155

The cell rang.

You: What's up, bro?

Me: Same ol' shit, cabrón, only worse. I was watching CNN and the host reported that Starr County had 1700 cases in one day and critical patients were being sent home to die; there are no more hospital beds. Hidalgo County has been averaging 30 deaths a day the last week. As to Cameron County, we are living in the dark. The county judge and the health director can't keep simple stats.

You: Are you staying home?

Me: I go to HEB. Other than grocery runs, I remain at home with the family, but there are chinks in the armor. My step-son attends a trade school two or three times a week in anticipation of moving to San Antonio to find a decent paying job with other younger adults in the same classroom and my son visits his girlfriend once a week. I'm fighting with him right now. It has been a week since he has seen her and he's having a temper tantrum. He refuses to accept the threat he poses to the family. I understand the urge that controls him, but he needs to put more stock in the life urge. I try to convince him that we have this pandemic because we don't adhere to wearing face masks and social distancing, but his stubbornness forces me to come face to face with ignorance.

You: Is Olivia apprehensive about teaching this year?

Me: What do you think? Trump wants to restart school to give this appearance of normalcy. He knows that as long as chaos and terror exist, he has no chance in November. He's throwing the dice because he has nothing to lose. His only hope is that he gets lucky and the pandemic temporarily runs its course, but as long as there is no vaccine, we remain at risk indefinitely. On the other hand, if he rolls snake eyes, he will trigger a renewed outbreak of death and sickness that will reduce his fortunes to a few electoral votes in a couple of racist Southern states. Kids are walking germs. They have germs that kill germs. They want to kiss you. They want to hug you. They want to touch you. Within your space, they are coughing and sneezing. They have colds, flu, sore throats, ear aches and any other number of afflictions. I remember when I taught, I would get sick at the beginning of the school year as well as many other teachers and students. We weren't used to being in clusters of people after summer vacation. Then the influenza season would hit and the schools were breeding grounds for viral and bacteria infections. Trump is operating on a pipe dream that if I were throwing the dice, I would wager on sevens after the first toss.

You: What's the solution?

Me: We have to hunker down and limit our interactions with others. We must accept that we may have to live in this manner. For old farts like ourselves wearing masks and maintaining our distance from others will become the rule rather than the exception. That's if we'd rather die later than sooner.

You: Did you have your fun?

Me: I had my fun, but I feel sorry for the younger generation. They can't party with others without fearing for your lives.

You: Remember during the AIDS epidemic when fucking filled us with the fear of dying.

Me: Of course.

You: Did that reality stop us?

Me: No.

You: COVID won't top them either. We have too many cravings. When it comes to appeasing them, we become stupid and worry about the repercussions resulting from our behavior afterwards. When it comes to the moment, our lusts reign.

Me: We passed 145,000 deaths and four million cases today. What will be the final numbers?

You: As long as Trump sits in the Oval Office, the sky is the limit.

Me: Chingao! 

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