Category: Opinion

Last Covid Rant for 2021

December 2021

We have been in the United States a little over a month, and during that time we have experienced just a mishmash of Covid guidelines, at least in the nine states that we have passed through. We have seen signs asking people to wear a mask when entering and we have also been in many locations that just had no guidelines at all, one way or the other.

NOTE: It has been a lot easier wearing a mask in Arizona than back in Canada, the drier air causes much less fogging of the glasses … jus’saying

Our rule of thumb has been we wear a mask when we are indoors, but have not been wearing a mask when we are outside. When with people we know are vaccinated, we do not wear a mask unless the venue has suggested them to be worn, and to be real honest we just simply try to avoid those people who are not vaccinated. All of the host volunteers here at the arboretum say they have been vaccinated, and actually I believe they all have been.

There is no proof of vaccination required in Arizona, but those who have not been fully vaccinated are suppose to wear masks when indoor, and because there is no requirement for proof of it, people are just taken at their word, let me just say that I think that most unvaccinated people just lie to avoid having to wear a mask. I know it may be hard to believe that someone that is so strongly opposed to getting vaccinated and standing up for their “rights”, would stoop so low as to lying about being vaccinated to avoid wearing a mask … but that is just the reality of it here.

So, let’s start with a look at the numbers, let’s compare, but lets look at our Canadian numbers first, and then we will compare our home country of Canada and our adopted country The United States these numbers as of the middle of December.

This first plate shows that Canada wide we have 76% of Canadians fully vaccinated and 81% have had at least one vaccine shot.

This second plate shows the percentage of people that are eligible to receive the vaccine which is age five (5) and older, now we see that 80% are fully vaccinated and nearly 86% have received at least one shot.

Now we will look at the American numbers to see how the two countries compare. And I must apologize that these graphs are so hard to read but here are the numbers Canadians are 76.9% fully vaccinated and the Americans are only 60.9% fully vaccinated

Now a couple of things that stand out here and need to be mentioned, besides the fact that a much higher percentage of Canadians are fully vaccinated, but a quick glance at the timeline shows that the Canadian population was only able to receive vaccinations over a month or more after our American counterparts, as well as eager Canadians are still being held back from getting booster shots as they are still being restricted by age groupings yet. You may also notice the gap between first and second shots back in May, in Canada this was because of a shortage of vaccines that were available to Canadians so we stretched the time from 3 weeks between shots to nearly 12 weeks.

And this plate tells many stories when you stop and look, with some states having vaccination rates closer to a third world countries rates and others are nearing levels that would be expected of one of the greatest nations in the world. So how does someone explain the disparity between states, like even neighbouring States, like Pennsylvania at 58% fully vaccinated and West Virginia at only 48% for one example, and as I check the nine states that we have encountered this trip Michigan 54%, Ohio 53%, Indiana 56%, Illinois 61%, Missouri 51%, Oklahoma 51%, Texas 54% New Mexico 63% and Arizona 54% and out of the nine States, New Mexico was the only place we stopped, that we were asked for masks to be worn while entering a restaurant, right now all across Canada the only way people are allowed in to a restaurant or any venue for that matter, is with proof of being fully vaccinated.

And I have heard all the sad stories about “rights”, and we need to talk about “rights” for a moment, yes you have the “right” not to get vaccinated, but the owner of a venue has the “right” to demand you to be vaccinated to enter, you see we all have “rights”, I chose to get vaccinated so I could travel and attend events, so I have the “right” to do so safely. That’s why as citizens of our countries we expect our governments to protect us by not allowing viruses from other countries entering our country by demanding testing, we should also expect to be safe at a restaurant, or show, or theatre, after all it is also our “right”.

I hate calling the new cases “the pandemic of the unvaccinated” but that is just exactly what it is, so put what ever label you want on it, it seems that those who decided to protect themselves are faring far better than those who did not. Now I’m old enough to have seen the devastation of polio, and tuberculosis as a child and we have controlled those and many other childhood illnesses with vaccinations for many decades, so now all of a sudden an average joe living there in Wyoming or Idaho at 45% fully vaccinated, knows more about science and viruses than the Doctors, yea I think not, somebody is feeding those susceptible people a very long line of BS with some alternative Dr. Facebook facts thrown in, to try and back it up. Well Twitter, Facebook, and Fox News didn’t exist during the polio and tuberculosis era thank goodness or some of you might not be here today being able to demand your “rights”.

I have been watching this chart for the last year as vaccines first became available, and just a hand full of countries were making any progress in protecting their citizens and now countries like Cuba, Vietnam, Cambodia and South Korea all have better vaccination rates than our American friends as well us Canadians’ that got a late vaccination start when compared to some.

Cuba 90%, United States 72%, and Canada in the middle at 82%, ahh just take a moment to let that sink in, Cuba ahead of both Canada and United States!

Oh I know it is the holiday season and we all want to get together with friends and family, some might even say it is their “right” to get together. And we hope that you can safely do just that, we have lost friends to this horrific virus, and have seen those who called it a hoax think they were going to die, while laying in a hospital, some are still feeling the ravishing effects of the virus, so if you do really care about friends and family, keep them safe this holiday season, protect yourself and them as well please.

The best of the holiday season to you and yours, stay safe and be well.

BTA (Boyce Thompson Arboretum) Work-camping – Review

BTA (Boyce Thompson Arboretum) located near Superior Arizona, relies on work-campers for a number of tasks at the arboretum. But let’s start with what BTA actually is, it is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt privately-owned nonprofit foundation, it is located on nearly 400 acres with 135 acres of cultivated gardens, making it the largest arboretum west of the Mississippi River, and has been in existence for nearly 100 years. It is a collection of arid plants from desert environment’s from around the world, tastefully intergraded into this area on the Sonoran Desert and enjoyed by close to 100,000 people each year.

BTA has numerous local volunteers that complete many tasks throughout the gardens from filing docent positions, helping with special garden projects, routine planting and caring for greenhouse plants, assisting in many different areas. And there are also a number of host volunteers, like ourselves who commit to giving a number of hours each week in exchange for a campsite during our stay, there are six full hook-up sites beside the gardens in the “staff only” area. the sites have 50-amp power, town water and a sewer connection, there are also laundry facilities provided. The tasks for the host volunteers are divided into two different roles, which are either the education department or the visitor centre.

The education department offers many different levels of educational programs for local schools, these educational programs are designed for many grade levels, this is all completed by the host volunteers with assistance from the education staff. The scheduled tours are lead by local volunteers, that also wander the park on the busy days, answering questions while keeping guests safe. The tour guides and docents have gone through extensive training to be qualified to answer the questions that are normally asked.

The visitor centre host volunteers perform a number of different tasks, most of which are involved in the visitor experience, our tasks doesn’t require as much training although with every task everywhere there are always “exceptions” and they usually show up when you are busy, and a supervisor is not immediately available.

This is the area that we are working and I can speak to, the visitor center is broken into a number of different areas, gift shop, admissions booth, member services, and propagation greenhouse. Some host volunteers work in the gift shop assisting guests with purchases and answering inquiries to a plethora of topics. Or the task that we have been assigned in admissions, our main task is to sell daily passes for the gardens, as well as check in members of the garden.

We have volunteered here not for many of the normal reasons like the free campsite, as we would have normally been boon-docking in a LTVA somewhere in Arizona for $180 for the whole winter, no we are volunteering because we fell in love with this remarkable garden when we first visited it in March of 2020, the year the world was falling into the grasp of the pandemic. This is an amazing location so unlike many of the manicured botanical gardens tucked onto small footprints in metropolitan areas, this sprawling adventure cannot be totally explored in one day, oh you might be able to walk all five miles of paths in a day but to really see everything takes some slowing down and really looking. So, we recommend coming early, pack a picnic lunch to enjoy in the garden and then enjoy the afternoon watching some of the wildlife that inhabits the gardens, and if you return a few days later you will find lots of new sights that were missed before.

Much of our task is very straight forward, collect entry fees, answer the simple questions, like where is this, how far is this, and what should we see, and with one personal visit through the arboretum it all becomes very simple to make recommendations and warn of any areas closed for maintenance or because of natural concerns. The arboretum recently had a close encounter with a fire (the telegraph fire of 2021) which made it to our eastern boundary, as well as flooding during the monsoon season as in the fall of 2021 that threatened to damage the newly created Wallace garden area near Queens Creek, most likely worsened because of the fire damage a few months earlier.

The arboretum is a stand alone privately owned foundation that survives on its entry fees, sales at the gift shop, and its twice a year plant sales (spring & fall) which are major events and bring in substantial revenues. There are over thirty paid staff members that care for the arboretum and its daily operations, there is a board of directors that control the direction of the foundation but the staff make it happen. And after our first month of volunteering have been great to work for and with, and if we can make it work we would return next fall to help out the arboretum.

With only six work camping couples, personalities effect the group demeanour, and we have had limited get togethers, the sixth couple is to arrive after the holidays to get us to full status. The park is ours to enjoy after closing, and we are behind a locked gate after closing, with a key we can come and go as we desire, and we can also bring guests into the park to visit us and enjoy the arboretum.

The arboretum supplies us as host volunteers, a campsite with town of Superior water hookup, 50-amp power connection, and a direct sewer connection. There is laundry provided, as well as washrooms that are shared with staff. No internet or television service is provided, we have not been able to get any OTA signals so satellite or streaming service is required, we have a T-Mobil hot spot that is working reasonably well, and I can get AT&T cell phone signal at the campsite, most cell signals are gone in the lower areas of the arboretum but I’m told there is a new Verizon tower near Superior.

And in return for the sight we make ourselves available for twenty (20) hours a week as a couple. As admittance staff we have fairly set schedules, we are working longer shifts and only working three days a week, and enjoying four in a row off, allowing us to explore the surrounding areas. And this area offers much to do, we are in the edge of the Tonto National Forest, near the Salt River, and the Superstition Mountains, located only an hour east of Phoenix and only thirty minutes to most box stores, as well a good dining and nightlife or activities.

Our site @ Boyce Thompson Arboretum
The view from our site

Some of the hosts that provide the guide service, have had more training time, and work different times to accommodate school education trips as well as the weekend guided tours, so don’t seem to get as many days off in a row, I think we have the most desirable schedule but I know Laurie would like to be doing the guided tours, I would be ok with the weekend tours but have trouble imagining myself with a bunch of school kids, but we’ll see what happens in the future.

Original Review December 13th 2021

Revised Review April 25th 2023