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    ‘Rona Scares And Hella Fiber, Maintaining Through The Final/Worst Stage Of The Pandemic

    by Dewan Gibson December 7, 2020
    written by Dewan Gibson
    Gibson boys pretending to be elves

    My thoughts on the three coronavirus vaccines that have proven effective? Give me all the drugs. Deaths and hospitalizations due to covid are at record highs. I haven’t breathed on my friends in eight months. Our most extravagant trip was to Ann Arbor to play in the leaves. And, as my good friend Tony said (you may know him as Dr. Anthony Fauci), “You don’t want to be the last person to get coronavirus.” But since I’m neither a frontline worker nor an NBA player, I’ll have to wait to get the shots. Until then, we’re trying to make it through what may be the final yet worst stage of the pandemic.   

    We had our first ‘rona scare last month. Amber’s officemate’s wife was infected and he came to work like, “Hi y’all!” That same day, Amber suffered from a severe migraine and vomiting. My bird chest was congested and the kids had sniffles. Amber was tested at Kroger’s Little Clinic. It was simple: We parked in a designated space, the tech came out and handed Amber a swab. She pushed it up her nose and towards her eye socket and twisted it in circles. Rapid testing was not available that day. So no results for 2 to 3 days. 

    Fortunately, she’s a salaried worker with benefits. But what if you can’t afford to take off work? There’s no incentive to quarantine while awaiting test results. What’s to prevent this person from becoming the company superspreader? How come the guy in the White House, whose lease soon expires, never took the lead on a national testing strategy to prevent this?

    I was able to take a rapid test two days later at CVS. It was only offered at a store 30 minutes from home and there was one appointment available. I drove to the testing shack, sanitized myself, and eased a swab up my nose. The tech said, “You can’t stop right there. Keep going…” I obliged, pushing the swab farther up my nose, wondering if I’d get brain fluid on the tip. Tears ran down my face, as they did at my bachelor party, though that was more so caused by a depressive mix of mescal, weed, and Tijuana.  

    I headed home and got a call from the tech within 15 minutes. I was fine. The following day, we learned Amber was also negative. 

    Outside of The Scare, our covid routine has been much of the same since I wrote about it in May and October. I’m drinking less and down to one beer a night on weekdays. The beer has a good amount of alcohol (New Belgium Brewing Trippel Ale), so it’s probably more like two beers. If we’re up late, I may have half a glass of wine to last through whatever show we’re watching. Come to think of it, maybe I’m not drinking less.   

    As far as food, it’s still my pandemic splurge. I’ve become obsessed with fiber. Just the other day, I had a bunch of raspberries, prunes, spinach, arugula, Raisinets, and an avocado. That’s become typical. Now I can boo-boo with the best of ’em. I guess it’s not the most enjoyable thing to talk about, but man, it’s a quality of life improvement. 

    How about the kids? They’re still handling the temporary normal really well. They like the freedom of virtual school, impromptu video games/recess, and, as you see in the picture above, pretending to be elves. But they do miss Amber. They’ve always been attached, but since she started working outside the home full-time they’re REALLY attached. I’m talking tears if she leaves the house after work (“Dada, we see you all the time!”) and early morning bedroom invasions in search of skin-to-skin contact. 

    But one thing that’s helped is that our yard has become the yard where the neighborhood kids play. They’re outdoors, but it’s also the most covid-y thing we’ve allowed since March. The gang is loud and wild because they’re 6 to 12 and should be. I can’t say our neighbors enjoy it, but it’s helped the kids maintain and gain friendships. Maybe a little too friendly. A 12-year-old has left my almost-8-year-old love notes. “Cash-Cash, your eyes are the moon, so bright and handsome.” Gotta watch those tween cougars around my boys. 

    The pandemic has lasted longer than it had to, largely due to selfishness and contagious stupidity. Even as I write this there’s a superspreader political rally going on in Georgia. I’m guessing we have another six months until semi-normalcy and maybe a year until we do gross things like eat birthday cake after someone blows out the candles. I know that seems long. And I get down just thinking about it. But I remind myself that we have our health, stability, and more than 70 episodes of 90 Day Fiance left to watch on Hulu.

    Stay masked, friends.

    -Dewan  Gibson 

    December 7, 2020
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  • Exploring Fall Foliage In Ann Arbor, Michigan

    by Dewan Gibson November 2, 2020
    by Dewan Gibson November 2, 2020

    One of the great American traditions is road tripping during a pandemic to view fall foliage and consume legal marijuana. We did just that with a recent 24-hour stay in…

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  • Working From Home, Three Kids In Virtual School…And Kind Of Liking It

    by Dewan Gibson October 13, 2020
    by Dewan Gibson October 13, 2020

    How’s it been working from home with three kids in virtual school? My first grader refused to do any work because he “knows everything.” He knows a lot about beyblades…I’ll…

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  • A Few Thoughts On Kamala Harris Getting A New Job And Y’all Acting A Damn Fool

    by Dewan Gibson August 13, 2020
    by Dewan Gibson August 13, 2020

    Kamala Harris for vice president was the biggest thing to hit the internet since the WAP video, though far less enjoyable. (“Wet and gush, make that pull-out game WEAK!” Yes,…

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  • Catcalls And Covid: A Quick Road Trip To Pittsburgh

    by Dewan Gibson July 15, 2020
    by Dewan Gibson July 15, 2020

    Hey! Anyone up for travel and communicable disease! Amber and I took our first mini-vacation since the Covid-19 pandemic began, a road trip to Pittsburgh in celebration of her 40th…

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  • Pro Tip: Give Black People The Benefit Of The Doubt (Thoughts On Recent Racist Events)

    by Dewan Gibson June 14, 2020
    by Dewan Gibson June 14, 2020

    I’ve spent years arguing for all things equality, but other than a mention of “America’s illnesses” in my previous blog post, I have said little publicly about George Floyd and…

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  • Kid Brawls And Alcohol: A Covid-19 Family Routine

    by Dewan Gibson May 25, 2020
    by Dewan Gibson May 25, 2020

    My youngest had his sixth birthday a month into shelter-in-place. Before the big day, he said to me: “Dada, I had a dream that there was no more coronavirus and all…

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  • A One-Night Trip To St. Petersburg For Collard Greens And Romance

    by Dewan Gibson March 1, 2020
    by Dewan Gibson March 1, 2020

    My wife and I celebrated five surprisingly easy years of marriage (at least on my end) with a one-night trip to St. Petersburg, Florida. Upon landing we rushed over to…

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  • We Leveled Up From JcPenney, Took Family Pictures At Coronado Beach

    by Dewan Gibson February 10, 2020
    by Dewan Gibson February 10, 2020

    It’s been a little over three years since we visited an upselling-obsessed professional photographer named JCPenney for family pictures. This year we leveled up and hired a personal photographer at…

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  • 24 Hours In Nashville, Without A Care For Hot Chicken Or Country Music

    by Dewan Gibson November 24, 2019
    by Dewan Gibson November 24, 2019

    I recently spent 24 hours in Nashville with the goal of avoiding country music and culturally-appropriated hot chicken. My first stop was Frist Art Museum. It was hosting a Frida…

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  • Escaping Los Angeles With A Road Trip To Paso Robles

    by Dewan Gibson November 3, 2019
    by Dewan Gibson November 3, 2019

    No disrespect to my So Cal friends, and definitely not to guys who wear red or blue and pose for pictures while making arthritic hand signs, but what I find…

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