100,000 DEATHS

It would have been more fitting if Trump had achieved his goal two days ago on Memorial Day, but some Democrats weren't willing to give up the ghost and hung on for a few more days, but even as their lungs collapsed they cursed the perverted president's name before they expired and made it possible for the Republicans to give their leader a standing ovation as the COVID-19 deaths exceeded 100,000 deaths on May 28, 2020.

To give the number context, the Vietnam War, the greatest tragedy of my Baby Boomer generation, took less than 60,000 deaths in a conflict that extended more than a decade while Trump has attained his impressive figures in five months. As is his wont, Trump took a victory lap proclaiming that there might have been a million deaths if it hadn't been for his herculean efforts.

Trump failed to congratulate Brownsville or Cameron County for their contributions to his cause, but the area is 90% Mexican-American and 70% Democratic, those numbers quite intimidating for an individual who depends on racist whites to maintain his hegemony.

Both Brownsville and Cameron County sit atop his Top Ten Hate List. Congressman Filemon Vela Jr. let the president know that he was number one on both the Brownsville and Cameron County Hate List when he informed the odious gringo, "Mr. Trump, you're a racist and you can take your border wall and shove it up your ass."

Brownsville, which is known in such god-forsaken places as Paraguay, Afghanistan and Togo as the Third World Capital of the United States, has been spared the brunt of the pandemic with only a half-dozen deaths. We have no doubts that Trump is blaming the Democrats for undermining him in his pursuit of astronomical statistics, but in more Republican oriented Harlingen two nursing homes--nicknamed Auschwitz and Belson--have brought a smile to Trump's face with approximately 25 deaths.

Coronavirus, though it hasn't attacked me physically, has jarred me mentally. It is the shadow in the middle of the night that pursues me as it does every one else. I have watched the footage of D-Day and the Americans landing at Normandy. With bullets whizzing past them in defiance of their vision, some soldiers suddenly drop to never rise again while others successfully move forward and reach protective covering. Am I going to be one of the lucky or unlucky ones?

Dr. Polyphemous Pangloss, who knows this reality firsthand, has told me time and time again, "Life is a whisper.

We know that we're not going to live forever. The evidence is rather overwhelming, But you start saying to yourself, "I didn't think it was going to be over this fast." You are lulled into complacency because physically, mentally and financially you are not ready to throw in the towel. And you still have some good fucks left in you!

Will fatalities ultimately prove fatal to Trump's political career? He is opening the country as quickly as possible. Will increased interaction spark a spike or will the hot summer months cause the virus to disappear miraculously as the president has predicted?

With still more than five months until the election against Joe Biden, it is entirely possible that 200,000, maybe 250,000, Americans will have perished by that date. How can he possibly win with these lethal figures largely a part of his own incompetency and heartlessness? Of course, he will spin it: "If it hadn't been for my prompt action, two million Americans would be dead instead of 200,000."

Some people don't know if they fear Trump or COVID-19 more. I fear the latter more because this pandemic may be the beginning of endless waves of viruses. I hope, since I don't pray, that the masses rise in rage because Trump doesn't embody the America that they consider themselves to be and tar-and-feather his white ass.

But even under a worse case scenario, he will be gone in four years and we will be through with him forever. With any justice, he will burn in hell for an eternity. Move over Hitler! Even the devil won't be able to withstand the stench of human excrement smoldering and will poke his head out of his fiery pit for a breath of fresh air.

Others argue that there is a quality vs. quantity question regarding Trump. They insist that he could do more damage to the world with four more years than COVID-19 could do in a century. We never wish ill on anyone, but never say never, particularly when Trump is the subject of this argument.

The hate is palpable and hate is a powerful motivator to bring voters to the polls. The Greek and Roman gods would have never tolerated Trump's hubris. Why does the Christian god twiddle his thumbs when he could resolve our plight with a well-placed lightning bolt? Is he worse than Trump in that he refuses to accept that he made a mistake?

Life goes on. Or does it? I have ventured into public places to dine and drink, but I have done my best to maintain social-distancing. Last Saturday, however, I let my guard down. Claudia and I ate at La Pampa, arguably Brownsville's best restaurant. Two bottles of wine later we were either feeling daring or had lost our senses. We ventured to The Broken Sprocket, a collection of food trucks with a bar, and finished another bottle.

Our fellow drunks had also thrown caution to the wind and there was much shaking of hands and even a couple of embraces. The next day I had the same guilty feeling I have had on numerous occasions for making wrong decisions.

Guilt does have a positive side. It means you're still alive.