We are now in the era of Coronavirus SPIKES, inevitable consequences in some re-openings.

The media feasts on the calamity; sometimes with cause, but always opportunistically.

Most people I meet have simply had enough. Although most children quickly adapted unaware to new norms, adults simply accepted and soldiered on, mourning previous times and lifestyles, often forced to abandon longed-for social and travel plans.

Many seek out-of-town outings to mitigate the drudgery of restrictions. Some pick up stakes and make temporary, multi-week moves to less controlled areas where there is more solitude and less critical supervision.

For others, there are often regular daytrips, while many remain miserably stuck-in-time, sheltered-in-place.

There seems no ideal place to hide away, avoiding the impositions and controls. Domestic (US) sites are all subject to some level of social supervision and demands. International locations are mostly the same, many not wanting visits from outsiders. The EEC is aligning to resume travel with some 15 countries; US citizenry is so far specifically excluded.

There is a common theme, a repeated mantra spoken to address all issues, “Oh, it’s political. This wouldn’t be happening if it wasn’t an election year.” Over and over the point appears.

But now it is not just Pandemic restrictions and requirements weighing on the soul, it is demonstrations, riots, deaths, killings, occupations, destruction, racial tensions, revisionism, crime-rate explosion, economic harms, national and international events and more.

Groups, Unions, Political Bodies, Celebrities and Organizations make demands for Funding, Defunding, Recognition, Support, Program Investment and all too often, FEALTY. Most factions appear headed for disappointment, to remain unsatiated and angry at days end.

With a laundry list of proven-questionable Town, City, County, State and Federal governance already on display across the country a truly mixed bag of results and on-going consequences can be expected.

There are countless domestic protagonists; many small tails demanding their right to wag a very big dog.

And all this is opportunistically driven by sides, fueled by callous sensationalistic media and those aggressively seeking personal gain by leveraging every single cut inflicted.

The citizenry suffers an unrelenting deluge. If you stay abreast of any news there is no escape nor respite. So, when do things normalize?

Its likely conflict will end when each faction receives what they must accept, or their position simply becomes untenable.

So, what will be the outcomes of these many issues? Hard to know exactly.

What is more certain is human nature. If you beat someone over the head with an issue long enough, they will submit or internally resist. Many of those that outwardly appear to appease or comply build resentment. When they can act invisibly (i.e. vote) you may not get the support you demand or expected.

And people do not like change.

As for the misery of the pandemic, it goes on. I hear (yet again) that the restrictions and impositions are political.   😉

I have been traveling: 3-4 weeks ago, to Northern California, locally around Santa Cruz and up to Alameda Counties and to North Dakota for 10 days over July 4th.

The travel itself tells a story. San Francisco, Denver airports are now far more deserted with few gates occupied and crowds only assimilating as boarding time approaches. Often there is nobody within 100yds as you proceed along vacant concourses towards your departure gate. Masks are required throughout the buildings and flights.

Passengers are shuffled aboard in controlled groups, then seated like masked mannequins inside the plane.

The only person I saw without a mask was a female Millennial strutting through Denver airport seemingly begging to be challenged and appearing loaded for bear. Nobody took the bait.

When I arrived in North Dakota there were a few greeters allowed behind security, and at the gate. This is unusual at any time. As travelers exited the companionways, they pulled off their masks, smiled, greeted any friends or relatives that had come and hurried off happily to Baggage Claim and Exits.

Time in North Dakota was filled with cheerful gatherings of relatives, meals out, fishing and spectacular firework displays celebrating July 4^th. Social restrictions there are mostly limited to store workers wearing masks and cleaning trolleys for use by mostly unmasked customers. Nobody wears masks for indoor dining or walking outdoors.

Yet even there the media blitz wore on people. Many were tired and frustrated with confrontational news, national activities and political assertions.

Back in California the experience is quite mixed…

Local Santa Cruz County is more open. The last few weeks have seen visitors from Silicon Valley appear in slightly greater numbers. Restaurants have grabbed surrounding parking areas for seating, supplementing their restricted indoor space. Masks outdoors are uncommon.

The beaches are occupied; a little busier with mostly local people physically distanced and grateful to again be near the ocean. Outlawed fireworks were extensive along the beaches on July 4^th; unprecedented and numerous displays, carefully policed from a distance I am told.

Shasta County up in Northern California was really opened-up when I visited 3-4 weeks ago for a few days fly fishing. The previous month I was also there and found depressed, take-out only activity in Mount Shasta town. But now the Hotels are booked and largely unmasked indoor dining has opened-up to smiling visitors escaping the Bay Area and points south.

A few local Shasta residents seem like they preferred the absence of travelers as the Summer wore on; shopkeepers, hoteliers and restauranteurs obviously feel very differently about their survival.

This weekend I was again back in Alameda County, CA. They always had more pandemic restrictions than where I live in Santa Cruz; even walkers and bike-riders wear masks outdoors. It seems their very recent opening (from about 2 weeks prior) for outdoor-only dining has been rescinded.

Last Friday CA State rolled-back restaurant outdoor eating in Alameda; they have returned to Take-Out only and continue their masks-everywhere culture. Foot traffic is diminished and the temporary sense of freedom has vanished with the reimposed restriction.

Everywhere I go it is obvious that public Happiness during this pandemic is inversely proportional to Control, Restrictions and the Weight of News.

In each location to which I travel I currently follow local conventions for social distancing, masking and dining. There’s little motivation to rock the boat when there are so many easily triggered and inherently upset individuals wandering around.

There are areas in San Francisco where extremely loud M-80 firework explosions are prevalent; these typically begin late afternoon and run till 3.00- 4.00am in the morning. The idea is to expose residents to the distress suffered by people who live in districts where gunfire occurs. These big bangs started a few weeks before July 4^th and continue in many locations.

Residents can get no police attention to the matter. They say Police are unwilling or afraid to address the issue and face the possibly resulting consequences. Certainly, any veterans living in the area are likely suffering from the shock of the explosions.

I stayed a couple of nights in Alameda this last weekend. I believe the similar sporadic loud explosions (with no associated firework display) I could hear over the estuary in Oakland signal the same program is being deployed over a larger area, into the northern East Bay.

Its likely out-of-State firework sources will dry up shortly as July 4^th supplies are eventually spent. Time will tell how committed and resourceful the protagonists remain.

Relatives in England are slowly emerging from quite severe pandemic restrictions. Where population density is high and public transportation is common (such as the UK), higher Coronavirus infections and death rates typically follow. Aging populations and underlying health complications make things that much worse.

I know too many people there that have been isolated (alone) in their sheltering, unable to visit with others and heavily restricted in their daily outdoor movements. Yet even as things ease, rules and conditions abound surrounding each newly re-instituted freedom. Only recently can even relatives visit one another and stay overnight.

Other parts of the world are newly falling into the abyss of COVID-19 infection. Numbers (as accurately as they are counted and reported) are spiraling in Brazil, South America, India and Russia with talk of a Second Pandemic Wave continuing ever-present.

And where I reside, I am perhaps particularly fortunate. People are outside and active. There are more happy faces than aggrieved; most seem to overcome the stress they unwittingly communicate and clearly feel.

We each must rise above the external influences that befall us; what other choice is there?  And it appears to be a challenge that many must embrace.

Do you have a plan to lighten your load? Is there a way you can find to ease the burden placed upon your back? Are you and your loved ones finding systematic ways to overcome the stress of this pandemic era and all that has accompanied?

Best to give it some thought; actively making your outlook a little brighter is an essential element in maintaining good health in trying times.

Ian R. Mackintosh is the author of Empower Your Inner Manager Twitter@ianrmackintosh.

Things hereabouts have slowly begun to open but restrictions predominate outdoor life.

I was just turned away from my local Best Buy and their cavernous store which still does not permit customer entry, only a curbside pick-up service. There is no re-opening date on the horizon. I wonder about its utilization and future.

There are masks required for entry into every store or service facility. The local Lucky’s announces mask requirements for workers and customers over loudspeakers every few minutes as the solemn parade of clients with trolleys winds around then stalls into lines of marked-off check-out positions.

Some stores still enforce outdoor queuing to control and limit the number of customers allowed inside.

People speak less in stores. When their passage is blocked, they stand with eyes downcast till the obstructer nods and clears their way with mumbled apologies. There are occasional attempts at humor; seemingly fewer than before.

Local beaches are restricted some days and other times enforcement begins to slide. Officially there is no entry to beaches between 11.00 am and 5.00pm unless you are moving or headed into the water; our local curfew. Most days these postings are honored and occasionally monitored by stationed police; sometimes larger numbers of people just enter the beach in small, disaggregated groups and set up camps that nobody seems to question any more.

The surfers are still here and in increasing Summer numbers. World-class surfing, great waves and on-street parking. The Sheriff only occasionally checks for non-local participants.

The paid parking facilities are generally open in the local Capitola Village and Santa Cruz harbor. Other (free) public parking remains mostly cordoned off or has spacers inserted to ensure vehicles have greater separation.

Public restrooms have been opened in the last few weeks, though some are locked by 7.00pm or simply remain cordoned-off and shuttered together with their associated parking areas.

Two weeks ago (after desperate verbal pleas to council members), local Capitola Village restauranteurs had outdoor eating approved. As a result, many of the already sparse parking spots are temporarily re-assigned to provide additional (distanced, outdoor) seating to support the desperate restaurants.

Almost 70% of the surrounding Capitola shops had their doors open for business within 24 hours of permission being granted. One large waterfront restaurant had already permanently closed its doors by then: too little, too late. This served the warning to counselors.

The past week saw other local area restaurants open with managed and limited indoor seating; their outdoor seating is approved, too.  A big relief for failing restauranteurs.

Last weekend saw a small influx of fleeing Silicon Valley residents joining locals venturing into opened facilities around the Santa Cruz area. They occupied the beaches, ignoring the curfew and yellow police tapes covering the seawalls.

Starbucks customers still dutifully stand on marked spots to retrieve their orders then scatter like hunted masked bandits back to their vehicles to picnic or depart. We can now enter and order rather than just line up outside for mobile-app pickups. Indoor seating remains stacked and pushed-aside like cordwood, but at least the free Wi-Fi usually reaches the parking lots.

Most people sport fancy custom masks that pull their ears into Shrek-like forms. Face coverings have become a personal statement.

Getting a haircut has just been authorized, but only by appointment. Police stop by and monitor masking and distancing behaviors in the small salons and shops.

I hear that Workout and Physical Therapy facilities are soon to acquire restricted access.

The local Hospital pandemic preparedness facilities hereabouts were dismantled weeks ago; they had gone from low to essentially no utilization.

Several folks have mentioned they were pushed away from regular medical facilities in prior weeks and so resorted to DIY medical treatments or calls with Doctors they found available to address their concerns.

People from more populace areas visiting other parts of the State are often shocked by the absence of masks being worn outdoors, the more casual demeanor of locals and the occasional complete lack of mask usage in small stores.

Then there are the TYPES of people you encounter in these times. Generally, it is those who…

• Obediently follow the rules
• Comply where they must but clearly have no committed interest (for whatever their reason)
• Fearfully flee situations and people who are out of compliance
• Openly (and sometimes vocally) defy social pandemic rules
• Inflict their demands for compliance upon others

And this last group causes me to provide a little data to look more closely at the California situation.

Yesterday I was copied on a Facebook rant that aggressively attacked all those who do not religiously conform to current Pandemic Protocols.

I have known the author (a self-described, Progressive) for years and am copied on daily thoughts via a Link which seems hard to break without losing other access I enjoy. But this missive caused me to look at the claims and underlying realities of what is still occurring in California. So, let the data tell the story…

AS BACKGROUND: The basic assertion is that people need to realize that >4,600 deaths tied to the pandemic have now occurred in California and that anyone claiming their rights are being violated and refusing to comply with social restrictions on masking and spacing is totally out of line. These people are socially irresponsible and should be justifiably vilified and publicly excoriated. Tough words.

For myself, I am easily able to be somewhat neutral in my behavior. I respectfully wear a mask when expected and maintain social distancing. As I have no workplace to visit or business to protect, my current lifestyle of writing, outdoor pursuits and binge-watching Crime Mystery and Astronomy series in a (now) quieter and scenic life-style community remains relatively unaffected; even though shopping and restaurant constraints are inconvenient.

HOWEVER, I am becoming concerned that things in California may have been knowingly carried too far for the majority, given the factual data that exist and that serious damage has already been needlessly caused to working citizens trying to support themselves and families.

I should explain.

Let me begin by saying any single life lost to this Pandemic is a needless tragedy. It brings misery to all involved. Enough said.

Yet people die every day. They expire because of age, sickness and commonly circulating diseases and contagions. Everyone will die and many will pass earlier than ultimately necessary.

There are many causes of death we have blindly come to consider as normal. Medical progress has all but eliminated some, but many, many more persist and have largely become accepted (i.e. cancers, heart disease, diabetes, etc. etc.)

Influenza is systemic in most cultures. It kills people worldwide on a seasonal basis even though we have a moderate level of prevention through vaccines and known protocols for care of the afflicted. Folks still dying from influenza or its complications is culturally accepted and an unspoken norm.

Over the last nine years in the USA an average of 37.5 K deaths/year have resulted from the flu. Flu seasons have ranged from 12 K-61 K deaths/year in this timeframe and the total current national population is 330 million.

This means that California’s share of fatalities is around 4.5 K deaths/year for their 40 million population; the AVERAGE number of deaths Californians might expect in a single flu season.

There have been ~4.7 K Covid-19 deaths in CA to-date. Fortunately, overall growth-rate in this number is currently declining quickly.

Most Covid-19 deaths have been in just 3 (LA, San Diego and Riverside) of the 58 CA Counties. If we separate out the 3.4 K actual deaths in these 3 Counties, it remains that 1.3 K fatalities occurred in the other 55 Counties, populated by about 25 Million Californians.

The 3 populous (LA, San Diego and Riverside) Counties have experienced a death rate almost DOUBLE an AVERAGE flu season, while the other 55 Counties combined are at a level less than HALF an AVERAGE flu season. And fortunately, because of the pandemic precautions there has not been much influenza around this season.

The mitigation precautions CA took with extremely early closure most likely contributed to these generally overall favorable (if there can be such a thing) results.

The patterns for likely probable Infection and Death Rates and the numbers expected as ultimate outcomes, were well defined and already visible by the end of March. Basically, we knew a while ago where we were headed from BOTH our own numbers and insights shared by numerous other regions and countries.

But California is still currently heavily closed down. People are NOT all back in work and we are slow-marching a recovery.

If we are passed the worst and we would not normally close the economy for an AVERAGE flu season, then why have we proceeded some 10 weeks beyond a seemingly obvious opportunity to re-engage the economy?

Who would think this is justified and why would they persist? Why would they not expect to be challenged?

The average person is not an epidemiologist, but most can interpret simple data and facts. Trends and graphs are easy to read and should not be unnecessarily complicated by handwaving that tries to invalidate or obscure obvious conclusions.

So why do so many people just do what they are told, standing in lines wearing masks and perched upon the designated red spots? Being a good citizen is one thing but following blindly is another. We have certainly passed the point where blind adherence is appropriate.

It would appear MANY of the 55 Counties (mentioned above) should NEVER have been closed. Especially if they are remote, lightly populated or saw very low infection rates. The State umbrellaed everyone and treated everything with the same broad brush. It was apparent LONG ago this was unnecessary, yet the restrictions largely remain universally and uniformly imposed (CA) Statewide.

A couple of remote Northern CA Counties and towns removed oppressive restrictions and fully opened-up, early. They simply stated their citizens needed to make a living and the constraints were inappropriate. Data indicates their position is far from unique.

I have seen first-hand the havoc wreaked upon smaller communities in the Northern parts of the State. Hotels have little trade; restaurants were closed long-term or only offer take-out. For many the Summer season is likely already irretrievable.

And hereabouts many businesses have already or will soon fail.

People will not universally flock back to normal past behaviors when things are fully re-opened. Most people seem cowed and nervous about personal re-engagement.

There will be generalized business recovery as folks return to more industrial (white and blue collar), larger-company jobs. It is essential people return to work and retain their jobs, provide food and pay bills.

But Service Industries and Small Businesses will be particularly vulnerable to lost revenues driven by the general population’s decline in savings, disposable income and sticky health concerns. Their corporate customers will be tightening their belts in recovery, too.

Also, Social Changes will persist.

Doctor visits will continue to be made reluctantly at first.

We know reports of child abuse have already cratered suspiciously during pandemic precautions.

And even AA meetings remain currently outlawed while Rehab facilities around the nation are already heavily booked. This cannot possibly end well.

Perhaps six months from now most people will have returned to their old habits. But until then many small businesses will struggle to establish essential working and survivable revenue levels. Many will continue to fail; their continuing to remain unnecessarily restrained and controlled NOW will only exacerbate the harm.

So much for the update and look at California State practices and decisions. The West Coast is always a little different.

Today I read a credible article from Texas talking of increased infection rates following their very early May 2020 re-opening; the hope is that this current spiking resulted from people quickly becoming too casual with their social distancing practices following early successes. Time will tell.

Have you checked the numbers in your neighborhood? Do the local restrictions match what you see in the data?

It is worth taking a few minutes to understand these numbers and the resulting decisions being made on your behalf.

Ian R. Mackintosh is the author of Empower Your Inner Manager Twitter@ianrmackintosh.