Doing a zoom virtual thanksgiving with my sister & niece get to see my immediate family! I’m hoping by Xmas things will be different so we can actually get together for it...
Just gonna be my mom and son, like everyday since the world went sideways.
We used to have a big day at my sister's house, the kids got to hang and I'd see my aunt and the girl's Oma. After my sister passed, that dinner invitation stopped pretty quickly. No comment.
Not big on Thanksgiving so I don't mind watching football and stuff in my pj's at home. I just miss my nieces.
We had rice and beans, and beets. Go with what you got while you got it.
Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate; otherwise, Happy Thursday.
Just gonna be my mom and son, like everyday since the world went sideways.
We used to have a big day at my sister's house, the kids got to hang and I'd see my aunt and the girl's Oma. After my sister passed, that dinner invitation stopped pretty quickly. No comment.
Not big on Thanksgiving so I don't mind watching football and stuff in my pj's at home. I just miss my nieces.
We had rice and beans, and beets. Go with what you got while you got it.
Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate; otherwise, Happy Thursday.
Just gonna be my mom and son, like everyday since the world went sideways.
We used to have a big day at my sister's house, the kids got to hang and I'd see my aunt and the girl's Oma. After my sister passed, that dinner invitation stopped pretty quickly. No comment.
Not big on Thanksgiving so I don't mind watching football and stuff in my pj's at home. I just miss my nieces.
We had rice and beans, and beets. Go with what you got while you got it.
Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate; otherwise, Happy Thursday.
Sure, no one likes to be policed in their own home, but I see it the same as a speeding ticket.
I see it differently. Everyone knows the risks at this point. If you choose to throw caution to the wind and risk your health - and that of others too, who are knowingly and willingly jumping into the pot - then so be it and I hope illness doesn’t befall them. However, it’s not the Covid police’s job (who are hypocritical and nonsensical about it anyway).
Then again, most people can’t police themselves for shit
Yeah, but this isn't a decision that just hurts the people who make the decision. Joe Schmoe the Deep Fried Turkey Man and and his wife Karen the Casserole Queen will infect others who are essential workers and some of them will need hospitalized, which will put the exhausted, frayed at the edges healthcare workers who will treat their selfish asses at risk, along with their family members.
The American "nobody gon tell me wut to do" attitude is incredibly juvenile.
Sure, no one likes to be policed in their own home, but I see it the same as a speeding ticket.
I see it differently. Everyone knows the risks at this point. If you choose to throw caution to the wind and risk your health - and that of others too, who are knowingly and willingly jumping into the pot - then so be it and I hope illness doesn’t befall them. However, it’s not the Covid police’s job (who are hypocritical and nonsensical about it anyway).
Then again, most people can’t police themselves for shit
What about those of us who have been forced into the pot by selfish co-workers who hosted Thanksgiving gatherings despite all recommendations and common sense? Not everyone has the option to work remote. (this isn't hypothetical either, I know for a fact a couple of my co-workers hosted Thanksgiving gatherings, and now I have to be around them, which is frustrating considering the sacrifices my wife and I have been making for the last 8 months).
I'm not in favor of fining people for house gatherings, but on the other hand, our nation is in a precarious situation right now and really needs sacrifice from 100% of the population. People need to get over themselves and their personal freedoms and wake up to how desperate this situation really is. How else can we get people on board?
We're almost certainly going to have 300K+ deaths from Covid by New Years... desperate measures are needed.
I’m with you both up there; I’ll choose the pots into which I jump and don’t want someone else’s misguidedness, good intentions or outright ignorance playing a part.
HOW is it enforced though? Call the po-po on your neighbor? Fines? Power shut off? How far does it go?
Why is it deemed “safe” to protest or go to a religious service yet must otherwise adhere to curfews, limitations of households and people, etc.
Don’t worry—with this whole new COVID-19 surge, we’ve decided it’s better to play it safe and not do anything for Thanksgiving this year. It isn’t worth the risk.
We’re
just going to have a small dinner. Me, your father, and Emily and Jeff
from next door—we’re like a pod thing. So small and safe. Their son
might be driving in from Michigan with his new girlfriend as well, but
everyone has been strictly quarantining.
Really, I haven’t gone
anywhere or seen anyone in weeks—months even! I only ducked out to the
grocery store yesterday. Well, I had to go to four different grocery
stores because no one seemed to have xanthan gum, which I need for the
gluten-free piecrust I’m making in case Emily and Jeff’s other son
decides to drive up from D.C. to join us. You’ve met him. He works for
that congressman from Ohio, so he’s definitely been COVID-tested many times.
And,
don’t worry, I wore two masks to the store to be extra safe! One of
them was even a fancy KN95 that I got from my friend Carol—you know, she
works at that nursing home on Eighty-sixth? She gave it to me when we
met for a socially distanced lunch last week at that tapas place
downtown that does the squid thing you like. They’ve got this cute
little outdoor dining space set up, with plastic tarps and heat lamps,
so it almost feels like you’re inside, but it’s outside, so it’s safe!
Listen,
there’s nothing to worry about. I’m being super careful, and this is
the healthiest I’ve ever been. My neighbor Paula has been teaching these
yoga classes for anyone in the building who wants to join, and just
look how far I can bend now. It’s all thanks to Paula’s guiding hand.
Yeah, we meet in person. We tried doing the classes over Zoom, but it
wasn’t the same. It honestly started to feel more dangerous not
to have her in the room to correct my form. Bad form can cause real
damage! But, don’t worry, she only allows, like, six, sometimes eight
people per class, and she’s in a B-line apartment, so she’s got that big
living room. Practically a hundred and eighty square feet. And she
always keeps the windows open when it’s not raining or cold. It’s so
safe!
I
promise I’m taking this very seriously. Unlike your cousin Kevin. You
won’t believe what Kevin did. He went to some kind of crazy sex party or
concert or something in a warehouse on Staten Island. Your Aunt Susan
said that he came home covered in glitter—lips and chin, too, so you
know he wasn’t wearing a mask. Can you believe how irresponsible that
is? Behaving like that when he lives with his sixty-five-year-old
mother? So dangerous! I said to her, “You have to tell Kevin to be more
careful. This COVID stuff is serious!” Yes, I
said exactly that when she came over yesterday to watch “The Crown.” I’m
not messing around with this stuff.
Well, O.K., sure, I did take
the subway once last week, and also when I went to the dentist on
Monday. But the train car was practically empty, and the twenty or so
people in there were being very careful. There was even an old lady on
the train—much, much older than me—so everyone was really diligent. She
was doing that thing where she put a tissue between her hand and the
pole to avoid any germs. And she was meticulous about only pulling down
her mask when she needed to sneeze into that tissue, but then put the
tissue right back on the pole, so her hands didn’t touch anything. And,
don’t worry, I made sure to only lick that subway pole twice, three
times max. So I’m being totally safe. You don’t have to worry at all.
Anyway, you’re coming for Thanksgiving, right? It’ll be so safe.
Susanna Wolff has contributed humor pieces to The New Yorker and newyorker.com since 2012.
this reminds me of a conversation i had with my brother's wife. we were talking about the possibility of a christmas gathering (this was before things really went to shit here)
me: so how does everyone want to handle this? should we all self-quarantine 2 weeks prior to the 25th? and we need to be 100% transparent about our activities or this isn't going to work SIL: we have been for months. going nowhere. me: nowhere? I thought you were going to church still? SIL: not services, but I work there a few times a week, but i'm alone, but when I'm not, I always mask up, so it's safe me: don't you also go to the gym? SIL: yeah, we only go about 4 times a week, and there's almost no one in there, so it's safe
"going nowhere" to her means "i'm being responsible so you don't need to know".
I’m with you both up there; I’ll choose the pots into which I jump and don’t want someone else’s misguidedness, good intentions or outright ignorance playing a part.
HOW is it enforced though? Call the po-po on your neighbor? Fines? Power shut off? How far does it go?
Why is it deemed “safe” to protest or go to a religious service yet must otherwise adhere to curfews, limitations of households and people, etc.
It makes no (common) sense to me.
I’m not sure that it is deemed “safe” to join in protests or religious services (if they are not taking precautions), but those are some things that “the government” cannot interject in without constitutional issues. People making adult decisions on an individual level is where the shortcomings reside.
I’m not a hall monitor and would not call on neighbors or anyone else for that matter, but I sure as hell can avoid them, just like I do others in society for various reasons.
I’m with you both up there; I’ll choose the pots into which I jump and don’t want someone else’s misguidedness, good intentions or outright ignorance playing a part.
HOW is it enforced though? Call the po-po on your neighbor? Fines? Power shut off? How far does it go?
Why is it deemed “safe” to protest or go to a religious service yet must otherwise adhere to curfews, limitations of households and people, etc.
It makes no (common) sense to me.
I’m not sure that it is deemed “safe” to join in protests or religious services (if they are not taking precautions), but those are some things that “the government” cannot interject in without constitutional issues. People making adult decisions on an individual level is where the shortcomings reside.
I’m not a hall monitor and would not call on neighbors or anyone else for that matter, but I sure as hell can avoid them, just like I do others in society for various reasons.
Your last part? Hell yeah. I actually did that pre-Covid as well
I’m with you both up there; I’ll choose the pots into which I jump and don’t want someone else’s misguidedness, good intentions or outright ignorance playing a part.
HOW is it enforced though? Call the po-po on your neighbor? Fines? Power shut off? How far does it go?
Why is it deemed “safe” to protest or go to a religious service yet must otherwise adhere to curfews, limitations of households and people, etc.
It makes no (common) sense to me.
Regarding the bold faced section: You're fortunate to have that option, selfish co-workers have taken that option away from me. Fortunately, my wife & I are in good health... my co-worker whose wife is immuno-compromised due to cancer treatment isn't so lucky. What should he do, quit and lose his health insurance, because certain people just don't give a shit?
I don't have the answer as to how it should be enforced, and for the record, I'm not on board with the protests or the church gatherings. I haven't been to a single protest, nor do I go to church... but you know as well as I the whole church / protest thing is a 1A argument, to which there's no easy answer.
FWIW I'm not on board fining people for hosting gatherings either, but OTOH, steps need to be taken to curtail the spread.
How do we flip the script and instill in people that staying home is the patriotic thing to do for your neighborhood, town, state & country? How do we convince people that individual sacrifice is the only way out of this mess?
Personal sacrifice needs to be stressed over personal freedoms, full stop. Our society & country are depending on it. Our future is depending on it.
I’m with you both up there; I’ll choose the pots into which I jump and don’t want someone else’s misguidedness, good intentions or outright ignorance playing a part.
HOW is it enforced though? Call the po-po on your neighbor? Fines? Power shut off? How far does it go?
Why is it deemed “safe” to protest or go to a religious service yet must otherwise adhere to curfews, limitations of households and people, etc.
It makes no (common) sense to me.
I’m not sure that it is deemed “safe” to join in protests or religious services (if they are not taking precautions), but those are some things that “the government” cannot interject in without constitutional issues. People making adult decisions on an individual level is where the shortcomings reside.
I’m not a hall monitor and would not call on neighbors or anyone else for that matter, but I sure as hell can avoid them, just like I do others in society for various reasons.
Your last part? Hell yeah. I actually did that pre-Covid as well
Haha, exactly, I feel I have been “practicing” for this for a while . I am pretty good at avoiding stupid people these days.
Thanksgiving Day was weird. Just plain weird. Sitting at my sister in laws with a mask on, watching poor mom sit in another room and eat because she didn't want to be anywhere near the rest of us(I don't blame her one bit) was just fucking weird. We all tried to make the best of it, and it was a wonderful meal my nephew prepared, but it was just sad.
I have announced to everyone that I am not going to participate in any Christmas gathering this year. Thanksgiving was just too sad. I will invite everyone over to my house in July, and we can celebrate then. I will put up a Christmas tree, decorations, and cook a feast.
I have already told work that if there is anyway possible, to just keep me out on the road the week of Christmas. I don't really give a crap about New Years Eve or Day, so they might as well keep me working that week too.
Take me piece by piece..... Till there aint nothing left worth taking away from me.....
Thanksgiving sucked, and Christmas is going to suck more, but there's good reason to think the holidays next year will be better, hopefully it's only one year we have to do this.
Like you @SPEEDYMCCREADY my wife's family is planning a Christmas celebration when the weather improves.
Everyone knows how much I thoroughly LOVE the entire Holiday Season. I love everything about it. But nobody says you MUST celebrate it on Dec. 25th. Right? Why cant I put up a Christmas tree in July and celebrate with the family?
Actually, I think it will be a HOOT! hahahahaha
Take me piece by piece..... Till there aint nothing left worth taking away from me.....
For those of us whose holidays sucked, at least we had one. And have others to look forward to. So many don’t and never will. I realize it doesn’t help much in the moment, but maybe for future occasions? Because there will be.
Anyway, that’s a good idea, Speedy. I hope it works out.
My family is all getting together for Christmas. Coming in from multiple states. My parents have said they understand the risks and want us to come. My other brothers and their families don’t see much risk and think it is overblown. Very frustrating and disappointing.
I at least broached the subject but am outvoted about 6-1.
My family is all getting together for Christmas. Coming in from multiple states. My parents have said they understand the risks and want us to come. My other brothers and their families don’t see much risk and think it is overblown. Very frustrating and disappointing.
I at least broached the subject but am outvoted about 6-1.
My family is all getting together for Christmas. Coming in from multiple states. My parents have said they understand the risks and want us to come. My other brothers and their families don’t see much risk and think it is overblown. Very frustrating and disappointing.
I at least broached the subject but am outvoted about 6-1.
Are you still going?
I am. I am single. No kids. Did all my errands (haircut, food, etc...) so I don’t need to go anywhere at least 7 days before I leave. Won’t be going out for lunch. I will be driving straight through to get there. So I don’t see myself as a big risk. I will be going to the coast afterwards to work from a rental condo with better weather for a few weeks. I won’t be going out other than to play golf. Hoping I am not missed at work and stay longer.
^ I feel ya, bootlegger. My parent is the same. Me and one of my sisters had to step back to lower her social contacts.
Yep. I am the least likely of the entire family to catch so tough to say that I am not coming. My excuse would be that I don’t watch to catch it because I want to spend three weeks at Hilton Head and work and play golf a couple hours a day. That won’t go over well. Now I am nervous I am going to catch it from them and be stuck in Hilton Head paying for a condo I can’t leave.
My family is all getting together for Christmas. Coming in from multiple states. My parents have said they understand the risks and want us to come. My other brothers and their families don’t see much risk and think it is overblown. Very frustrating and disappointing.
I at least broached the subject but am outvoted about 6-1.
Are you still going?
I am. I am single. No kids. Did all my errands (haircut, food, etc...) so I don’t need to go anywhere at least 7 days before I leave. Won’t be going out for lunch. I will be driving straight through to get there. So I don’t see myself as a big risk. I will be going to the coast afterwards to work from a rental condo with better weather for a few weeks. I won’t be going out other than to play golf. Hoping I am not missed at work and stay longer.
My family is all getting together for Christmas. Coming in from multiple states. My parents have said they understand the risks and want us to come. My other brothers and their families don’t see much risk and think it is overblown. Very frustrating and disappointing.
I at least broached the subject but am outvoted about 6-1.
Are you still going?
I am. I am single. No kids. Did all my errands (haircut, food, etc...) so I don’t need to go anywhere at least 7 days before I leave. Won’t be going out for lunch. I will be driving straight through to get there. So I don’t see myself as a big risk. I will be going to the coast afterwards to work from a rental condo with better weather for a few weeks. I won’t be going out other than to play golf. Hoping I am not missed at work and stay longer.
You’ve got bigger balls than I.
Not that I have any, but you know what I mean...
Ha. I am thinking about getting tested before I leave for the visit just to confirm I didn’t have it before I left. Won’t have results until after I arrive but at least it is better than nothing.
Now I just have to make sure I don’t get it from the rest of the family.
Comments
It's been a quiet day but a good one. I hope yours has been good also, GlowGirl.
We used to have a big day at my sister's house, the kids got to hang and I'd see my aunt and the girl's Oma. After my sister passed, that dinner invitation stopped pretty quickly. No comment.
Not big on Thanksgiving so I don't mind watching football and stuff in my pj's at home. I just miss my nieces.
We had rice and beans, and beets. Go with what you got while you got it.
Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate; otherwise, Happy Thursday.
The American "nobody gon tell me wut to do" attitude is incredibly juvenile.
What about those of us who have been forced into the pot by selfish co-workers who hosted Thanksgiving gatherings despite all recommendations and common sense? Not everyone has the option to work remote. (this isn't hypothetical either, I know for a fact a couple of my co-workers hosted Thanksgiving gatherings, and now I have to be around them, which is frustrating considering the sacrifices my wife and I have been making for the last 8 months).
I'm not in favor of fining people for house gatherings, but on the other hand, our nation is in a precarious situation right now and really needs sacrifice from 100% of the population. People need to get over themselves and their personal freedoms and wake up to how desperate this situation really is. How else can we get people on board?
We're almost certainly going to have 300K+ deaths from Covid by New Years... desperate measures are needed.
www.headstonesband.com
Why is it deemed “safe” to protest or go to a religious service yet must otherwise adhere to curfews, limitations of households and people, etc.
It makes no (common) sense to me.
me: so how does everyone want to handle this? should we all self-quarantine 2 weeks prior to the 25th? and we need to be 100% transparent about our activities or this isn't going to work
SIL: we have been for months. going nowhere.
me: nowhere? I thought you were going to church still?
SIL: not services, but I work there a few times a week, but i'm alone, but when I'm not, I always mask up, so it's safe
me: don't you also go to the gym?
SIL: yeah, we only go about 4 times a week, and there's almost no one in there, so it's safe
"going nowhere" to her means "i'm being responsible so you don't need to know".
fucking idiot.
www.headstonesband.com
Regarding the bold faced section:
You're fortunate to have that option, selfish co-workers have taken that option away from me. Fortunately, my wife & I are in good health... my co-worker whose wife is immuno-compromised due to cancer treatment isn't so lucky. What should he do, quit and lose his health insurance, because certain people just don't give a shit?
I don't have the answer as to how it should be enforced, and for the record, I'm not on board with the protests or the church gatherings. I haven't been to a single protest, nor do I go to church... but you know as well as I the whole church / protest thing is a 1A argument, to which there's no easy answer.
FWIW I'm not on board fining people for hosting gatherings either, but OTOH, steps need to be taken to curtail the spread.
How do we flip the script and instill in people that staying home is the patriotic thing to do for your neighborhood, town, state & country? How do we convince people that individual sacrifice is the only way out of this mess?
Personal sacrifice needs to be stressed over personal freedoms, full stop. Our society & country are depending on it. Our future is depending on it.
www.cluthelee.com
www.cluthe.com
Thanksgiving Day was weird. Just plain weird. Sitting at my sister in laws with a mask on, watching poor mom sit in another room and eat because she didn't want to be anywhere near the rest of us(I don't blame her one bit) was just fucking weird. We all tried to make the best of it, and it was a wonderful meal my nephew prepared, but it was just sad.
I have announced to everyone that I am not going to participate in any Christmas gathering this year. Thanksgiving was just too sad. I will invite everyone over to my house in July, and we can celebrate then. I will put up a Christmas tree, decorations, and cook a feast.
I have already told work that if there is anyway possible, to just keep me out on the road the week of Christmas. I don't really give a crap about New Years Eve or Day, so they might as well keep me working that week too.
Till there aint nothing left worth taking away from me.....
Like you @SPEEDYMCCREADY my wife's family is planning a Christmas celebration when the weather improves.
Its a drag.
Everyone knows how much I thoroughly LOVE the entire Holiday Season. I love everything about it. But nobody says you MUST celebrate it on Dec. 25th. Right? Why cant I put up a Christmas tree in July and celebrate with the family?
Actually, I think it will be a HOOT! hahahahaha
Till there aint nothing left worth taking away from me.....
Not that I have any, but you know what I mean...