50 Plus NYC Cabbies Dead From COVID-19 & July 4th Air Quality & Escaping Back to the Island of Saint Paul & Dennis Roberts Cremation

Tragedy in New York 

As of May 6th, these being the most current figures available, over fifty New York City cab drivers have succumbed to the new coronavirus.  I learned this by watching a Ted Koppel ABC News interview my sister Mary had saved from early May.  Later, I read all the articles I could find online concerning this and other pandemic news affecting NYC cabbies. Their business in March and April had mostly disappeared, the cabbies despairing, no way to pay their bills while working too many hours for nothing whatsoever.  Koppel also talked about how the City of New York tricked many cabbies, mostly immigrants, into buying taxi medallions at artificially inflated prices.  There are many reasons it would have been a bad idea to have nominated Michael Bloomberg to run for the American presidency, this being only one of them.  I have asked the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission for updated death figure but first I have to go through a formal request before receiving the information.  I will be doing that and sharing when I have what I am guessing will be further bad news.  That we only have one death so far in Seattle is a blessing.  Upon first hearing the NYC toll, I was shocked, and also surprised how little media coverage it has gotten.  Poor cabbies!  Kicked up, kicked down, having their bodies kicked into the ground!  Awful. And Koppel's report ended with photographs of the deceased cabbies.  Too sad, my friends and comrades, too sad.

July 4th Explosions

Isn't it grand, watching all that gun power blow up, coloring, lighting up the night sky?  Turns out it also poisons the air, local celebrants setting off personal fireworks causing more pollution that the usual civic displays.  Who knew but people must have their fun even if it ultimately ends up killing them. Yahoo! Hurray! Saluting the Red, White & Blue, cough! cough, boo hoo hoo!

Fleeing back to the Bering Sea

Picking up Becky this morning and taking her to the Indian Health Clinic, I fund out she was from the largest of the Pribilof Islands, Saint Paul, located directly 300 miles west of the Alaska mainland.  Here to assist her sister for three months while undergoing a liver transplant, I was surprised to get a call from her requesting I take her to Sea-Tac, Seattle too much for this tiny-island girl.  On the way, I pointed out Mount Rainer.  "Oh, they named Rainer beer after that mountain?" And yes, Becky, they, who ever they are, did.  Makes me miss San Lorenzo.

Expensive Cremation

This weekend Dennis Roberts' body will be cremated.  The cost was more than I expected, $1,038.00 dollars.  A last flurry of donations helped over the costs, with Puget Sound Dispatch's $200.00 assisting immensely.  Unfortunately, I will be short of having enough for the kind of obituary I feel Dennis deserved but sometime in the next few months, I will make up the difference and provide Mister Roberts with a good obituary.  I will keep everyone posted.

No Clipper

For all those looking forward to sitting at P-69 and waiting for the Victoria Clipper ferry, you will cry to know that service will not be resumed until April 2121.