My Dad died 23yrs ago. It’ll be 23yrs on August 27. For a moment I thought the anniversary was yesterday and somehow, the day had passed without notice. But it’s 2020, so it’s all a blur…
January: Protests in Hong Kong We almost had WWIII because 45 pissed off Iran. Australia caught fire WHO announces coronavirus in China could be a problem Prince Harry and his wife Meghan leave the royal family (Dad adored Diana and saw some weird sort of kinship with her when she gave birth to a red-headed child) A Ukrainian plane crashed in Iran, killed176 people Official impeachment proceedings begin Coronavirus jumps to the States, it’s still January Wuhan goes into lockdown Kobe Bryant and 9 others die in a helicopter crash... I have mixed emotions about the honor being paid to him... many women do. NAFTA replaced because… it worked? The U.K. finally withdrew from the EU. Scotland and Northern Ireland considering their options. Scotland is pissed.
Terry Jones of Monty Python and Mary Clark Higgins died.
February: Iowa fucked up the caucus—finally, it’s February Taz begins acting puny The Senate acquits 45 on BOTH articles of impeachment The next day, Taz dies The next day, my oldest son has emergency surgery
The next day we receive word that my kids’ stepsister is found dead Coronavirus officially named COVID-19 (people are pissed because they think we’ve had 18 previous versions of it, which we haven’t, the first case was in China in late 2019, get it? 19). Weinstein found guilty of rape—women worldwide cheer Riots in India
My grandchildren were involved in a domestic abuse situation (rescued) DOW drops almost 2000 points
Stanley Cohen, Kirk Douglas, Orson Bean, Robert Conrad, and Mirella Freni died.
March: Elizabeth Warren drops out of the presidential race, women are crushed to see her fall to men of lesser quality Italy goes on lockdown WHO declares coronavirus a pandemic I take Ryan to see the High Kings Nepal closes Mount Everest I start a self-imposed isolation Schools go virtual I teach my mom how to Skype I try to order toilet paper, delivery date: 5 weeks out. European football season canceled Ireland closes pubs for Saint Patrick’s Day—WTF? Eurovision Song Contest canceled 45 declares a national emergency The DOW plunges almost 3000 points
Breonna Taylor is killed in her bed by police officers Jonathan Mattingly, Brett Hankinson, and Myles Cosgrove My oldest sister, Janet, admitted to the hospital ICU, tested for COVID-19 Tokyo summer Olympic Games postponed to 2021 (I don’t know if this means all future games will be shifted a year or not, no time to consider that...) India goes on lockdown Janet returns to her nursing home, COVID test negative. China suspends entry of foreign nationals (we worry about an old friend who lives in China) The US surpasses China and Italy in number of positive COVID cases Jack Welsh, James Lipton, McCoy Tyner, Joe Diffie, Stuart Whitman, Roger Mayweather, Betty Williams, Alfred Worden, Kenny Rogers, Stuart Gordon, Terrance McNally, and Bill Withers died.
April: At the beginning of April, worldwide infections surpass 2 million My oldest son is exposed to COVID at work, is tested, goes into isolation, 2-week quarantine, tests negative. COVID related prison riots in Turkey Bernie Sanders, finally, drops out of the race Japan declares a state of emergency John Prine dies, COVID-19 My sister Janet dies, COVID-19 symptoms: pneumonia, sepsis, UTI My mom has a low-grade fever, the nursing home wants to wait and see... Ebola has killed 2200 people since August 2018 COVID-19 passes 100,000 global fatalities My other sister is taken to the ER, tested for COVID Mass shooting in Novia Scotia leaves 17 dead Nine days after her initial fever, with more symptoms developing daily, my mom is tested for COVID. My sister’s test comes back negative, the same day my mom’s comes back positive. The nursing home now wants to do other tests My mom transported to local hospital, in addition to COVID she has a UTI and pneumonia. We begin a vigil. Oil prices plummet, gas prices follow. A barrel of oil drops to $-42. I don’t even know how to process that. 52 men killed in one village in Mozambique Facebook accused of spreading virus misinformation. I am not shocked! My mother dies: “complications of COVID” pneumonia, sepsis, UTI. Pentagon releases photos of UFOs, no one notices We learn my mom has no life insurance... it “expired” because she lived too long. Ellis Marsalis Jr, Adam Schlesinger, Shirley Douglas, James Drury, John Prine—John fucking Prine!, Alan Garfield, Brian Dennehy, Leo Konitz, Howard Finkel, Eavan Boland, and Sam Lloyd died.
May: An American military company (WTF is that?) helps Venezuelan dissidents with attacks Astronomers announce you can see a solar system with a black hole with the naked eye, no one notices George Floyd is murdered by Minneapolis police officers on video A maternity hospital in Afghanistan attacked, 24 dead including 2 babies
Cyclone in Bangladesh kills 100, displaces 14 million, and does 13 billion in damages, no one sings old George Harrison songs.
Plane crashes in Pakistan 99 dead
BLM protests begin nationwide in response to George Floyd’s murder US COVID death toll passes 100,000
Colleges remain online for the summer Space-X launches, civilians in space, no one notices John Erikson, Michael McClure, Roy Horn, Little Richard, Betty Wright, Jerry Stiller, Michel Piccoli, Lynn Shelton, Fred Willard, Oliver Williamson, Jerry Sloan, Jimmy Cobb, Larry Kramer, Lennie Niehaus, Bobby Morro, and Christo died.
June: Ebola has 6 new cases... people joke about how terrified we were of it, once upon a time 45 labels Antifa as a terrorist organization, which is more than odd, because it isn’t an organization. But the KKK remains legit
Confederate statues removed COVID cases worldwide pass 7 million, deaths pass 400,000
My toilet paper arrives. Harvard announces that according to parking lot usage and internet searches it can trace COVID back to August 2019 COVID passes 8 million worldwide Days later, 10 million cases, 500,000 dead
7.5 earthquake in Mexico City
Revealed that Russians paid a bounty for US soldiers in Afghanistan and 45 knew
Mary Pat Gleason, Tony Dunne, Dennis O’Neill, Keith Tippett, Jean Kennedy Smith, Ian Holm, Joel Schumacher, Kelly Asbury, Freddy Cole, and Carl Reiner died
July:
My son, grandson, and ex-husband are in a mall when a shooting occurs (they weren’t hurt)
Landslide in Myanmar kills 174
My best friend’s mom passed away (not COVID related)
My partner developed a fever (not COVID)
COVID cases exceed 11 million worldwide; 5 days later 12 million
Worldwide COVID death toll exceeds 600,000
Flooding kills hundreds in China and India
7.8 earthquake in Alaska
45 sends unmarked Storm Troopers to Portland, threatens other democratic cities
Jonathan Mattingly, Brett Hankinson, and Myles Cosgrove have still not been arrested.
Hugh Downs, Earl Cameron, Nick Cordero, Charlie Daniels, Naya Rivera, Kelly Preston, Phyllis Somerville, John Lewis, Regis Philbin, John Saxon, and Peter Green died.
The world remains closed.
Somewhere in the middle of all that, my sister was hospitalized twice, my brother once; baseball was canceled, my daughter was exposed to COVID (not positive), and her car died—so she is using mine as I remain mostly in isolation. Baseball is back on, maybe? Hopefully, in August, I will remember the 23rd anniversary of my dad’s death, but I’m not taking bets on that.
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