“OLD LIVES MATTER, TOO!” – I think someone should put that on a protest sign.
By now, the entire world has seen video of a 75-year-old white man (later identified as Martin Gugino) being pushed to the sidewalk by Buffalo, New York police. Mr. Gugino is shown lying unconscious on the ground with blood flowing from his ear while dozens of cops simply walk past him. One cop who does try to stop to help is ordered by his colleagues to move on.
Mr. Gugino’s “crime” apparently was that he didn’t immediately leave the area after a peaceful protest when the 8 pm city-wide curfew took effect. He is shown in the video approaching two police officers and gesticulating, and is then shoved, falls, and hits his head.
The rally had been organized to protest against police brutality. Ironic, right?
Thankfully, Mr. Gugino survived, regained consciousness, and was able to converse by phone with New York’s Governor Cuomo. I have no idea what was said in that conversation. The two policemen involved have been suspended pending internal investigation.
The ongoing violence on both sides makes me want to never leave my house. The continuing saga of the COVID-19 epidemic makes me want to never leave my house.
Unfortunately, I have no choice in the matter. If I want to pay my mortgage and other bills, I need to work – and I am returning to my office on Monday. Definitely not looking forward to it. Not looking forward to wearing that hot mask every time I go in and out of the building and every time I leave my private office within the building.
But we all have to do it.
With luck, maybe I won’t have to do it for the rest of my life. Government-subsidized housing which fits into a budget solely supported by Social Security is starting to look real good right about now. Perhaps it’s time to start checking out some of those places, as I hear they have a waiting list of 5 to 7 years. Heck, by then maybe my house will have finally been updated enough to sell at a profit. Wouldn’t that be nice?
Meanwhile, I have other issues to deal with. There’s work, there’s health, and …
For whatever reason, both my personal and Cordelia’s Mom Facebook accounts have been royally f*d up. I can’t log in to either and can’t find any way to contact tech support to resolve the problem. So, for those of who you follow me on Facebook, you might want to switch to Twitter. That account seems to be functioning just fine.
Happy Weekend, Everyone. Stay safe and healthy.
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I love to hear from my readers. You may comment on this post, comment on my Facebook or Twitter pages, or email me at cordeliasmom2012@yahoo.com
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Image by Cordelia’s Mom/TeddyRosalieStudio
Cordelia's Mom, Still 
It’s a mad world out there. Be brave.
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Will do.
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it feels as if the whole world has gone insane.
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It does.
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What nutty times.
People stop each other from being human and having compassion – luckily not always, but far too often. And those incidents stick out.
We are lucky to work from home with clients being flung widely around the world (time zones are always an issue with “meetings”).
Make sure your mask is 2 layers of cloth or a medical mask and wash your hands. (Not touching the face is torture, I say…ugh) Stairs instead of elevators and get outside and sit in the sun everyday to help your immune system (Maria Montessori was right – good for kids and adults). Word from docs in Italy is the the virus seems to be weakening and less contagious – so let’s wish that to be true.
Onward!
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Thanks for the advice. I’m more worried about getting to work than I am about keeping myself safe once I’m there.
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I saw two bears in the woods today. I feel safer with the bears.
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I hear you. Things here are going from bad to worse.
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Hated that video… was an awful thing to see. I don’t fear for leaving the house up here… hope I never do. Hope things recalibrate down there, but I don’t know when that might be.
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My only real fear is that I have to drive through some bad parts of town to get to work. I may have to find a longer, alternate route for awhile.
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Be safe, CM.
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Nope. I’m looking at the glass half full, CM. I will not be pulled back into the insanity which is spurring people to WAKE UP! Yes, that is its purpose. I know a fireman who told me “both” sides of the story of the man who fell. That being said, I am creating my world in love, in peace, in light and nothing more. Have a great weekend. xo
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There are always two sides to any story, but I really don’t think a 30-something cop should be shoving a 75-year-old man to the ground regardless of what may or may not have gone on beforehand. Sure, maybe the guy tripped and fell after being shoved, which is why he was hurt, but had he not been shoved, it wouldn’t have happened. There are other ways to deal with this type of situation. There are always going to be , annoying activists at these types of demonstrations, but I don’t think violence is the way to handle it. Now, had he shown a gun or knife, or hit the cop first, that would be a different story altogether.
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Violence is never the answer. I do not condone what that officer did. I do know however this incident is getting more people to become aware. And this is good. I am so relieved this man is all right. The headlessness in this world must come to an end and our humanity embraced.
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Oh dear! Be careful when you return to work on Monday, CM! Hugs ༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ
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Will do. I may take an alternate route for awhile.
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I’m glad I’m old and don’t have to go to work, but I’m poor and the house is falling apart and I wonder what we are going to do. We have a few months where we can not pay the entire mortgage and try to save up enough to fix some things — but when the break ends, what then? We’ll owe a lot of money that we absolutely don’t have.
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I hear you. When we bought our current house, I made sure we got one with a price low enough so we could still pay the mortgage on Social Security, along with the utilities and keeping just one car. At the moment, my husband and I are both still working, so hopefully I can pay off the outstanding construction loans before we both have to quit. We’d like to stay in the house as long as we can, and as long as we can still properly maintain it.
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I wish you the very safest return on Monday, CM. Wear that mask when you must.
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Thanks, Mark. We’ll all be wearing masks in the common areas – office provided. And, of course, I’ll wear my own mask between the car and the office, and I don’t plan on making any stops along the way. Things will be fine.
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I trust you to be smart all the way around, CM.
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Hi check out my latest post on what it’s like being brought up in the UK as a black person.
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Will do.
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