Thoughts amid the pandemic

Our freezer is another story. A lack of density is not an issue there. We have needs! So online we went to see what’s available for a small but not tiny freezer. Nothing. National shortage. So we thought about a new refrigerator for the garage. We were buying the fridge for the freezer but we could also use the cold storage. Suddenly, the enormous spinach bag would have its own space and wouldn’t interfere with the Brussels sprouts. We could put bottles of sparkling water and wine in there and finally be full-fledged suburban adults. Purchase made and our dreams were fulfilled.

Until it stopped working two weeks after we bought it. I’ll spare you my whole tale of woe, but let me just say that Frigidaire is just about the worst company in the world when it comes to customer service. It’s almost comical. Long story short, six weeks later I ended up tossing the thing in the back of my truck and returning it to the San Mateo Home Depot. And now, a new freezer awaits pickup tomorrow.

So to sum up, we now have an iPad, a meat and seafood delivery service, an exercise bike, a trampoline on order and a freezer on its way. So while we definitely saved money by not leaving the house as much, we definitely are spending money by not leaving the house as much. I suppose we are doing our part for the economy.

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Many seem keen on outdoor dining, but the whole thing still makes me nervous. I’ll get over it, but something about being told we need masks, but not while sitting or standing in the street amid some still boarded-up shops seems dystopian. Besides, at times, the loosey-goosey nature of it makes it seem like some kind of street party ... or a Petri dish.

When it comes to rising case counts, some focus solely on reopening as the cause, though I would argue a few days of uptick do not necessarily make a trend. However, if it does become a trend, there seem to be several factors: Family get-togethers for recent holidays and graduations, the protests that drew thousands to the streets and new loosened guidelines.

It might be hard to put the genie back in the bottle, but at least we should make sure the genie is wearing a mask, washing hands and/or staying 6 feet away.

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Much has been said about statues recently but I was a bit confused by the recent action in Golden Gate Park over the past weekend. Taking down Ulysses S. Grant, the Union’s general in the Civil War, was an odd choice but not as odd as defacing Cervantes or the apple cider press in the music concourse.

I’ve often wondered about all the statues in Golden Gate Park. It seemed as if there was a statue sale in the late 1800s and the city just decided to splurge. I also have often thought not having plaques to explain who many of them were was a huge missed opportunity. For instance, there is an Irish man who died at age 26 in front of the Academy of Sciences. Who is he?

Still, it seems it was mob mentality that brought the vandalism this past weekend and it proved to be fodder for the national conversation and thoughts that this is somehow equivalent to the Cultural Revolution in China. I half expected the mob to throw the silver man at Pier 39 into the Bay too. Civil disobedience is one thing, absurdity is quite another.

is the editor in chief of the Daily Journal. He can be reached at jon@smdailyjournal.com. Follow Jon on Twitter @jonmays.