pregnant? No. What happened there is that when Umut heard she was pregnant, he begged and pleaded for another chance and swore that everything would be different. Naz finally sighed and said something like “Okay, but do you know how hard this is going to be?” which turned out to be an understatement. After 24 hours of being the loving husband, Umut freaked out and started throwing things and breaking windows and stormed out. The next day he came back to apologize but ended up yelling at Naz and knocking her down, causing her to have a miscarriage. Not surprisingly, Naz doesn’t want to see him anymore. Ah, but someone else does want to see Umut. The mysteriously evil Murat wants to see Umut. Whatever he is planning, it can’t be good. 

Friday, July 3

Oregon Health Authority:  deaths 209 (+0 )    cases 9,636 (+342)

As with in many U.S. states, there were lots of new COVID cases in Oregon this week. The daily number of tests continues to increase, so that would explain some of it. But the test positive ratios were also high this week, ranging from 4.63% on Monday to 8.35% on Friday. The overall positive ratio since March 30 is 3.78%.

Saturday, July 4

Oregon Health Authority:  deaths 213 (+4 )    cases 9,930 (+294)

It’s been 100 days since the Pandemic Diary began its record keeping. It’s time, then, for the tenth entry to our chart of average daily fatalities per 10-day period. in the first 70 days the daily fatality rate went up, down and back up a little. In the last 30 days it has been essentially unchanged: 1.7, 1.9, and 1.8. 

Sunday, July 5

Oregon Health Authority:  deaths 215 (+2)    cases 10,230 (+301)

Nice visit with Andrea today. She drove down in her new Leaf, which has three or four times the range of her old one. Andy was off fighting wildfires. We had never thought of it before, but of course the 4th of July weekend is one of the busiest times of the season. Andrea says that the fires so far have been small ones, but there are a lot of them.

E made paella for the occasion and we had a COVID protocol dinner outside on the patio. Ice cream and homegrown berries for dessert. Lots of fun for us. Later on we checked in with I Am Blind or whatever it is. 

We watched Umut and Naz (left and right in the picture) as they went to court to finalize their divorce. It was an interesting scene with just four people in the room: the judge, the court recorder, Umut and Naz. The divorce was uncontested and they had both already signed off. As a last step they had to appear–without lawyers or any other supporters–and re-affirm orally that each agreed to the divorce. The judge asked each one in turn. Naz said yes without hesitation. She’s too practical to have come all the way downtown just to start waffling in front of the judge. Umit has told her a number of times that he definitely wants a divorce. But, being an idiot, he is mostly saying that because he expects her to beg him to change his mind. It’s not clear whether Naz realizes this or not, but it doesn’t matter at this point. She’s done. When the judge asks Umut the question, we get one of those very long dramatic pauses that are one of the hallmarks of Turkish style soaps. You many think you have seen a dramatic pause or two in your lifetime, but I’m telling you these Turkish ones are at a whole nother level. Anyway, Umut eventually says yes, at which point the judge reads the decree into the official record and the divorce is done. Is that how it really happens in Turkey? We don’t know. We met a few divorced Turkish women while we were there, but we didn’t get into the mechanics. Mostly we just listened to how very pleased they were to have escaped the hell of being married to a Turkish man. 

That night Umut started drinking, put an automatic in his pocket and went to Ali Nejat’s house to kill him. He had a good bead on him through a window and then, after a really long pause, into the scene came oh so adorable Kaan to give his dad a goodnight hug. Umut just couldn’t do it. His pistol fell from his hands. He went back to his shop and got some gasoline and then went to Ali Nejat’s fledging car factory and set fire to it. He then finished his bottle, drove his new Range Rover to an extremely picturesque jetty near the Bosphorus bridge, and threw himself into the sea. A surveillance camera recorded the scene. Currents are strong in that area, say the police, and body must have been swept away.

Umut’s family is crying and carrying on and Naz feels terrible. More terrible than she needs to feel, in our opinion, but maybe that’s just us. It’s interesting that everyone seems positive Umut is dead. Don’t they know they’re in a soap opera?

Wednesday, June 24

Oregon Health Authority:  deaths 195 (+3)    cases 7,444 (+170)

It has been 90 days now that Pandemic Diary has been tracking the Oregon deaths per day. That means we have a new data point to add to our record of 10-day averages. Here’s what the graph looks like with the new data included. 

Comparisons, says Dogberry in Much Ado, are odorous. So hold your nose and let’s begin. It’s a table of reported COVID19 deaths per 100,000 in various places. Just a snapshot at a point in time; not the final score. Data from Johns Hopkins, as of June 24.

Taiwan	.03
Thailand	.08
Australia	.41
New Zealand	.45
Japan	.76
OREGON	4.5
Denmark	10.40
Germany	10.75
Canada	22.97
United States	37.05
France	44.37
Sweden	50.68
Italy	57.38
Spain	60.62
United Kingdom	64.69

Thursday, June 25

Oregon Health Authority:  deaths 197 (+2)    cases 7,568 (+124)

In the ‘for what it’s worth’ department…The cumulative test positive rate in Oregon since March 30 is 3.5%. It hit a low of 3.19% on June 6, but has been edging upward since then. Here’s a graph.

Friday, June 26

Oregon Health Authority:  deaths 201 (+4)    cases 7,817 (+249)

We were talking today about the first time we ever saw people wearing masks to cover their mouths and noses. Both of us had seen it first in Japan, M when he lived there in the early 1980’s and E later in the 80’s when she travelled there on business. We both remember thinking it was weird. We knew why people were doing it; they were ill and they didn’t want to spread their illness to others. We knew that Japan was a crowded place, the kind of place where airborne illnesses were easily transmittable. And we were learning about how Japanese culture had a system of group loyalties that Americans didn’t have. It all made sense. And yet, both of us had negative reactions to masks. E thinks that it’s because she had learned that being sick was a sign of weakness. It was something shameful; you certainly didn’t want to announce it to the world. M remembers that too, and he also remembers not wanting to stand out for any reason. He already felt different enough. He says he doesn’t remember if he ever got a cold or the flu while he lived in Japan, but he knows he never wore a mask.

Saturday, June 27

Oregon Health Authority:  deaths 202 (+1)    cases 8,094 (+277)

We sent to a social gathering today. It was held in the back yard of a friend of ours. Guests went directly to the back around the left side of the house. First there was a small table with hand sanitizer and a selection of very clean and rather attractive masks. Farther around in the back there were more supplies: face shields for every guest, along with a name tag that could affixed to them at the top. Here is a reconstruction of part of that scene.

We had a nice time. M ran into a man who used to run an audio business in Corvallis for many years and from whom M had bought some B&W speakers in 1992. The two guys didn’t exactly remember each other, but they both remembered the speakers. 

We ran into another person, a highway engineer, who reported hearing that the number of cell phone accounts in China fell by approximately 21 million during the height of the pandemic there. There is speculation is that the owners of those numbers may simply have died of the virus. Well, maybe, but the Pandemic Diary is unconvinced. We’re okay with the idea that China has vastly underreported its COVID deaths. Of course it has. That’s how Asia works. But this idea of using phone account data to measure deaths just makes me remember H. L. Mencken: “For every complex problem there is a solution that is concise, clear, simple, and wrong.”

Sunday, June 28

Oregon Health Authority:  deaths 202 (+0)    cases 8,341 (+245)

Things went all to hell in yesterday’s episode of Kördügüm, our latest Turkish soap opera. Ali Nejat got arrested for murder. He was torn from the arms of his pre-school aged son Kaan and dragged off to jail, with Kaan screaming and carrying on the whole time. Ali Nejat is being framed but by whom? He doesn’t seem to know, but we the audience have gotten hints that the one behind it all might be Enver, his scheming ex brother-in-law. Little Kaan, who recently lost his mother to suicide and has just discovered that he has a father, was so upset by all this that the family called in pediatrician Naz–a family friend who just has a way with kids and seems to really love Kaan. But then again, who doesn’t love Kaan, who is a cute little guy with a big role in this soap and who is played by one hell of a child actor. Naz decided to take Kaan for a drive in the country to calm him down. Unfortunately, that’s just when Kenan’s henchman made their move to kidnap Naz as part of their boss’s plan to get back at her husband Umut–who she happens to be separated from, but Kenan doesn’t know that or care. So the kidnappers got both Naz and Kaan. Yikes. Ali Nejat was going crazy stuck in jail with his son missing. Every character in the show was totally freaked out, except for Umut’s sister Göckçe’s boyfriend Emre, who drives a white Porsche Panamera and who managed to pass his final exam in clothing design by embroidering a beautiful sweater that he then gave as a present to Göckçe after his professor had approved it. So that was good, we guess, but everything else was pretty tense. 

In Sunday’s episode, the situation improved. Ali Nejat got out on bail and the police came up with a clue as to where Kenan’s hideout might be. Ali Nejat’s faithful driver Ibrahim then used his contacts in the police department to learn where that was, at which point Ali Nejat raced off to the rescue in his rugged Mercedes G-Class. Umut, meanwhile, had already found the hideout. After arriving there in his white sedan, he went up to the house. Then, because he is a complete idiot, he was knocked unconscious and tied up. By the time he woke up and escaped from his bonds, the bad guys had already fled in their Jeep taking Naz and Kaan with them. Umut immediately ran to his car, a black SUV, and set out after them. When he caught up with them Ali Nejat had already blocked their escape and the police were on the way. Soon it was all over and Ali Nejat, Kaan and Naz were huddled in a three way embrace. The only question remaining was how Umut’s car had managed to change both color and shape while he was tied up. We saw this kind of thing in Black Money Love too; apparently it’s just something that happens in Turkey.

Monday, June 15

Statewide: 180 deaths, 5,820 cases, 175,941 tested  (Deaths: +4) (Cases: +184)

Yikes, 184 new cases from only 1,879 tests, and a new record positive rate of 9.79%. A large chunk of the new cases (99) are from Union County, a mostly rural area in the northeast corner of the state. The total population of the county is about 27,000. They are now reporting a total of 121 confirmed cases with no reported deaths.  

Tuesday, June 16

Statewide: 182 deaths, 6,098 cases, 179,337 tested  (Deaths: +2) (Cases: +278)

Another day with lots of new cases, 278 positives out of 3,396 tests, a positive rate of 8.19%. The total includes another 119 new cases from Union County. This brings the county’s overall case total to 240, which is roughly 0.9% of its population. They report five hospitalizations and no deaths.

Wednesday, June 17

Statewide: 183 deaths, 6,218 cases, 184,139 tested  (Deaths: +1) (Cases: +120)

There is more news today about the large number of new COVID cases in rural Union County, which is now 242. Most of the new cases are associated with the congregation of the Lighthouse United Pentecostal Church, located in Island City, just east of La Grande. This is hot news and has been featured in any number of national media outlets. 

The most detailed accounts that I have found are one from Oregon Public Broadcasting and one from KPTV Fox 12 Oregon. Both organizations are based in Portland. It’s interesting to compare the two stories. 

OPB announces the events by quoting a deputy epidemiologist in the state health department, who names the church involved and states that 365 church members have been tested with 236 of those testing positive. The state official is also quoted as saying that “the primary transmission likely occurred between church members and not as part of broader community spread.”  The article then includes this one-sentence paragraph: “Local public health officials have offered a somewhat different explanation, downplaying the role of the church in the transmission of cases.” No local public health officials are identified or quoted. Instead, the article moves on immediately to reports that the local newspaper, the La Grande Observer, had published an earlier article saying that Lighthouse had begun in-person services in April and May despite the statewide ban, and that videos posted to the church’s Facebook page showed congregants standing close together without masks, singing and praying. The videos have since been removed. The article then again quotes the state epidemiologist as saying that the people infected by the virus range from children to elderly and include people with “a relatively diverse group of racial and ethnic backgrounds.” They mention that five people have been hospitalized for COVID in the county. Next they include a number of remarks from another named official, the mayor of La Grande. He says that many in the area, himself included, had been feeling fairly sure that their area would not be seriously affected. Now, however, he sees serious cause for concern and urges people in the county to put politics aside and come together to try to limit the spread of the virus. The article then mentions that just before the outbreak two unnamed Union County commissioners had attended a meeting of other rural county commissioners interested in fighting the closures ordered by Gov. Kate Brown. It concludes by noting that that two “OHA staffers” have been sent to La Grande to assist with the response and eight other state workers had been assigned to assist with tracking.

The Fox Story begins by saying that OHA has reported a large outbreak of new cases in Union County and that OHA has attributed “a bunch” of the new cases to Lighthouse United Pentecostal Church in La Grande. Fox then moves directly to an interview with an unnamed member of the church congregation. She says that the church opened back up late last month after the President deemed churches to be essential. She says that the church had guidelines for the 300 members that attend. “They had a hand-washing station outside the door before you came in. People wore masks, or they should’ve. They tried to social distance.” The article then mentions that a video on the church’s Facebook page shows a large group of churchgoers not social distancing. They then again quote the unnamed member who says, “I thought it was wrong. That’s why I didn’t go. I couldn’t see how. It’s a big sanctuary but there’s a lot of people and I didn’t see how people were going to be able to social distance.” She ended by saying that she was praying for everyone to get better and that not all the new cases should be attributed to the church and she doesn’t want the Lighthouse to take on all the blame. The Fox article then moves to an interview with an unnamed Union County Commissioner, who says that the La Grande Hospital has done a good job preparing and has the ability to handle the situation. He also mentions that Lighthouse had previously been contacted by law enforcement and “had been warned.” In the last sentence of the article, they change tack and give the commissioner’s name. 

The OPB report contains more hard information from OHA as well as a meaningful and seemingly honest narrative by the mayor who describes a place where people basically scoffed at the virus, right up to when it truly arrived. They also quote the local paper to point out that the church had been known to be violating restrictions for quite some time. They include useful context such as the number of current hospitalizations and they provide the ironical note about the two commissioners who had been trying to find ways to end those needless state mandated restrictions. It ends by noting that the state has devoted resources specifically to aid in a response to this breakout.  

I should note that the Fox article came out earlier than the OPB report, which means that the OPB writers may have had the advantage of more complete statistics. For whatever reason, the Fox report is built mostly around the interview with the unnamed church member, who provides an inside view of things. Their source is an interested party and expresses only her personal views. We can sense her struggles with how much she wants to reveal and how she wants to be perceived. At one point she seems tempted to whitewash a little, but just then the Fox journalist seems to have mentioned the now deleted video tapes. The details she provides are important, as is her reasoning and the fact that she decided to stop attending services when she saw how things were going. This inside view helps me imagine the events as they unfolded and maybe to understand them a little better. The article ends with two points that OPB omitted, first that the hospital has been ramping up, preparing for just such an eventuality, and second that the church was previously warned by law enforcement. 

The differences in these article were illuminating. The bulk of the OPB article was a platform for reporting official numbers and for communicating what government officials had said in prepared statements. The state health official gave information from his area of expertise and the mayor did the same from his. The result was an overview of the situation by means of an organized collection of numbers and generalities. The Fox article did not question or disparage expertise and clearly accepted the basic facts as presented by the Oregon Health Authority. But it did not focus on numbers, expertise or prepared statements. Instead the writers were after the more human aspects. The congregant’s story takes us out of the realm of statistics and into the world of real people, a very different place. We need to keep that place in mind, I think, just as much as we need accurate statistics. It is a shame, of course, that mostly we all see one or another of these visions, but not both.

Thursday, June 18

Statewide: 187 deaths, 6,366 cases, 188,910 tested  (Deaths: +4) (Cases: +148)

Two more days with lots of new cases, but also lots of testing. The daily percent positive numbers are back to normal: Wednesday 2.50%, Thursday 3.10%. The news from Union County is that the county commissioners have recommended that the county roll back from following Stage 2 opening guidelines and return to the more restrictive Stage 1 guidelines. They are also urging all citizens to wear masks.

Busy day for M and E today, prepping for M’s dental surgery tomorrow. We did our weekly shopping at the Co-op; then M went to Fred Meyer for basic soft food supplies: pudding cups, reasonably normal yogurt, plus a few odds and ends. M had first looked at the yogurt brands at the Co-op, but had finally had to turn away, helpless before an unbearable onslaught of twee.

Then it was on to mowing the back lawn and a bit of watering. Yes, it’s turned hot again and the berries need water. After dinner we picked raspberries which are just now coming on. This was followed by a delayed dessert of strawberries and ice cream. Before bed we watched a bit of our new Turkish series. It’s called Intersection and it’s very different from our last one. On the one hand, it’s kinda slow. On the other, there are only 13 episodes in the first season.  

Friday, June 19

Statewide: 188 deaths, 6,344 cases, 193,689 tested  (Deaths: +1) (Cases: +206)

Only 1 new death reported today, but lots of new cases. The day’s positive rate was 4.31%. 

We recently got to see how dental offices have adapted for the pandemic when E went for a cleaning and M went for his implant. As instructed we wore masks to both places. At E’s place, the first order of business was having her temperature taken at the door. Inside, there was a sad lack of amenities in the waiting room: no coffee machine, no iPad, no toys, and, worst of all, no cupcakes! (Yikers, you exclaim, are there really dentists who give away cupcakes? Well yes, Pandemic Diary can report that there used to be at least one. Trust Eve to have found him.) The good doctor reports that when they re-opened the practice, he was expecting a rush of deferred cleanings. What he had not expected was the surge in stress fractures and chipped teeth, some of which may have been related to tooth grinding. All treatment room staff were double masked and face shielded. 

E accompanied M to his surgery appointment because a caregiver was required. At that office, the first priority was to make the final installment of the prepayment. (Those who suggest that after the pandemic nothing will ever be the same are exaggerating.) The pandemic adaptations came next. We both had to fill out a COVID survey form. A new ballpoint was provided for each of us and we were told we could keep the pens or discard them in the wastebasket when we were done. We then sat in the waiting room for a bit. No magazines or any other amusements, but there was a sign announcing free wi-fi. When M was called, they did a forehead temperature check in the hallway between the waiting room and the treatment room. M passed the test. E was supposed to wait for him for the entire time, roughly an hour and a half. But the rule was that she could either stay in the waiting room or go out and sit in her car. Requiring her to stay the whole time seemed excessive, especially since our house is only five minutes away, but this doctor is like that. At the same time, requiring her to stay in the smallish waiting room would endanger her health and that of others. Being the way he is, the boss couldn’t ignore that either, hence the wait in the car option.

The result was a de facto compromise. Eve went out and got in her car, waited for a bit and then drove home, where she stayed a while and then returned. After a bit a dental staffer came out, found her car, and let her know that the procedure was about three fourths done. E appreciated getting this update, though she realized later than the primary purpose for the visit to her car was simply to make sure she was around. Eventually, someone came out again to call her in to meet M in the recovery room. Later in the day, E went over to the Burgerville drive-through and got M a chocolate shake. He says that he is now pretty certain that the marriage was not a mistake. 

Saturday, June 20

Statewide: 189 deaths, 6750 cases, 198,936 tested  (Deaths: +1) (Cases: +178)

Short nights and long days here, of course, as the solstice approaches. The predawn light arrives around 4:30 and in the evening we’re both getting tired well before it gets dark. While waiting for the dark, we’ve been watching our new Turkish series on Netflix. It’s called Intersection (Kördügüm) and it is both similar and different to Black Money Love. Both series feature evil patriarchs with rebellious sons, older sisters with mental issues, college aged daughters who fight with their mothers, traitorous woman friends, and quite a few hospital scenes. Both have gun violence too, but whereas BML started off with a double murder, Intersection began with a suicide and then made us wait for more than five hours to see the next shooting and that was a paltry nonlethal wound in the abdomen. The costume design in Intersection is not as interesting as in BML although we have to admit that Didem was dressed to the nines for her suicide scene at Ali Nejat’s birthday party in the ballroom of the swank hotel. Other differences are that no one in Intersection is a police officer, no one is engaged in organ trafficking (so far) and no one has opened a bookstore. Instead, one of the main Intersection characters, Naz, is a brilliant head of pediatrics who is always saving kids from mysterious conditions that no one else can diagnose. She herself is childless. Having lost a baby once before, she is reluctant to try again, which is causing a rift with her husband, Umut, who is sort of nice but who has some weird issues to go along with his big dreams…

Monday, June 8

Statewide: 164 deaths, 4,922 cases, 149,732 tested  (Deaths: +0) (Cases: +84)

On Sunday, when we joined the Black Lives Matter demonstrators and felt the energy of the large crowd, it was clear that decency and the capacity for outrage over injustice are still alive in our town, as they seem to be in so many other parts of the world. It’s good to be reminded that goodness never dies. Alas that evil never dies either. We have gone through this before.

In the unreal world of Black Money Love, the main plot is winding down and as it does things are turning dark. Ömer is finding ways to smite the great evil, but he is losing his belief in his own innocence and getting a peek at the less admirable side of his own motives. Elif sees it and we in the audience see it also. We are disappointed in him. We have only four more episodes; we’ll have to see what the writers can do.

Tuesday, June 9

Statewide: 169 deaths, 4,988 cases, 153,470 tested  (Deaths: +5) (Cases: +66)

An old-fashioned June day in Oregon, cool and cloudy with intermittent showers, the kind of day we had before global warming. Thirty or forty years ago, we wore sweaters and rain jackets in June and complained of the damp and the cold. It was hard to believe back then that June meant summer in most of the country, that we’d need sunglasses and shorts if we travelled anywhere. 

Here in 2020, we had planned a trip over to the coast to stay at a hotel on the beach at Newport. Alas, there has been an outbreak at a seafood plant there and the hotel is reducing services for a few days, so we’ve decided to cancel.

Wednesday, June 10

Statewide: 169 deaths, 5,060 cases, 156,605 tested  (Deaths: +0) (Cases: +72)

We had tertulia with J and R today, and for the first time in months we met at an actual coffee shop. We sat outside on the terrace under overcast skies and braved a few drops of rain. Very nice. Later on E and M went downtown and picked up a necklace or two for E and then got take-out lunch from the Vietnamese Baguette. We ate on a bench on the riverfront.

Thursday, June 11

Statewide: 171 deaths, 5,237 cases, 161,643 tested  (Deaths: +2) (Cases: +177)

According to the  Oregon Health Authority, yesterday was a record day for testing (5,038) and also for new cases confirmed (177). The percentage of tests that came out positive was 3.51%, slightly above the long term average for this number, which is 3.24%.

Which goes on longer, a seemingly interminable pandemic or a seemingly interminable Turkish TV series? Well, it appears that the pandemic wins because for us the latter has ended. Last night we watched the final episode of Kara Para Aşk, a.k.a. Black Money Love. Episode #164 went for 55 minutes instead of the usual 45; they had a lot to wind up. Ömer and Elif had split up after the death of Tayyar when Elif demanded that Ömer leave the police force. But after three months, Ömer came his senses and they were married in a lovely ceremony by the sea. Now they are planning to open a bookstore. Yes, I know. That’s insane. Never mind. Previously, Hüseyin partially redeemed himself by taking a bullet meant for Ömer. He is now paralyzed and has been released from prison into the care of his family. Melike and Elvan have solved their money problems by opening a day care center. Venal Fatma went too far even for saintly Elvan and has been thrown out. Demet and Mert are officially engaged. Pelin and Arda are married. Having adopted İpek’s little boy, Yağız, they are also expecting a child of their own. Elif’s sister Aslı has married Ege, who seemed for a time to be Elif’s new boyfriend.

That leaves only Nilüfer and Fatih. Fatih has escaped from prison, but is now broke and in hiding. Nilüfer is with him. He’s been very good lately and seems to adore being with her and planning for the birth of their child. He hasn’t shot anyone in the last few days and in fact the last person he killed was purely in self defense, back when Tayyar sent an assassin into the prison to kill him. Fatih has done a lot of bad things in his life, but he’s trying hard to be better. Nilüfer really loves him and he loves her. So, what to do, what to do? Have him die in a shoot-out? Spend life in prison? Escape from Turkey and make a new life financed by his ill-gotten gains? None of these are quite right. He needs to suffer, but he also needs to have some chance for eventual happiness. So the writers had to think carefully. As always, their ability to blissfully ignore the demands of plausibility came in handy in what they finally came up with. But we didn’t really mind. Even though the superficial sloppiness of BML drove us both crazy, we know the difference between a story and a report. It has been argued by serious scholars that there’s nothing very plausible about King Lear either. 

Just to clear the air, though, let’s now leave off both pandemic and pandemic pass times.  Here’s what the lilies have to say. 

Friday, June 12

Statewide: 173 deaths, 5,377 cases, 166,019 tested  (Deaths: +2) (Cases: +140)

Another day similar to yesterday: a relatively high number of tests processed (4,376) and a high number of new cases confirmed (140). The percentage of tests that came out positive was 3.20%, which is again very close to the long term average, which remains at 3.24%. So, more testing yields more positives, just as it should at this point. We might also consider OHA’s claim that recent testing has been focused away from the “worried well” and more toward individuals that are known to have been exposed. To the extent that this is the case, the percent positive rate should actually be going up because we are doing a better job of zeroing in on people who are infected. In light of this, maybe the unchanged percent positive rate should be considered good news? Never mind, the simple existence of these higher than usual case numbers freaks everybody out, for understandable reasons. Oregon’s governor has announced a one-week “pause” in the state’s reopening process.  

Saturday, June 13

Statewide: 174 deaths, 5,535 cases, 170,479 tested  (Deaths: +1) (Cases: +158)

A third straight day with high testing numbers (4,460) and high new case totals (158). The daily test positive rate was 3.54%, a little above the overall test positive rate, which is now 3.25%.

A quiet day here on Oak Avenue, cool and wet. For breakfast we had fresh strawberries from our rather pitiful little patch. Not an abundant crop, but tasty. E did some gardening despite the rain. M finished painting the wall where the ironing board didn’t go and did a little caulking in our decrepit main bathroom. For dinner we had take-out from Koriander, a Korean fusion restaurant that we’d been missing. Delicious job chae with sweet potato noodles. 

We are missing our friends Elif, Ömer and the gang. They were quite real to us while we were watching, and now they’ve all gone away. The actors who portrayed them have turned back into actors. We miss their passions, their reckless energy, their emotional boneheadedness and the insane coincidences in which they were constantly involved. Our real friends and family members cannot quite fill this void…

Sunday, June 14

Statewide: 176 deaths, 5,636 cases, 174,062 tested  (Deaths: +2) (Cases: +101)

A moderately high number of tests (3,583) combined with a lowish percent positive (2.82%) equals a moderate increase in cases. From very early on in this morass, it seemed to me that all numbers regarding the virus were dubious, with too much variation in reporting, too many assumptions, too much distortion, too much ignorance, too many unknowns, and never enough context. The number that seemed best, back then, was the simplest one–the death toll. That too is imperfect, but it still has more significance than any other. The official Oregon death toll is now 176, or 4 per 100,000 of population. To visualize the distribution of those deaths over time, I’ve been making a graph of 10-day averages. Since I’ve been keeping records for 80 days now, it’s time to add an eighth data point to that graph. As shown below, the rate in the most recent period was 1.7, while that of the previous two periods was 1.1.