Pwers1103's blog

First, I hope everyone is doing well & remaining healthy. I'm somewhat older than most of U, grin, having borne witness to a history most of U have never experienced & yet I never thought I would be living in times like these because i would not have believed history would repeat itself so soon (never underestimate the idiocy of the American people who hopefully & eventually get it right).
Despite my youthful looks, lol, I'm a boomer, a child of the 60s- I was there when a beloved President was assassinated; when race riots rampaged across the country, when a wasted conflict became a war that cost 55,000 lives of young men "drafted" into service (more than a few of whom were in my HIgh School) & divided our country & marched for the end of that war; I was there in the 70s when women & gays (incl me) marched for civil rights & experienced the ecstasy of sexual liberation; I was there when a previous epidemic in the 80s destroyed my community in NYC, killing almost all of my friends & most of my partners while our government did virtually nothing; I was there in the 90s when we decided that silence meant death & we "Acted Up" & progress was finally made in that epidemic; I was there in 2001 at Ground Zero when the Towers came down, saw unimaginable horror & since I lived near those ruins & worked for the government assisted in the recovery (more friends died that day); I was there when another idiot President decided to go to war based on a lie & caused a great recession; & now I am here, watching thousands die needlessly in my hometown because the worst possible piece of crap is leading this nation during one of its most dangerous times.
As I had said in my file months ago after a health issue forced me to cancel my trip to Wrestlefest, the real fight in 2020 is the political one- for those of U who are reluctant to discuss politics for whatever reason, look at what has happened & how seriously your lives have & will be changed.
Anyone with a brain should now know what the World Health Organization has said in its guidelines once this pandemic seems to plateau & the results of political complacency- we are entering a "new normal" and this is esp true for contact sports. For many of U, this is your primary community so U best begin making adaptations & recognize the new reality- there won't be much fighting for a long time. If U want to see what real leadership looks like during this difficult time, the Governor of New York gives daily briefings about the effect of the virus within this state (11:30EST)- unlike Il Duce, his briefings begin with facts each day so we can see & have seen the trajectory this virus has taken w/in this state; over the past month, we have seen the drastic rise of this virus & its death toll till what now appears to be a plateau in this, the epicenter of the virus due to the density of NYC. He has moved heaven & earth to insure this state had the necessary capability to contain this virus & in a short time, he organized a statewide mobilization and coordination of resources, which seems to have worked, thank you Governor Cuomo.
I mention this for a reason- he is now discussing a gradual return to normalcy after what will be two months of social distancing/stay in place orders. For example, we must now wear masks or face coverings when in public, a small price to pay to keep the virus at bay. And after what this state has experienced & what has been done to reach this point in time, U can be damn sure he will NOT allow anything or anyone to compromise a SAFE approach to the "new normalcy:' & he will be doing it on a regional basis- rest assured, that most if not all of the Northeast US, along w the W. Coast, will be in lockstep w these guidelines due to his extraordinary leadership.
But this is what U guys need to understand- in order to return to normal, there needs to be testing & the priority for testing will go to essential workers & what will be considered essential will be impacted by whether the service is of high or low risk for the transmission of the virus. In short Dudes, gyms & places of physical recreation will most likely NOT be open for many months because I doubt any public health expert will consider them very essential, esp since they obviously have a high risk for infection, particularly true for contact sports. In fact, I have been reading that more than a few colleges have disbanded their wrestling programs indefinitely. I don't wanna be the bearer of bad news but until we have sufficient testing or a vaccine (note that after almost 40 years, there is no AIDS vaccine tho there is a medical regimen that has suppressed the virus), U should plan accordingly. Know that in NY, wch has done the most aggressive testing anywhere on the planet & wch is why we have the most cases, we have only tested just over 2% of the population & this country has tested only about 1% of its population- hardly enuff testing necessary for so many to get back to a "new normal". Be prepared to social distance for the long haul.
The other thing is that many of U will be tempted to wrestle "underground", a decision everyone is free to make. Just know that this is what life was like in the 80s during the AIDS epidemic- gay men did not stop having sex; one had to assume everyone was positive & accept that risk if it happened, wch it did to many who did not engage in safe sex. But here is the big difference- w AIDS, U were the only person being infected by that sexual act & even tho the diagnosis was fatal at that time, one could prevent the infection thru safe sex & did not usually die w the first hospitalization- it was a gradual but complete destruction of the immune system. Here, a match between 2 individuals w one or both being asymptomatic can cause several other members w/in the community to be infected because this virus is so easily transmitted & some may be more vulnerable to the disease resulting in death (wch is what is happening at this moment in time). Remember, this is a public health crisis- it may be time to be selfless rather than selfish. Your choice Dudes.
My first blog was entitled Lucky because I have been- I resented not living in a metro area because I was not afforded the same opportunities for matches as most of U living in those areas since i live in a rural area of upstate NY now; but up here, I have my own 3BR house on an acre of land so social distancing for me is no big deal- I have a huge yard to work & play in outdoors; I cannot wait for the weather to warm up so I can begin working out outdoors in my yard. My county is 3X larger than NYC w only 1% of the population so my frequency of contact w others is much less than in a metro area. & there are times age has its prerogatives- because NYS is so on the ball, I was able to snag a CV test & am currently negative & intend to stay that way, wch is hard because like most of U, I would not mind a good fite & even more, a hot fuck (so many NYers have escaped up here & so many are lookg for a good time BUT once in awhile, we gotta act mature & remember, this is NOT all about us- we're in this together, let's get out of it together alive & in good health.
Good luck, stay strong & be well Dudes. Shortly, I will tell U how I was able to snag the test & what the test was like- let's just say that after a minute, U just might wanna tap out, grin.
& if U have s/thg negative to say, feel free- I am negative & can fite anytime-U?? Just sayin..