May 6

I hope we have another nice day. Looks good right now. We will visit the major greenhouses to see what they have. I didn't get any work outside done yesterday. After noticing a couple of doves pecking at the seed other birds had scattered on the patio I decided not to sweep all that debris up. At least not for a while. We have also seen a couple of visiting cardinals.

Right now the channel we usually watch is covering the coronation of King Charles and Queen Camilla. I read a couple of interesting pieces yesterday about the few remaining monarchies left among the nations of the world. The British are the only ones who continue the elaborate coronation ceremonies. Watching the ceremony I can see both the numerous references to the very long past (i.e., the anointing of the king goes back to the 900s) but also an acknowledgement of the present in the presence of representatives of the commonwealth nations, the presence of religious leaders who are not Church of England, and a look to the future which they hope will continue to include kings and queens. I will say the British do ceremony and pageantry so very well. The music was also impressive invocations to history, faith , and the present political realities (one hymn sung in Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, English, Latin).

Ok, time to get to the more mundane. The WHO has declared the pandemic over. At the same time I read that I read a bloggers post which noted that her daughter had come down with a case of COVID which forced them to alter their plans. Yesterday the news announced Rochelle Walensky's resignation as had of the CDC. I read a bit more this morning and I seems to me that she isn't in synch with the WHO decision or, perhaps, with the ending of Title 42 which was a health measure in name only while being used as an immigration action. I thought early on in the pandemic that COVID was something we would have to find ways to live with it. The last time we went for Mom's doctor's appointment we noticed the hospital where he has his office has made masks optional. We aren't wearing ours any more because we still avoid crowds (because we simply don't like being in them) and are fully vaccinated. I haven't read anything on new recommendations for next fall though I did see a report from Europe that their experts are not recommending another booster. Too many of the reports of how long lasting the immunity the vaccinations is in practice are totally contradictory. Improving the News presented this take:

Cynical narrative: Walensky's time as CDC director exemplified the disorganized, mechanical, and often detached nature of America's public health system. She was often at odds with both Republicans and the Biden admin., leaving no encouraging legacy as she steps down from the position. We don't know who will replace her, but hopefully, it's someone competent enough to whip the agency and the national public health apparatus into shape and restore more respect for human life.

The public health system is a disjointed as so much else in the country--by design.