The importance of stories at a time like this may not be obvious but we badly need them to understand what is happening in this pandemic.
When you were young, did you read L. Frank Baum's Oz books, or did someone read them to you? If not, at least you know the movie version of the Wizard of Oz.
Please bear with me as I re-tell and interpret that story. First the setup -- a young girl, very curious, bored to tears on her family's farm, itches for adventure. Her essential quest starts with a blow to her head. Those of us who have fallen a lot know something about what happens when you take a knock to the head.
The girl, whose name is Dorothy, goes into a dream state and awakens to a rude shock, as she finds herself in a land of exceptionally short people. I'm not sure what the politically correct term is now but they used to be called midgets and dwarves.
After a great deal of singing, dancing and ceremonial functions, she begins a long journey toward the mythical Emerald City. You could call that New York if you are so inclined but any metropolis will do.
Along the way, she meets three lovable fellows who wish to be helpful though they appear to be rather down on their luck. One of them cries easily, for example. And there's a cowardly guy who has performance issues. They all fall in love with her and join in her quest.
Their journey is a long and complicated one, made more complicated by the incessant harassment by a wicked witch. Picture a fat guy, orange hair, who spouts evil thoughts and rides a bloated broom called Air Force One, and you'll get the picture.
This terrible witch is determined to get the magical shoes off of Dorothy's feet, but she stays tight inside them much like a three-ply mask. No one ever changes their clothes or gets a haircut in this movie (pandemic), though one guy does get squirted with an oil can now and then. You know, some people are into that kind of thing.
Well, despite the notable fact they do not maintain social distance, they do make it to the city gates by the end of the second act, but much danger remains. Without giving away the ending, all you really need to know, if we are update this tale, is where the hell can we get a bucket of water?
Yes, these days we are all traveling the yellow brick road. But as much as we skip and dance we never seem to get closer to the Emerald City.
That reminds me that the other day, awaiting eye surgery, I was attended by a very nice nurse who told me she is worried about her three-and-a-half-year-old son. She doesn't know where he heard about the pandemic but recently she heard him singing, "Corona, corona, when will you go away?"
That sounds a lot like a Bob Dylan song. Who knows where he heard of Dylan, either.
Anyway, in an attempt to comfort or at least divert her, I told her about the polio pandemic. I explained that *that* one was especially bad because it frequently struck children, and rendered them paralyzed.
The nurse disappeared for a while, but when she returned she said, "Thank you so much for telling me about the polio pandemic. It gives me some hope."
Back to Dorothy. One thing I don't like is the end to that movie. Dorthy concludes after all her adventures that she would have been better off just staying home on the farm. I'm not buying that one.
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* In his latest assault on the integrity of November's vote, Trump denigrated mail-in voting and in a staggering moment, appeared to suggest North Carolinians should try to vote twice -- a potential crime -- to test its security. (CNN)
* Sen. Ed Markey won Massachusetts’ Democratic Senate primary Tuesday, defeating a member of one of the most powerful families in Democratic politics. Progressives, led by the Sunrise Movement, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), rallied behind Markey in his race against Rep. Joe Kennedy III, spurring a come-from-behind victory. The left hopes its decision to go all in to defend Markey could push other Democratic senators to venture into more progressive waters. [HuffPost]
* The Portland, Oregon, fire department has refuted President Trump’s claim that the “entire city is ablaze all the time.” “WE ARE NOT ABLAZE IN PORTLAND,” Lt. Rich Chatman, the public information officer for Portland Fire & Rescue, wrote in a text message to CNN reporter Daniel Dale after the president made the remarks at a Monday press conference. “There is a very isolated pocket of demonstrations that have involved fire, none of which have been substantial enough to need more than one fire engine.” Undeterred, Trump has continued to make more bananas claims on Fox News. [HuffPost]
* California and other Western states have been warned to brace for another record-breaking heat wave this weekend. [NBC News]
* The public's view of relations between white and black Americans has soured since 2018 and is now the most negative of any year in Gallup's polling since 2001. The majority of U.S. adults say relations between white and black Americans are very (24%) or somewhat bad (31%), while less than half call them very (7%) or somewhat (37%) good. (Gallup)
* Fox News senior judicial analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano told "Varney & Co." on Thursday that Pelosi would automatically assume the role of acting president if the 2020 election is delayed. "It might be right," Napolitano told host Stuart Varney. "President Trump's term ends at precisely noon on Jan. 20, 2021. If the Electoral College has not yet named a successor, presumably either Donald Trump or Joe Biden, then whoever is the Speaker of the House would become the acting president of the United States." (Fox)
* Ten percent of American households say they haven't had enough to eat during pandemic (The Week)
* After two political conventions unlike any the United States had seen before, Joe Biden maintains an advantage over Donald Trump in the race for the presidency, according to a new CNN Poll conducted by SSRS.Among registered voters, 51% back Biden, 43% Trump. The difference in each candidate's support when compared with a CNN poll conducted pre-conventions is within the poll's margin of sampling error. (CNN)
* U.S. government debt will nearly equal the size of the entire economy for first time since World War II -- The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projects that the deficit will be the biggest this year as a share of the economy since 1945 as the nation’s fiscal imbalance surges in response to the coronavirus pandemic. (Washington Post)
***
Where the dogs of society howl
You can't plant me in your penthouse
I'm going back to my plough
Hunting the horny back toad
Oh I've finally decided my future lies
Beyond the yellow brick road
I bet they'll shoot down your plane
It'll take you a couple of vodka and tonics
To set you on your feet again
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