Who Needs Fire?

Worldwide cases of the COVID-19 virus are skyrocketing. Every day, I get up and look at the numbers, and I am continually shocked. At the current rate of progression, there will be over a half a million cases by the end of March. As the rest of the world is declaring lockdowns and other preventative measures, China is beginning to release them. Every day, I hear more and more car horns outside as more people are returning to work. Stores and restaurants are opening. A few days ago, I ventured out to get my hair cut… finally, after almost three months. Many people are still wearing masks and gloves though, despite assertions that there is no longer any danger. I also just received word this weekend that I’ll begin teaching again on April 7 th . Junior and senior high schools will resume then, and primary schools will resume a week or two after that. My school has been preparing by setting up temperature check stations and examination and quarantine areas. With over three thousa

It seems that I was meant to get up early this morning, for some reason. Shortly before 5am, while it was still dark, a ‘delightful’ little bird decided to perch on the laundry racks just outside our bedroom window and start singing, quite loudly. I did my best to ignore him, and had just started drifting back off to sleep when a jackhammer started tearing up the road at the intersection just outside our window. I just gave up and got up. I was stunned to see that the number of coronavirus cases throughout the world had increased dramatically as we slept. Watching the numbers, it is easy to see that what happened in China has now broken out in many countries around the world. It’s a helpless feeling, knowing that people are suffering and there is very little you can do about it. I sometimes find my mind drifting back to decisions that I made years ago involving my career path. I often wonder what my life would look like had I pursued a career in medicine and virology. Might I have

The coronavirus has continued its rampage across the world, infecting thousands each day. It is fairly clear that this is becoming a global epidemic. It breaks my heart to imagine the daily struggle of those working in the medical field, those infected and suffering with the virus, and the grief of their loved ones. We continue to hear about new cases of infection in the communities of some of our friends. We’ve also heard that a nearby suburb-village of our city has been sealed off due to several cases of infection. Thankfully, the government responded quickly and decisively to contain it. With new cases emerging in the area each day, it seems that the return to “normal life” remains in the obfuscated future.   Several weeks ago, Katie saw an announcement online from the regional education office; it announced that school would resume on March 9 th . A few days ago, she saw another memo indication that school would not begin on that date, but instead was put off until further not