Friday, January 29, 2020

I really don’t have much to write about, the days around here have been cold (low 20’s) and gray. I haven’t gotten outdoors for a good walk in over a week. I do manage to do a fitness walk most days and a few short walks with Frisco and I think he is bored with this routine too. So my days are filled with indoor activities like reading, crochet, phone calls with friends and family, some cooking and cleaning, and a good nap on most days.

I watched a good movie the other night, Radium Girls, a story about female factory workers in the early 1900’s, whose job was to paint the faces of clocks with luminous paints and most were poisoned from the radioactive paints.  They were all told that the paint was harmless, instructed to lick the brush to form a point, and then to hand paint the numbers on the clock face - “Lip, Dip, and Paint”. It was used because it glowed in the dark. Many got sick and died from the exposure to radiation but were told by the company doctors that they had Syphilis.  A few conscientious gals found a lawyer to represent them, took on the company, and sued for damages due to labor abuse and helped to establish industrial safety guidelines in this country.  The case was settled in favor of the Radium Girls. Future dial painters were provided with protective gear and instructions in proper safety standards. Radium continued to be used in clock faces until the 1960s.  It is said that a Geiger counter placed over the grave of a Radium girl would continue to detect radiation forever. 

Lily Tomlin was one of the directors and I thought the movie was very well done and accurately depicted the era.  Just another example of corporate greed and it’s all about the money.

I signed up for a craft night on Wednesday and actually got to meet a few women. It was a ‘distanced and masked’ activity but we were certainly not 6 feet apart. We made a paper valentine that turned out to be rather cute. I sat at a table with Linda and we got to talking about our reasons for being here - our kids and grandkids - and learned that her family are neighbors to my family and know each other. They live about a block apart. What a small world it is - I love those stories.

There were rumors going around that management and maintenance staff may be in quarantine due to COVID exposure - I’m glad that I haven’t had any contact with them. I really wish that this information would be disclosed to residents - some felt that it would cause panic, but I would rather be informed than be ignorant.