Day eighty-three of my forced exile from Cherry’s nursing home and I’m feeling frustrated. I spent most of this morning on the phone, talking to anybody that bothered to answer the phone and leaving messages to those that didn’t bother, just trying to get some answers. Cherry and I are both hurting, eighty three days apart has taken a heavy toll on us.
My sweet wife just celebrated her 80th birthday and she has been in a nursing home now for almost 6 years. I’m realistic enough to accept the fact that our time together on this earth is fast drawing to a close. We may not have much time to make up for these months of being apart.
The biggest frustration for me is that everybody I talk to passes the buck to someone else and the buck never stops. No one can tell me when or if the nursing homes will ever be open again. No one has an answer, no one is even willing to hazard a guess.
No one can tell me why the electrician, the plumber and all of the delivery drivers can come in the building every day but someone like me can’t. I’m no more of a risk than they are. There are only a handful, probably 6 or 8, family members who visit this facility on a daily basis. Why can’t there be an exception for the ones who have devoted their lives to taking care of their loved ones.
There’s lots of rumors and misinformation about what’s really going on with the virus, but no way to get any solid information. I learned by experience at an early age not to trust any federal, state or local government official and the media with their biased agenda wouldn’t know or report the truth if it slapped them in the face.
I’ve seen things with my own eyes that tell me that some of the people in charge aren’t as concerned about the COVID-19 virus as they say they are.
A few weeks ago I watched a state testing crew as they prepared to test the residents in the nursing home. They wore no masks and didn’t bother about that ‘social distance’ thing that everyone is preaching so loudly.
Yesterday, the mayor of our fine city marched hand in hand with 60,000 people crowded in the streets of downtown Houston. Where was the social distance that he has been preaching at every press conference for the last three months.
Now, don’t get me wrong, my inherent distrust for government leads me to be a stanch supporter of the right of the people to protest and I think that a little civil disobedience (not destroying innocent people’s lives or property) can sometimes be a good thing. What frustrates me is the hypocrisy of these people in power who have been preaching at us for all these months like we were a bunch of kids. Do as we say, not as we do.
What are we, the people, supposed to believe? Where are the answers to our questions? Back to the phone for me, maybe I can find that elusive person that has the answers.