Hola a todos. A relative of mi amigo/my friend (you can read about her here), asked him to violate all COVID health guidelines (both California and San Francisco’s guidelines) and his health/life and the health of the people in his household to attend a perfunctory traditional birthday party for a 92 year old woman.

A most offensive suggestion. That’s how I see it.

This relative has attended many super-spreader parties and gatherings over the holiday season. When will her luck run out? She deliberately knows virtually nothing about coronavirus. She didn’t even know what shelter-in-place means and mi amigo wasn’t about to educate her on that. It wouldn’t do any good anyway. She plays to whatever person she’s talking with at the moment. So, if the person thinks COVID is a hoax, she does too, in that moment. If the person takes it seriously, then she jumps on that wagon in the moment.

I’ve never understood why someone who has a birthday close to Navidad, wouldn’t just combine the two celebrations. That’s what I’d do, but no, with this family and this woman they have to be two very different events, which is especially dangerous behaviour in the era of COVID. So for this birthday gathering, mi amigo told her he wasn’t coming but would — as usual — be mailing his gift — and he got her usual stone-cold silence in response. That really means, “Oh you’re being silly. You’re not going to get sick.” That’s how the stone-cold silence translates.

The odd thing about this woman is that she was told by her employer that if any of their employees get sick with COVID, that their company will shut down. Well, she can’t afford that, but it hasn’t stopped her from “having her fun” and continually violating the health guidelines. Nothing has changed with her behaviour and flippant attitude.

Is a birthday party really worth someone’s life? Apparently it is to this woman. Chau.—el barrio rosa