Coronavirus getting too close for comfort; 'Real' birds

Coronavirus is in our neighborhood, four or five blocks from our house. A patient at a nearby clinic tested positive. Now the staff is quarantined for 21 days and the clinic is locked down. The staff at the Indian restaurant I frequent for takeout happened to be at the clinic for some kind of testing when all this went down. The owner informed me that he told his staff to take some time off.  My wife said there have been 15 confirmed cases of Covid in Dong Nai, the province where we live. The numbers have jumped around a lot lately, with 300 new cases reported one day and nearly 900 the next. It isn't a good situation regardless of the numbers.  I held off on a shopping trip for groceries for two main reasons: 1) I don't want to get sick and die because ... 2) I have two small children that need me at full strength. Joanna needs me to function at a level where I can teach and entertain her in a constructive manner. Elijah just needs me when he's bored. The work next door has slowed significantly but will unexpectedly flare up. The same people bought a house across the street and the some of the same noisy noise has started up again. Plus, the guy with the welding flashes has started "working" again. I'm sort of surprised that people can do these types of disruptive construction projects featuring unknown workers parading around, sometimes sans mask, during a pandemic. It's worth repeating: this country doesn't have the medical infrastructure to handle a massive surge of coronavirus cases. The U.S. has seen more than 600,000 die and hospitals stressed to the breaking point, and there's been an uptick recently despite vaccinations. Joanna and I have reduced the number of walks for milk tea (very close to the clinic) and our park trips are shorter and more supervised. Things are clearly quieter -- I see fewer people peeing outside in daylight, and less folks riding their motorbikes on the sidewalk, and fewer instances of trash burning. It's a shame people have to fear getting really sick to reduce churlish behavior. We've cut back on trips to the park since about half the folk walking and talking on phones don't wear a mask. And people tell me how stubborn I am. That may be the case, but for my sake, the sake of my family and the sake of others, I'll wear a damn mask. How's that for stubborn?
• • •
Our birds of paradise stickers, T-shirts, and children's fact book all arrived within a week of each other, making my daughter a very happy camper in grim times. None of the stuff was cheap, even the stickers. So what. It was priceless to see my daughter running around the house squealing with glee with a "Real" T-shirt in her arms. We call the Greater birds of paradise Vogelkop -- as well as the Smiley Face --  "Real" because of the What a Wonderful World video with David Attenborough. It briefly shows the Vogelkop or Smiley Face, and  Joanna, who was 3 at the time, thought it was a cartoon or drawing. When I told her the bird was "Real", a new name was created. Honest to goodness, Joanna just woke up and looked over my shoulder to read what I was typing and excitedly said "Real" when she got to this item. She doesn't miss much.
• • •
After I had Joanna's hair cut short to deal with the heat -- it's extra humid and remains in the 90s during  our rainy season -- people looked at her and said "That's a cute boy." Now my wife is trying to let Joanna's hair grow out again, which I'm not crazy about because of the heat and the fact she'll chew on it. Granted, there are bigger issues.
• • •
Our son Elijah acts like he's living with the Jetsons. He demands control of the TV remote control and when he gets it with batteries removed, he points it at the TV, lights, air conditioners, fans and  microwave, expecting it to work its magic and make those appliances turn on or off. Hasn't happened yet, but Elijah is master of the unexpected
• • •
My friend continues to battle numerous challenges in a U.S. hospital as he fights to stay alive. Sometimes it seems the treatment can present issues as serious as what he's facing, but I believe he's getting the best care and support from family and friends as possible. ... Nothing yet on our bid for a waiver to get my wife into the U.S. Just have to wait and see, which is becoming something of a mantra these days.