I haven’t posted for several weeks for a couple of reasons: one, until two weeks ago, I was busy finishing the first draft of a new novel, an effort that left me too mentally depleted to write so much as a shopping list; two, I was recovering from a concussion caused by a late-night fall down a darkened staircase. The novel, titled Memory and Desire, is now being looked at by an editor, who will soon make her recommendations for revisions. As for the concussion, it’s healed — no skull fracture, no bleeding in the brain.
Harry Rilling, mayor of Norwalk, Connecticut, sent out a blast message to his constituents the other day warning that Covid19 is on the rise in our city (as it is almost everywhere in the U.S. of A.) and that the National Guard is being activated to assist in testing for the virus. Right now, people who want to be tested have to stand in line for hours, as I did recently, and then wait three to five days to learn the results. I tested negative, by the way, which doesn’t mean a whole lot — you can walk out of a testing center and be infected five minutes later.
A friend of mine who lives on a Long Island mentioned to me during a lengthy phone conversation that he finds the pandemic “strangely euphoric.” Yeah, I said, that sure if strange, and he replied that perhaps euphoria wasn’t quite the word he was looking for to describe the feeling produced by knowledge that one is living through an extraordinary time. I agreed that this is an extraordinary era, what with plague, racial tensions, and economic pain everywhere, not to mention a president who seems determined to become an American Caligula. But I don’t find it euphoric, exhilerating, or exciting; dreary, rather, as if every day is a blue Monday. Human beings are social creatures by nature; it’s unnatural to stand or sit six feet way from someone you’re speaking to; to walk into a store or supermarket masked, as if you’re going to rob the place; unnatural to keep distant from your own family, as Leslie and I will be doing this Thanksgiving — for the first time in more than 10 years, we will not be spending the holiday with children and grandchildren in Florida. Nor are we sure if we’re going to make our annual drive to Arizona. Four days on the road, through some of the hottest virus hotspots, might not be wise. As I said, dreary. The country ought to declare the day when the much-touted vaccines become available to be “VV Day,” and maybe pose a sailor kissing a girl in Time Square to mark the event with an iconic photograph.All that said, we’re grateful to have what we have, and to have escaped the evil little germ so far. Two of our friends have died of it, another survived but is suffering its effects six months after her recovery.
I travelled extensively and at ground level around Africa, South America and Asia in the 1980s, and being ignorant, got at least 15 “travel shots” spread out over six years. Although I can’t prove it, I believe they damaged my fertility. I became obsessed with this subject and researched it off and on for more than 30 years. I read thousands of pages off the internet, hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles, and 38 books, 12 of them pro-vaccine to hear out both sides. I reached the conclusion that vaccines are the biggest fraud and the most murderous racket in medical history. If you follow the links with the word “data” on vaers.hhs.gov, which is run jointly by the terminally corrupt CDC and FDA, you’ll find more than 75,000 reports of adverse events, many quite frightening, since January 1st. Anyone who can read this without being shocked into reality is, in my opinion, brain-dead. Probably more than 99% of these were from covid injections, and this may be less than 10% of what’s been going on, since so few people know of VAERS (vaccine adverse event reporting system). I’ve read that, from December 14th to April 20th, 3486 deaths have been reported to VAERS. Hank Aaron died 17 days after getting the shot. The mainstream media is complicit in this crime by exercising their usual Stalinist censorship on every important issue. Incidentally, to anyone reading this, please let me know of one pro-vaccine book (or any other literature) published since 1796, the year Edward Jenner started the whole business, that doesn’t contain many falsehoods or lies or both. Or let me know of one vaccine developer since Jenner who wasn’t a failure, a swindler, or a psychopath. No childish name-calling please (e.g. loon, fringe, crackpot, crank, anti-science, flat-earther, and….wait for it….”conspiracy theorist”). Thank you.
Smallpox vaccine — virtually eliminated smallpox from the globe; Salk vaccine == ditto for polio; flu vaccines — Have reduced influenza epidemics dramatically since 1918; measles vaccine — suppressed measles until antivaxxer propaganda falsely claimed it causes autism. Etc., etc.,
I have also traveled the world — 53 countries altogether — and been inoculated against yellow fever, bubonic plague, and hepatitis, in addition to the above. Have never caught any of those diseases, nor suffered any after effects beyond a sore arm. This suggests to me that vaccines actually work.
Re: the media’s “Stalinist censorship.” I lived in the Soviet Union for two years, 1976-1977, and believe me you don’t know what Stalinist censorship looks like.
Going to Arizona is a danger for a while longer. In spite of that, I will start a three day drive from Oregon’s Willamette Valley next Thursday, December 31st, to Tucson for three months. It’s my home town. Lived there 50+ years. I’m going to risk it and hope to be vaccinated while in Tucson. Used to hunt Mearns along the border with Old Mexico. Back in February 2020 a couple of my amigos and I were on a quail hunt just south of the Buenos Aires. Actually, one of those guys is 96 yrs old and my 74 yr old knees are too shot to follow bird dogs. The two of us stayed in the pick up while the other guy hunted. We met two other friends who had been out longer and did have some luck. Six Mearn’s. The masked bobwhite reintroduction program on the Buenos Aires Wildlife Refuge is a flop, sadly. No wild birds to speak of, just released pen raised. Hope you make it to Patagonia in 2021, but be safe and stay healthy.
Mr. Caputo,
Just writing to express a long overdue thank you. I am rereading “A Rumor…” after 40 years and wanted to say it has aged very well. You were given a gift for writing and used it well. The book brings both the terrain (I know it did not look like landscape to your trained mind), the Marines and other people, at that time to life and the story is very much real history. I just finished a series of journals written by civil war soldiers who were just as anxious for “contact” as you were. Thank you for caring about people and their stories and for sharing them with your readers. I picked up Means of Escape on Saturday and will start it over Christmas and look for your other books soon. Again, please know I appreciate your work. I saw where you lost a reader earlier, I will purchase all of your books over the next few years to help make up for the loss so you can focus on writing.
Thank you for the kind words.
From the tone of the comment by ‘Buda’ even without their proclamation of support for your president, it was evident of their leaning. As a non-American, I cringe for a country that I had much respect for and have visited many times, due to the childlike behaviour and narcissism of Donald Trump. Philip is entitled to vent his frustrations and disappointment with Trump. Even now in defeat, he still rants and raves about the unfairness of his life (elections), while his people die from Covid-19. He is not a role model for The USA, it’s people, himself or even mankind.
Caputo is it really necessary to inject your political beliefs? I read to escape not to get lectured on your leftist thoughts, ranting and bare hate for the president. Half the country doesn’t agree with you. You just lost me as a reader and buyer of your books.
On the other hand, half the country agrees with me. Sorry to lose you as a reader.
God’s love go with thee phil leslie !!
Like incoming artillery, hunker down.
Nice to read your posts again Philip and wishing you well with the new book. I understand your friends comment that we are living in a serious part of history. However, as to whether I would have gladly or knowingly entered into this part of history remains obvious – no!.
I am of the opinion that we can only beat this disgusting and brutal Virus is by trying to stay alive long enough for mankind to come up with a correct and truly effective vaccine for every human on the planet. All we can do is try and avoid contagion. Our aim is to come out of the other side of this Pandemic and not do anything that will limit our chances of this.
Stay safe, healthy and patient.
My thoughts on Trump.. Certainly Nero like. fiddling while the nation burns with fever and unrest.. .. and more and more the only answer that seems to fit is that he is indeed a foreign asset bent on destroying the nation from within ,.. However, rather than being the Manchurian Candidate he seems to be Putin’s man… from Moscow with love…….
Still better than being in a Combat Zone. My time in RVN gave rise to that great expression, “Different day, same war”, talk about a psychological malaise, if you let it become that. Have good Holidays!
True. But at least in a combat zone, one’e enemy is human and visible, as opposed to a germ 1/10,000 the diameter of a human; also you can shoot back in combat, whereas all you can do with this virus is hunker down and hope it doesn’t infect you.