Coronavirus Diary Day 40: April 21, 2020

Lockdowns Extended, Home Haircuts, Birthday Parades

Yesterday, Pennsylvania officially extended its lockdown to May 8. After that, Governor Wolf says some businesses can resume in limited capacity without public contact. This includes online car sales and residential construction. I have a sunroom addition underway at my house. Work stopped on this project after the 3^rd week of March. If we can get things moving again after May 8^th, I’ll label that a small victory.

Face masks are now mandatory for every person in Pennsylvania who is in public proximity to other humans. This includes – naturally – grocery stores, pharmacies, and any other place where essential business is happening.

The number of confirmed Coronavirus cases is Pennsylvania is now 33,723 with a death toll of 1,291. In Philadelphia, there are nearly 1,000 COVID-19 patients in city hospitals, and 394 people have died. According to Johns Hopkins, there are 2,501,156 cases worldwide with 171,810 deaths.

So with lockdowns extended and constant videoconferencing, the issue of personal grooming has become problematic. In the past week, a vast majority of my married friends have reported cutting their significant other’s hair. I am guilty of this, as well. I took the scissors to The Hubs’ head on Saturday morning. And guess what? It looks meh, which isn’t terrible.

While I was playing barber, I didn’t think much of the fresh stack of warm pancakes that I’d left for Ryan on the kitchen counter. The dog sensed my distraction and had a celebratory feast for himself.

His birthday is today. The dog, I mean. He’s 1. He’s an Airedale Terrier named Giles, although I prefer to call him the dog. He’s 83 pounds. He’s become very attached to us during this pandemic. He constantly cuddles, asks to play, and seeks attention. That’s mostly OK with me, because I’ve got nothing better to do. Then again, he’s a real pain in the ass.

It’s also Queen Elizabeth’s birthday today. She’s 94.

There’s a new trend in birthday celebrations. Folks are having car parades. In some cases, the parades are led by firetrucks or police cars. I really like this. Other folks are hosting parties in their driveways, where attendees bring their own chairs and food (and booze) and sit 6 feet apart. I’m not sure how I feel about that, although I’m not saying I wouldn’t crash one. As for the dog, I plan to bake a cake for him today, and we’ll enjoy a small family celebration right here in my kitchen. I’ve invited my 2 ½ year old nephew to join us on FaceTime. He’ll get a kick out of it.

You guys, they cancelled Oktoberfest. They. Cancelled. Oktoberfest.

Anyways, stay safe. Probst!