damont

(Originally posted to my GoFundMe, and backdated to the date of that original post. This is basically copied verbatim (modulo formatting), including the fundraising stuff at the end; I *was* posting to GoFundMe after all. Feel free to ignore those bits if you want. Link to the fundraiser will be provided in the comments and upon request.)

If I sound down in this post, there's a ready explanation. A friend of mine died yesterday. Not from COVID-19; he'd actually been tested and gotten a totally clean result. Something else got him instead, the details of which I won't go into here.

Anyway... Today's episode of "SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 related PSA meets the traditional begging post" takes a look at a longer-form video, and an article on what scientists are finding about the various effects this virus can have on the human body (including more than one way it can kill). WARNING: some folks may find either the video or the article a bit more than they want to deal with right now. It's not that either is overly graphic, but the picture they paint is not necessarily pretty.

"How does coronavirus kill? Clinicians trace a ferocious rampage through the body, from brain to toes"

"Are We Ready for the Next Pandemic? - with Peter Piot"

Note that the video was posted in OCTOBER 2018. A year and a half ago.

And now it's time for the usual begging stuff. If you've read these posts in the past few weeks, you probably know that next, before and in addition to the usual plea for help for ourselves, I'm going to ask those of you who can to SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL BUSINESSES that are still open. Help keep your local economy a little bit more afloat, as and if you can. And remember that once the worst of this has passed, locally owned businesses will be struggling to get back on their feet, so please be ready to patronize them as much as you can when it's time for them to reopen. One way to do this is via the #LeftoversChallenge as I discussed last week. There are other ways, which are likely to vary depending on where you are located.

And finally, here's my shameless and desperate plea for help for ourselves. Please PLEASE spread the word as much as you feel able; share this fundraiser on lots of social media, by email, even by writing the link on pieces of paper and passing them around. Encourage folks you know to donate and to spread the word themselves. I've long since estimated that I'll need about 1,000 different contributors to make the goal, so getting the word out is important. And IF YOU ARE ABLE TO, please donate! We know that some of you have done so in the past month (for which A GREAT BIG THANK YOU) and lots of you just can't. But even a spare 5 or 10 clams, if that's all you can afford, is appreciated. Every little bit helps. (Remember, NO FEELING GUILTY if you don't have the means to contribute, or enough spoons to spread the word as far as you'd like.) And just as with the last couple dozen of these photo-less begging posts, if you have any job leads for either of us, PLEASE contact us! Relocation is TOTALLY an option.

Again, if anyone here actually is in a position to help out, right now would be a truly awesome time to do so. If you can't, you can't; I understand that better than most... thanks in advance for whatever you can do, and best greetings of the season to you and yours. May this wave of the infection peak SOONEST (if it hasn't already where you are), and may we be better prepared for the next wave (since it's likely there will be at least one more wave). STAY SAFE. Wash your hands, keep hydrated, boost your immune system by whatever means works for you. Practice social distancing as much you realistically can. Keep in touch with your friends and loved ones from a safe distance. Tell them you care and that you're thinking of them. And as always, thank you for your continued support.