It\u2019s St. Patrick\u2019s Day, Tuesday, March 17th<\/sup>, 2020: a unique day in our history. Unusual things have happened on this day, as Ohio and the rest of the nation dig deeper into the era of Corona-Virus. Here, Governor Mike DeWine tried to cancel today\u2019s primary elections, and a local court overruled him. When he lost the case, the wily veteran showed his well-earned political wisdom. He waited until 10:00 pm last night to have his Public Health Director declare the election a public health hazard \u2013 too late to appeal. The election is postponed, probably for a while.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Speaking of Governor DeWine, it\u2019s not often you\u2019ll hear me speak highly of a member of the GOP in this age of Trump.\u00a0\u00a0And while it\u2019s not likely that I\u2019ll be voting for him, I do admire has political courage. Two weeks ago he cancelled one of the most important revenue and sporting events in Columbus, Ohio, the \u201cArnold Sports Classic;\u201d and the town was aghast.\u00a0\u00a0Today, in what seems like months later, it\u2019s not a big deal.\u00a0\u00a0The Governor is trying to stay ahead of THE curve, literally, and I hope he continues to be willing to make the tough decisions.\u00a0\u00a0He\u2019s doing what\u2019s right, not what\u2019s politically correct. DeWine is an Irish name, and from one Irishman here (it\u2019s Martin\u00a0O\u2019Connor<\/em>\u00a0Dahlman) I\u2019ll raise a glass to the Governor tonight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I spent my day working from home. It\u2019s kind of hard to wrap your head around the idea of substitute teaching from my office at the house, and today grading \u201cpapers\u201d was all done online. But I spent my \u201cwork\u201d hours staring at some awesome projects from my new social studies classes. I even got the same old headache I used to get with term papers, but I didn\u2019t fall asleep grading quite as much!<\/p>\n\n\n\n As I worked I listened to the President\u2019s press conference.\u00a0\u00a0As of yesterday he finally realized the real bad news:\u00a0\u00a0millions may die on his \u201cwatch\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0Mr. Trump is subdued, and worried, and saying all of the things that he should have said two weeks ago; the kind of things that Mike DeWine has been saying all along. But at least he\u2019s got it, and he\u2019s working to be \u201cPresidential\u201d, something he\u2019s always said he could do but never pulled off.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n I also watch Governor Cuomo of New York today, talking about his children, and his parents, and what life is like under \u201csocial distancing\u201d. The Governor was telling stories of his life to describe what we have to do: it must have felt the same when Americans gathered around the radio to listen to President Roosevelt in the depths of the Great Depression. Cuomo\u2019s key: what’s going to happen is going to take time, but in the scope of our lives, it\u2019s a short time that will only feel like it lasted forever. The only things we will lose are those family and friends we lose through death. Whatever we can do to lessen that loss is worth the sacrifice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I did venture to the Kroger\u2019s for some needed supplies. No, we\u2019re still fine on toilet paper, but heaven forbid the dogs run out of carrots, or canned food. Good thing about the toilet paper, by 2:30 there was none left in the store again. Someone must have a mountain of that stuff somewhere, a basement filled to the rafters, or a garage that you can\u2019t open the door. I guess I have to admit it: I hope they have a flood. It would serve them right. Even if Ohio says \u201cshelter in place\u201d you still will be able to go to the store for supplies. That includes toilet paper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But I found what we needed, keeping my \u201cappropriate\u201d physical distance from the other customers.\u00a0\u00a0Everyone was subdued, except for the young cashier.\u00a0\u00a0There wasn\u2019t a \u201cbagger\u201d so I was doing it myself. As I attempted to pickup a new plastic grocery bag again and again, she watched me, and finally said, \u201cYou have to lick you fingers\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0I knew that, but it\u2019s a \u201cnew\u201d world of corona-virus, and I didn\u2019t think that finger licking was appropriate.\u00a0\u00a0But as she said, \u201cit\u2019s your bag\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Anyway, I\u2019m thinking about an electronic assignment for my remote students at the other end of the computer screen.\u00a0\u00a0There\u2019s a Bobby Kennedy quote:<\/p>\n\n\n\nHomework<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
In the World<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
St Patrick’s Day<\/h3>\n\n\n\n