Turkey pardons…

Next Thursday is Thanksgiving Day in the US, followed by Black Friday – aka the day to dash out and holiday shop ’til you drop…. 

US tradition has it that, on or slightly before Thanksgiving Day, the president “pardons” two turkeys from being slaughtered and consumed as the main attraction at the holiday repast. 

The pardonees go on to enjoy the rest of their life, threat-free, at Virginia Tech’s “Gobbler’s Rest” enclosure.
Hmmm, I look forward to the current hard-to-dislodge president 1) pardoning himself as this year’s turkey, and 2) the cornucopia of Trump-as-turkey-of-the-year themed cartoons…

Let the games begin – people need a good laugh during these dire times.

News blues…

With more than 3,000 new Covid cases over 24 hours, South Africa’s health minister is “very concerned” about the rise in infections, particularly in Eastern Cape …  (9:15 mins)

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El Paso, Texas desperately needs Morgue Attendants at the county medical examiner’s office as Covid fatalities continue to rise. The work notice states:

“Morgue Attendants will be provided maximum PPE [personal protective equipment] and will receive a COVID test prior to starting. All Morgue Attendants will be tasked with physically moving Decedents… Not only is this assignment physically taxing, but it may be emotionally taxing as well.”
The request comes as the county has resorted to using low-level offenders from the county jail to help transport the deceased. Their work will continue until there are enough new hires, County Judge Ricardo Samaniego said. “Not everybody is going to be able to do [the job]. We’ve had people there that have lasted an hour, 30 minutes, half a day…it’s a difficult process.”

Cry the beloved country.
Who’d a thunk?
Many immigrants may share my experience of ambivalence towards an adopted country. In my case, I went from adventurous country kid living in rural Valley of a Thousand Hills, KZN to life in a small city apartment within California’s 7-million-people-strong conurbation of San Francisco Bay Area. That massive emotional and psychological adjustment took two decades.
Today, locked down in a small village in KZN, 14,000 miles from San Francisco, I watch the unfolding tragedy in my adopted country… and cry.
How could such mismanagement of a deadly pandemic have happened in the United States of America?
Then I remember, ah, yes, Trump. A son of the soil… 

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I seldom watch news anchor Rachel Maddow’s show (too long winded). Recently, however, I stumbled upon a You Tube clip she’d made during an enforced quarantine. Thankfully negative for Covid 19, her brief appearance was brave, clear, and very touching. Her message? Do everything you can to avoid Covid-19 – it can kill those you love… (8:15 mins)

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The Lincoln Project: Michigan  (1:40 mins)

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Months ago, I made an offer to purchase a small, safe, secure, relatively inexpensive (in comparison to California’s prices) apartment in the village of Howick. The purchase was accepted and we began the very long process of transferring my funds from the US to seal the deal.
I worked with the conveyancing company selected by the seller’s representative.
FYI: Google explains that a “conveyancer is a licensed professional/attorney who provides advice and information with regards to the transfer of property ownership, as well as assisting buyers and sellers through the selling process.”
Alas, “assisting buyers and sellers through the selling process” is not how these conveyancing attorneys see their role.
Yesterday, after weeks of a very delayed timeline and regularly urging the conveyancing office assistant to attend to details of the very delayed timeline that costs me a pile of extra money – I met with a conveyancing professional.
My complaint? Their admin dropped the ball, made egregious errors on paperwork geared to transfer US dollars – and continues to cost me thousands of dollars more than budgeted.
Naturally, the conveyancing office practices CYA (cover your ass). They’re attempting to shift blame entirely upon my shoulders when dated documents clearly indicate the core of the problem: tardiness emanating from their office.
Moreover, I learned their office was operating on a halftime schedule due to Covid. No adjustment had been made, however, to address the staff’s ongoing fulltime workload – other than, “oh, well…” 

The turkeys seek a pardon…