Swine Flu—Don’t Ask For Whom The Bell Tolls

Please click here for the City of Houston Swine Flu information home page.  It is very helpful.

Another reason I’m linking to it is what it says at the bottom of the page. It says this—

Other sources of information:

• State Health Department swine flu information
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention swine flu web site:  http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/
• World Health Organization swine flu web site:  http://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/en/index.html

The needed facts to deal with Swine Flu, and the tools needed for a proper response to this threat, come from city government, state government, the federal government and from world health authorities. People are going to have to work together.

The 17th-century poet John Donne wrote the following—

“Therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee”.  

Everything is connected. This is not a hurricane where you can evacuate.  While it may well be that this threat does turn out as bad as feared, once again we are reminded that our fates in life are tied together.

The bell in the picture above is from the Cathedral de León in Nicaragua.

Roads Closed By Flooding In Houston Limits Ability Of People To Give Each Other Swine Flu

Heavy rains in the Houston area are limiting the ability of people to get around and give each other the swine flu. These rains may extend well into today.

Already the global financial panic has cut down on international travel and visits to stores and restaurants.  Folks are missing out on a lot of the exchange of germs and disease.

If only things would get even worse we would be just fine. Life going well is our enemy.

Below is a photo taken by a Chronicle reader named Sakar Bhusal with the caption ” I wonder why these people were in such a hurry?” 

(My blogger friend AmyEmilia has a picture of the flooding at her blog A Normal Life.)

Maybe they were in a hurry to meet up and give each other the Swine Flu.

Maybe they thought they were driving away from the Swine Flu.

Or maybe it was the just the same dumb behavior we see on our roads in Houston each day.

(Please click here for information on the Swine Flu and for handwashing tips.)

Why I Don’t Follow Hockey And Basketball

I know the world is in the midst of financial collapse and a flu pandemic, but I’d like to write here about hockey and basketball.

( Above—Women playing ice hockey 120 years ago.) 

I saw in my morning paper—which remains the most civilized and reflective way to get the news—that the Anaheim Ducks had eliminated the San Jose Sharks in the first round of the National Hockey League Playoffs.

This happened despite the fact that the Sharks had gained the best record in the NHL for the past season and that the Ducks were only the 8th best team in their conference.  Here are the final NHL standings for this season.

Hockey has something like 30 teams. 16 of them make the playoffs. Why even bother to play the regular season? Anybody who can muster just a halfway decent record makes the playoffs and then the best team can be knocked out in the first round. These same circumstances exist in pro basketball.  

The only sport I follow is baseball. In baseball 8 of the 30 teams make the playoffs. That’s better. The games mean something and fewer teams can coast knowing they have a playoff spot locked up.

In hockey and basketball, the games lack context and meaning. It’s a muddle. They just skate around or run up and down the court for six months waiting for the real action to start. Who would pay money to see all that meaningless mess?  

Our time and what we do with our time should have meaning and context.     

(Here is a history of hockey.)

Houston Council Candidate Noel Freeman Holding Campaign Kick Off

Houston At-Large position 4 council candidate Noel Freeman will be holding his campaign kick off event on Thursday April 30. This event will be held at the Cafe Adobe restaurant at 6:30 PM. Cafe Adobe is at 2111 Westheimer. You can call 713-828-7821 for details.

Above is Arlen Specter. Like Mr. Freeman, Mr. Specter was once a Republican who has now become a Democrat.

Please click here for more details on Mr. Freeman’s event.

Mr. Freeman is a thoughtful candidate who has offered his viewpoints for readers of this blog.

Here is Mr. Freeman’s campaign web home.