Through autumn's golden gown we used to kick our way

So let's see, what next. Not very much, and it's likely not to be very much for the near future. What should have happened was the next Tuesday we'd have pinball league, for the sixth of our eight league nights this season. But that Tuesday morning bunny_hugger got a message from one of our league members. He was asking if he might play his games early, so he could get out of there before the bar was crowded, because the pandemic numbers were really bad and he has an at-risk family member.

And this forced us to look, seriously look, at just how high the infection rates were, and ... just ... jeez. Our last event night, Silver Balls, Ingham County was seeing about 180 new cases per day. Two weeks later it was not quite four times that.

That was it, then. bunny_hugger postponed the league night, making an announcement with a post locked on Facebook so that Covid-19 supporters could not harass her in comments. The reactions people gave were ones of support and agreement, at least last I heard. And a few people had sent messages of support. We at least nominally also have the support of the International Flipper Pinball Association in this, as their public statements are that event-runners can postpone or reschedule events as they judge public safety to require.

The next league date is this coming Tuesday. Infection rates have not dropped in ten days, around here. If this wave were to disappear as fast as it appeared that would be wonderful, we could finish the season just a month ``late''. But the only time this pandemic that the disease gave us a break was when it turned out washing groceries was unneeded. Everything else, the worse assumption has been the right one.

I feel so foolish looking back to the days of May 2021, when the county was seeing around twenty new cases per day and thinking, well, we can hold off on events until this is really done. But then in May, I thought the plan was to eradicate Covid-19, even if it required a month of further hard work in vaccinating people and limiting public activities. Since then, we've tried to do everything except what would work, which is, a three-month lockdown and vaccinating every person medically able to receive it. That's a political choice, and it is a bad one. The sooner we switch to the plan that can work, the better.

Now imagine it being rather chilly and walking around Crossroads Village. It looked a little something like this ...

A couple of tree illuminations, behind illuminated trees. And I happened to catch a kid (and, if you look close, their older companion) standing beside where the plowed snow looks like a snow fort.

Closer look at the illuminated trees, from an oblique angle. And a look into the far distant parts of the village.

Some animated standees, deer that look out at you and then down to graze. Here's their grazing phase, but the heads-up remains visible enough.

Trivia: The Jersey Devil --- a painted kangaroo with costume wings strapped on --- was exhibited in 1909 at the Ninth and Arch Street Dime Museum in Philadelphia; this was the publicity stunt/hoax/performance that made it a piece of popular culture.
Source: The Secret History of the Jersey Devil: HOw Quakers, Hucksters, and Benjamin Franklin Created a Monster, Brian Regal and Frank J Esposito.

Currently Reading: Pierre-Simon Laplace, 1749 - 1827, A Life In Exact Science, Charles Coulson Gillispie with Robert Fox and Ivor Grattan-Guinness.

PS: A Moment Which Turns Out to Be Universal which is actually just me pointing out the thing I noted yesterday, that quote about Laplace realizing he couldn't remember how he found something or other ``easy to see''.