Quoth the Raven
I consider it an ominous omen. Yesterday on my walk, I was attacked by a crow — three times. Or it might have been a raven. I can’t tell the difference.
Most recent articles by Gary Tetz
America’s nose swab
I’m in the club now. I got tested for COVID-19, and the experience was exactly as disconcerting as feared. The man in the mask, gown, gloves and face shield brandished a swab that looked long enough to roast a marshmallow over a campfire. He deftly snaked it up my nostril, through my brain and out my ear.
Bad news for bald administrators
It turns out there might be one type of administrator who is more personally susceptible to this vile virus now plaguing humanity than any other.
Indispensable lifelines
This horrible, no good, very bad pandemic that’s keeping family members and long-term care residents apart is also strengthening their connection with staff in new and gratifying ways. That’s my observation, at least, gained through a video conferencing window into daily nursing home life.
The incredible shrinking brain
For those of you seeking a different coping path through this pandemic, might I suggest walking, gardening, swimming or dancing. I say this because a new preliminary study suggests that people who do those things regularly have bigger brains.
Masks change everything
Now that small respiratory droplets created by human speech have been found to hang out in the air for more than eight minutes, requiring masks in long-term care and any other setting where people congregate seems like a no-brainer.
Heroes of another war
Ed was only 16 years old, but when Pearl Harbor was attacked, he rushed to his local Navy recruiting office to enlist, only to be told he was too young to serve in the military.
Coping with COVID-19, the beard and Chuck Norris
While long-term care workers I’ve interviewed have been grateful and positive during the COVID-19 pandemic, my coping mechanisms could be considered somewhat less constructive and helpful.
Time to end this handshake insanity
To shake someone’s hand is to say, “I don’t know much about you, but I choose to embrace every bad hygienic choice you’ve made today.”
Courage is contagious
Facility staff have no idea if catching COVID-19 will be merely an annoyance or a life-threatening battle, a parking ticket or a death sentence. But still, they go.
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