Jump to content

COVID-19 thread of kindness, and how to help

Brisketexan

By Brisketexan
in Daily Texan

 Share

Recommended Posts

Helobious

Helobious 9477

Posted
Posted

Had a small family bbq yesterday, attended by my 89 year old grandma. She still walks around, can go up stairs, cooks, and has her wits about her. We had thought about calling the party off, but she wasn’t having it, because family gatherings made her happier than anything else in life. She said if this virus didn’t kill her, something else would. She’s always said that if it’s your time to go it’s your time. No CR but this is the same woman that waded through the Rio Grande some 60 years ago even though she couldn’t swim. All in search of a better life. 

There were only about 20 of us there yesterday, no one was outwardly sick at all but who knows who has it. Watching my grandma walk around, smile and talk to everyone, it is very hard to imagine that she would be better off/healthier locked in a room until this whole ordeal ends. 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Popular Post
Wulaw Horn

Wulaw Horn 18963

Posted
  • Popular Post
Posted

I bought the guy in front of me's grocery's the other day.  I had my cart full of provisions to isolate for a couple weeks and I looked at  his and he had something like 4 different items, but 10 items apiece.  I started thinking- this looks a little odd- then I thought about it a minute and thought- oh- this is his version of stocking up on his "staples" but he probably doesn't have enough money to do it right.  I thought his wife was going to cry when I asked her if it was ok if I bought their food. Best $50.00 I've spent in a while. Hopefully it made a difference to them in some way.  They were old (like 75 probably) and had a 3 year old in the cart with them. I was super quiet about it and just kind of nodded at the cashier that the groceries were on me. She told my daughter what I did and my daughter (9 year old) ran out caught up with them and bought her a toy from those things at the door that you put a quarter or 50 cents into.  Was proud of her. She said "I guess we both got to help someone today daddy"

I hesitate to share this story as I'm pretty cautious about the admonition that Christ makes that those who trumpet their good deeds here on earth get their reward here on earth in the form of adulation. I share here, b/c, I know you assholes won't view that as worthy of adulation, especially coming from me and talking about christian teaching, so I'[m safe there I think.  I share,  rather to encourage/shame others to participate in random acts of kindness of this sort until all this dies down.

  • Like 16
Link to comment
Share on other sites
utee94

utee94 15742

Posted
Posted (edited)

Good job wulaw.

Similarly, when I was at the store today, the lady parked next to me finished loading her groceries into her car just as I was rolling past, headed to return my cart to the cart corral.  I offered to take hers as well, and she smiled and thanked me.

So I feel like we're kind of equal in our efforts, and I, too, am certainly not looking for surly's praise. ;)

 

 

Edited by utee94
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Wulaw Horn

Wulaw Horn 18963

Posted
Posted
28 minutes ago, workswithseed said:

Good to see ya Wu.

I’ve opened 2 new businesses since I logged off the shag a couple years ago. Not posting here was helpful in focusing my energies there where it would be appropriate. I feel like I’m about to have a lot of time on my hands...

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Dahobbs

Dahobbs 17420

Posted
Posted

I've now setup a recurring donation to Houston Food Bank. What else can I do in Houston? Unfortunately, it seems like most places need volunteers, but with a recently pregnant wife I can't risk infection. Any other places Houston area people are donating to? Other ideas to help those locally?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
hornian

hornian 5201

Posted
Posted

I know from recent personal experience (my dad is in hospital and we had to get him to execute a Medical Power of Attorney before he had heart surgery) that too many people don't have proper documents in place for a medical emergency. Even though my law firm is not working at the office, we are focusing our energy on helping people get those documents in place right now. 

Here's what we have posted publicly on other social media, want to make Surly aware too: 

Jorgeson Pittman LLP is focusing our energies at this time on helping our community be prepared for the unexpected. It's always a good idea to have medical powers of attorney and advanced directives in place but given the current situation in which we find ourselves, our community members can longer afford to put off the creation of those documents.

With that in mind, we want to make you aware of the following services we offer, as well as make you aware of a cost-effective way to protect yourself, and your family, if the need arises for you to use your medical documents.

Experienced Attorneys 

For over a decade, the attorneys at Jorgeson Pittman LLP have helped hundreds of families throughout the state draft and put into place comprehensive estate planning documents, including medical powers of attorney, advanced directives, HIPAA releases, designations of guardians, hospital visitation authorizations, durable powers of attorney, and wills. Given the urgency many Americans are currently witnessing in our healthcare system, our attorneys have decided to dedicate their time to meet with clients (over the phone or online) and put our experience to work to ensure these documents get put into place in a very timely manner (in a matter of days or weeks, not months). 

Online Notarization and Witnessing for Documents

Jorgeson Pittman LLP offers our clients the ability to have their estate documents notarized and witnessed online, so long as the client has access to a computer or device that can access the internet and has two-way audio and visual capabilities – a smart phone for instance. Being able to meet with and witness estate documents remotely is especially important right now given the guidelines on social distancing and will also allow any person to execute their documents, even if they are not physically in Austin, or even in the United States. 

 Texas Legal - Legal Insurance

 If the cost of putting together your estate package has kept you from moving forward with their creation, we want to let you know about cost-effective solution. For over 7 years Jorgeson Pittman LLP has accepted Texas Legal, a non-profit legal insurance company that was founded over 40 years ago by the State Bar of Texas to help Texas residents. One of Texas Legal’s best benefits is that they cover 100% of the creation of your estate package - including medical powers of attorney, advanced directives and the creation of your will. The insurance plans they offer are month-to-month with no contract and start as low $26 per month for an individual, and $40 per month for a family (with discounts if you buy an annual plan - $250 total for a year for an individual and $365 total for a year for a family). It is important to note that you must be a member by the 25th of the preceding month for the insurance to go into effect on the 1st of the next month - so if you are not already a member of Texas Legal, and you want to have your medical documents put into place in April, you need to sign up by March 24th.

You can find more information about Texas Legal at the following website: https://texaslegal.org/independent-legal-insurance-plans. Once you have a plan number (which you should receive shortly after applying), please reach out to our office at (512) 320-0999 or info@jptexaslaw.com to get started. 

If you do not already have comprehensive estate planning documents in place, or if you need to update your documents, please contact us to find out how we can help.

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Chewbacca

Chewbacca 7727

Posted
Posted
50 minutes ago, Js1 said:

I got rid of my car after i Moved to Denver - I've had 3 different set of neighbors in my apartment offer me rides to the grocery store as needed.

Good peeps. 

Denver's a tough city to live in without a car unless you never leave downtown.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Js1

Js1 85056

Posted
Posted
3 minutes ago, Chewbacca said:

Denver's a tough city to live in without a car unless you never leave downtown.

I don't.  I have friends with cars and I take RTD to/from work and I live 2 blocks from Coors Field, so everything is walkable.

Amazon Fresh or WF via Prime has been my groceries for the last 3 months but no delivery slots. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Pato del Muerto

Pato del Muerto 52322

Posted
Posted
40 minutes ago, Js1 said:

I don't.  I have friends with cars and I take RTD to/from work and I live 2 blocks from Coors Field, so everything is walkable.

Amazon Fresh or WF via Prime has been my groceries for the last 3 months but no delivery slots. 

Hey has that steampunk looking, beer serving indoor mini golf place opened yet?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Pato del Muerto

Pato del Muerto 52322

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, BurntEyes said:

Details anywhere here already? Feel free to PM if it would derail.

I bought this set of stacked trays and bag of broccoli seeds on amazon. 
Put seeds in clear trays. Every morning and every evening, empty the bottom green tray of water and put about a cup of fresh water in the top. There are weep holes that the water drains down each tier and maintains humidity. I’m at day 3 I think for the batch in the picture I just took. 
 

I’ll add an amazon link if I can find it but I’m sure there’s plenty of stuff out there for different scale growing. 

08CA792F-9706-4DF3-ACCA-147D06E482C6.jpeg

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Trey3216

Trey3216 15325

Posted
Posted

Another thing, and I’m sure it’s upthread somewhere, but here are a few other things we can do:

1) send your pastor a text message, give them a call during this time.  It is so difficult for them right now because their mission is to be with and teach the flock, care for the elderly, visit those in the hospital or non-ambulatory.   It’s a massive mental strain on them.  Pray for them, tell them you love them and give them encouragement, they need it too.  
 

2) Our Sunday School class (Young Adult Families and Newlyweds) is breaking into groups of 4-6 families.   We will be calling on each other and interacting frequently to help keep each other’s spirits up,   We’ll also be making sure we’re all doing ok food/monetarily/emergency-wise in case we need to rally together as a group.  
 

3) When you do get to the H-E-B, if/when open of course, make sure to tell the butchers, stickers, managers, cashiers, etc thank you, and mean it.   Those folks have families they are concerned about too.  They’ve been under stress just like us, and our general American impatience about not getting what we want is straining on them enormously right now.   Tell them thanks for their hard work, and thanks for keeping us fed.  It will go a long way.  
 

was in H-E-B earlier to pick up bananas and oranges, and Queen/Bowie’s “Under Pressure” is playing.  What a somber time hearing that song with 400 people in the store walking around like shell shocked zombies.  Made me shed a tear or two while I was singing under my breath and seeing strangers doing the same, nodding at each other like ‘we’ll get this shit’

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
austingirl

austingirl 2184

Posted
Posted

If there's a thread for stuff to do during isolation that's not geared towards kids and teens, point me in the right direction. For now I'll just share this here - we are huge Geeks Who Drink pub trivia fans, and if anyone else is too you probably saw that they had to lay off just about all of their staff. But, because they are awesome, they are going to do livestreams of quizzes on Twitch, and you can donate to help keep those going - right now it's basically run by volunteers. They did the first one tonight and while it's not quite the same as doing it at an actual bar, it was still fun and brought a small sense of normalcy to our lives. Twitch channel here.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
SHOOTER12

SHOOTER12 8787

Posted
Posted
On 3/13/2020 at 11:02 AM, Brisketexan said:

And I'll be honest...a significant reason for this post is my own mental health.  I've been working on the buildup to this for several weeks -- my job is crisis anticipation and management.  I saw this coming, and I work with enterprises that saw this coming.  It's been like watching 9/11 unfold in slo-motion, and that's been stressful as hell.  I'm worried about my parents.  I'm worried about my family, and my daughter who is in college out of the country.  I'm worried about all the people impacted by both the illness and the economic effects.

My job is to help people.  And I can't help everyone.  We can't help everyone.  Bad shit is going to happen, and there's nothing we can do to stop it all.  But we can stand and help the people we can.  We can't help them all.  But goddamit, we can help some of them.  And we can't do anything less than that.  We just can't.  It's the thing that's keeping me going.

Excellent,

Giving is healing...

Serving is healing...

Loving is healing...

Healing is to be given for free...

Link to comment
Share on other sites
SHOOTER12

SHOOTER12 8787

Posted
Posted
On 3/13/2020 at 11:33 AM, workswithseed said:

This doesn't sound like the Brisket of the last couple of years, "hope and sunshine"?  I like this, it's nice to see a hopeful side of you.

 

 

On 3/13/2020 at 11:41 AM, Trey3216 said:

If there's one thing I've learned about Brisket, he's as genuine and people loving as anyone out there.  We had some damn good heart to heart PM convos during the Harvey disaster and aftermath.  

Deep down, we can all be good people, we just have to learn to let that be us all the time and let the differences we have be background noise, which will ultimately fade away if we don't focus on negative energy.   

 

On 3/13/2020 at 11:47 AM, Brisketexan said:

Here y'all go, some sunshine.  Italians singing to each other from their homes:

In the darkness, let's choose to be the light.

 

On 3/13/2020 at 11:51 AM, workswithseed said:

I know he's genuine, and good hearted man. It's been sad to see him on the ledge for so long, it's nice to see him looking to something positive. 

 

Brisket is good people.  I've been on here and tos, a number of years and he's the real deal.  Sometimes when folks stray from their norm we tend to criticize or be assholes (tis the Surl), without realizing even the best of us undergo stress and pressure that is never known to others.

Seek the best in a person, expect to find the best in a person, and you will see and find the best in that person.

Just be patient and expect the best.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
SHOOTER12

SHOOTER12 8787

Posted
Posted
On 3/16/2020 at 2:52 PM, Wulaw Horn said:

I bought the guy in front of me's grocery's the other day.  I had my cart full of provisions to isolate for a couple weeks and I looked at  his and he had something like 4 different items, but 10 items apiece.  I started thinking- this looks a little odd- then I thought about it a minute and thought- oh- this is his version of stocking up on his "staples" but he probably doesn't have enough money to do it right.  I thought his wife was going to cry when I asked her if it was ok if I bought their food. Best $50.00 I've spent in a while. Hopefully it made a difference to them in some way.  They were old (like 75 probably) and had a 3 year old in the cart with them. I was super quiet about it and just kind of nodded at the cashier that the groceries were on me. She told my daughter what I did and my daughter (9 year old) ran out caught up with them and bought her a toy from those things at the door that you put a quarter or 50 cents into.  Was proud of her. She said "I guess we both got to help someone today daddy"

I hesitate to share this story as I'm pretty cautious about the admonition that Christ makes that those who trumpet their good deeds here on earth get their reward here on earth in the form of adulation. I share here, b/c, I know you assholes won't view that as worthy of adulation, especially coming from me and talking about christian teaching, so I'[m safe there I think.  I share,  rather to encourage/shame others to participate in random acts of kindness of this sort until all this dies down.

Damn man..an example to us all, well done brother.

Now if I can just get all this dust out of my motel room...

Link to comment
Share on other sites
ztejas

ztejas 43244

Posted
Posted (edited)
3 hours ago, austingirl said:

If there's a thread for stuff to do during isolation that's not geared towards kids and teens, point me in the right direction. For now I'll just share this here - we are huge Geeks Who Drink pub trivia fans, and if anyone else is too you probably saw that they had to lay off just about all of their staff. But, because they are awesome, they are going to do livestreams of quizzes on Twitch, and you can donate to help keep those going - right now it's basically run by volunteers. They did the first one tonight and while it's not quite the same as doing it at an actual bar, it was still fun and brought a small sense of normalcy to our lives. Twitch channel here.

I'm trying to donate through the link and it's just not going through. Send me a PM if you can get it fixed or if there's somewhere else I can pay - I'm down to donate towards something that's trying to stay afloat through twitch. 

Damn. You fucked up. 

 

 

 

Edited by ztejas
Link to comment
Share on other sites
austingirl

austingirl 2184

Posted
Posted
6 hours ago, ztejas said:

I'm trying to donate through the link and it's just not going through. Send me a PM if you can get it fixed or if there's somewhere else I can pay - I'm down to donate towards something that's trying to stay afloat through twitch. 

Damn. You fucked up. 

 

 

 

Ah, sorry, the donate link isn't easy to find - here it is.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Goredho

Goredho 17302

Posted
Posted

This showed up on my FB feed this morning.  The person who posted it is a friend from high school and now the director of an elder care facility in Austin.  If you are in the area and have a surplus of N95 masks that you could donate, PM me and we can work out a way to get you connected.

help.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites
InkaUtexas

InkaUtexas 25426

Posted
Posted

As a group we are pretty damn blessed. One reason is we have this site. During Harvey we organized a lot of shit for those who needed it and love seeing this is going on again. But right now it is so hard to know who needs what. I would suggest we all send a pizza or 5 (from local business) to the nurses and first responders. Fuck the wreath fund, lets see what we can do to alleviate the needs of those on the front lines. 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
High Plains Drifter

High Plains Drifter 10970

Posted
Posted

 

On 3/15/2020 at 11:03 AM, Pato del Muerto said:

Also, I’ve been growing broccoli sprouts hydroponically in the kitchen  for a while now. Each batch takes about a week. 

 

This intrigues me. How do you do this?

 

 

We bought a 250 dollar gift card from our favorite locally owned restaurant. We've used it tonight for takeout, but will probably save most of it for later, when (if) things get back to normal. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Pato del Muerto

Pato del Muerto 52322

Posted
Posted
4 minutes ago, High Plains Drifter said:

 

 

This intrigues me. How do you do this?

 

 

We bought a 250 dollar gift card from our favorite locally owned restaurant. We've used it tonight for takeout, but will probably save most of it for later, when (if) things get back to normal. 

It’s on the previous page, further down. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing


Football ... Basketball ... Baseball ... Other Sports ... Futbol ... 🤫995🤫 ... Gambling ... Movies & TV ... Music ... Hobbies ... Lulz ... Food & Travel ... Daily Texan ... Business and Markets ... Cloak Room ... Help ... For Sale ... Board Discussion ... Subscribe!... Donate!... Advertise... COOKIE MONSTER!

×
×
  • Create New...