PART XI

Say the five dead in Cameron County: "Thank-you for leading us to safety President Trump like a coyote guiding illegals north through el monte even though a few may perish crossing King Ranch."

Say the 450 dead in Texas: "Congratulations President Trump for proving to the religious nuts that Jesus didn't rise on Easter Sunday because none of us have returned from death."

Say the 39,000 dead in the United States: "We applaud you Mr. Trump for keeping the press honest. They didn't give you credit for the huge numbers who attended your inauguration, but these low-life journalists have learned their lesson and are finally giving you credit for your big numbers now. Cheers! Twice as many Americans have died than in any other country."

The President, however, can never hold back his temper when it comes to "fake news." He said he was misquoted when the newspapers recorded him as saying, "We are going to win so much you may even get tired of winning and you'll say please, please Mr. President. It's too much winning! We can't take it anymore."

Kelly Conway, the vacuous virago who sells herself to the Far Right as Trump's favorite strumpet in his harem of blond bimbos, accused reporters of purposely changing one letter in the President's discourse to give the impression to the public that he was overly optimistic about the Coronavirus outcome. Conway clarified on the White House South Lawn what the President really had to say:

"We are doing to die so much you may even get tired of dying and you'll say please, please Mr. President. It's too much dying! We can't take it anymore."

Offered Father Jesus P. Cadissimo, who ministers to the Cameron Park faithful despite being excommunicated from the Brownsville diocese after he accused the previous bishop of protecting pedophile priests who were sodomizing scores of altar boys, this caveat to the crucifixion:

"It was Christ's intention to sacrifice his life on the cross to cleanse humanity of all sin, but he would have refused his father's request if he had known that the latter was going to create Trump. Too much is simply too much. What's the goddamn point of hell's existence if we're not going to punish monsters like Trump for eternity!"

PART X

"We owe Montoya and McHale a debt of gratitude," said Tony Gray, ex-State Rep Rene Oliveira's longtime legislative aide. "Juanito and Doc, great writers with finely tuned senses of humor, not only entertain us; they inform us with their blogs. While they have no problems throwing chingasos, they can also take your best shots.

"Their critics, and there are many, want to say that the two are drug addicts, alcoholics and womanizers, but if the truth be told, they are regular guys, the kind of batos that I have called my friends and with whom I've always associated.

"They imbibe deep from life, but they love their families, they talk politics, they know sports and they stand on their own merits. They are not opposed to buying 'just' one more round. While they are certainly the best journalists in South Texas, their writing extends to fiction and poetry. In my estimation they use their blogs as a stage for their performance art.

"Brownsville is lucky to have this one-two punch, particularly with a newspaper that has relegated itself to the bench these days. I may date myself employing this analogy, but I remember when the New York Yankees had Mantle and Maris and the San Francisco Giants had Mays and McCovey. I can't think of two better sluggers batting third and fourth in the line-up than Montoya and McHale. They hit for average and power. And they show up to play every day.

"Their records speak for themselves. The reason they have a high winning percentage is because they aren't afraid to lose. Once an election or an issue is in the win-or-loss column, they may have a few to celebrate or lament the final result, but they are already looking forward to the next challenge down the road. They believe that the war never ends, but that doesn't mean you can't vanquish the opposition in the next battle.

"Though Brownsville has a dynamic blogosphere, I can't stomach Booby Witless-Cervezas or whatever that keg of flat beer calls himself. I know that he isn't physically well, but is he mentally ill also? Someone called him a sick puppy. In my estimation he is more akin to a dead dog.

"I appreciate Jim Barton and Diego Garcia's contributions, but they don't produce. They are more like relief pitchers or pinch runners. I will add that I miss McAllen's /DP-M. He had game. He possesses Montoya and McHale's verve and vitality, but Brownsville, after a couple of tussles in the sack for this swordsman, bores him. I can sympathize with the sentiment.

"I'm sure the victims of Montoya and McHale's vitriol won't accept this argument, but it isn't personal with either of the them. Every spellbinder needs heroes and villains. Their targets are nothing other than the inspirations for imaginary characters, but you have to comprehend the fictional realism genre to appreciate their perspectives.

"There are those, particularly when we're closing the bar, who want to know my favorite of the two bloggers. I answer: 'It depends. Do I want to read Cervantes or Shakespeare?' They have their unique talents, but it's an apples-and-oranges argument. They meet my tastes equally.

"Fortunately for those of us who cherish Brownsville like a lost love, Montoya and McHale, Mr. Insider and Mr. Outsider, were destined to tell the Third World Capital of the United States' story and they tell it well. They are best described as a glass of cold water in that sad town where poverty, ignorance and corruption have turned a one-time paradise into a scorched earth."

PART IX

There are hundreds of stories like this tragedy as the death toll soars toward 25,000 and the number of Coronavirus cases near 600,000, both stats the highest in the world with few signs that these numbers won't double, probably triple, perhaps quadruple before the Grand Reaper has collected his quota of corpses in his pursuit of death.

The BISD as well as the other Brownsville charter and private schools know that the threat of this pandemic won't cease until, at best, this summer. Does the press need to document cases locally like the heart-rending article that follows?

The school year is over. There may be minutes still ticking on the clock, but the result is a foregone conclusion. We are well into the fourth. There will be no comeback. We need to be safe and not sorry. This is no time for rash decisions when lives are at stake. Would the school district's trustees or the administrators for the charter and private schools sleep well at night if an employee or a student died from this modern plague after they had chosen to resume classes? Could they look themselves in the mirror knowing that they had blood on their hands?

Trump doesn't give a shit; he is a half-wit. We are different in South Texas because in the struggle to save our own we are not indifferent.

It is time to fold. Nobody is holding a winning hand. There is no gamble worth the risk. We don't have the odds on our side. Let families concentrate on keeping their loved ones well. This is the year that all students pass because it's not worth allowing an arbitrary decision to give a sense of normalcy that will result in their passing to the other side when we know that the beast will continue to stalk victims for at least two more months. 

Brownsville and the Rio Grande Valley have been designated hot spots by the liberal publication Politico. Read this story and ask our leaders if they want to be responsible to contributing to a similar outcome as this poor woman is presently suffering and from which she will never recover for the rest of her life. We aren't interested in the bureaucratic bullshit. We have seen the light. It's time for those in power to do what's right.

End the school year or employees and students will die!!! It's that simple, The decision, therefore, should be that simple. Here is the report from the Detroit News:

The father, 59-year-old Freddie Lee Brown Jr., a retiree, died on March 26. The son Freddie Lee Brown III, a college student, died March 29.

Sandy Brown held a small visitation Friday for her husband and son with mourners standing outside their cars, adhering to social distancing, according to reports.

“My two men are gone. I am standing here in the strength of the Lord, not no strength of my own," Brown said, as WWMT-TV reported.

Sandy Brown touching the forehead of her late husband, Freddie Lee Brown, Jr., after she cried over her late son, Freddie Lee Brown, III, right, Friday in Flint, Michigan.

She gave her men a purple teddy bear and dressed them in their Sunday best, the station reported. A Michigan State jersey draped the casket of her son, a football fanatic.

They died at Ascension Genesys Hospital in Grand Blanc, southeast of Flint.

Brown’s husband, who had a kidney transplant, fell ill and then went to the hospital after having trouble breathing, the Detroit News reported Friday. He tested positive for COVID-19 and wound up on a ventilator, the report said.

The day after his death, Brown’s son, who had asthma, got sick. His condition reportedly improved but then worsened before he died.

“There’s not even a word created to describe my pain. It’s unimaginable,” Sandy Brown said.

“In three days, I lost my husband and son to an ugly plague. I watched my son go from completely well and whole and happy to being gone in three days."

As of Saturday, the number of coronavirus deaths in Michigan stood at over 1,300. State health officials said nearly 24,000 people have tested positive.

PART VIII

Today is Easter Sunday. I fixed bacon and eggs for Claudia and myself. We were going to sit on the back patio, but the morning sun was in a pitiless mood and we retreated to the air-conditioning. While much is touted about Jesus Christ's resurrection and his victory over death, one of the least known accomplishments in the pantheon of supernatural feats was God's creation on the eighth day. The Garden of Eden, located in the Middle East, can get damn hot and God, despite his terrible temper, was a practical thinker. He blessed humanity, particularly those of us in South Texas, by inventing air-conditioning. I think of God as the first Thomas Edison for lack of a better comparison.

It is early afternoon and my step-son Dario is sleeping. He delivers food and works well into the night. He says he is wearing gloves and a mask, but I don't know. I don't inspect him as he comes and goes. He could prove the chink in our armor. Michael, as usual, played video games all night and rose around noon. To celebrate Easter, I went to Whataburger and super-sized a number 13 with a large chocolate milk shake for him. Claudia bought a new push broom yesterday and decided to sweep the driveway clean of leaves in the late afternoon. As a result of her chronic back problems, she can't move after bending over to fill several large garbage bags with refuse. She is in the bedroom, seated in her favorite chair and reading. The dogs are curled at her feet.

How things have changed. In my youth Easter was an important holiday, ranked only behind Christmas, Thanksgiving and birthdays but ahead of Fourth of July and lesser celebrations like Memorial Day and Labor Day. While turkey was synonymous with Christmas and Thanksgiving, ham was synonymous with Easter. Both Christmas and Easter were synonymous with mass and mother made sure that Dad and the children were impeccably attired while she stayed at home and anxiously awaited the news on the comments our family had  elicited when we entered church. There were times when my dad couldn't afford a car and we would pile into a taxi that would usher us to our divine destination. Dad and the boys wore gray pants with blue blazers and the girls dazzled in their demure dresses with ribbons fluttering from their long locks that fell perfectly on their shoulders.

With Coronavirus laying siege to our lives, this Easter Sunday will be no different from a Monday or a Wednesday in the middle of spring. Much like my Catholicism has ceased to have any meaning for me except as a melancholy memory, Easter has even less meaning. Did Jesus conquer death? I doubt it. I have zero faith that I will conquer death although I may have second thoughts when death comes knocking and I have nothing to lose but call for a Hail Mary Pass.

There will be some interaction between the four humans and the two animals that occupy this house, but for most part we will each keep our separate peace. When Michael was a child and Dario and my step-daughter Karina weren't yet teenagers, Claudia would paint eggs and fill them with confetti. She would invite her parents to the house that will always hold the mystique of home in our minds. She and I would hide the eggs in the backyard and then sit under a twisted mesquite with the grandparents while the three kids ran excitedly collecting the eggs in their baskets and then cracking them over the adults' heads. We would ultimately retire indoors where, a traditionalist as a result of my Catholic roots, I had prepared a ham that was annually applauded.

Unlike Jesus, if there is a scintilla of truth in the New Testament, we are condemned to dying. Whether or not we reemerge on the other side is an individual determination. But worse than death, are we condemned to sadness as we age and the stark realities of life become ever more frightening and disheartening? I fear the worst, but like my father who couldn't bear looking at fading photographs, I try not to think too much. I do my best to relish each moment breathing deeply before Coronavirus or another evil accomplice destroys my lungs.

PART VII

A phone conversation takes place between Dr. Polyphemous Pangloss and Scott Steinbeck:

Doctor: We will pass 200 cases in Cameron County by early next week. Coronavirus is assailing Houston. We don't have any idea to the extent of the disease in Matamoros. Why is there any reason to reopen the schools? In the most perfect of scenarios we are going to have the virus through May.

Steinbeck: The BISD should end classes until August. We must return to normalcy before we can even think of returning to classes. You remember the show The Munsters? Even those freaks would be so frightened by Covid-19 that they wouldn't send their children to school.

Doctor: It's all a sham. The superintendent is trying to give the community the false impression that instruction is taking place with this distance learning, but for the kids it's out-of-sight, out-of-mind. They dumped their binders in the trash weeks ago. Instead, the superintendent wants to have a turf war with the mayor. He says that the mayor has no right to shut down the campuses in order to prevent the spread of the pandemic. We're not interested in the size of the superintendent's huevos. He seems more interested in having a pissing contest with the mayor over jurisdiction. Wouldn't it be wonderful if all our BISD employees and students escaped death!?!? We don't want an "A" for effort. We want an "A" for results. 

Steinbeck: At the earliest classes will resume May 4th. What's the point of conducting classes for three weeks with the Coronavirus black cloud still hanging over us? Is the superintendent thinking like Trump and putting homework ahead of health? Does he resent the fact that the BISD employees are receiving checks without him cracking the whip over them? They ran him out of McAllen for a reason. He needs to stop the insanity and think rationally. End the school year before he discovers that like Trump he has blood on his hands. 

Doctor: If the superintendent is intent on educators earning their pay checks, he should expand the professional development programs and allow teachers to become certified in several areas via online courses. He isn't leading by example. Too many BISD employees are at risk because he wants to maintain his charade of a functioning and productive school system when the opposite is true. Is he refraining from making the smart decision out of spite because he resents former BISD Trustee Erasmo Castro calling for the immediate cessation of classes and prevailing with his demand? 

Steinbeck: I don't know the superintendent's motivations. He's not a Brownsville person. He's from Hidalgo County. His heart is not in our community. Erasmo claims he still lives in McAllen. If the superintendent isn't going to do the right thing, then it's time the school board stepped forward and assured the BISD family that they need only preoccupy themselves with staying healthy and listening to the mayor and other public officials who are doing their best to make the right call. Fuck this distance learning bullshit! We just need to keep our distance! Maybe the superintendent feels he can always escape home to Hidalgo and wash his hands like Pontius Pilate, but there's no where our trustees can flee if they have blood on their hands. 

Doctor: How's the wife? 

Steinbeck: Horny as hell. I need to go to Matamoros and buy Viagra. Is the little blue pill considered an essential item? 

Doctor: I don't know, but you should what I do. I watch pornography before I bone the old lady.

Steinback: Do you watch anything in particular? 

Doctor: Creampies are the ticket. 

Steinback: What are creampies? 

Doctor: When a man is pulling his cock out of a chick's cunt just as he is ejaculating and the sperm is pouring out of her and running down the crack of her ass, that's a creampie.

Steinbeck: Does she watch the porn with you? 

Doctor: Most the time. It gets her hot. Probably brings back memories.

Steinbeck: How do you access these performances? 

Doctor: Just type in creampies on your computer and you will have a hundred choices from which to select. 

Steinbeck: You known I'm not very computer savvy.

Doctor: Ask your son for help.

Steinbeck: He's only 10.

Doctor: It's a different world. Got to go. 

Steinbeck: Thanks for the tip. Talk to you soon.

PART VI

Welcome to the Coronavirus Club!!!

This is the map that Politico, the most read liberal blog on the internet, has at the top of its page. It shows the hot spots where the pandemic is hitting the hardest in the United States. As illustrated by this map, Brownsville and the Rio Grande have qualified for this ignominious list.

According to the latest count, Cameron County has soared over 150 cases with several deaths, the majority related to a Harlingen nursing home where an employee and patients passed.

"Brownsville and Cameron County never achieve any positive coverage," said an ex-columnist for The Brownsville Herald. "We are know for poverty. We are known for ignorance. We are known for corruption. You cross the river to drug infested Matamoros or Reynosa and the small towns that exist between the two major cities and you are entering a blood-soaked region that the State Department designates as dangerous as Afghanistan.

"I heard somebody say that we are the cockroaches of the world. We are already recognized in Brownsville as the Third World Capital of the United States. Are we the victims of a conspiracy or are we the culprits of our own degradation?

"We have so little reason to feel proud of ourselves. We are held in such disregard that Trump wants to build a second wall that starts at the gulf, cuts through the King Ranch and ends north of Roma. We live in a no-man's land. And as we can see on this map that millions of Americans are studying for themselves, we are personas-non-grata because we represent a threat to many of our fellow citizens since Coronavirus has found a home in our homes.

"I heard Trump trumpeting that tequila kills the virus. If that's true, then it's time to get fucking drunk! If we don't cure Coronavirus, at least we can forget who we are. Not only have we become a disgrace to the human race, but, like Trump, we are considered the scum of the earth."

PART V

I get it. Coronavirus is such a health risk that we are willing to concede our liberties. Plenty of life-long atheists have requested the last rites on their death beds. Stark realities work a cruel magic. I am as much a coward as the next guy. Paranoia is part of our DNA. It keeps us alive. Generally, it prevents us from making stupid decisions.

Since I don't know anyone nor do I know anyone who has known anyone who has contracted Coronavirus, we have doubts about its lethalness. In Cameron County we have had more or less 50 confirmed positives and no deaths. This is among a population of approximately 600,000. New York City, on the other hand, has had 85,000 cases with 2,000 deaths.

Texas has 4,700 confirmed cases with 70 deaths, the country has 240,000 confirmed cases with 6,000 deaths and the world has eclipsed one million confirmed cases with more than 50,000 deaths. The Spanish flu, which gripped the world from 2018 to 2020, claimed anywhere from 20 to 100 million deaths, nobody knows for sure.

Our bumbling and blathering president finally accepted on April Fools' Day that at least 100,000 Americans could die and under a worst case scenario more than two million could lose their lives. He boasted during his campaign that the United States would recover its greatness again--whenever that was--and he was right. We will have the greatest number of confirmed cases and deaths on the planet if projections prove true.

We live across the Rio Grande from Matamoros with its estimated population of one million in a country of 130 million. Mexico's president, Andres Miguel Lopez-Obrador, implemented a policy against the cartels called "abrazos, no balazos" (hugs, no slugs). Violence has increased dramatically as if treating a rattlesnake with love would give it second thoughts about poisoning you.

Confronting Coronavirus, he held up a prayer book, a two-dollar bill and a four-leaf clover as his protection at a press conference. If Trump is a fool, then this snake-oil salesman is a complete idiot. Should this pandemic explode across the border, we will be overwhelmed by a crisis that will make the overflow of illegal immigrants seem like a trickle.

I am adhering to the mandates of the government at all levels. I keep my distance when I have to run an errand such as shopping, I stay at home otherwise and I wash my hands frequently. My wife (Once my ex, I believe she qualifies for common-law status now), my son and step-son abide by the same rules although my step-son delivers food and attends a trade school that holds classes twice a week. I hope he isn't the one breach in the dike, but he needs the money. It is impossible to control everything because there are realities that transcend our circumstances.

To compensate for the factors that are beyond our management, we have sacrificed basic freedoms. We have a midnight to five curfew. We cannot leave our homes unless it's an absolute necessity. When we do, it is only one person in a car unless there's an emergency.

And we have accepted the police state. Law enforcement can stop us without probable cause. Though there is reduced traffic in the streets, a policeman can randomly pull us over and demand an explanation for our presence on the road.

"I'm going to my buddy's house for a bag" or "I'm heading to the liquor store for a bottle of tequila" or "I'm getting a massage for my bad back" or "I'm stopping at the convenience store for some condoms" aren't cutting it with the cops. Depending on their moods since they are presently as powerful as St. Peter deciding who's spending eternity in heaven or who's burning forever in hell, he or she can write a ticket that will cost you $500 or he or she can arrest you. Many of these victims may be fighting to make ends meet because they are unemployed. Nasty!

I have never known these draconian measures in my lifetime. I imagine myself in a South American country where the military has overthrown the democratically elected government and dissidents are being corralled and steered to stadiums where they are tortured and executed in locker rooms.

When you are afraid, fear fills your mind and engenders the most frightening of settings. But we are living in the lesser-of-two evil times. We aren't thinking twice about surrendering our rights because losing our lives would be a much more dreadful outcome.