Viral Tyranny

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Freedom of assembly….We no longer have it, thanks to this new autocrat, the microscopic Mandarin, the nano-nemesis.

Broadway dark. Disneyland closing.No more glorious Trump rallies. No more raucous sporting arenas. We’re all at the mercy of this invisible foe, which has effortlessly slashed our wealth overnight, taken away our heedless joy,

As I have done during periods of personal adversity, I fantasize about being able to see a future where everything has turned out all right! In three months, will these instant privations be behind us? Will we laugh about them?

Or will they have become the norm, and we barely remember the way things were only last December, when we gathered, ate, drank, embraced without a care?

I’m having a St Patrick’s Day party Saturday. At least I think I am. Will my guests, one by one, call and say they’d just rather not be in even a small group of people just now? And I will say of course I understand, my hearth-fire and my heart-fire growing colder with each retraction….

Will this, if it transpires, be my last party ?

So many times in my life I’ve thought, how fortunate, how rare, to have been born in a time and place where violence wasn’t the daily norm. “From war’s alarms, from deadly pestilence”…I never imagined that our generation would face the latter. But here we are.

“..From the apprehensive present, from a future packed/With unknown dangers, monstrous, terrible, and new:/Let us turn for comfort to this simple fact:/We have been in trouble before, and we came through.”

—Edna St Vincent Millay, Thanksgiving 1950.

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Published by Hypatia

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26 thoughts on “Viral Tyranny”

  1. There is, as of about 1 minute ago, a ban on travel to Manila. I may not be traveling to the Philippines then onward to the US of A next month as planned.

    For the record, I have always stated that China is a bigger threat to our national security than islamic supremacism.

    I am sad today.

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  2. A doctor on television today said that he believes that at least half of us will contract this virus, and for most of us, it’s no big deal. But my mother is 87. When I saw her today, I didn’t kiss her as usual, I blew her an air kiss, because, who knows?

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  3. This is ticking me off…Period. Few straight answers – except, maybe, from Dr. Anthony Fauci, at the CDC; who first tackled HIV. Lots of willingness to fuel alarmism; and deplete supplies of toilet paper, while we’re at it….Be prudent and let’s see what a month or so brings. Meanwhile, there’s Skype, the Chieftains/Steeleye Span/The .Irish Rovers on YouTube, and lots of Guinness nobody’s buying: Party on…Excellent! Be of good heart, my Alexandrine friend and all of us….

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      1. Hello, Sandomina! Yes, I’m well, being well-looked after in my own needs, and being remotely connected as I can to support those more isolated than I; as well as being actively charitable. Wonderful to see you here, as well….

        Liked by 1 person

      1. Copy, thinking more of prudent precautions before, versus a run on “bathroom tissue”….I, too, am saddened by travel-plan changes, and others’ concerns for at-risk, in case it hasn’t come across.

        Liked by 2 people

  6. And I will say of course I understand, my hearth-fire and my heart-fire growing colder with each retraction….

    ST Unleashed OP of the Week!

    Hypatia with the chin music.

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  7. So far no cancellations. Dont they say skirts get shorter in wartime? I have a long Kelly green satin gown that was my mom’s, and also a long green velvet skirt—those are the kinda thing I usually wear as hostess— but this AM I decided I’ll wear a short green velvet dress, with a gold belt to hike it even farther above my knees. What if this IS my last party, what would I want people to remember? “Damn, she had great legs!” wouldn’t be the worst thing…☘️☘️Wish you all could come!

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  8. I wonder if skirts get shorter during times of war due to competition becoming even more fierce or rationing?

    Actually, I hadn’t heard of that but shorter skirts is pretty much always a thing worth getting behind.

    I am guessing that our very own lovely and talented ET pays little attention to the ‘Hemline Theory?’

    The skirt length theory is a superstitious idea that skirt lengths are a predictor of stock market direction. According to the theory, if short skirts are growing in popularity, it means the markets are going to go up. If longer skirt lengths are gaining traction in the fashion world, it means the markets are heading down. The skirt length theory is also called the hemline indicator or the “bare knees, bull market” theory.

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