LIFE -- COVID 19 -- VOTING -- MCCOY TYNER

My thoughts this week have been primarily focused on practical day-to-day living.   I was reminded of how quickly life’s circumstances can be altered when I somehow twisted an ankle while the knee on my other leg was slightly bent, so not locked to support my continued standing.  So, down I slid onto my tush just inside my front door.  That was the easy part.  Nothing broken.  The challenge came in getting back up.   This I finally managed in time but only after moving further into the house. 

The next few days the body has dictated some accommodations and adaptations are necessary on my part due to aches and pain, especially the first night trying to sleep.   I’ve managed to handle the basic necessities including progressing to doing a couple loads of laundry.  Another day I went to the store.  I welcomed sitting down to drive one of their less than smooth-accelerating hot rod vehicles – even managed to avoid colliding with other shoppers. 

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Meanwhile, I had plenty of occasion to view all forms of media and tech describing what was happening in the rest of the world.   The Coronavirus has us continuing to play catch-up in dealing with prevention and treatment.  I continue to respect select scientific data and some knowledgeable medical authorities reports in preference to this presidential administration’s political efforts to control and manipulate reality with what can best be described as their “massaging the facts”.   

Here in California our news is filled with periodic accounts of cruise ships filled with passengers stranded on board as tests are made to determine whether or not the Coronavirus is present.  A negative test of an ill passenger will now allow all on a ship offshore in Southern California Long Beach to disembark a day later than when they were scheduled.  Those waiting to board for the next trip had to find overnight accommodations due to their delayed departure – if they’re still going.  Another quarantined cruise ship stranded at sea elsewhere with some passengers testing positive is finally being sent to Northern California’s Oakland for further follow-up.   

Large groups of people around So Cal previously scheduled events continue gathering but inconsistently – some events are cancelled, others move forward, such as the Los Angeles Marathon with thousands of runner participants expected.  Everyone has their rationale and justification as to why their event is either occurring or not and why they may or may not attend.  Clearly there seem to be pretty fluid guidelines defining criteria on how best to conduct our lives in the beginning days of this health issue. 

The availability of tests to detect the Coronavirus has certainly been an overdue factor in aiding our more successfully coping with this health issue.  Meanwhile, we are well-advised to take responsibility for ourselves following prescribed hand-washing techniques and a variety of other recommended behaviors in this U.S. Government Center for Disease Control and Prevention – Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Important to note that older people and individuals with certain medical complications are considered to be at high-risk for contracting the disease as noted by the CDC.

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A ‘Super Tuesday’ of primary 2020 election voting resulted in narrowing to two front-runner Democratic Party Presidential candidates in the days immediately following – former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders.    This coming Tuesday another group of states will hold primary elections to define even further Party delegate totals.  The Republican Party’s President Donald Trump is a virtually uncontested candidate as he seeks re-election for another four years.  

Los Angeles County voting was problematic as a new system using touch screen technology that prints a paper ballot for verification was introduced.  There were numerous voting sites where people had to stand in long lines for hours and hours with some not finished until midnight.  Machines didn’t work in some sites accounting for some of the problems.   Officials are challenged now to ensure the issues are all resolved when we vote in November’s 2020 Presidential election.   

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The jazz world will miss McCoy Tyner who died Friday, March 6, 2020 at his home in New Jersey.  Here’s a solo piano performance of John Coltrane’s Giant Steps, by McCoy Tyner, 1996, Hamburg.

NPR (click for link) provides an extensive obituary beginning with this description:

 “McCoy Tyner, a pianist whose deep resonance, hammering attack and sublime harmonic invention made him a game-changing catalyst in jazz and beyond.”

You can also stream NPR’s In Memoriam Playlist on that site.