Paved paradise

“Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got
Till it's gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot”

--Joni Mitchell, “Big Yellow Taxi” (1970) 

Joni Mitchell was inspired to write those lyrics during her first visit to Hawaii, a two-day trip in 1969.   

My parents have been aging in place, in Hawaii’s paved paradise, in one of the oldest neighborhoods undergoing transformation with higher density monster homes and crowded parking, replacing more traditional single-family dwellings with tropical fruit (mango, papaya, noni, breadfruit, etc.) and nut (kukui, macadamia) trees. 

Due to COVID-19 pandemic, I had not seen my parents in-person since my wikiwiki visit last year in January. When Hawaii Safe Travels Program was revised last month to allow vaccinated (yours truly) to skip COVID-19 test/10-day quarantine, and Hawaiian Airlines offered $250 SFO-HNL roundtrip airfare deal, I was ready to go!  

As my departure drew closer, reports from Hawaii Department of Health (DOH) about skyrocketing COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths had me considering whether to postpone my trip scheduled this month. Hawaii officials blamed community transmission and residents traveling back from Las Vegas (aka 9^th island, which had COVID-19 positivity rate of 14% last month). Hawaii DOH Director Libby Char warned, “This is a horrible time to travel. Stay home unless you have to travel. You don’t know that the person on the plane sitting next to you doesn’t have this.” 

Earlier this month as San Francisco experienced surge of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, SF Department of Public Health Director Grant Colfax projected peak numbers if behaviors remain constant (i.e., no changes to vaccine uptakes and interactions). 

Projected peak numbers did not materialize, thanks to SF public health policies leading to behavioral changes via reinstated indoor mask mandates, as well as vaccine mandates among all city employees, health care workers, plus patrons of bars, restaurants and other indoor establishments. 

“We certainly can try to teach critical thinking but you’re fighting a societal trend. It’s like giving educators too much credit… there’s an educational process in an informal way, it’s people talking to one another, and having institutions that encourage certain behaviors… teach you that you are part of something larger, and that’s a much more important way to change the process of thinking…”—University of Hawaii Professor Emeritus of Political Science Neal Milner, “Lying and Disinformation in America,” Think Tech Hawaii (July 1, 2021)    

Yes, we are part of something larger than ourselves! When I hear people objecting to mask and vaccine mandates (SF provides exemptions based on religious belief and qualifying medical reasons) as a violation of individual civil liberties, my (utilitarian) critical thinking leads me to validate legitimacy of mandates as harm reduction if they further collective civil liberties by protecting the greatest number and most vulnerable (older adults, people with disabilities, especially immunocompromised, essential workers exposed to public, children under age 12 who aren’t eligible for vaccine, etc.). Of course, belief in vaccine protection may be influenced by “inequality-driven mistrust” related to inability to access and evaluate (critical thinking!) trusted sources of information. Wisdom and fear contributed to 90% vaccination rate among older adults in USA!  

This COVID-19 pandemic is projected to continue another year or longer, and I’ve come to view it like the volatile stock market (given unpredictable human behavior) so it’s about risk tolerance. Living is full of risks, so my parents and I decided that investing in psychosocial benefits of a reunion after more than 18 months of physical separation (missed Mum’s home cooking!) outweighed COVID-19 risks, which we’ve mitigated by getting fully vaccinated (mahalo to Queen’s Geriatrics staff who personally delivered vaccines to my parents at home!) and practicing routines like wearing mask when around other people, seeking physical distancing and ventilation when possible, washing hands before touching face, etc.

At SFO Hawaiian Airlines gate, I presented my Safe Travels QR code for orange wristband that allowed me to quickly exit HNL. Boarded nearly full flight, grateful for aisle seat and kept mask on, except to take quick bites and sips (complimentary panini and drink served inflight). SFO is noted to have “some of the most well-behaved travelers” because its vendors do not sell alcohol to-go; Hawaiian Air suspended in-flight alcohol sales so spared unruly behavior by drunk (cognitively impaired) passengers.

Honolulu Star-Advertiser shouted headline (in capital letters): “IGE URGES TOURISTS TO STAY AWAY.” Gov. David Ige seemed to echo Dr. Char when he discouraged travel, at least through October (coinciding with shoulder season): “Now’s not a good time to visit Hawaii…I’m asking all residents and visitors alike to restrict travel, curtail travel, to Hawaii to essential activities only.” Wow, is Haunani-Kay Trask (died from Alzheimer’s last month) smiling from her grave?! 

According to Hawaii’s COVID-19 Data dashboard, majority of COVID-19 cases are “community-associated” (i.e., “most likely infected within the community”); and “travel-associated” (i.e., “most likely infected outside of Hawaii or by having close contact with a confirmed case who had recently traveled”) cases are mostly from residents rather than non-residents. (Perhaps more cases might be from non-residents who shed virus during short-term visits and only test for COVID-19 to be “confirmed case” after they return home?) 

Critical thinking practice: If community spread is the root of surge in coronavirus infections, why not target interventions to mitigate community transmission rather than travel? Restricting travel/limiting number of tourists would harm Hawaii’s economy, which already ranks worst in the nation, and worsen job opportunities for residents who have relied on COVID-19 safety net (expired federal eviction moratorium, expiring federal unemployment aid).

“Hawaiʻi may look like paradise, but it isn’t always for the people who live here.”—Michelle Broder Van Dyke, “Seven months of solitude,” Slate (Oct. 23, 2020) 

COVID-19 pandemic has exposed inequities, including divide between Hawaii residents and visitors/tourists. When Hawaii limited tourism for seven months (by imposing 14-day quarantine) last year due to COVID-19, all was not lost to residents who felt “like going back in time” (pre-jet era) to enjoy more of aina (the land) and healing of nature (perhaps undo climate change damage) without crowds of tourists.

This tranquility was lost as Hawaii reopened for tourism. Perhaps social skills worsened after months of isolation because Hawaii has been run to the ground by disrespectful travelers behaving badly, like disturbing endangered Hawaiian monk seals, and by elitist Bobos in Paradise, like 60-year-old former resident/retired U.S. President who is paving paradise for extravagant beach mansion and controversial renovation of century-old seawall on Waimanalo Bay. 

When “overtourism” created water shortage in Maui, residents were expected to make sacrifices (subject to fines for “non-essential” water use) while water was diverted for tourists staying in resorts that were allowed to fill their pools; why are there pools when beaches are nearby?

“Locals and kanaka maoli are being told to stop gathering, our keiki sports are canceled, while luaus for hundreds of unmasked visitors are taking place every night.  Nothing is sacred with the tourist industry and Hawaii has become a playground for visitors.” –Healani Sonoda-Pale, “Several Native Hawaiian organizations ask leaders to stop prioritizing tourism,” KHON2 News (Aug. 8, 2021) 

Residents, mostly Native Hawaiians (Kanaka Maoli), pushed back, demanding that leaders give consideration to aloha spirit: stop prioritizing tourists over residents, educate tourists to respect aina.

Last December, Hawaii’s Movers and Shakas program launched to seek “brain gain” (reversal of brain drain) by offering remote workers free roundtrip airfare + discounted Waikiki hotel rates + “connect with aloha” (cultural orientation + volunteer 15 hours) for at least one month on Oahu. This visitor control program motivated 90,000 people to apply (no fee, low-barrier) for 50 slots!  

No worries about demand for tourism in Hawaii, which can afford to do better to protect its natural and cultural resources (similar to travel standards set in Bhutan and Galapagos Islands) to promote livable communities. This latest pause on tourism could be an opportunity to reimagine Hawaii’s future beyond economic growth by using Social Progress Index to provide people “with the things they really care about. Are people healthy and safe? Do they have clean water and a roof over their heads? Can they freely access information? Are their rights protected?” 

Lucky you (seniors) live Hawaii, continued … 

Hawaii is ruled by gerontocracy (and Democratic elite who maintain their status quo): David Ige, aka nation’s “least popular” Governor, is age 64 and will be termed out next year; his predecessor Neil Abercrombie, now age 83. At age 65, Vicky Tiu Liu Cayetano (famous for being child star in Elvis Presley film, laundry business operator, former Republican and former First Lady who championed CarePlus long-term care proposal when her hubby Ben was Gov.) decided to run for Governor out of “desire to do more for the community.”  Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi is age 74; his predecessor Kirk Caldwell, now age 69, intends to run for Governor.

Yet, kupuna politicians do not appear any wiser when trying to diversify Hawaii’s economy or accommodate more “sustainable tourism,” facing similar challenges by many Small Island Developing States (SIDS), due to small population size, low capacity, remoteness, narrow resource and export base, high dependence on imported sources of energy, vulnerability to climate change, exposure to natural disasters, historical trauma from colonization, etc.

Runaway tourism has ruined the quality of life for many residents, prompting kupuna to “run away and go live in Las Vegas” after retiring from Hawaii government job. Kupuna give up Hawaii’s humid weather (natural skin moisturizer!) and Pacific Ocean for retirement lifestyle in Las Vegas’ arid desert that offers more affordable housing, lower cost of living, Trader Joe’s, legalized gambling, no state income tax, no tax on retirement income, low property taxes, etc.

Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s Live Well section provided good coverage of healthy aging, though many articles were at least a month old (e.g., Living apart together published last month, and Seniors may need rehab originally published in May).  

Advertiser also had article about shortage of physicians participating in Hawaii’s medical aid-in dying (MAID), and later today I wondered whether this had any bearing on “elderly couple” who died of gunshot wounds at The Plaza Assisted Living in Waikiki, which police are investigating as murder-suicide or two suicides, because lethal prescription under MAID is less violent option but harder to access than firearms.

Guess how old?

In the eyes of the beholder, “young” and “old” are “really” relative terms: in SF Chinatown, 24-year-old Good Samaritan described his “bear-hugging” bystander intervention when "there was this really young guy beating up this really old man.” Turns out “really young guy” was age 44 and “really old man” was age 56!!! 

“Hawai’i seniors look young, so be sure to ask for these discounts before ordering or being served.”—Generations 808 Senior Savings 

Last month, Gov. Ige signed law lowering age from 62 to 60 to apply enhanced penalties for crimes against “our most vulnerable” kupuna, by perpetrators who “reasonably should know” that their victims are age 60+.  

Disturbing video went viral of a 37-year-old man knocking over a woman (race not identified) who falls on her head in Honolulu; woman’s age estimated “80 years old” in Honolulu Star-Advertiser and “appeared to be in her mid-70s to 80s,” in Hawaii News Now. 

“Introverts will inherit the earth”

“10. The introverts will inherit the earth. The virus that has killed 626,000 people in the U.S. and 563 people in Hawaii (as of Saturday) relies on person-to-person transmission. Some people simply cannot stand to be alone. They must venture out to gatherings no matter the cost. They are drawn to coughing, Covid-covered crowds like a moth to the flame, can’t be trusted to work from home, must be part of a herd to feel safe. Those who are happy with solitude greatly reduce their potential for exposure.”—Lee Cataluna, “10 Lessons We Should Have Learned From The Pandemic,” CivilBeat (Aug. 22, 2021) 

Something new every day with record-breaking COVID-19 cases (reported in Local Business section of Star-Advertiser): By mid-August, Hawaii’s COVID-19 cases reached four-digits for the first time (1,167 on Aug. 13, which included backlogged cases; 1,035 on Aug. 27, not including backlog). Hawaii reported over 10,800 COVID-19 cases in last two weeks!

“With the future so unknown…

I’ve just got to stay at home…

Suck it up, stuck at home…

Tour the paths around my home

I’ll just watch travel shows –

Eat exotic takeaways

Wear all my ‘ethnic’ clothes…

Watch a subtitled film

Close my eyes, pretend I’m there…

I’ve got travelling syndrome

But for now, cannot roam

Covid-19, be gone!”

--Shirley Serban, “Stay Away” parody song of COVID travel restrictions, tune of “Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)” (Jul 17, 2020) 

With Delta variant surge and restrictions on gatherings, in-person events were canceled/postponed (e.g., Aging in Place Workshop/National Senior Citizens Day, Made in Hawaii Festival/Statehood Day). My to-do list would have included joining DeTours for more enlightened visit, but decided to “stay home” with my parents. Later I could indulge in armchair travel, Detours: A Decolonial Guide to Hawai'i (2019). 

As homebody choosing “local,” I was careful about maintaining physical distance from my parents (though challenging to hold conversation with Pop who is hard of hearing), doing “essential work” (family business operations with Mum), hanging out in our patio, venturing alone in “best walkable neighborhood” by foot… 

In time for this month’s 12^th Annual Pedestrian Safety Month, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz introduced The Vulnerable Road Users Safety Act. Much welcomed as Hawaii is notorious for being nation’s deadliest for senior pedestrians, and the popularity of large vehicles in Hawaii poses safety risk to “vulnerable road users.” 

Age-friendly small town

“Since statehood, Senate District 10 residents have been among the oldest in the islands, and thus, my top district priority is long-term care for senior citizens.”—Hawaii District 10 (includes Kaimuki) State Senator Les Ihara, age 71 

Red dirt in Kaimuki construction site. NIMBY residents have protested and called cops to halt construction of monster homes built to maximum density. 

Newer monster homes dominate this block. (No street parking here due to TheBus line; last month, TheBus discontinued paper passes/transfers in favor of convenient smart transit card, Holo—functions like SF Bay Area’s ClipperCard.) Developers of monster homes argue they are filling need for affordable and multigenerational living, and perhaps rental units. 

While I favor multigenerational living (especially if this enables more kupuna to age in place), why construct eyesore monster homes that look like motels with window air conditioners (worse than three-family Richmond Specials in SF)?  

Kaimuki is desirable 8-80 model: people-centered with emphasis on sustainable mobility, parks and public spaces that try to work for all ages (“whether age 8 or 80”). My grandparents (who didn’t drive) and I (before getting my driver’s license at age 16) could walk or hop on The Bus to easily access whatever we needed.  Kaimuki was rich with after-school activities for latch-key kids, ranging from team sports (which I avoided, though I competed in Math League during high school) to the public library (which Tiger Mum encouraged and I loved to read magazines).

The real estate adage, “location, location, location” has coupled Kaimuki's stable community of residents who desire to age in place + monster home development. In 2015, Kaimuki was subject of age-friendly study by University of Hawaii at Manoa’s College of Tropical Agriculture & Human Resources Cooperative Extension Service in the Department of Family & Consumer Sciences (chaired by gerontologist Bobbie Yee, who lives near Kaimuki...and classmate of my Aunt Char who married Bobbie's cousin). 

Always eager to support local food, strolled over to Kapiolani Community College (KCC) Farmers’ Market on Saturday morning: at entrance, table with optional sign-in for contact tracing and hand sanitizer dispenser. This popular outdoor market sells all-local produce and prepared foods, attracting lots of tourists. After my visit, KCC decided to temporarily close its Farmers Market over next four Saturdays due to COVID-19 surge.

Similar to Samoan palusami and Hawaiian laulau, these luau bombs made of taro leaves stuffed with generous fillings (choice of beef, pork, mahi mahi, or vegan taro + sweet potato) were ono-licious!

At right, Hawaii 5-0 cop eyeing Luau Bombs booth.

Wanted: Tree huggers, grassroots advocacy

After KCC Farmers Market, planned to volunteer with Trees for Kaimuki at nearby Diamond Head trail (Leahi Peace Garden and Fort Ruger Path) but 9 am event canceled due to COVID-19 spike. 

In my small kid time, I understood the value of trees in facilitating connections between neighbors – literally, tree branches bearing fruits and nuts crossed over to one another’s property, so raking leaves and exchanging of fruits led to sharing recipes and small talk. Permaculture principle of edge effect to increase diversity! My ohana (extended family) would enjoy macadamia nuts (from makai side neighbor) and starfruit (from mauka side neighbor). Mauka neighbor enjoyed mangoes from our tree, so no complaints about raking leaves! Gung-Gung also cultivated trees growing papayas, tangerines, bananas, chili peppers, etc. in abundance to gift to neighbors.

At Kaimuki Neighborhood Board Zoom meeting, Trees for Kaimuki supporter Becky Gardner introduced “RESOLUTION URGING THE CITY & COUNTY OF HONOLULU TO ADOPT AND IMPLEMENT A TREE ORDINANCE TO PROTECT AND PRESERVE TREES THAT MAKE OUR COMMUNITY MORE LIVABLE; MITIGATE THE PROLIFERATION OF MONSTER HOMES; AND ENHANCE OUR ENVIRONMENT - IN THE FACE OF CLIMATE CHANGE.” 

"Trees make Kaimuki home": Kaimuki faces threat of becoming a heat island, as more monster homes are built with heat-trapping concrete replacing trees and green spaces. According to Trees for Kaimuki, the tree canopy in Honolulu is 22%, Kaimuki is 17%, and goal is to increase/double Kaimuki’s tree canopy to 35% by 2035 under plan by City and County of Honolulu! Yay, more shade to cool the neighborhood and protect older adults who are more prone to heat stress (more than 80% of heat-related deaths are people age 60+).  

They took all the trees
Put 'em in a tree museum
And they charged the people
A dollar and a half just to see 'em

--Joni Mitchell, “Big Yellow Taxi” (1970)

Eclectic “vintage charm”

Wore mask for COVID/sunburn protection and limited exposure to indoor air-conditioning during quick trips for shopping and take-out food, revisiting pastime of eating along Waialae Avenue in Kaimuki Town!

Mural of aloha print designs and “Keep it Kaimuki” movement to maintain its “vintage charm” of mom + pop, locally owned independent businesses (including Civil Beat, non-profit and independent news outlet dedicated to watchdog journalism). Kaimuki has few fast food chains, and supermarket and drug store chains anchor Kaimuki Shopping Center (open-air, unlike air-conditioned Kahala Mall, which “postponed” its senior walks during pandemic).

Favorite vegan restaurant Juicy Brew with food prepared by Hee sisters. Connected to Chef Jennifer Hee’s nourishing food and her essay (“Paternal instinct: How can two people so closely related have such different outlooks on life?”) about negotiating expectations of her Asian Parent. 

Juicy Brew’s ready-to-eat bento so colorful and artful! Though not marketed as such, noted that age-friendly menu offers edibles for people who might have chewing difficulties due to missing teeth or dentures. Also, vegan diets benefit older adults, though need to be careful to consume enough calcium, protein, and vitamin B12. 

Mum could not understand spending $6 for purple rice yogurt (calcium-rich; purple forbidden rice chewy like boba but less sugary), like why can’t you DIY: boil rice at home and then drop cooked rice into yogurt blended with red jujube (Chinese date)?

Notably newer to Kaimuki were colorfully painted public parklets and utility boxes. Jennifer Noel’s ARTBOX Kaimuki and streetARThawaii won 2018 Awesome Foundation grants to paint utility boxes on Harding and Waialae Avenues in Kaimuki.

Historic renovation plan for 85+ year-old Queen Theater, vacant blight for at least the past 20 years. Nearby old businesses include hole-in-the-wall, made-to-order bento takeout (cash only, no website) and well-preserved (pun intended!) 70+ year-old crack seed store.

Historic house in Kaimuki: lava rock base, single-story with attic, porch awning, windows that open (no need air-conditioning), lush mango tree, “driveway” parking (no garage). 

Love this fence made from surfboards!

Virtual learning in Hawaii time

Connect+Cities was worth getting up early to attend 7 am program, especially to hear from Jasmine Little of Culdesac Tempe, which is building the 1^st car-free neighborhood from scratch to prioritize people over cars (actually plan includes shared bikes/scooters/cars to get around). 

Former Hawaii resident and Columbia Social Work Policy Professor Jeanette Takamura was subject of American Society on Aging (ASA) Legacy interview. She shared how Hawaii upbringing shaped her: diversity baked in aloha spirit, and preference for being called “auntie” instead of senior citizen. Her proudest accomplishments as caregiving champion: establishing National Family Caregiver Support Program (NFCSP) as Assistant Secretary of Aging (1997-2001), and putting together long-term care financing package (but could not get financing in 1989) as Director of the Executive Office on Aging in Hawaii.

Dorothy Colby, Certified Positive Approach to Care Trainer and Hale Kūʻike Director of Community Engagement, presented virtual workshop, It's All in Your Approach: Making Positive Connections with People Living with Dementia. As dementia progresses, person’s field of active vision gets smaller, and Positive Physical Approach helps facilitate communication. You (without dementia) can follow these steps to connect more effectively with person who has dementia:

1)   bring flat, open palm up near face = visual cue to look at you

2)   say “hi!” and use preferred name = verbal cue to look at you

3)   look friendly: smile, make eye contact

4)   move slowly toward person from front within visual range

5)   move into supportive stance: shift toward side position (instead of standing in front, which can be perceived as confrontational body language)

6)   put your hand-under-their hand (guide and help with movement, offer sense of control)

7)   get to same level eye contact (sit, kneel or squat) and respect intimate space

8)   make connection, then wait for response/acknowledgement before you start your care

Care partnering emphasizes doing “with”: compliment, then ask for help; ask person to try, use visual cues to offer concrete choices, break task down to single steps at a time.

Understanding changes to vision and language inform how we communicate with person who has dementia, in this order: 

1)   Visual – show (gesture/point)

2)   Verbal – tell (limit words, give simple and short pieces of information)

3)   Tactile – touch only if person is aware

Dorothy’s Positive Approach to Dementia Workshop series available at Catholic Charities Hawaii Caregiving for Persons Living with Dementia Trainings online. 

“Raising” parents

AARP Movies for Grownups hosted screening of It’s Not a Burden: The Humor and Heartache of Raising Elderly Parents (2021). 

Filmmaker Michelle Boyaner’s personal journey of caring for her divorced aging parents—mother Elaine with dementia, and father Morris with hoarding disorder—taught her to “appreciate what you have at the moment you have it.”

In addition to documenting the “raising” her own parents, Michelle reached out to feature other families to share their diverse experiences doing the best they can.  Notably, women are primary (unpaid) caregivers/advocates.

Elaine said she “had to give up an awful lot of dignity” for someone to bathe her when she moved into a board and care home. Michelle shared that she had to give up years of anger and “civilized estrangement” towards her mother who divorced Morris and moved away to start a new life. Based on awareness that her mother is different now, particularly with dementia, Michelle practiced forgiveness and bonded through caregiving experience.

In parking lot, Michelle considered "meet people where they're at" advice to try and join her mother’s world.

“Kindneys”

Love “kindneys” (sic) from UCSF geriatrician Dr. Anna Chodos’ presentation on Mobility: Falls and Gait. Her point was aging increases risk of kidney and bladder problems associated with urinary incontinence that can limit mobility. Yet, I wished she addressed the role of "kindneys" (kindness) and connection (“The Rabbit Effect”) in promoting overall health and well-being.

Kindness is like aloha spirit, characterized by benevolence, truth, caring, and tough love. 

“There are three ways to ultimate success: The first way is to be kind, the second way is to be kind and the third way is to be kind.”—Mister Fred Rogers 

Ways to be kind: Look out for one another + sacrifice for the common good!!! Stop paving paradise + cultivate trees!!! Get COVID-19 vaccine + wear mask to protect self and others!!!

“The modern meritocracy is a resentment-generating machine…The ability to perform academic tasks during adolescence is nice to have, but organizing your society around it is absurd. That ability is not as important as the ability to work in teams; to sacrifice for the common good; to be honest, kind, and trustworthy; to be creative and self-motivated. A sensible society would reward such traits by conferring status on them. A sensible society would not celebrate the skills of a corporate consultant while slighting the skills of a home nurse.

Some 60 years after its birth, the meritocracy seems more and more morally vacuous. Does the ability to take tests when you’re young make you a better person than others? Does a society built on that ability become more just and caring?”—David Brooks, “HOW THE BOBOS BROKE AMERICA: The creative class was supposed to foster progressive values and economic growth. Instead we got resentment, alienation, and endless political dysfunction,” The Atlantic (Aug. 2, 2021) 

Kindness could go a long way to see us through the end of this pandemic. With Delta variant surge, KZYX Local Coronavirus Update with Dr. Drew Colfax returned this month (after “grand finale” show on June 28). As emergency room physician directly serving COVID-19 patients and former public defender, he is more passionately outspoken than his older brother (SF DPH Director Dr. Grant Colfax) and love how he closes each week’s program with his timeless prescription, “Be safe, be patient, be kind.” 

Rise

Herb Alpert’s Rise (1979 instrumental) has been playing like an earworm ever since I attended this month’s virtual screening of his documentary, thanks to AARP Movies for Grown-Ups. (While I had reservations about joining an organization that sells insurance and opposes single-payer healthcare, decided to invest in “risk-free” aka cancel anytime AARP membership for access to publications and events; no age requirement unless one wants to purchase age-restricted insurance products.)  

“Herb Alpert Is…” feel-good film this year, like his melancholy yet uplifting music! So mesmerizing, check out his Smile and Wonderful World.  With mandatory mask wearing in public due to COVID-19 pandemic, it will be some time before we can hear live wind instruments like trumpet playing so recordings are good for now.

Herb’s now 85 years old, nearly didn’t recognize him with his beard.  Walking past his elementary school in Los Angeles, Herb shared that a teacher couldn’t decide whether to give him an A or B grade for reading, so she brought in another teacher for him to read, and the teacher told him he was a “B reader, at best.”  From that point on, Herb said, he became an introvert.  Fortunately, his school also offered music appreciation, and Herb chose the trumpet, which “spoke” for him.  When neighbors complained about his trumpet playing, his mother encouraged him to play louder (not considerate!).  Despite mean teachers, industry v. inferiority resolved in favor of competence for Herb.

“Herb Alpert Is…” a beautiful life review, with Herb’s resolution of Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development to achieve virtues beyond competence: fidelity, love, care and wisdom.  Like jazz, this documentary is non-linear, improv-like, meandering with moments of Herb’s reflective self-awareness, vulnerability and earnest striving for authenticity: playing trumpet in the Army, where he perceived other trumpeters playing “better” so he determined to find his “own” voice, inspired to capture sounds of Tijuana Brass after attending a bullfight while on vacation (identity v. confusion, though critics today might accuse him of cultural appropriation?); ignoring Sonny Bono’s advice to “get out of the business” (industry v. inferiority revisited); being rich and famous, but miserable in Beverly Hills (he becomes silent in this exploration, so respect his privacy; as an introvert, I view famous=miserable), ending his marriage then getting remarried and moving to Malibu (intimacy v. isolation); getting “stuck” and unable to play until a teacher in NY helps him re-establish playing his trumpet, knowing how to compensate for not speaking much by partnering with spokesperson in business, trusting his intuition in signing some of my favorite singer-songwriters (Carole King, Cat Stevens, Peter Frampton, Sting/The Police, etc.) to A&M Records, which he co-founded so artists would be treated better (generativity v. stagnation).

As an older adult, Herb pays it forward by generously giving to music appreciation/arts education (notably Music Mends Minds intergenerational support group to address cognitive issues in older adults), waking up each purposeful day to “listen to your soul” with creative expression in daily (almost spiritual) practice playing his trumpet or piano, painting and sculpting for a remarkable legacy (integrity v. despair) and sharing his life process (wisdom).  Arts=liberation, much needed in K-12 and beyond!

For at least his first half century, clean-cut Herb appeared almost like Certified Young Person Paul Rudd, and documentary wasn’t too keen presenting chronology other than wife #1 came before wife #2; each wife appeared in videos of his #1 hits: This Guy’s in Love with You (1968, rare use of his vocals! wife #1 appeared quite hilarious in heavy mascara) and Rise (co-written by his nephew Randy, notable for spouting only F-bomb in film). Documentary is just under two hours, and I wanted more time with Herb, who is easy on ears and eyes, and maybe ask what did he think about Rise being used in rape scene in General Hospital soap opera? Herb Alpert is such an endearing blast to the past, as my boomer uncle played his vinyl records; and I liked listening to Rise on the radio (though Andy Gibb was my heartthrob in 1979 during a time when Video Killed the Radio Star). 

Herb defined himself primarily as an introvert and artist, which is so refreshing in these politically correct times that would expect him to identify as son of Eastern European Jewish immigrants.  As a MSW student required to take a diversity course, I was annoyed that an assignment required me to write about privilege and oppression based on identities of age, gender, sexual orientation, class, religion, mental and physical abilities, nationality, race/ethnicity,…but I could not select introversion that has defined my existence in a society that privileges extroversion?! 

As an introvert who values autonomy and solitude, I initially welcomed distancing and working remotely from home during COVID-19 pandemic...until my extroverted neighbors also were stuck at home blasting their music (not Herb Alpert) and interrupting my Zoom meetings.  With bars shutdown during stay home order, it’s like how Prohibition drove imbibing behaviors underground, as neighbors seemed to make their homes into bars with noisy guests carrying 6-packs and filling up recyclables bin with emptied cans/bottles of alcohol.

Pre-pandemic SF was crowded so welcomed news of recent exodus from SF, with whopping 96% year-on-year rise in housing inventory, thanks to remote work...but could this mean leaving behind mostly retired old people and people receiving government subsidies for basic needs (housing, SNAP, Medi-Cal, SSI, etc.) who contribute less tax? Society needs taxes to provide public services for the common good, and make government leaders accountable to resident taxpayers!

Anyway, my own school experience was like Pink Floyd’s Another Brick in the Wall (1979) with thought control and dark sarcasm in the classroom.  Elementary school was my introduction to losing autonomy and forced assimilation into the ways of an institution – something alien to my free-range childhood at home (and I was spared daycare/preschool).  I hated age-segregation (as my tabula rasa peers simply were not as interesting as my parents/grandparents), imposed afternoon naps in kindergarten, authoritarian school bell ringing, rote memorizing, series of holiday celebrations (which shaped my preference for truth-seeking like de-colonizing Thanksgiving), etc.  I also became an introvert and autodidact, preferring the sound of silence found in the library where I could quietly explore my curiosity.  

“You tell me it's the institution

Well, you know you better free your mind instead”

--John Lennon & Paul McCartney, Revolution (1968)

Those formative years shaped my resistance to this day, always seeking home and community-based services (HCBS) options over institutions that impose hierarchical and regimented structures (mass control), squelching self-determination, creativity and uniqueness. Growing up in a tight-knit family and faith community, members took care of each other, so I never gave thought to institutional care.  When I began my career in investment management and personal trust administration serving high net worth clients (“banking very few, very well”), money bought everything needed to support aging in place. 

(As an intense 20-something-year-old, I yearned for a more challenging career than simply throwing money to solve problems, so switched to institutional trust focused on qualified retirement plans to benefit rank-and-file employees.  My encore career as gerontologist has been the most challenging, largely due to confronting ageism at all levels—individual, institutional, structural/systemic—and its harmful impacts on quality of life.) 

No elementary school library would be complete without libertarian socialist Nathan J. Robinson’s charming antifascist children’s book, Don’t Let the Pigeon Question the Rules: A Parody for Tyrannical Youngsters (2014), which promotes the law of conscience and critical thinking of alternatives (why it’s preferable to “befriend” v. “get” a puppy) than unquestioning obedience in servitude to officious authoritarian/totalitarian mortals.  Likewise, consider a return to New Deal economist John Maynard Keynes, who fought authoritarianism with economic policies to live the good life 😊, because the value of human life does not depend on economic productivity.   

“The moral obligation that we all have is to help sustain the life around us, and we hope that others will sustain us too when we are “feeble” and in need.

…In the United States, work is the point of life, rather than life being the point of work. In many European countries, leisure is taken very seriously indeed, and the purpose of working is so that we may have more of it (leisure)… Life is beautiful in and of itself, and I do not need the old folks to produce scholarly papers in order to care about keeping them alive.”—UK-born Nathan J. Robinson, “Animals Are Pointless, And We Should Be Too,” Current Affairs (Jan/Feb 2020) 

Long-term care (LTC)

As an introvert, I tend to approach work like a cultural anthropologist doing non/participant-observation.  I have worked in institutional LTC settings like adult day health care (ADHC), assisted living facility (ALF) and nursing homes (non-profit, public), so I regard them as hierarchical workplaces.  These LTC facilities operated on the assumption that imposing “structure” (routines) on the lives of retired older adults was somehow beneficial—yet more likely to benefit budgets and staff work schedules.  Thus, I also associate LTC facilities with the gnawing disaffection of my oppressive K-12 years that I would not want to repeat (try watching Groundhog Day every day).  Group travel tours are similar (“you’re on tour, not vacation!”) but manageable because they’re short-term.

While ADHC and nursing homes operate under the medical model (qualifying for Medicaid/Medicare funding) and infection control training was part of orientation, ALF are non-medical (private pay) and could benefit from training.  Medical or not, congregate LTC facilities all operate under economies of scale, mass production with little personalization, though some ALF try to market as luxury lodgings with nickel and dime fees for services. 

In my experience, ALF residents seemed to cope with institutional life (and their medical ailments) through alcohol consumption, cannabis (actually knew two residents who got wealthy from cannabis production enterprises!), and considering California’s End of Life Option Act (EOLOA).  Self-education important because California EOLOA contains conscience clause so health care provider has no liability for “refusing to inform a patient regarding his or her rights…and not referring an individual to a physician who participates” (see Deciding with dignity: The terminally ill patient's right to information about California EOLOA and Dale-Jablonowski v. University of California Board of Regents case dismissed). 

None of these coping mechanisms were available to residents at nursing homes that received federal funds because cannabis (Schedule 1 substance) and medical aid in dying remain illegal under federal law; alcohol abuse was non-existent due to interventions from interdisciplinary team concerned over interactions with drugs or fall risk.

At ADHC under Community Based Adult Services before COVID-19 pandemic, participants were required to stay on-site for at least 4 hours each day for reimbursement ($76 from Medi-Cal Managed Care, $90 from Veterans Affairs).  But this attendance requirement was never enforced and even I turned a blind-eye because participants were mostly showing up for specific services: health care (physical therapy exercises, monitoring of vitals, medication management, etc.), social services (as-needed care coordination, case management, counseling, etc.), and hot lunch (depending on menu).  Participants who stayed 4 hours mostly had cognitive impairment and seemed indifferent to activities with blasting music (holiday celebrations, coloring, puzzles, etc. reminiscent of kindergarten), and they did not leave early because ADHC was respite for their family caregivers.  One silver lining of COVID-19 pandemic has been allowing ADHC “without walls,” accelerating flexibility of reimbursement for services delivered in private homes…closer to On Lok’s Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) model that combines HCBS.

On Lok changed its tagline from “Experience matters in senior care” to “Where seniors embrace life.”  Though a partner to SF Reframing Aging campaign, On Lok ignored Reframing Aging Style sheet to change the language: “Say older people or older adults” based on research that these terms are perceived as “more capable than seniors.”  More substantively, unveiling this rebranding seemed to reinforce Old Lives Matter, during this COVID-19 pandemic.  Particularly in residential LTC facilities, fixation on older adults at risk has “othered” them as passive, dependent and vulnerable in a medical model that decided they should not be allowed to take certain risks like embracing life via social visits with precautionary measures in place, while allowing psychosocial risk of extended isolation to jeopardize their well-being and “will to live.”  It has been unsettling to learn about former clients/residents "deaths of despair” while being protected from COVID-19 risk. 

Blame Industrial Revolution’s compulsory mass education for age grading, and using age to organize the tripartite division of life course into schooling, work and retirement. I also resisted this age-segregated institutionalized life course, in favor of age-integration by mixing schooling, employment and retirement with all ages—especially older adults with stories to share. Now COVID-19 pandemic has blurred these boundaries with homeschooling, remote work, and leisure at home… with less age-segregation, perhaps another silver lining in this pandemic?

According to Pew Research, multigenerational households are back, mostly out of necessity:  A majority of young adults in the U.S. live with their parents for the first time since the Great Depression. Intergenerational connections can help reduce ageism, and maybe return to family as informal support for LTC?

Nowhere to go, and all booked up

Attended Gerontological Society of America’s Age-Friendly University Special Interest Group Zoom meeting to get ideas as I develop curriculum to integrate aging content in MSW curriculum that engages students and promote more age-inclusiveness. Cool to see a couple of scholars (Rona Karasik, Nancy Kusmaul) who are included in my literature review on importance of student interaction with older adults, based on theories of social learning and intergroup contact to challenge ageism. To adapt to remote learning, contact includes exposure to older adults’ stories in films and books. 

10^th annual Legacy Film Festival on Aging scheduled this month did not take place, so I streamed several films listed in Professor Karasik’s article, Two Thumbs Up: Using Popular Films in Introductory Aging Courses; only a handful appeared deserving of thumbs up; and such a dearth of older women! My eyes really needed a break from the screen, so I turned to finding literature about older adults with emphasis on intergenerational relationships. When did I last read fiction as I have been so occupied listening to non-fiction experiences of clients/older adults and reading gerontology literature?

When asked “what do you want to be when you grow up?” I considered working in a library or publishing (but ultimately decided on careers that involved travel), so going to indulge here with books…

Reunited with Mills alum to join President Elizabeth Hillman (RBG doll on bookcase!), faculty (Elder in Residence Patricia St. Onge and Natalee Kehaulani Bauer, who are Natives) and students for discussion of Tommy Orange’s There There: A Novel (2018), a multigenerational story of Native Americans in Oakland. Native Peoples who relocated from reservations to urbanized ancestral lands found no there there—just a concrete place, like Gertrude Stein returning to her childhood home to find rural Oakland gone.  Older women (Opal cares for three great-nephews, Maxine is guardian) use the power of storytelling as antidotes to generational trauma (self-medicating to hide/forget with substance abuse and violence as legacy of colonial racism and genocide), offering hope/healing through multidimensional stories of resistance and renaissance (Alcatraz Island occupation) in contradiction to stereotypes…source of greater authenticity in searching for heritage and identity than googling “what does it mean to be a real Indian.” And the idea of home as spiritual community is powerful.

Mills College put up for sale works by dead white men: Shakespeare’s First Folio (1623) sold for nearly $10 million, and handwritten score by Mozart (1770s).  Persimmon Tree, a quarterly magazine by women over age 60 and published in association with Mills College, paid tribute to RBG in its latest issue. 

Litquake co-founder Jane Ganahl (also writes about solo aging) hosted discussion with Amy Tan (Boomer) and Kevin Kwan (Gen X), who both wrote books made into films about filial piety in Chinese families, The Joy Luck Club (1989, 1993) and Crazy Rich Asians (2013, 2018).

During her Zoom appearance, Amy moved her head away from screen several times, so got peek at her craftsman house in Sausalito, with views of SF Bay and Angel Island.  After contracting Lyme disease over 20 years ago, Amy and her hubby made plans to build an all-accessible two-bedroom house to age in place, with elevator, roll-in showers, walk-in bathtubs, wide sliding doors, etc. designed to be functional and beautiful using African mahogany and Asian aesthetic. 

Where the Past Begins: The Life and Work of Amy Tan documentary for PBS was in progress by filmmaker James Redford, who died at age 58 from liver cancer this month. 

Rachel Khong moderated Good Things in Small Packages: Writing Short Stories at Litquake.  She wrote short stories, magazine article about her Po-Po (grandmother) who had Alzheimer’s, and then her first novel, Goodbye, Vitamin (2017), about a millennial who returns home to help care for her father, a retired history professor diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Probably should check out this novel before its film starring Constance Wu of Crazy Rich Asians.

Senior Planet’s Ryan Kawamoto hosted Ruth O. Saxton (ROS) Presents: Stories That Defy Expectations of Old Women.  Ryan introduced ROS as his classmate’s mother and Mills English Professor Emerita, recently retired after 46 years.  This spring she taught her final course with 15 Mills students and 30 Oakland Senior Center participants who were hungry for conversation beyond bingo and ballroom dancing activities.

Her latest, The Book of Old Ladies: Celebrating Women of a Certain Age in Fiction (2020), was a 20+ year project, begun at age 60 and interrupted by traumatic brain injury from a 2004 car accident.  To gather “examples of good aging,” ROS asked for recommendations, googled, hired students to look for stories, reviewed 100 stories before whittling to 31 stories organized in 5 chapters (Romancing the Past, Sex After Sixty, Altered Realities, It’s Never Too Late, and Defying Expectations).  After printing 800 copies, book sales going well so her book is being reprinted. (UK blogger Caroline Lodge maintains Older Women in Fiction Series.) 

ROS resisted “deathbed bookends,” or stories of a fictional older woman at her deathbed pining for unrequited romance of her youth, and challenged other stories of being a wife and mother as incompatible with career, citing her privileged position as white academic at an all-women’s college. (During this pandemic, women working in academia have struggled with demands of work and caregiving, with reduced productivity that could jeopardize their ability to get tenure—further exacerbating the gender gap where women represent 40% of tenured faculty…but perhaps this pattern is less so in an all-women’s college? ROS' daughter Kirsten T. Saxton, Mills '90, is also Mills Professor of English. Mills faculty can enroll children up to age 10 at Mills College Children's School on-campus.  In general, record numbers of women have dropped out of the workforce during pandemic, which has implications for their retirement security.) 

To combat ageism, ROS recommended: don’t let anyone tell you what you can’t do because you’re a certain age; have friends of all ages including your own cohort age; instead of young people limiting conversations with older people to nostalgia (“what was it like when you were little?”) talk about the present as well. 

SFSU Creative Writing Professor Carolina De Robertis (Mills MFA ’07) hosted super engaging chat with her former student, Jose Antonio Vargas (SFSU BA, Political Science, ’04),  about his memoir, Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen (2018).  Jose’s grandparents made it possible for him to immigrate from Philippines to California, in pursuit of the American Dream.  At age 12, Jose separated from his mother in the Philippines to live with his grandparents in California after his Lolo (grandfather in Tagalog v. Hawaiian word for idiot) paid $4,500 to a smuggler.  However, after Jose came out gay as a teenager, Catholic Lolo rejected him viewing homosexuality as a sin and complicating plan for Jose to marry an American woman to gain citizenship (before gay marriages became legal).  

As Jose turned to school as his “second home,” he benefited from mentors like his high school principal and superintendent who connected him to a network (“underground railroad”) that financed his SFSU education, living expenses, driving lessons and obtaining a driver’s license so he could pursue journalism. Jose explained that if freedom for undocumented persons like himself doesn’t come from government reform, then it must come from the people you trust: “Surround yourself with people who will say yes to you, who will open windows when all those doors are being closed.  Your survival and your strength comes from that.”

Jose decided to become a journalist because if he was not supposed to be in USA because he didn’t have the right kind of papers, he would write his existence into America by publishing his name (byline) on paper! But this risky endeavor concerned Lolo, who expected Jose to work in unassuming low-paying jobs that undocumented people often take.  Instead, Jose shared a Pulitzer Prize with other writers at The Washington Post.

At age 30, Jose came out as undocumented in his “Outlaw” (2011) essay published in The New York Times, followed by Documented: A Film by an Undocumented American (2013).  Jose faced age discrimination, being “too old” for adoption as a teenager and being “measly one year” over age 30 limit to qualify for DREAM (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors) Act. 

“No human being is illegal.”—Elie Wiesel 

Though Jose thought “life did not start until 40,” he started writing his memoir at age 36 because he was tired of lying (not talking about his mom in Philippines, except with his grandparents), “passing” (replacing his native Tagalog with PBS manner of speech), and hiding (affecting his own mental health).  Jose used his handwriting on book cover, re-writing narrative of being undocumented=not citizen.  He also called out hypocrisy: undocumented farmworkers who are essential workers, but not essential humans?

http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2020/racial-disparities-in-covid-19/

Public Service Announcement: Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) have been dying disproportionately from COVID-19, including many immigrants making up the majority of essential workers who more likely interface with others and sometimes without adequate protections (like employers who fail to provide PPE to workers who care for sick/frail people).  Support Essential Worker Bill of Rights! 

Jose also directed White People (2015), interviewing white millennials for MTV documentary...would be great to see follow-up on Old White People! Or undocumented older people who are also “lying, passing, hiding” with no place to age? So important to hear oral histories of diverse older people to counter white-washed history. (Happy 51st anniversary, Ethnic Studies!) When I worked in ALF, residents decided to “cancel” Thanksgiving after empathizing with painful history of genocide from watching Great Courses Plus series on Native Peoples of North America.  If more people can act likewise to cancel Thanksgiving gatherings, no worries about spreading coronavirus! 

Carolina also shared The Purpose of Power: How We Come Together When We Fall Apart (Oct. 2020), memoir and activist book by Alicia Schwartz Garza (SFSU MA Ethnic Studies ’17), co-founder of Black Lives Matter movement and organizer with National Domestic Workers Alliance.   

Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS) hosted Shifting Ageism: How Consciousness Affects Our Experience of Aging. 

According to the history of ageism, older adults as knowledge keepers (storytellers) for the community began to lose their status when the printing press was introduced in 1440.  Yet, living older adults retain value with their oral histories (memories)—particularly if invited to dialogue.  Being genuinely curious enough to listen to older people about their lives and ideas have led to ideas about my own future, what really matters in life, adapting to and surviving challenges, etc.—how to become a more understanding person?

“Local” privilege

Attended Weaving Voices: Looking to Our Past for New Political Visions, which asked, “What kind of leadership do we need to take us out of COVID-19?” This Zoom meeting featured recorded oral histories of political leaders “to revisit the era of economic change from plantations to tourism, and political change with the return of AJAs and rise of the Democratic Party in the 1950s…sparking huge transformation.”  Following statehood, Hawaii Lt. Governors were Native Hawaiian-Chinese: James Kealoha (Republican 1959-1962), William Shaw Richardson (Democrat 1962-1966).

Included in the otherwise all-male lineup of politicians was Helene Hale (1918-2013), who represented Big Island of Hawaii, retiring at age 88 after suffering a stroke. 

Because my parents are aging in place in Hawaii, I pay attention to COVID-related news that might impact them.  I decided to postpone visiting them, especially frightful to learn how COVID passengers allowed to fly and/or die on flight. Hawaii government’s COVID response has been so frighteningly chaotic during its latest surge that U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams was dispatched to provide federal support for COVID-19 testing and contact tracing (after purge of incompetent state health and public safety officials placed on paid leave), and then Hawaii police arrested Adams for taking pictures in a public park! 

Anyway, this political visions program based on oral histories of long-dead politicians could have benefited from voices of living kupuna, preferably Native Hawaiian (like University of Hawaii Professor Emeritus Haunani-Kay Trask), “talk story” based on memories of this transition when Hawaii went from Republican (haole, Chinese) to Democrat (Japanese, Filipino) rule, political party identification stratified along race/ethnicity and social class; Hawaii stuck in Democratic Party groupthink (giving meaning to Ezra Klein’s claim that opposite of polarization is suppression, not consensus).  Sounds like Hawaii needs another transformation to get out of COVID!

“If the Republican Party gave us sugar, the Democrats gave us Waikiki.  If the Republican Party gave us racism, the Democrats gave us another form of racism.”—Haunani-Kay Trask, Centennial of the Overthrow (Jan. 17, 1993)

Two non-kupuna, non-Native, non-local panelists (one female, one male so at least there was some gender diversity!) alluded to current leadership challenges like lack of accountability in Democratic Party (“incumbency protection racket”), lack of transparency in Governor’s suspension of Sunshine laws that closed off public meetings/records during pandemic, less economic diversity from working class representatives like earlier politicians who grew up in plantations to be “more responsive to social welfare issues”, etc.

“Today, modern Hawai’i, like its colonial parent the United States, is a settler society. Our Native people and territories have been overrun by non-Natives, including Asians. Calling themselves “local,” the children of Asian settlers greatly outnumber us.  They claim Hawai’i as their own, denying indigenous history, their long collaboration in our continued dispossession, and the benefits therefrom.”—Haunani-Kay Trask, Settlers of Color and ‘Immigrant” Hegemony: “Locals” in Hawai’i (2000) 

What I found noteworthy in program (but not highlighted by panelists, even after my question about plantation "no make waves" culture stifling progress was read during Q&A) was recording of State Senator John Ushijima (1959-1982) discuss how attending college in the mainland gave “locals” a different perspective from the prevailing “plantation mentality” and motivated them to seek change for “mobility.” Note current Hawaii Governor: “local” who never lived outside Hawaii for any substantial time to gain a different perspective, so he maintains status quo, like denying Medicaid to Micronesians and approving retroactive pay raises for unionized state workers despite growing budget deficit during pandemic.

“When I think back on all the crap I learned in high school

It’s a wonder I can think at all…

Everything looks worse in black and white…”

--Paul Simon, Kodachrome (1973)  

These are mere observations as I have no family history connected to plantations in Hawaii, which gave rise to “local” culture like mixed plate and Pidgin English, synthesizing disparate ethnic contributions to reinforce polarization of insider (“locals”) v. outsider (haoles, recent immigrants) and marginalization of Native Hawaiians seeking sovereignty.  Interracial people seem to identify with group based on appearance, like Barack Obama identifies as Black, though he was raised by haole mother and maternal grandparents. 

Generational trauma seems to keep Hawaii as provincial small-town: “Locals” size up people based on “eh, where you wen’ grad (high school),” fluency in Pidgin/Hawaiian Creole English (resistance against Standard English representing haole oppression), ethnicity, and tanned complexion.  Forget racial paradise myth: “locals” (as in Asian settlers, rather than Native) take care of their own tribe in plantation tradition of “divide and control,” rampant patronage, ethnic groups pitted against another (ethnicity-based pay differential, segregated housing), resulting in shabby treatment to Native Hawaiians and most recent immigrants – painfully apparent with Micronesians during this syndemic. Leave it to “locals”/their allies to praise their replication of racial capitalism/plantation village built on a floodplain for formerly homeless families that provide source of cheap labor (exploitation) to benefit nearby laundry business owned by former First Lady.  Is this indicative of leadership that will take “us” out of COVID-19? 

COVID-19 corner

Woo-hoo! Last week, SF became the 1^st Bay Area county and 1^st major city in California to rise to least-restrictive/minimal yellow tier for reopening during this COVID-19 pandemic.  Wonder how much being stuck at home to avoid smoke from wildfires helped?!

According to SF Department of Public Health (DPH) COVID-19 data tracker based on 681,211 test results reported to date: 12,399 positive cases and 148 deaths (64% male; 58% age 81+, 16% age 71-80, 14% age 61-70, or 88% of deaths age 60+; 38% Asian, 25% Latinx, 22% White, 6% Black; 1% homeless).  Total COVID-19 deaths: over 229K in U.S., over 1 million worldwide. 

SF has averaged 5,000 tests per day (exceeding goal of 1,800) and positive coronavirus test rate of 0.89.  Of the 20 most populous U.S. cities, SF has the lowest positivity rate and the lowest COVID-19 death rate. 

Yesterday, SF decided to pause further reopening next week due to uptick in SF’s key health indicators over last two weeks, COVID-19 cases (rise from 3 daily cases per 100,000 residents to 4 per 100,000, or 25% rise, signaling orange=moderate alert) and hospitalizations (rise from 23 to 37 patients, signaling red=high alert).  Data-driven SF DPH Director Grant Colfax reported other rises in COVID-19 cases, statewide and nationwide: 38% in California, 41% in U.S.; and since we don’t yet grasp the magnitude and potential duration of these increases, pause will help mitigate virus, adding “I wouldn’t be me unless I reminded you” to keep wearing masks, physically distance, wash your hands, avoid large groups, etc.    

According to CDC, self-reported engagement in COVID-19 mitigation behaviors (mask wearing, handwashing, physical distancing, crowd and restaurant avoidance, and cancellation of social activities) was highest among age 60+ (Boomers +) and lowest among age 18–29 group during April to June.  Whereas mask wearing increased over time, other reported mitigation behaviors decreased or remained unchanged. 

SF allows "shared spaces" for outdoor dining on sidewalks, so diners are unmasked while drinking booze and talking loudly—spewing respiratory droplets and aerosols further on passersby, practically forcing me to road facing traffic.  Unacceptable during this pandemic, so I called 311 to complain that outdoor dining should be in parklets, and my complaint was referred to SF DPH. Back in April, I emailed suggestion to SF COVID-19 Economic Recovery Task Force to adopt plexiglass partitions on dining tables as done in Hong Kong, which never shutdown dining during pandemic. 

While COVID-19 cases have increased, COVID-19 deaths appear flat mostly due to treatments learned six months after pandemic (that certainly benefited President Trump’s recovery from COVID-19).  In KZYX Coronavirus Update, Dr. Drew Colfax explained that physicians now know aggressive treatments for low oxygen level like use of ventilators may have been counterproductive; keep lungs dry instead of giving fluids that fill up lungs of COVID patients; rotate entire body regularly in prone position to increase oxygen; dexamethasone and remdesivir. This is reassuring news, unless one ends up with long-haul COVID, while we wait for vaccine/herd immunity. 

While adapting to New Normal, I miss hearing Dr. Drew Colfax’s earlier rants about how this COVID-19 pandemic was entirely preventable if there had been stronger national leadership.  This continues to be the case so worth repeating and ranting! It is unconscionable for government to fund corporate welfare, like $21 billion “no strings attached” COVID-19 relief to nursing homes (of which 70% are for-profit), without expectation to invest in resident care and safety of direct care staff.  Need to demand better because accountability and transparency is critical to take us out of COVID, restore public trust, and ensure survival of storytellers!