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* How’ve you been?

posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Jun 17, 20 @ 9:07 am

Comments

I’ve been okay, but I’ve missed Capital Fax. I hope you enjoyed the well deserved time off.

Comment by Dog Lover Wednesday, Jun 17, 20 @ 9:09 am
Personally? Doing well
State? Hurting but trying
Nation? Ugh!

My assessment of “how we doing?”

Comment by R A T Wednesday, Jun 17, 20 @ 9:09 am
Saying a prayer for the AG.

Comment by Marquee Wednesday, Jun 17, 20 @ 9:12 am
I believe I have reached the just keep swimming stage of 2020.

Comment by Candy Dogood Wednesday, Jun 17, 20 @ 9:15 am
Enjoying some of the reopening. I went to a restaurant with a friend on Sunday for brunch. Ate outside, tables properly distanced, all the staff masked. Yesterday, I went to the library to a) return a book, and b) pick up a hold.

But I am also a bit concerned that folks will go a bit crazy and start ignoring sensible precautions. I’m just hoping that Illinois won’t see the sharp increase in cases that is happening in some other states.

Missed Capitol Fax, of course. Hope you and Oscar had an excellent break.

Comment by JoanP Wednesday, Jun 17, 20 @ 9:19 am
Blessed.

Comment by efudd Wednesday, Jun 17, 20 @ 9:19 am
Pretty good and hope you are doing great. You deserve a longer break. Thank you for your tireless news coverage.

Trying hard to follow the coronavirus prevention guidelines and succeeding so far. But lucky also, because my environment is not completely in my control. Glad to see Illinois’ improvement and grateful I live in a state with a compassionate governor and many who are trying hard to not spread the virus.

Comment by Grandson of Man Wednesday, Jun 17, 20 @ 9:20 am
Still missing MLB. Dang owners. Hurry up, play 54 games (1/3 of a season) starting mid-July, get playoffs rolling in September, and crown a World Series champion in mid-October before the virus season gets into full swing. If baseball owners think they have a profitability problem now, no season will ensure profitability problems for a decade. Come on already.

Comment by Ducky LaMoore Wednesday, Jun 17, 20 @ 9:21 am
This story coupled with the news regarding Kwame leaves me quite anxious for my community.
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2020/06/16/race-gaps-in-covid-19-deaths-are-even-bigger-than-they-appear/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_axiosam&stream=top

Comment by West Sider Wednesday, Jun 17, 20 @ 9:23 am
Better now with the prospect of some intelligent dialogue returning via Capitol Fax. My twitter feed is filled with Aunt Jemima news. I haven’t touched a bottle of any type of syrup for a long time. My dietician frowns upon it.

Comment by Norseman Wednesday, Jun 17, 20 @ 9:24 am
Went out for dinner twice and it was a pleasure to get out. A little worried for my in-laws who live in Orland Park. Mayor not enforcing any social distancing rules or wearing of masks at restaurants or any other store. Yesterday he moved forward to have 4th of July fireworks open to public along with 3 concerts. One trustee referred to the protesters as Thugs and that’s why Orland should move forward. IMO any elected official who refers to peaceful protesters as Thugs should immediately resign.

Comment by Hard D Wednesday, Jun 17, 20 @ 9:28 am
My wife and I are fine. My brother in a nursing home was diagnosed with covid 12 days ago, and moved to a “Red” zone in the nursing home, but he is showing no symptoms. I want him moved out of there after 14 days, and am trying to get a handle on the nursing home policy regarding the move back to his usual room in the green zone. Now, he was retested last week, but still no results from that test yet. I have to get clarity on the recommended course of action in these situations.

Comment by PublicServant Wednesday, Jun 17, 20 @ 9:29 am
Man, has the weather in central Illinois been spectacular!

Comment by Skeptic Wednesday, Jun 17, 20 @ 9:33 am
“How’ve you been?”

Honestly? I have no idea.

– MrJM

Comment by @misterjayem Wednesday, Jun 17, 20 @ 9:45 am
Still laid off. (Not a bad thing…I spent the last few years working a lot of overtime; I bloody earned this time off (banned punctuation).)

Trying to take some online classes at a community college here in Illinois. Lots of technical issues in first week have me tearing my hair out and losing instructional time.

And after having gone through all that, I can see how roughly 1 in 5 kids has become a “digital dropout”. I’m a native English speaker and fairly intelligent. As terrible as last week was, I could not imagine what last week would been like if I was a person whose primary language was not English, or who had a job where I was unable to call college tech support during the hours they are open.

Education is going to need a big rethink after this is over. My time serving on a school board doesn’t make me confident that anything benefitting kids and their families will be instituted. Too many people benefitting from the status quo, no matter the damage to others…

Comment by Lynn S. Wednesday, Jun 17, 20 @ 9:50 am
1.5 weeks in self-isolation (mostly) after marching all over Champaign on June 6. Still no symptoms despite not really being able to social distance at certain points during the march.

==Man, has the weather in central Illinois been spectacular!==

It has indeed. Went kayaking on Saturday at Kickapoo (first time this year on the water) and managed to stay away from the unmasked crowds. Going to get hot starting today, though . . .

Comment by tully monster Wednesday, Jun 17, 20 @ 9:51 am
I was hospitalized last month for COVID symptoms. I tested negative (twice) but it was still harrowing. Those symptoms could have killed me, COVID or no COVID. I am doing fine now, but it was close.

Listen to the experts. Practice social distancing. Wear your masks. Don’t be stupid. Think of the front-line health care workers: I have not seen that level of courage or dedication to duty since I left the Marines. It’s them you put at risk by being a covidiot.

I know hunkering down at home is hard, but trust me it beats being in a COVID ICU.

Comment by Nick Name Wednesday, Jun 17, 20 @ 9:54 am
I realize my prior post is a bit of a downer, so I will follow up with:

Hoping you and Oscar are well and had lots of fun (banned punctuation). Are we going to get any cute “Oscar on vacation” pics?

Missed my CapFax fix over the last 10 days.

Comment by Lynn S. Wednesday, Jun 17, 20 @ 9:55 am
ok. still not always sure what day it is.

Comment by Amalia Wednesday, Jun 17, 20 @ 9:57 am
Amalia,

my local newspaper has grocery store ads and recipes. The New York Times published its food section today.

That’s how I know it’s Wednesday.

(Monday is no local paper, Tuesday is Science Times, Thursday is the Style section (nyt) and farm store ads (local paper). Sunday is when the newspapers are really thick and have lots of inserts.)

Comment by Lynn S. Wednesday, Jun 17, 20 @ 10:04 am
Doing OK but wearing myself out with house and car repairs, and grandkids visiting almost daily.

Missed the sanity here but also got a few laughs from my FB feed.

Have some mild worries above covid but have started getting out more, including dining. Even ate inside at one place that is really spread out; since my son works there part-time, and he and the grandkids visit often, up figured the exposure level was about the same. I haven’t gotten pneumonia yet from a friend who has been in the hospital twice since this whole mess started, so we’ll.

For that matter, we may have had a mild case a long time ago because some close friends got really sick in January after returning from a trip to the Far East and Hawaii. And three church friends had it. If we did (haven’t been tested for antibodies), we just wrote it off as the usual cold / allergies / mild flu even though we get the flu vaccine every year.

Glad some of the medical providers are opening back up more; Mrs got her new replacement hearing aids she needed.

Getting out and going for drives more is helping the mental health. It is interesting how the different towns and counties are or are not complying. Still avoiding crowded places, even if outdoor dining.

Comment by RNUG Wednesday, Jun 17, 20 @ 10:24 am
Glad to see Rich (and his trusty sidekick Oscar) are back. Baseball sunk by spoiled rich owners reneging on contractual terms they agreed to; JB needs to stop folding when sued; Still following guidelines and avoiding Orland Park; finally got a safe haircut after 6 months. Hanging in wishing 2020 was over.

Comment by revvedup Wednesday, Jun 17, 20 @ 10:26 am
Regarding the Aunt Jemima comment, I say Uncle Ben has always offended me.

Comment by R A T Wednesday, Jun 17, 20 @ 10:27 am
Governor J.B. “do as I say not as I do” Pritzker.

Comment by Blue Dog Dem Wednesday, Jun 17, 20 @ 10:32 am
Fine…you?

Comment by Commonsense in Illinois Wednesday, Jun 17, 20 @ 10:33 am
I have missed you.

Comment by Bored HouseMom Wednesday, Jun 17, 20 @ 11:04 am
So excited to have CapFax back in full force and to have my Arsenal back playing again.

Comment by Justin Wednesday, Jun 17, 20 @ 11:18 am
Doing well, all moved in to our new spot in California. Hope you are doing well Rich.

Comment by njt Wednesday, Jun 17, 20 @ 11:49 am
I need to add - just having Cap Fax, Rich and all here back again today played no small part today in helping to right my ship so to speak ! THANK YOU!

Comment by DownSouth Wednesday, Jun 17, 20 @ 11:53 am
We have been easing into construction season. Three projects getting started. Helped some local restaurants setup outdoor dining, though my wife is not ready to try it. Avoiding Facebook a lot. Getting very tiring explaining to folks I’ve known for years that no busloads of anybody were heading to Sparta to slaughter livestock.

R A T Mars is evolving too: https://tinyurl.com/y986bbul

Comment by Proud Sucker Wednesday, Jun 17, 20 @ 11:53 am
=I say Uncle Ben has always offended me=

Mars announced yesterday that they are “evolving the brand” including the visual identity

Comment by Joe Bidenopolous Wednesday, Jun 17, 20 @ 11:54 am
Amelia….I hear ya. It’s the garbage truck that reminds me what day it is, and why I should have put out the garbage last nite.

Comment by Sayitaintso Wednesday, Jun 17, 20 @ 11:58 am
Doing well. Thanks for asking. Wife has her garden planted. Now comes the weeding.

Were you able to get the fuel pump on your boat fixed?

Comment by Huh? Wednesday, Jun 17, 20 @ 11:59 am
Got myself tested for COVID-19 today over at the DuPage County Complex. If you live in DuPage and if you think you are in need of a test, I would suggest you head over to Wheaton today. That place was pretty darn empty around 10:30 this morning and they don’t seem to have had many takers today.

Comment by benniefly2 Wednesday, Jun 17, 20 @ 12:20 pm
===Were you able to get the fuel pump===

They claimed to have fixed it, delivered it and it still didn’t run.

Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Jun 17, 20 @ 12:33 pm
Doing well, all things considered. When I get a little frustrated with self quarantine, I just think of military on deployment, and those seriously affected by COVID-19.

My cleaning lady does my grocery runs. I get out of the house a couple times a week to do simple errands I can handle mainly from the car.

Very glad Illinois is getting good results. I hope we keep going in that direction. People who can’t be bothered to wear masks annoy the crap out of me.

Haven’t Yet been out to eat, either curbside, or inside,. But I have gotten together occasionally with a couple of close friends for a social distancing cookout on the deck.

Sitting on the dock watching a sunset with a cold drink is wonderful. Sitting on the dock because your boat isn’t running, Has to be frustrating as hell.

Comment by Langhorne Wednesday, Jun 17, 20 @ 1:05 pm
Hooray got a haircut and colored the gray. Getting my plants in the Grow Boxes. Already have a little green tomato on one plant, baby cucumbers on another. The weather has improved my outlook on life.

Sorry to read that the fuel pump replacement was not a fix on the boat. Here I had hoped you and Oscar got in some boating.

Comment by Nearly Normal Wednesday, Jun 17, 20 @ 1:27 pm
Rich,

Missed you. The “break“ was good… glad you’re back.

Hey to Oscar, hope the boat gets fixed soon.

Me?

In the next 7 days I’ll golf, I’m in terrible need of a haircut, Baseball is nearly over before it even began…

…

I’m doing ok.

Hope everyone is doing ok too.

Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, Jun 17, 20 @ 1:37 pm
I hope you and yours are well.

Comment by Dotnonymous Wednesday, Jun 17, 20 @ 1:48 pm
As the Dude says, “Strikes and gutters. Ups and downs.”

There have definitely been some silver linings to working remote from home and I’m trying to embrace the positives from this roller coaster. Really just ready for the new normal, whatever that ends up being.

Comment by Gonzo Wednesday, Jun 17, 20 @ 2:47 pm
Back to work, of sorts. I’ve been cured of my sometimes wish that “I could do this at home.”

Comment by downstateR Wednesday, Jun 17, 20 @ 4:10 pm
Alive

Comment by Captain Who Wednesday, Jun 17, 20 @ 5:54 pm