The video missed the best part about the store. Lil and Jerry Desso ran the store for more than two decades, and most locals still refer to it as "Desso's." They were the heart of the town...from hard working people grabbing coffee and a donut on the way to work (Wil) to children stopping in after school, their store was a true community center. They let even little kids put something on layaway and pay 25 cents or whatever each week until it was paid for, instilling values and honestly keeping little secrets about what Sally was buying for Mom's birthday and so on. Every senior got a graduation card with money in it. Every needy family got secret Christmas gifts. All the regulars (like is) got a tin of cookie or chocolates at Christmas. Whatever you might need, they had it. And at Christmas they opened the back room as a Christmas gift shop. They had Santa come to talk with children. Always set luminaries around the town green on Christmas Eve. They housed the red fire phone and got the word to the town volunteers, then stayed up and cooked meals for the firefighters and folks who'd had the fire. I could go on and on. When we first moved to town, we rented a house from a couple who were both physicians and were headed to California for a year of special training. They brought us to Desso's, introduced us to Lil and said they were sure that since we now knew about Desso's we'd be just fine. They were so right! We even had one of the post office boxes at Desso's. Golden years.
”Thousands in U.S. march under 'Ban Off Our Bodies' banner for abortion rights” [Click] Once again the newspaper headlines grossly underestimate turnouts, at least for “liberal” demonstrations. Later on they say 20,000 in DC alone, and I expect that is a significant underestimate. That probably adds up to hundreds of thousands nationwide. --Alan
A good overview, IMO. But I beg to differ with the headline figure of one million Covid deaths; the number of “excess deaths” during the pandemic is well over a million.
Per Wikipedia article on the Spanish flu: “In the US, about 28% of the population of 105 million became infected, and 500,000 to 850,000 died (0.48 to 0.81 percent of the population).” Given that the US population today is about three times that of 1918, Covid deaths may already rival those of the Spanish flu.
For example, an on-line friend recently died of heart failure at age 89. A couple of weeks earlier she had picked up Covid-19 in the course of her medical appointments. Did Covid-19 accelerate her pre-existing heart failure? Maybe. But it wasn't the direct cause of death.
There have been quite a few people who died directly of Covid but were no so recorded. Coroners in some places were under great pressure from decedents' families and others to not mention Covid on death certificates. Even medical examiners were subjected to such pressures. Personally, I think that if a person does not seek medical care for a serious but treatable problem because of Covid and dies of said serious problem, that is a death due to Covid. Others may reasonably differ. --Alan
Today Ukrainian military 227th battalion of the 127th territorial defense brigade reached the border with Russia in the Kharkiv region. [Click] Wikipedia: The Territorial Defense Force It is formed by a core of part-time reservists, usually former combat veterans, and in cases of war can be expanded to local civilian volunteers for local defense, in a case of mass mobilization. That core is expected to lead the mobilized volunteers. The Territorial Defense Forces also contain the International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine, formed by foreign volunteers. Not regulars; so much the better!
Jericho Center store history in a video [click]
ReplyDeleteIf it has been running continuously for two hundred years, it should have at least made it to Alaska by now! [he ducks]
Delete---Alan
[groan]
DeleteThanks; glad someone appreciates it!
Delete--Alan
LOL, Alan!
DeleteThe video missed the best part about the store. Lil and Jerry Desso ran the store for more than two decades, and most locals still refer to it as "Desso's." They were the heart of the town...from hard working people grabbing coffee and a donut on the way to work (Wil) to children stopping in after school, their store was a true community center. They let even little kids put something on layaway and pay 25 cents or whatever each week until it was paid for, instilling values and honestly keeping little secrets about what Sally was buying for Mom's birthday and so on. Every senior got a graduation card with money in it. Every needy family got secret Christmas gifts. All the regulars (like is) got a tin of cookie or chocolates at Christmas. Whatever you might need, they had it. And at Christmas they opened the back room as a Christmas gift shop. They had Santa come to talk with children. Always set luminaries around the town green on Christmas Eve. They housed the red fire phone and got the word to the town volunteers, then stayed up and cooked meals for the firefighters and folks who'd had the fire. I could go on and on. When we first moved to town, we rented a house from a couple who were both physicians and were headed to California for a year of special training. They brought us to Desso's, introduced us to Lil and said they were sure that since we now knew about Desso's we'd be just fine. They were so right! We even had one of the post office boxes at Desso's. Golden years.
”Thousands in U.S. march under 'Ban Off Our Bodies' banner for abortion rights” [Click] Once again the newspaper headlines grossly underestimate turnouts, at least for “liberal” demonstrations. Later on they say 20,000 in DC alone, and I expect that is a significant underestimate. That probably adds up to hundreds of thousands nationwide.
ReplyDelete--Alan
"Hundreds of thousands" wouldn't fir the headline space and "millions" would probably be an overestimate.
Delete"Myriads" would fit just fine. But maybe that's too high-falutin'.
Delete--adb
‘Failure of an American ideology’: why Covid has an outsized impact on the US [Click] “As the US records 1 million Covid deaths, experts note underinvestment in long-term care, primary care and public health all contributed to the toll”
ReplyDeleteA good overview, IMO. But I beg to differ with the headline figure of one million Covid deaths; the number of “excess deaths” during the pandemic is well over a million.
---Alan
Per Wikipedia article on the Spanish flu:
Delete“In the US, about 28% of the population of 105 million became infected, and 500,000 to 850,000 died (0.48 to 0.81 percent of the population).” Given that the US population today is about three times that of 1918, Covid deaths may already rival those of the Spanish flu.
----Alan
There's a distinction between deaths directly due to SARS-CoV-2 infection and those to which Covid-19 may have indirectly contributed.
DeleteFor example, an on-line friend recently died of heart failure at age 89. A couple of weeks earlier she had picked up Covid-19 in the course of her medical appointments. Did Covid-19 accelerate her pre-existing heart failure? Maybe. But it wasn't the direct cause of death.
DeleteThere have been quite a few people who died directly of Covid but were no so recorded. Coroners in some places were under great pressure from decedents' families and others to not mention Covid on death certificates. Even medical examiners were subjected to such pressures. Personally, I think that if a person does not seek medical care for a serious but treatable problem because of Covid and dies of said serious problem, that is a death due to Covid. Others may reasonably differ.
Delete--Alan
Caesar’s favourite herb was the Viagra of ancient Rome. Until climate change killed it off [Click] “Perfume, tonic – even love potion – silphium was prized by the ancient Romans, but in its success lay the seeds of its own downfall”
ReplyDelete------Alan
Today Ukrainian military 227th battalion of the 127th territorial defense brigade reached the border with Russia in the Kharkiv region. [Click] Wikipedia: The Territorial Defense Force It is formed by a core of part-time reservists, usually former combat veterans, and in cases of war can be expanded to local civilian volunteers for local defense, in a case of mass mobilization. That core is expected to lead the mobilized volunteers. The Territorial Defense Forces also contain the International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine, formed by foreign volunteers. Not regulars; so much the better!
ReplyDelete---Alan