Only 5/12 gone, but one horrible year already

It's been a helluva year, hasn't it.

Five months gone out of 12, and we've gone from a toxic presidential campaign to a virus that has killed more than a hundred thousand Americans to a racial incident in Minnesota that is turning everything upside down.

George Floyd's death in Minneapolis at the hands -- or more accurately, the knee -- of a racist police officer has resulted in demonstrations and/or riots all over this country and in Europe as well.

It seems as if President Trump has become such a disaster that the whole world is watching America even more than usual.

No baseball the toughest part of my COVID-19 spring

Ryan Zimmerman

“Baseball is like church. Many attend but few understand.”
-- WES WESTRUM

In many ways, I haven't been hurt at all by the COVID-19 pandemic.

It hasn't changed anything for us financially. I've been retired for more than 12 years, and our monthly income hasn't been affected at all except for the total value of our retirement yo-yoing with the market.

I used to go to the movies regularly, but I've only seen three in theaters since we moved to Georgia in 2010. I don't go to ballgames in person, either.

Indeed, the one way my life has really changed -- other than wearing a mask every time I go somewhere -- has been a spring without baseball to follow. For the last four or five years, I've paid for the MLB-TV season subscriptions so that I can watch ballgames whenever I want.

And no, I do not want to watch Korean baseball.

The last game I saw was Washington's wonderful come-from-behind victory in Game Seven of the World Series. If you want irony, how about the two teams I have followed since I was a teenager -- Washington baseball and Virginia basketball -- winning their first championships in my lifetime the same year.

And then both having their next seasons disrupted by the pandemic.

Sometimes life really sucks.

***

Short takes and random thoughts for a May weekend:

-- Donald Trump has been a disaster as president from Day One, but despite analysis that 90 percent of deaths could have been avoided had he not delayed in acting, he continues to insist he has done a wonderful job. Unbelievable.

-- Just finished watching George Takei's wonderful Broadway show "Allegiance," about the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. The entire cast was outstanding, but the amazing Lea Salonga stood out as always.

-- Every few years I go back and watch episodes of "The West Wing." Along with "Moonlighting," it's one of my two favorite TV series ever. There have been plenty of other good ones, but the one recent series that comes awfully close to making that list is "Madam Secretary."

-- An unnamed White House source put an interesting twist on the old saying about someone playing chess while their opponents play checkers. The source, no fan of Trump's, said that while some people are playing chess, Trump is eating the pieces.

Some experiences don't stand the failings of memory

What's almost as bad as not experiencing something?

How about experiencing it and not remembering?

From the time I was a little kid, I knew that Halley's Comet would pass within view of Earth exactly once in my lifetime. The comet gets close enough to see with the naked eye once every 75 or 76 years.

Naivete of Americans becoming a frightening thing.

Being optimistic is nice.

Being naive is less nice.

Being delusional is not nice at all.

A Washington Post-Ipsos poll released today said that 77 percent of Americans surveyed who have been furloughed or laid off during the current pandemic believe they will be rehired by their former employers once the stay-at-home order ends.

Donald Trump: Egg or Plant?

In other results, 62 percent of the same group said they believe in the Easter Bunny and 54 percent believe Donald Trump's tan is real.

Something like 33 million Americans have filed for unemployment insurance the last six weeks, and it's expected that when unemployment figures are released Friday, they will be the highest since the Great Depression.

So how will the end of the stay-at-home order change that?

Something like two-thirds of American workers have been employed in what is known as the "service industry," meaning that these are people who one way or another wait on customers.

Trump looking worse and worse as pandemic spreads

"LIBERATE MICHIGAN!"

-- Donald Trump

Gretchen Whitmer is trying to save the people of Michigan whether they want her to or not.

And Donald Trump is going to cause trouble no matter what the Michigan governor does.

With the number of Americans dead from the Coronavirus heading toward six figures and beyond, Trump is trying desperately to keep people from blaming him.

As of today, more than 72,000 of Trump's constituents have died, and more than 30 million have filed for unemployment.

Many companies have been reporting that their business is off as much as 90 percent. When unemployment numbers for April are announced Friday, they may be as high as 20 or 30 percent of the workforce.

Eulogy for a great guy who will be sorely missed

Marty Malin

Real geniuses don't need to tell people how smart they are.

Generally the folks who brag about their intellect -- as the "very stable genius" does -- are trying to make you believe they're something they're not.

I first met Marty Malin at Christmas 1994 when my sister Hilary brought him to Virginia to meet the family.

Before the decade was out, I had a brother-in-law and two nephews.

My sister is one of the smartest people I know, so it didn't surprise me when her two sons turned out to be gifted. Actually, incredibly gifted.