A sad bit of news again about the loss of a former classmate, FLOYE SHARP.
NANCY BAKER first let me know the night she died, and was followed by an email from Class President JAMES HAYS. I have searched for a complete obituary for FLOYE for several days now with no success. This was on the Lange Funeral Home site:
"Floye Sharp, 80, of Ballinger, passed away on Sunday, April 19, 2020 at Ballinger Healthcare and Rehabilitation. A full obituary is to follow."
Sadly, maybe the reason there has been no complete obituary is the fact that her twin LOYE is in a nursing home.
April 20: "Got a phone call from Janice Amarine yesterday to tell me that FLOYE SHARP passed away. She had developed advanced pancreatic cancer, went to a nursing home for hospice and didn’t last long. Cremated, so memorial service in future. LOYE is in the same N H with dementia." JAMES H.I have had several emails from James since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak. I told him I was waiting to hear from other classmates, and would post his activities then. Sadly, I didn't think it would be the loss of another classmate. Here is his enlightening correspondence from someone on the battlefront of the pandemic:
April 8: "For 7 or 8 years, I have been the Brown County Health Authority, not doing much except chasing mosquitoes and bed bugs, and now I have to work for the little stipend, basically beer money. I have had to quarantine quite a few folks, mostly cooperative, helpful people, but a few who didn’t think it should apply to them. I have had to lean on some of them heavily, but haven’t had to use the law yet, usually the mention of such creates cooperation in a hurry. As of today, we have 8 positive tests, 3 recovered, one on a ventilator, one just off of a vent, and more tests returning daily. So far, I haven’t been exposed, but I try to avoid it and take precautions. If New York turns around next week as 'predicted', then Texas should the following week and hopefully we can all breathe easier – with a mask on in public.
"My health is fairly good, otherwise. I am dealing with some after-effects of having polio in 1949, post-polio syndrome, but it appears stable, just can't walk all that well for long. I have quit flying and have sold some airplanes, still have one left and for sale. Can't work on them anymore, and hard to crawl into them now.
"My gut feeling is that we will be able to have a reunion at the projected all school reunion this fall, too early to tell if covid-19 will let us. Hang in there, wash your hands and be safe.
April 14: "I am at the Brown County Health Unit almost daily. Mostly tracking cases and doing what I can in enforcing quarantines. I have the authority to do so as County Health Authority. We have had one death and 10 other positives, 5 have recovered so far. Most all people are trying to follow the rules here. Less so in Ballinger. Smaller counties do not have an organized health unit.
"We quarantined contacts of positive tests and a strict quarantine of the positive tests, especially if symptomatic. It is for 14 days, the incubation period of the virus. One young man was seen violating the quarantine when he was seen at a store trying to buy toilet paper. I told him to use corn cobs, and there was a long silence on the phone. Quite a generation gap. I then told him that a Sears catalogue could supply a family of 6 for 2+ months. More silence. He was clueless. I then explained how to burn the paper. It was an educational experience for him.
"I don’t expose myself carelessly to Covid patients. I use a mask and gloves and a face shield if necessary. I haven't had to strip off on the back porch yet, but that is an option. I did that when exposed to bed bugs once in the past. We got over that without having to burn down a flophouse motel, but barely"...JBH
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Of course, it's always good to hear from DENNY HILL, especially now. He resides most of the year in the village of Port Jefferson on Long Island, NY - an extremely hard-hit area in Suffolk County, which as of April 6 there were over 14,000 cases of COVID-19. I contacted DENNY to see if he was affected. He replied:
"I am staying home, not having any contact with people, but I go out to the supermarket for food only once per week. And when I do, I wear a mask and gloves. My pharmacy is next door to the supermarket, so I can stop in there also."
"I am staying home, not having any contact with people, but I go out to the supermarket for food only once per week. And when I do, I wear a mask and gloves. My pharmacy is next door to the supermarket, so I can stop in there also."
And yesterday:
April 21: "Poland is sending a supply of equipment and a contingent of doctors to Chicago, to help out with the corona crisis there, and also for the Polish doctors to learn how best to treat corona patients. And this comes from a country of limited means, with a population of only 38 million. The first flight is to arrive in Chicago on Thursday.
