Some Progress

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grapes on left side


Yesterday the Italian authorities relaxed the stay at home rule and allowed people to go no more than 200 meters from their home.  This caused many to go out for a small passeggiata.  We live near the edge of a village that is bordered with vines for white wine, and fields of wheat.  You can see the volcanic hills are not far, and the soil there helps produce some of the best red wines in the Veneto.

As you can see, the freeway was quite empty of cars for a Sunday at 6;30.  Usually at that time people are headed back from a trip out away from home.  It is better for drivers on a Sunday as trucks are not allowed on the autostrada.  You will see them lined up at truck stops, waiting for Monday as they head north to Austria, Slovenia, or  south to Firenze and Roma.

Hungry American Families
In Line for free food
I have asked my friends to write and tell us what they are experiencing where they live.  Everyone has expressed patience, that they are staying inside.  They have also written that they can find food products, many of them are having it delivered to their home.  All of them have written that they expect a much longer stay inside than previously estimated.  I do worry about some as they are health providers in hospitals, and we have seen too many doctors and nurses who have died from the virus.  The news from New York City is tragic as also in other big cities they are overwhelmed by the sick.  There have also been protests by the workers who demand masks and gloves, etc. in many cities.



Another American City
Food Band Line

These photos that I have seen are shocking.  The wealthiest country in history has lines of families hoping to find a sack of food.  I took a look in Wikipedia to find some facts.  Did you know that  there are 621 billionaires in America?  The total net worth of 400 of them is 2.9 trillion dollars.
After some work and struggle with the google blog process, I cannot change the highlighting of the text, and so I wave the white flag and give up.  You will have to read the rest finding it a bit different font, etc.

Being at the bottom of all this, financially, I was shocked to know that there were this many, 621.  I wonder what they are doing right now to help out this terrible situation.  I wonder if they consider the workers who worked day after day to help them amass these billions of dollars.  I have not seen these billionaires helping people in need much, if you do I would like to know more.  
In Line for Food, no masks, gloves and too close
More eye opening  as I found that  more than 10% of all households in America are Millionaire Households.  How many homes is this?  15,000,000.  That is not thousand, but million, 15 million.  This all gives one to think about the system we live in.  

 We are all in a bit of a group pause.  Life has stopped and we have a chance to take a slower pace and enjoy our families.  This pause gives us a chance to think about making a better life, taking a hard look at climate change, and other issues important.  We have time to watch the leaves grow, the birds fly, and the animals wander in parks like Yosemite without being pestered by tourists.  A friend of mine saw 3 coyotes while on a walk in the Bay Area of San Francisco.  Wild boars have wandered in the streets of villages in N. Italy, dolphins swim in the canals of Venezia.  We are watching.
We have time to watch and think about a better world
Wheat Field With Volcanic Hills In Background
The Face Of Italy Today
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Stay Safe and reach out to help others if you can.  Big boat--many passengers.  Ciao!

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