Post 19 - March 30, 2020
Day 19…
When the Norwegian Bliss, the ship that JERSEY BOYS is installed on, docks in New York City, it uses Pier 90 at the end of 50th Street. This morning the USNS Comfort sailed into New York’s harbor, made its way up the Hudson and is now, for the immediate forseeable future, going to be docked in that same spot.
The USNS Comfort is what is called a Mercy-class hospital ship. It is the 2nd of its kind in to join the US Navy’s fleet. It is a non-commissioned ship that is crewed by civilians from something called the Military Sealift Command. When it is deployed, as it is now, a uniformed naval hospital staff and naval support staff is embarked. Because it is a non-combatant vessel, firing upon it in wartime would actually be considered a war crime under the Geneva Conventions. Among other things, it’s been deployed during the Persian Gulf War, 9-11, the war in Iraq, the hurricanes Katrina and Maria and now it’s been sent here for this.
Its’ purpose here in NY during the pandemic is to relieve NYC hospitals of patients with non-coronavirus-related issues.
It’s kind of easy to forget in the middle of all of this strangeness that ordinary life goes on - the good, the bad and, of course, the incredibly stupid. Given that we are all spending our days at home, I am sure there far are more than the usual amounts of home accidents these days.
People changing lightbulbs in lamps that have been out for months and getting shocked or falling off of step ladders reaching for the ones in the ceiling.
People drilling a hole through their hand as they finally try and fix something that has been broken for years.
People crushing their hands as they reach between the mechanism of the sofa bed trying to retrieve the skinny remote that has slipped in.
(Of course, those are all things that have almost happened to ME in the last week. Almost…)
I think that it’s important to remember that people with all of their other medical issues are still battling those through all of this. They still need to go to hospitals for transfusions and radiation treatments and chemo sessions, check-ups. It’s not like all of those things have just been put on hold along with everything else. Those are all still happening, and those people who have to go through them are still doing them and because of that are particularly at risk from this virus given their reduced immune systems.
In addition to help from the USNS Comfort, a Christian relief organization called Samaritan’s Purse in partnership with the Mount Sinai Health System has been setting up a mobile field hospital on the East Meadow in Central Park.
It looks like something out of a science-fiction movie.
For the last couple of days, volunteers from local churches have been out there in the rain setting up what will eventually be 68 regular and 12 ICU beds.
It’s a whole orderly group of bright white tents along 5th Avenue arranged to form a compound.
Honestly, what I first thought when I saw it was that it looks like something out of the TV show M*A*S*H* in Vietnam.
Samaritan’s Purse is a missionary group, and they provide aid to people in physical need as their way of accomplishing that. Their president is Billy Graham’s son Franklin Graham. Looking around about them, they seem to be a pretty amazing group.
I walked past a couple of Emergency room entrances today that all seemed very quiet.
In fact, given what’s being reported as going on inside, eerily quiet.
The streets are very quiet, too. Some cars but not a lot. Busses.
All of the fancy high-end stores on Madison Avenue are closed.
Some of them have been emptied of their stock, some are just sitting there fully stocked with the lights off.
Walking down Madison Avenue this morning, I could hear birds.
Spring has arrived in New York and with it has come all of the beautiful flowering trees.
Dogwoods and Cherry trees and countless others that I don’t know the names of.
There are some people out walking around, but not a lot.
We mostly seem to be staying away from each other.
No all. But seemingly most.
The real test is going to be later on in the week when the weather is supposed to turn warm and sunny.
It really feels like we are waiting for the tsunami to strike.
We are at that weird time when the water has all gone out and we are looking at an empty seabed.
I hope that it stays this quiet and that the wall of water doesn’t come.
Perhaps if we all just keep doing what we are doing, staying at home, washing our hands, keeping our physical distance, that that’s exactly what will happen.