Fwd: The states that are success stories

[George Duncan-2]

Note results for California and Ohio.

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From: Fast Forward <[hidden email]>
Date: Thu, Apr 9, 2020 at 12:22 PM
Subject: The states that are success stories
To: <[hidden email]>

Plus your optimism

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Thursday, April 9   |  Follow Teresa Hanafin on Twitter

The states that are success stories

By Teresa Hanafin, Globe Staff

Programming note: I'll be off next week and the following Monday, the 20th. There will be a Fast Forward tomorrow, and then the next one will be Wednesday the 22nd.

Good afternoon! It's Thursday, April 9, the 100th day of the year and it feels like it's the 1,000th. It's Maundy Thursday on the Christian calendar, the day of Christ's Last Supper with his apostles (which was a Passover seder). Sunrise in Boston was at 6:12 a.m. and sunset will be at 7:19 p.m., for 13 hours and 7 minutes of sunlight. The waning moon is 96 percent full, and for some reason I don't want the moon to wane right now.

One of many things I like about The Old Farmer's Almanac is that you can learn something new almost every day. For example, today I found out that "QT" in the phrase "on the QT" is simply shorthand for "quiet," as in, "Hey, on the QT, CVS just got in a shipment of toilet paper."

What's it like outside? Rain is moving in this afternoon, with temps around 50.

Breaking: Another 6.6 million people in the US filed for unemployment benefits last week, bringing the total to close to 17 million people in just three weeks -- about 10 percent of the workforce.

In Massachusetts, 139,582 people filed a jobless claim last week, for a three-week total of 469,066.

From a Globe story by business columnist Larry Edelman:

"Unemployment is expected to approach 13 percent by June, according to the average forecast of economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal, though some respondents predicted levels of 20 percent or more. The jobless rate hit 10.8 percent at the end of 1982, during a painful recession, and more than 20 percent of the workforce was out of a job from 1932 to 1935, according to estimates made by the government years after the Depression."

Here's more from Larry.

Hey, sport: Tom Brady was pretty candid with Howard Stern in an interview carried on SiriusXM, saying he pretty much knew before the beginning of last season that it was his last year with the Patriots, and that his wife, Gisele Bündchen, was unhappy about his year-round obsession with football and what she saw as the neglect of his marriage and family. The Globe has the story.

If you're craving Bruins talk, the Globe's Kevin Paul Dupont is holding a live session at 2 p.m. today. Submit your questions here ahead of time, then return to that page at 2 to watch Kevin answer them in real time.

Subscribe to BostonGlobe.com

Today's US coronavirus numbers:
Total cases: 432,596 (was 401,166 at this time yesterday)
Total deaths: 15,774 (was 12,936 yesterday)

Two states that are success stories in fighting this disease:

California, the largest state by population by far with nearly 40 million residents, recognized the danger early and swung into action.

Several northern California counties and cities, including San Francisco and Berkeley -- covering nearly 7 million residents -- issued stay-at-home orders in mid-March, followed a few days later by Governor Gavin Newsom issuing the country's first stay-at-home order for the entire state.

The state also quickly bought plenty of equipment, to the point where it now is sending masks to neighboring states and ventilators to harder-hit states like New York, New Jersey, and Illinois.

The result is a remarkable success story: California has just 19,000 cases and 500 deaths. Despite being the biggest state, it ranks 29th among all states, territories, and D.C. for its rate of cases per 100,000 residents (just 49) and 31st in death rate per 100,000 (just 1).

Despite the state's success in slowing the spread, leaders aren't letting up: Starting Friday in Los Angeles, Mayor Eric Garcetti ordered employees and customers of the essential businesses that are allowed to remain open to wear face masks, and businesses can refuse service to customers who don't have a face covering.

It's a similar story in Ohio, where Governor Mike DeWine was among the first governors (along with Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, and Washington Governor Jay Inslee) to shut down schools in mid-March. DeWine also imposed a stay-at-home order early and other restrictions.

He says now that he decided early on to trust science and rely on experts, something he admits he didn't always do when he was in Congress.

"When I've made decisions that I've regretted," DeWine said, it was often because "I didn't have enough facts, I didn't ask enough questions, I didn't ask the right people."

How refreshing to hear a politician be humble and admit mistakes.

The results in Ohio are clear: It ranks 7th in population among US states with close to 12 million residents, but in battling the coronavirus, it ranks 32nd in cases per 100,000 residents (44) and 24th in deaths per 100,000 (just 2).

These leaders have saved countless lives. I think St. Peter will look kindly upon them at the pearly gates.

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Finally, let's get right to more of your e-mails about the silver linings you are finding during this crisis:

Chris Moore of Boston
I'm 44 years old and started running again. I used to get up at 5:30 a.m. to walk with the dog before the commute to work. Now that I can sleep an hour later, I can run in the daylight, and it's making me feel like I'm doing something more to control my health. It's not easy, but I'm getting better at it – my dog Gracie is getting better at it, too! A lot of people are still up early and eager to say good morning to us, too.

Denise Konicek of Winchester
At least 3 years ago, a dear friend of mine sent me a gargantuan box of her favorite sports and college clothes with the request to make a "memory quilt." Other things always seemed more important. However, I am now getting to my B and C list items, and just finished the top and sent it off to be quilted. Hooray!

Frank J. Larkin of Acton
Some recent people have spoken about needing a miracle. It's a shame that they are missing the miracles that are happening every day.

The yeoman effort that is happening at our hospitals with our dedicated doctors and nurses who are showing up on the firing line each day putting their lives on the line for us. Think about the EMTs and ambulance drivers and all of the other police officers and firefighters who are responding to the 911 calls. We have miraculous scientists that are working day and night looking for medical solutions.

I also include the thousands of American citizens who are hunkering down at home to stop the spread of the virus in the ongoing miracle. Look at the thousands of the medical retirees who are volunteering to help us. These are all part of God's miracle.

Remember JFK's invitation, "Ask what you can do for your country!" And when we solve the virus problem in the USA, we need to reach out to help the rest of the world.

God blesses everyone. Stay positive and use your intellect to see the miracle that is you and available for you.

Tracy Nelson Wescott of Pennsylvania
I live in a small town in northeastern Penn. that has been under a stay-at-home order. We've rediscovered our neighbors!

Every afternoon and evening we see neighbors walking their dog or doing a lap around the neighborhood. There's been a ton of chit-chat from safe distances, neighbors calling on other neighbors to ensure everyone has food and supplies, and lots of smiles and waves hello. We were all so busy wrapped up in our hectic lives that we forgot the simple pleasure of a smile and small talk.

With all the chaos and political animosity in the news, it's a much needed reminder that at our core we have more in common than we realize -- and that we will come together in a time of need.

We've also rediscovered the game Spite and Malice – but that's only a good thing when you are winning!!

Karen McGloughlin of Delaware
I'm encouraged by the great work people are energizing around such things as food distribution, mask making, helping neighbors everywhere. The performance of the majority of health care workers, though not surprising to me as I've worked in the field for over 30 years and know their worth, is truly inspiring. Also uplifting are the other service industries who are stepping up to continue working during this crisis. And let's not forget the greater appreciation for our families, home, and quiet time. Really grateful for the pollution break our planet is getting -- let's hope we are learning from that and will somehow continue saving the planet when things get back to normal.

Naomi Y. Wilsey
It's a trite expression, but I'm learning to do more with less. I'm a shopper – I love to shop online and in stores. I love to shop for bargains and don't mind paying retail. I even like (but not love) grocery shopping. I'm also a working artist, which means I am retired from corporate life and have focused on my undergraduate major. As an artist, I think of myself as a problem solver.

During this time of crisis, I have been putting problem-solving skills to work and learning to shop in my house. I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in owning boxes of items that I've moved from house to house without ever opening. So, I go to the attic and it's better than a flea market – it's all free! I found photo proofs of me when I was four years old with dimples. I dig into the back of the kitchen cupboards and voila – potluck dinner with what's on hand! My little-worn clothes seem to drift to the back of the closets/drawers and are now like déjà vu new again. Maybe not trendy and chic, but a novelty, maybe even worth a chuckle. Art supplies I have stored and meant to use are coming into play for new projects.

Shopping for services at home is a bit more challenging. My hubbie and I gave each other haircuts. In college I gave haircuts for $5 in my dorm many moons ago. Having experience and a mother who was a hairdresser gave me a leg up. My husband gave it the old college try and let's just say ... it will grow back. In the big scheme of things, nothing lasts forever. In the meantime, I'm really enjoying my archeological finds in my own home moment to moment.

Felicia Lawrence Levister
It's sobering that we seem to need a crisis to lay our differences aside and just be!

I'm having a blast! I love waving and smiling at neighbors as I drive by (at a more than safe distance) getting smiles and waves back! This is the way it was for this Boomer growing up in my hometown of Andover, Mass.! We cared about our neighbors!

Even more amazing is that it seems my skin is no longer a different color!

Lots of us have been shaken awake by this crisis to appreciate the multitude of daily ordinary miracles and joys!

My cat is so much cuter! People seem nicer! What a great movie! Were sunsets always like this??!! I choose to sing a little louder and dance a little longer these days.

As my Nana would say, "We are ALL God's children." What a pity it takes dancing with Death to truly value life and each other!

Lauren O'Connor
These last four or so weeks have turned everything upside down. There have been two deaths (not C-19 related) in my family ... I check in daily with my mom (and visit her every few days, bringing her groceries, etc.) ... When I returned from bereavement leave, I had to lay off four people at my employer.

Every day, I say aloud that I am grateful to still have a job, and one that I like at that. I send an IM to various remaining coworkers usually daily, just to check in.

I've finally kicked my soda habit (two 20oz diet Pepsi's every day) and am drinking a ton of water -- my skin looks amazing, and I keep getting compliments on it!

I and seven of my closest friends have a virtual happy hour every Sunday night, where we try to focus on the positive. Each week we have a homework assignment to bring to the next call. Last week's was: What was a quarantine/social distancing-related meme that makes you laugh really hard? (Mine was: "Might as well go ahead and pronounce the L in salmon now. Nothing matters anymore.") Assignment for this coming Sunday: what podcasts do you listen to?

With other friends, and elderly folks, I'm checking in on them by text or FB Messenger at least once a week.

The HR part of my job requires that I do a lot of business reading. That's all on pause presently, and I'm whipping through pleasure reading: several magazines, the memoirs by Prince and Elton John, a couple novels, and have Rachel Maddow's latest book next in the queue.

To try to keep from being inundated with the negative news, I only allow myself to follow two trusted news sources per day, and only online, not on TV or via podcast.

I'm walking the perimeter of my apartment complex most days, another new habit, and am delighting in the arrival of spring, with the crocuses and daffodils. Every week, I put out a new vase of fresh flowers.

My boyfriend of three years and I have discovered the lost joys of talking on the phone to your crush -- something we didn't do even when we first started dating. We try to outdo each other with silly ways to answer the phone (he wins, with his impression of Fat Albert -- despite the Bill Cosby connotation).

While most days I'm working long hours, I try to have a couple hours to decompress at night watching inane TV: the show "Corner Gas" has been particularly entertaining in this regard: nothing heavy, but funny, and lots of droll sarcasm.

Yes, I have sad moments, but I'm trying very hard to focus on the positives, and be a positive force for others.

Annie Eppling of West Concord
Positives: Saving money by not going out to dinner with friends (but I miss them).

Linda Vadasz of Martha's Vineyard
Every day I call or do a video chat with one of my friends far away from my home on Martha's Vineyard. It keeps me in touch with friends and family all over the globe and lifts our spirits.

Maureen Powers
Good things I appreciate more:

I'm more capable than I thought. I've assembled a desk chair, learned to make cold brew coffee, cooked every meal since March 15th (no takeout), and learned to use Zoom.

I've had virtual get-togethers with my college friends who live in Seattle, St. Paul, Madison, Fort Myers, and Bedford. One of them said she couldn't believe it took a pandemic for us to figure out how to talk once a week.

I've reconnected with dear friends and family in meaningful ways that I haven't felt I've had the time to in the past.

My two teens have great senses of humor that I catch glimpses of more often and they make me laugh.

I appreciate my neighbors -- smiles, waves, texts.

My husband -- in more ways than I can count. He's a partner as we navigate this uncertainty. We walk every day, cook and clean together, watch lots of Netflix, and generally hang out. He's a really enjoyable person to be around.

Lisbeth Pierce
"Quarantine life" for me is blissful. I'm one of the fortunate few who love being told to stay home. I'm an introvert.

Last year was my first in retirement, so I was already used to being at home. I'm an avid reader, so I do a lot of that! (I spent 20 years as a high school and community college teacher, and eight before that as a social worker.)

Since March 8, I have left my house once a week to get allergy shots. Other than that, I've been home. I go outside every day, when the pollen isn't outrageous, to walk and sometimes just to sit in the sun. I do miss water aerobics classes -- can't Zoom those! My (also retired) husband misses his daily gym visits and is having a harder time with having his wings clipped. He's much more social than I, but tries to keep up with his family and friends through FB and his phone. Virtual church and video chats with our three children are good, but we miss the hugs.

We do worry about our children though, especially our daughter and two sons-in-law who work in "essential" jobs. Our other daughter and our son were both able to work from home at the beginning, but now that daughter has been furloughed. It's tough, maybe more so since we were already far apart geographically. Hard to explain exactly what's "missing," but we pray that COVID-19 will be slowing down in another month or two.

Ellen Murphy
What's nice about the Covid-19 pandemic is that it makes the world a smaller place. Everybody pretty much everywhere is in the same boat. Every country has it. People are all scared. So am I. People are starting to care. I went the caring to continue but the virus to end.

Ginger Henry Kuenzel
When this whole shelter-in-place directive first started, I thought I would really benefit from my time at home. What a great opportunity to start in on all those things I've been meaning to do for years and have been putting off – like sorting through old photos, cleaning out closets, washing windows, or darning socks.

After a few days, I realized that I hadn't started any of those projects. I was glued to the news reports all day long. And since they all indicated that we'll be sheltering in place for months, why should I clean out a closet or sort through photos now when I could put that off until later? After all, there's a reason that I've been putting them off for all these years. And now I have even more good reasons to continue putting them off.

When a week had gone by, I started to beat up on myself for not having accomplished anything except becoming a walking Wikipedia on the coronavirus. I decided it was time to take some serious action by using this time to do something that would be valuable – like studying a foreign language or learning how to play the ukulele. Or perhaps I should design my own website or write my memoir. Yes, any of these would add value to my life – far more than cleaning out a closet.

During the next week, I spent my days trying to decide which activity would be the most valuable. I got up each morning, considered my choices and started looking online for courses. But I again found myself distracted by articles about the coronavirus. In fact, I spent the entire week becoming even more of an expert on the disease. Well, that's not exactly true since the information I absorbed every day was no longer valid by the next day. But I couldn't stop myself from reading every article I saw – and clicking on links within those articles to read related articles. It was completely addictive.

So now I'm into week four and I've decided that I need to focus on something that I don't need the web for. For this week, I have set myself two goals to expand my horizons:

1) Learning how to walk and chew gum at the same time and

2) Discovering what the hokey pokey really is all about. I'll get back to you on my progress.

Anne Dempsey
Speaking about changes in our routines these days, any estimates about the birth rate in ... December and January?

Susan Sherrouse of Houston, Texas, and Concord, N.H.
Even in this morass of daily COVID-19 soaring counts, I'm celebrating the birth of two of my grandsons.

The first was on March 8, when my grandson Kit was born. I was fortunate to be able to travel to be with my daughter and her family for a week. And it was a week I'll never forget, in that I was able to be with my daughter, and it really illustrated how people in my native N.H. were dealing with the virus.

Today (April 1), my second grandson was born in Gainesville, Fla. I'm not able to be there for my son and his family, and that's just hurting me. My daughter-in-law had a c-section, so she's recovering from that, in addition to taking care of their new baby. And my son is busy taking care of them both.

I'm thankful that my mom is in a skilled nursing facility in Houston (where I'm currently living), and getting good care. I haven't seen her since I left Texas to go to New Hampshire.

It's crazy times we are in, but I know that we'll all get through it together.

John Humphreys
Rediscovering the joy of long telephone conversations with friends and relatives that you don't usually call because something "more urgent" gets in the way.

Eileen O'Connor
We finally got around to adopting a puppy. We will have plenty of time to give her all the love and attention she needs. Poor little Ivy, a few weeks old, was found in a parking lot abandoned, abused, and with a broken leg. She is doing great now after a kind veterinarian fixed her leg. She is a very spunky, happy little girl. How fortunate we are to have her in our lives.

David Barnes
Happy thoughts turn into positive actions.

1) My wife works for the local school district and is helping prepare breakfast and lunch for kids who were getting free meals during the regular school year. The cars pour in all morning for those families in need.

2) We are trying to support mom-and-pop restaurants, as well as chains. Hey, they're all hurting. To see the managers personally come out and thank you for picking up food from them is strangely emotional.

3) I'm part of the "essential work force." It's tough to be exposed in a factory setting, but it's a badge of honor to keep my end of the economy rolling. Oh, and I'm thankful to have the work!

Bob Metell
I have been at death's door more times than I care to think of! I have decided to make the best out of an all-around bad situation. After all, when all is said and done, it's all in God's hands!

I've decided to explore more Native American roots and heritage. One time an old medicine woman told me that in hard times, real difficult times, or trial, when it looks like there is no way out or no end in sight, take a deep breath and savor it, because that is the Great Spirit breathing life into us.

So I have chosen to see the positive side of this crisis. Some good is going to come out of it. So I walk the East Boston Greenway, taking in the sounds of birds singing, church bells ringing, the wind rustling the trees, and the smell of flowers.

At times, even the smell of the tidal flats at low tide is a reminder that The Great Spirit only provides what is good, that life is a Gift of the Great Spirit, so that makes life good. I gain strength, courage, and hope from nature and the world around us.

Cornelius Hoff of London, Ontario, Canada
It is a terrible situation worldwide we are experiencing now! But it is my comfort that I belong in life and death to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ.

But that does not mean I don't care to continue living!

My wife and I have a number of children and even more grandchildren and we enjoy them all, even the great-grandchildren!

And I enjoy having Anita, my wife since 1956. We are still in good health, walking without a cane, stick, or cart. Praise the Lord for His goodness and care!

Mary Lussier
Saw this on our daily walk though different quiet neighborhoods. Loved that a little one reminded us to wash our hands, but added, "Hello Sunshine," "Just breathe," and "Be happy." All good advice.
 

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Thanks for reading. The hokey pokey is known in some countries as the hokey cokey and the hokey tokey, which sounds made up by someone who watched too much "Breaking Bad." Send comments and suggestions to [hidden email], or follow me on Twitter @BostonTeresa. See you tomorrow.
 

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