How is the Coronavirus like a Grain of Rice?

Long ago there was a wealthy raja with many fields of rice tended by the peasants in his province.  The raja decreed that each year the peasants bring their rice to him, leaving only enough for themselves to just get by.  He promised to store the rice so if there should ever be a famine, there would be enough rice for everyone.

One year the famine came, but the raja refused to distribute the rice.  That year the peasants went hungry and the next year it was the same.  On the third year the raja decided to have a feast for himself and he ordered his servants to bring his favorite elephant loaded with two baskets of rice from the royal storehouse.  

As the elephant paraded up the street to the palace, a little girl saw that a trickle of rice was falling from a small hole in one of the baskets.  Quickly, she rushed out and ran alongside the elephant and caught the rice in her skirt.  

She returned the rice to the raja.  Impressed, he offered her a reward.  "Ask for anything," he told the girl.

"If you wish," she said, "you may give me one grain of rice."

"Only one?" the raja said.  "Surely you deserve more."

The girl nodded.  "Then give me the grain of rice today and each day after this, for thirty days, give me double the rice you gave me the day before."

The raja agreed.  That day he gave her one grain of rice.  On day he gave her two grains and  the next day, four.

On the ninth day she was given 256 grains so she had 511 grains altogether.  On the sixteenth day she received a bag with 32,768 grains.  Now she had enough for two large bags.  On the twentieth day she was given one million, forty-eight thousand, five hundred and seventy-six grains of rice.  On the final day, the thirtieth, the remaining contents of the raja's storehouse--five hundred thirty-six million, eight hundred seventy thousand, nine hundred and twelve grains of rice were given to her, making a total of over one billion grains of rice.  She distributed the rice to the peasants and left just enough for the raja to eat.  And from then on when the harvest came, the raja took just enough for himself and left the rest for the peasants.

So how is the virus like the rice?  Experts say that one person with the virus can infect two others, they can each infect two more, and so on.  And eventually over a billion people could be infected.

The moral of the story:  practice social distancing, wash your hands, cover your cough.  And if by chance you think you have the virus, be sure to self-quarantine to save those around you.

And from 

Coronavirus Notebook: Part 2

In barely a week, so much has changed.  As the virus continues to gallop through the country, Brazos Towers has instituted new rules.  The dining room is closed.  Thursday night we had our "last supper" together.  Now we turn in our menu choices and meals are delivered to our doors.  No one can visit, not even immediate family.  Only caregivers are allowed in.

When I wake up in the morning, I find it hard to know what day of the week it is.  In my real life (aka normal life) I have a regular schedule:  Monday, volunteer; Tuesday, memoir class and Mah Jongg, and so on.  Now, with no schedule, I wake up uncertain what I should do.

I wonder, could their be Chronicle thieves lurking around? When we pick up our newspapers, someone at the front desk checks off our names and apartment numbers.  I know today is Sunday because I have a big newspaper.  Today's Chronicle included a 48-page Super Puzzle Book to keep subscribers entertained.

Yesterday I saw residents wandering around the lobby looking dazed. Not surprising.  We have gone back in time.  We are living in a surreal world that belongs in the Middle Ages.

My children have warned me to avoid going in the elevator if it is full.  They remind me to wash my hands.  I assure them I wash, singing "Happy Birthday" twice, so often that I'm surprised I haven't washed off my skin.

I have stocked up on prescriptions and groceries, especially ice cream.  I have a 25-pound box of cat litter.  And speaking of the cat,  she is causing a toilet paper problem.  She lives to jump up and unroll the toilet paper.  I have tried explaining the situation to her, but, typical feline, she doesn't listen.

We still can play bridge and canasta in the downstairs lounge.  Apparently it's safe to touch playing cards that someone else has handled.  Mah Jongg games are still going on, the click, click, click of tiles sounding from across the room.

The weather has changed from springlike to cool and rainy, or so I heae.  My last outing was over a week ago to the dentist for my regular cleaning.  My children were horrified.  "The hygienist is going to get in your face," they shrieked.

I am over 200 pages into the Thomas Cromwell book.  He's now Lord Cromwell and is not as likeable as he was in the two earlier novels.  I suppose all that power has gone to his head, even though the Duke of Norfolk reminds him that he's lowborn, the son of a blacksmith.  Apparently, even in Henry VIII"s day there was social mobility if you are clever enough.  Henry, by the way, has disposed of Anne Boleyn and is now happily married to Jane Seymour...for the moment.

Kevin Bacon has started an initiative called Six Degrees to promote social distancing, and who better than Kevin Bacon to come up with that?  He asks people to tag six friends and post to #SixDegrees so he can share posts.

Stay safe at home, everyone, and keep in touch.

Quote for the Week

A friend sent me this lovely poem:

What we learned:
And the people stayed home
And read books and listened and rested
And exercised and made art and played games
And learned new ways of being and were still
And listened more deeply.
Some meditated, some prayed, some danced,
Some met their shadows.
And the people began to think differently.

And the people healed.
And in the absence of people living in ignorant, dangerous,        mindless and heartless ways,
The earth began to heal.

And when the danger passed,
And the people joined together again,
They grieved their losses and made new choices
And dreamed new images
And created new ways to live
And healed the earth fully as they had been healed.
              Kitty O'Meara

The Virus is on Everybody's Minds

In just a few days it will be officially spring.  For me, spring has always meant family outings to see bluebonnets with a stop in Brenham at the Blue Bell Creamery, it's meant azaleas and redbuds, March Madness with its One Shining Moment, Passover seders, springing forward and switching out winter clothes,  But this year a black cloud is hanging over us and it seems winter will never end.  The bluebonnets are blooming but we won't be driving out to see them.  In fact, being in the vulnerable age group, we're pretty much discouraged from going anywhere. The rodeo was shut down, the Rockets basketball games are cancelled, theaters and even churches are closed.  It's grim out   The virus is uppermost in our minds.  It's all we see on TV, all we talk about at dinner.

Here at Brazos Towers, the senior apartment where I live, we are taking extra precautions.  Although the majority of the apartments here are for independent seniors, we also have an assisted living floor, a memory care floor and a health center.  New rules have been established.  No visitors except immediate family (sons and daughters and their spouses--no grandchildren even if they're grown, no friends).  Anyone who enters must have their temperature taken, fill out a questionnaire about recent travel and any health issues and use hand sanitizer before visiting. Entertainers, lecturers, clergy will not be allowed in.  Our newspapers delivery guy will no longer leave papers in front of our doors.  Even though he arrives well before dawn when nobody is in the hallways, he will leave the Houston Chronicle, New York Times and Wall Street Journal at the front desk and we can pick them up (which means--oh no, if I want to browse through the papers while I eat breakfast, I'll have to get dressed as soon as I get up,  I guess it would be tacky to go downstairs in my robe).)  Buffet meals will no longer be available.  We will no longer be asked to sign receipts for our meals; they don't want people sharing pens! Bus trips to the Museum of Fine arts, to restaurants, the symphony and other events are cancelled, If anyone tests positive for the virus, the entire building will be quarantined; we'll all have to stay in our individual apartments.

But in the meantime, we're lucky because we have each other.  We still share meals in the dining room (and worry together about the virus).  Last night the Bingo Bunch played our usual eleven games of Bingo.  I won once and got $4.50--we're big stakes players.  We can use our gym and pool and engage in activities that are just for residents.

Since I'm not going anywhere, I have started Hillary Mantel's latest book, The Mirror and the Light, which is about 700 pages and which doesn't have a happy ending--Thomas Cromwell is beheaded, just like he was in real life.  I also decided this is the appropriate time to read The Decameron, Botticelli's book about ten people who flee to the country to escape the plague and amuse themselves by telling stories.  Hopefully, we will all come through out modern-day plague unscathed.

Take care,

It's Super Tuesday! quotes about voting

Writing Your Life: Lessons 1-6

I've been leading a writing class here at Brazos Towers, encouraging people to write about their lives so future generations will know about them and the world they lived in.  This is an 8-week course, and we're on lesson 6 now.  I thought I'd share the lessons we've done so far.  The sessions are just an hour so they can't finish all the suggestions at one time, but they can use these prompts to keep going.  You might like to use these, too.

Session 1:  My immediate family and stories about my parents and siblings 
                  Ancestors:  Where did they come from?  Interesting characters? stories?
                  My earliest childhood memory

Session 2:  Who were your childhood heroes—fictional, relatives, friends, teachers, famous people living or dead?  Why?  How did they influence you? Are your heroes the same now or do you have different ones?  Do you think you are someone else’s hero?

Wise words of advice you received as a child.

Firsts:

  Day of school

  Date

  Love

  Car

  Job

What are your favorite memories of

    Childhood school days

    Childhood summers

    High school

    College

 Session 3:  How I met your mother/father

Early marriage before children

Session 4:  Married with (or without)children

    3 memories from marriage before children

    5 memories from children (before they were teenagers)

 Special times

    Career

    Moves (to new living space, different city, etc.)

    Holiday memories

    Vacations

 What I learned from this time in my life and what I hope my children learned

Session 5:  Living with teenagers (yikes!)

Empty nest:  How did you fill it?

Session 6: Turning points:  Triumphs and tragedies of your life

Note:  I think this is the most important session of all.

I'll add the last two sessions when they're finished.

And remember, 

   The first rule of writing:  Sit.

   Second rule of writing:  Stay