Movie of the week
To the Stars”
Directed by: Martha Stevens
Under small town
scrutiny, a withdrawn farmer’s daughter
forges an intimate friendship with a
worldly but reckless new girl in 1960s
Oklahoma.
Word of the week
- Acnestis•
Pronunciation: /akˈniːstɪs/
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: The part of the back between the shoulder blades that an animal cannot reach to scratch.
Simons Weekly Weather Update
Issued Sunday April 26, 2020 – 7:15 p.m.
Wednesday (April 29) Warm and locally breezy with a chance of afternoon and evening showers and thunderstorms. Lows in the mid 30s to mid 40s with mid 40s around 5000 feet. Highs in the upper 60s to upper 70s with upper 50s around 5000 feet.
Thursday (April 30) Cooler and locally breezy with a chance of valley rain showers and high mountain snow showers. Lows in the 40s with upper 30s around 5000 feet. Highs in the 60s with lower 40s around 5000 feet.
Friday (May 1) Dry. Lows in the 30s to near 40 with near 30 around 5000 feet. Highs in the mid 50s to mid 60s with near 40 around 5000 feet.
Saturday and Sunday (May 2,3) Unsettled and locally breezy at times with a chance of showers and high elevation snow showers. Lows in the mid 30s to mid 40s with mid 30s around 5000 feet. Highs in the 60s Saturday cooling to the mid 50s to mid 60s Sunday. Around 5000 feet highs in the mid 40s Saturday cooling to the upper 30s Sunday.
For the most up to date information visit https://www.simonsweather.org/forecast
We are here to help!
Job Service Libby is temporarily closed to the public,
But staff are available to assist you!
Phone: 293-6282 or E-Mail: libbyjsc@mt.gov
Kiosk available outside with Job Lists, Resources &
Unemployment Insurance Guidance
CARES Act UPDATED Information for
Businesses and Workers: MontanaWorks.gov
We’ll get through this TOGETHER!
Libby
Top Music of the week
- Toosie Slide by Drake
- Blinding Lights by The Weeknd
- The Box by Roddy Ricch
- Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa
- Life Is Good by Future ft. Drake
Top music of the week courtesy of Billboard.com
Yogi Berra and the Wuhan Virus
The great Yogi Berra, venerated philosopher, astute observer of the human condition and New York Yankees Hall of Fame catcher once said, “It ain’t over ’till it’s over.” How many times, in so many different circumstances has he been proven to be correct? Now once again Yogi’s profound wisdom is applicable to a situation that is pushing our Nation’s patience to its limits; a situation that for some of those most affected seems to have no end in sight.
Of course I am referring to the Wuhan Virus, a.k.a. COVID-19. Thanks to the intransigence and mendacity of the barbaric tyrants who rule China over 45,000 Americans have died (as of 4/21/20), twenty-two million have lost their livelihood, and our economy has been trashed, leaving us at least seven trillion dollars more in debt. Within a few weeks the Wuhan Virus death toll in the U.S. will exceed the 58,000 killed in twenty years of the Vietnam War. Through the efforts of those sensible Americans who have been following the C.D.C. guidelines the spread of The Virus has been slowed. Preliminary data show that the curve has been flattened, at least for now. New cases are subsiding; critical shortages are finally being met; predictions of mortality have been lowered. Based upon this apparent success and the dire need to revitalize our economy our President has called for a gradual lifting of the stay-at-home orders now in effect in nearly the whole Country. In this he has received push-back from some state governors, and support from others, while thousands of frustrated citizens have taken to the streets protesting the continued lock-down in their respective states. The President has admitted that this decision was not an easy one, but as Yogi would have advised him, “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” and he did.
We will now try to go down the fork in the road toward the new normal, because the old normal is no longer possible. Yogi even foresaw such outcomes when he said, “The future ain’t what it used to be.” And while we have indeed flattened the curve, the Wuhan Virus is still very much with us. It is resident in millions, if not tens of millions, of seemingly healthy people. “It ain’t over ’till it’s over.” perfectly describes our situation. Once the lock-down orders are lifted The Virus will spread to even more millions. The flattened curve of which everyone is so proud will turn upwards and the death toll will rise. How severe this will be is anybody’s guess. Even Dr. Anthony Fauci cannot give us a reliable prediction of the outcome, but as Yogi warned, “You’ve got to be very careful if you don’t know where you are going, because you might not get there.” Being careful means that widespread testing of our population for The Virus and immunity to it will be absolutely mandatory if we intend to save our economy without killing millions in the process. It is the only way that we can protect the vulnerable. And along with the testing there must still be some restrictions to keep infected people out of nursing homes and away from at-risk populations. If we do not do this history will say of us as Yogi said of the Yankees’ 1966 losing season, “We made too many wrong mistakes.”
Perhaps the effect of rescinding the restrictions will be blunted somewhat by many Americans’ fear of going back to the old normal of dining out, going to the theater or attending large gatherings like sports events and concerts. Yogi said it well, “If the people don’t want to come out to the ballpark, nobody’s going to stop them.” But I believe it will be just the opposite. Social distancing, personal hygiene and avoiding large gatherings will simply be forgotten as people resume their lives and the bad habits of the past resurface. Yogi saw this part of human nature as well, “It’s like déjà vu all over again.”
I am no sociologist but I have learned a bit about human behavior over the years. Yogi put it succinctly, “You can observe a lot by just watching.” and my observation is that the last out of the ninth inning will be a safe, effective vaccine. Social distancing, personal hygiene and C.D.C. recommended behaviors are merely a temporary solution to a permanent problem, and the general public is not inclined to follow them once they have perceived that their personal risk is minimal. The Virus will be resident in humans as long as our species exists, as was smallpox until a few years ago, and like smallpox it will only be eradicated with an aggressive vaccination campaign. Until then high-risk people will continue to be high-risk. In Yogi Berra’s thoughtful words, “It ain’t over ’till it’s over.”
With tongue in cheek, Submitted by Mike Cohan, of Libby, Mont.