It’s starting.

Ghost-like mists are rising from the rivers and creeks. Early fall asters and mums are starting to bloom.  Nuts are falling onto the walkways. Desiccated leaves sparsely cover paths.  We have had some blissfully cool mornings.

Everything is pumpkin spiced.

That’s right, crisp fall days are coming. Gorgeous oranges, reds and yellows, the death rattle of dying leaves.  Soon warm coffee drinks will replace ice-cold teas. The loud whining sound of leaf blowers will replace the grinding sound of lawn mowers.

Fruits and vegetable stands will close. Late summer crops will die and dust from harvesting will spray the air.  Eventually frost will be sprinkled over the fields like diamond dust.  Bursts of steam will emerge from horse’s nostrils.

Autumn is coming!

Oh joy.  My least favorite season.

But there is one thing about autumn that I do appreciate–the vivid colors that emerge as the dense humid summer atmosphere gives way to the clear, bright skies of autumn.

I have always loved color. In my early scientific research, I studied human perception because it is just so fascinating, how our senses limit our perception of the physical world.

Humidity dulls our perception of colors because its scatters the sunlight.  Wavelength scattering is very important in our perception of color.  The reason that the sky appears blue is a phenomenon called Rayleigh Scattering.  In simplified terms, small atmospheric particles scatter the shorter, blue wavelengths; allowing us to perceive the sky as blue.  Interestingly, if our cones were more sensitive to shorter wavelengths, the sky would appear violet.

Artists have long maintained that there are places that have more vibrant colors.  The South of France was favored by Impressionists because they believed that the bright, clear air allowed them to see the full color spectrum.  Similarly, many Plein Air artists flock to places in Maine, e.g., Deer Island, that provide similar vividness.  For those looking for the brightest colors, look for places with high altitudes, less pollution and low humidity.

Cone receptors on the back of our retinas allow us to see colors.  We have three types of cones (called trichromacy):

• Short-wave cones for colors with short wavelengths, such as purple and blue.
• Middle-wave cones which are sensitive to medium wavelengths, such as yellow and green.
• Long-wave cones to see colors with long wavelengths, such as red and orange.

In the last decade, scientists have discovered that from 2% to 12% of women have a fourth type of cone receptor, called tetrachromacy. (Because it is an X-linked gene, it is highly unlikely that men could have it.)

In 2010, a woman was documented as having true tetrachromacy. Unlike trichromats who can see up to 1 million colors; tetrachromats can see up to 100 million colors. An artist, Concetta Antico, is a tetrachromat, who paints the world that she sees, and gives us a view into her perceptual world.

Since up to 12% of the women have four cones, why hasn’t it been discovered before?  There are two reasons, first we all perceive the world differently.  How many times have you perceived one color and another person perceived it as a different color?  That is due to both labeling and our perceptual visual system.

The second reason that it hadn’t been discovered is a little more complex.  It is believed that this fourth cone is a mutation of the Long Wave Cone (L).  This mutation can be minor, so the cone responds to similar wavelengths to the unmutated L cone.  In that case, while you would possess the 4th cone your perception would be indistinguishable from the vision of trichromats (3 cones).  If, however, the mutation causes the cone to respond to shorter frequencies (the yellow band); that creates tetrachromacy.

Some insects and birds are tetrachromats (have 4 cones). For example, zebra finches use their four cones to find food and select a mate.

As of yet there is no reliable test for tetrachromacy. Scientists are experimenting with scarf colors…but so far, they have found very few women who have full tetrachromacy.

But at least you know that when the bright clear skies of autumn appear, you know why you enjoy more vivid colors; and perhaps understand why some women may see colors a little differently.

Angela Rieck, a Caroline County native, received her PhD in Mathematical Psychology from the University of Maryland and worked as a scientist at Bell Labs, and other high-tech companies in New Jersey before retiring as a corporate executive. Angela and her dogs divide their time between St Michaels and Key West Florida. Her daughter lives and works in New York City.

About 20 years ago I was educated about white privilege. Until then, I was pretty proud of myself.  We moved to an urban school district so that my daughter would experience the real world (she speaks Spanish like a native).  Throughout my career, I hired mostly people of color. Every year, I required my daughter to accompany me to the Martin Luther King commemorative breakfast.

At one of these breakfasts, twenty years ago, a (white) Unitarian minister gave a speech on what it meant to be white; and everything changed.  While there were many examples, some were:

• If I get stopped by a policeman, I probably did something wrong
• If I encounter a policeman, I do not fear for my life
• When I attend a function, I can be assured that most people look like me
• If I behave badly, I don’t represent a group of people, it is just me behaving badly
• If I don’t win the house that I was bidding on, it is because I was outbid (not because I am not wanted in that neighborhood)

The list goes on.  But with each item, I realized my accomplishments were launched from an invisible white privilege springboard.  And white privilege was something that could be invoked without even knowing it.

Look at the example of the Central Park dog walker. She was illegally walking her dog off leash when a Black American man asked her to put her dog on leash. When she hostilely refused, he began videoing her.  She responded by calling the police and falsely accusing an “African American male” of threatening her. It backfired.  His post went viral and she lost her job.  In her apology, she indicated that she was not racist.  I suspect that is correct, it is just that when she needed it, she invoked her white privilege.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9Z2UpLmnsk

One of the most powerful explanations of white privilege was made in a 2017 video about a student race.  If you haven’t seen it, I urge you to.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4K5fbQ1-zps

Before I understood white privilege, I could point to myself as a success story.  While my parents paid tuition (it was inexpensive back then); I worked my way through college and graduate school.  I was the first in my family to be awarded a Ph.D. and I worked HARD.  I worked 7 days a week, long days that often went until 2 a.m.  I was motivated and driven.  But I had the heretofore unknown advantage of white privilege.  Not in acceptances or scholarships or jobs.  I got it from my parents and my culture who taught me that success was through education and hard work.  I got it by seeing adults who looked like me (okay, they were men, but the same color) who had used their education to accomplish great things.  My parents, relatives and other adults showed me the path to my success.

At the Republican National Convention, there were many stories of Black and Hispanic Americans overcoming odds to be successful.  Good for them! But that doesn’t mean that everyone can.  (Many had parents who taught them about the value of hard work and education.)

Isabel Wilkerson in her very powerful and painful book, Caste, The Origins of our Discontent, explains why Black Americans grew up not seeing the same path. Jim Crow laws limited any upward mobility. Any job above menial labor was closed to them, even in the North. Where there were opportunities, they were paid less.

It was the Indians who recognized that Blacks had been relegated to the same caste as their Untouchables (now called the Dalits). Like the Untouchables, Black Americans were prohibited from mixing with whites, from marrying outside of their race, were given inferior facilities and education, were required to treat whites with deference, while whites were expected to treat them as inferiors.  One legislator stated that their goal was to make sure that “the lowest white person was higher than the highest black person.” Through a reign of terror, such as lynchings, false arrests, and harassment they kept Black Americans in fear.  They passed discriminatory laws that prevented Black Americans from being successful.  Sadly, the police were called upon to enforce these racist laws.

The Nazis were so impressed by the Jim Crow laws that they implemented some to oppress the Jews.  Before the Final Solution, they followed American’s blueprint, taking away job opportunities, wealth, and confining Jews to the ghetto… sound familiar?

I urge you to take the few minutes to watch “the race.” Watch how some of the students saw that it was fruitless to race, other students wanted to win regardless of their advantages, and others tried to be supportive. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4K5fbQ1-zps

There is a phenomenon in Psychology called Learned Helplessness. Learned Helplessness happens when animals or people who continue to be thwarted eventually “give up” and do not see an opportunity even when it is presented to them. In a typical human experiment, participants were exposed to loud, unpleasant noises and told to “press the lever” to stop the sound.  Half of the participants had levers that worked and the other half had levers that did not work.  All participants in the latter group gave up pressing the lever; even when they were given a second session (and the lever worked).  The participants had learned that it didn’t matter what they did, so they quit trying.

Imagine what it is like to be told that it doesn’t matter what you do, you will be treated differently, not only from your experience but by your parents’ experiences and their parents’ experiences. Despite the elimination of Jim Crow laws, ubiquitous cell phones capture discrimination and harassment against Black Americans even today.

I am impressed by anyone who can “make it” through the system.  But we must remember that we can only build ourselves up by our bootstraps if we are given boots.

Angela Rieck, a Caroline County native, received her PhD in Mathematical Psychology from the University of Maryland and worked as a scientist at Bell Labs, and other high-tech companies in New Jersey before retiring as a corporate executive. Angela and her dogs divide their time between St Michaels and Key West Florida. Her daughter lives and works in New York City.

When I first came to Talbot County I stayed at my brother-in-law and sister’s place for several months.  One side of the house is edged in woodland and the other side features large, expansive meadows. In other words, a birder’s paradise.

While I was there, I placed four seed bird feeders, three bluebird houses two flat feeders for mealworms, and two hummingbird feeders.

I was well rewarded! (And, yes, I acknowledge that we are not supposed to feed them in the summer…so before I migrate in the winter, I purchase a large guilt bag of sunflower seeds and spread it all over my outdoor furniture and the grass.)

All three of the bluebird houses had nests. Bluebirds were everywhere, a male was usually perched on the fence, guarding his brood.

I had so many goldfinches that I had to fill two large bird feeders twice a day.  Interspersed with the goldfinches were other colorful birds and their bland female mates: cardinals, house finches, indigo buntings, and blue jays.  I even had several migratory Rose Crested Grosbeaks and a Blue Grosbeak.  My fruit and nut feeder became a popular restaurant for woodpeckers: red bellied woodpeckers, hairy woodpeckers, northern flickers and downy woodpeckers.

The hummingbird feeders were awash with hummingbirds, who, it turns out are a little nasty.  After watching some bullying behaviors, I put up more hummingbird feeders so that there would be enough for all; but they preferred to fight.

Convinced that I had found my birder’s paradise, I kept my bird books and my binoculars handy and when I moved into a new residence in town,  I put up three bird feeders and a mealworm feeder. Then I patiently waited for these beautiful birds to find my feeders.

And I waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Finally, a swarm of blackbirds descended on the feeders and devoured all of the sunflower seed. Soon brown birds found the feeders as well.

I did more research. I had been careful not to use cracked corn, I tried other combinations.  I tried safflower seeds (I couldn’t find a single bird that would eat them, even the brown and black ones). I tried other mixes.  The blackbirds just spit out what they didn’t like onto the ground.  The ground beneath the feeders became a green carpet of millet seedlings.

The blackbirds also enjoy the mealworms; no bluebirds or Carolina wrens for me.

After devouring my sunflower seeds, the black and brown birds pelt my patio and furniture with excrement.

Between black and brown bird meals, my bird feeders serve as a training center for the rodent Olympics.  Gray squirrels train for aerial leap, uneven feeders, and wire gnawing events.  Despite frequent repairs, they have successfully destroyed two bird feeders this year.

As for hummingbirds, I tried different commercial foods.  I even made my own hummingbird nectar.  I planted an orange honeysuckle bush. But it turns out that most of my neighbors also have hummingbird feeders; and the hummingbirds preferred their feeders to mine.

It is now late summer, and the blackbirds have departed for the fields, leaving it all for the brown birds and squirrels.  The aggressive little sparrows seem to have a way of keeping keep other birds away.

Occasionally I see a house finch, a chickadee, a cardinal, a tufted titmouse (horrible name) or a blue jay.  But that is pretty much it, just a bunch of brown or black birds.

As I am writing this, I spy a doughty female cardinal fledgling on one of my feeders.

I’ll take it.

Angela Rieck, a Caroline County native, received her PhD in Mathematical Psychology from the University of Maryland and worked as a scientist at Bell Labs, and other high-tech companies in New Jersey before retiring as a corporate executive. Angela and her dogs divide their time between St Michaels and Key West Florida. Her daughter lives and works in New York City.

For those of you who don’t know my story, I suffered life changing losses five years ago. My husband, father, and two beloved dogs died within an 18-month time frame.  In that same period, I suffered health, career and financial losses and my possessions were stolen.  There were other losses too numerous to count. I don’t want to dwell on these losses, certainly other people have suffered more.

But after so many losses, it took me years to rebuild. As part of the rebuilding process, I leaned on two critical principles: recognizing gifts and being grateful for them.

But gifts do not always come in pretty packages.

My dog, Gus, is a perfect example.

After so many losses, I was afraid to love again. It took me two years before I considered adopting another dog.  But I found one who looked promising.  The local SPCA (in Florida) had a sweet, loving, three-year old, 10-pound poodle mix who had the same eyes as a beloved dog.  When I saw him, I instantly fell in love.

Next to this adorable little dog was a 9-year old Maltese mix who had been at the shelter for some time because he was aggressive, a biter, and not house trained.  He growled and attempted to attack any potential adopter.

I have fostered and rehabilitated over 200 dogs as a volunteer for a New Jersey animal adoption group.  As I learned to speak “dog,” I eventually specialized in rehabilitating small, biting dogs.  The key to their rehabilitation is to understand why they bite.  Most dogs are fear biters and bite because they have run out of options to get you to go away (the dog that I already had was a former fear biter). Other dogs bite to protect.  Some dogs bite for dominance. And finally, there are dogs that are just plain cranky.  We dog lovers like to believe that all dogs are wonderful and just misunderstood, mistreated, etc.  But like people, there are some grouchy dogs.  I was pretty sure that this 9-year old Maltese mix fit into the last category.

When the head of the local SPCA saw my resume, she tried to convince me to adopt this nasty Maltese mix.  I explained that I did not believe that I was emotionally ready to take on a dog with issues. But she reminded me that the sweet little dog that I wanted could be placed with anyone, but placing this nasty little dog was almost impossible.

So I gave this dog a chance and sat with him in the cage. He took an instant dislike to me. He glared at me and gave me the dog’s version of an FU.  (Sitting with his back to me.) He bared his teeth when I tried to pet him.

The manager kept up the pressure. She reminded me what would happen if they couldn’t adopt him; biting, aggressive dogs do not get better in cages.

So, I reluctantly adopted a nasty, snarling, growling, leash aggressive, object aggressive, dog aggressive, barking, biting 14-pound dog who hated me. I was determined to give him the best life that I could; but I expected very little.

I was wrong.

It took about 6 months before I uncovered that he was sweet, happy, kind and loving.  And he has become flawlessly housetrained.

I never expected this, nor, it turns out, did the SPCA.  When I brought him back to visit, the lead trainer was dumbfounded.  We both believed him to be a cantankerous, grouchy little boy.

She was so surprised, that she asked me to write a story about him for the local paper.

People incorrectly credit me.  I did no actual training, I just listened to him and recognized that he was rebelling from past mistreatment.  Because of this treatment, he developed a “get them before they get you” attitude.

But once he realized that he was only going to get love, he became the dog that he always wanted to be.

He has given me so much more than I could ever give him.  Whenever I need affection, he is there. If I can’t sleep, he comes over to my side and snuggles with me. He loves everyone and has been a great COVID 19 companion.

He is not perfect; he still barks a lot and is aggressive with some male dogs who dare to venture into his kingdom (which is everywhere that he is).  But I’m not perfect either.

He has been a great teacher, because he taught me that gifts do not always come wrapped.

Angela Rieck, a Caroline County native, received her PhD in Mathematical Psychology from the University of Maryland and worked as a scientist at Bell Labs, and other high-tech companies in New Jersey before retiring as a corporate executive. Angela and her dogs divide their time between St Michaels and Key West Florida. Her daughter lives and works in New York City.

Election Year in a pandemic is a new and frightful experience for many of us.  Spy columnist Al Sikes made a compelling argument that Maryland should send ballots to all registered voters, rather than requiring the absentee process.

The mail-in balloting is underfunded, states are passing laws to make it more difficult to vote, our President who does not want mail-in voting.  This is unprecedented.

Actually, it is not.  It is just what the founding fathers intended.

The Constitution does not directly give us the right to vote.  It alludes to it in Article 1 Section 4:

1: The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing (sic) Senators.

The conservative Supreme Court used this Article in their Bush v. Gore 2000 decision, where they ruled that it gave states the power over elections (effectively ending the recount).  To paraphrase, they decided that while subsequent Amendments gave us the right to vote, they did not give us the right to have our voted counted.  That is the state’s right.

The same court used this Article to effectively gut the 1965 Voting Rights Act in 2013.

While this conservative court’s decisions are egregious, they are not wrong.

The framers of the Constitution only intended for white men of property vote.  They didn’t consider expanding the right to minorities, women, slaves or free people of color, or immigrants.  As a first act after approving the Constitution, states immediately set restrictive guidelines for voting.

So, the Supreme Court is acting upon the wishes of the founding fathers.

While the founding fathers are frozen in time, our country is not.  Almost a third of the Amendments have been passed to increase voting rights.  Amendments to allow direct election of Senators, voting rights to freed men of color, women, immigrants, 18 year-olds, and Amendments to eliminate voting barriers, the poll tax, literacy tests, property requirements.

Still, if you want to restrict voting rights, look no further than Article 1 Section 4. States have historically restricted rather than expanded voting rights (especially in the South).

Time for a 29th Amendment—to amend the Constitution to give Congress the authority to grant and enforce voting rights, given the egregious history of some states. FairVote is a bipartisan group lobbying for just this.

In 2013, an Amendment to the Constitution was proposed in the House of Representatives (H. J. RES 44) that stated simply:

1. Every citizen of the United States, who is of legal voting age, shall have the fundamental right to vote in any public election held in the jurisdiction in which the citizen resides.
2. Congress shall have the power to enforce and implement this article by appropriate legislation.

It died in Congress.

Today we have corporations as citizens, an underfunded voting system that can be changed at will by states. Allowing the Federal Government to control voting, at least in Federal elections, would ensure all our votes could be counted.

Of course, this is a proactive situation, we haven’t passed a substantive Amendment in almost 40 years.  But to quote the Beach Boys:

“Wouldn’t it be nice?”

Angela Rieck, a Caroline County native, received her PhD in Mathematical Psychology from the University of Maryland and worked as a scientist at Bell Labs, and other high-tech companies in New Jersey before retiring as a corporate executive. Angela and her dogs divide their time between St Michaels and Key West Florida. Her daughter lives and works in New York City.

I wasn’t going to write this, but after reading the Washington Post’s story in Monday’s paper, I feel compelled to. These articles distort the data by reporting only cases that confirm their hypotheses (confirmation bias), making us assume that every school is a danger zone.  Let’s face it, fear sells.  Reporters are not scientists or statisticians and do not have the time or knowledge to understand scientific and medical issues.

The good news for all of us is that both the CDC and WHO websites provide accurate and current information from a layman’s perspective. Their articles are written by scientific writers and reviewed by scientists, so we can be assured of their accuracy. In addition to the CDC and WHO websites, NIH and medical journals are making all research on COVID 19 available, no subscription required.

Admittedly, scientific research has its limitations.  First there is a temporal limitation.  Research takes time.  For example, before widespread testing, it was erroneously believed that children did not get this virus because there were few hospitalizations and their symptoms were so mild.  Data has proven that children do get the disease, still their symptoms remain mild and hospitalization is highly unlikely. Another limitation is we have no data on long term consequences.  And finally, there are not enough scientists to research all the questions, folklore, unconfirmed reports that arise.

Spreading myths, misinformation and fear is irresponsible and dangerous.

Myth vs Fact.  There is a myth that COVID 19 virus is a conspiracy, not a problem, etc. therefore we don’t need to take these precautions.  It is easy to believe this if you don’t know anyone personally who had the virus.  But the data say otherwise. The death toll has climbed to over 150,000 people.  Dr. Birx is reporting that the pandemic is spreading.  The death of Herman Cain, who contracted COVID 19 eight days after attending a political rally should make it personal to those who still harbor this misconception.  CDC has clear guidelines and Gov Hogan has posted new restrictions.

You can get the link to COVID 19 updates from The Spy.

Here are other sites that can help you understand of the current impact of the virus.

https://coronavirus.maryland.gov/

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

https://governor.maryland.gov/coronavirus/

WHO has a website devoted to “myth busters.”

https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public/myth-busters

Children.  Parents are understandably worried about their children.  To date, it appears that most children are not seriously impacted by this virus.  For example, the Washington Post article alluded to the problem of MIS-C in children.  This is an extremely rare complication, only 2 children have been confirmed to have died from it and another 4 are suspected. The majority who get this very, very rare complication have recovered and it is not proven that COVID-19 is the source (correlation not causation); of those tested, 30% did not have the virus. The scientific journals remain cautiously optimistic; children don’t appear to spread it among each other; adult to child transmission is much more common.  Parents must understand, though, that these are short-term results only.

At this time, the CDC cannot tell us the impact of COVID-19 on at-risk children (e.g., metabolic disorders, neurological issues, lung disorders, cancer), so they recommend the same precautions as adults who have these conditions.

“The data are striking,” said Dr. Raszka, a pediatric disease specialist from the University of Vermont. “The key takeaway is that children are not driving the pandemic. After six months, we have a wealth of accumulating data showing that children are less likely to become infected and seem less infectious; it is congregating adults who aren’t following safety protocols who are responsible for driving the upward curve.”

“While we don’t yet know the dynamics of the outbreak (in Texas daycare data), it is unlikely that infants and children in daycare are driving the surge. Based on the evidence, it’s more plausible that adults are passing the infection to the children.”  Mathematical models confirm this and indicate that social distancing and masks are the best strategies for curtailing the disease. Schools have reopened in many Western European countries and in Japan after the spread of the virus was contained without seeing a rise in community transmissions.  So, expect to see more alarmist articles like this one about children getting the disease in schools, but the sources of these infections are likely to be adults.

There are many opinions about opening schools.  But the data are clear, schools should only be opened in states where the virus is contained, which at present is only a handful of states in the Northeast and NOT Georgia, Texas, Florida, etc. Let’s face it, children are reckless; and while child to adult transmission may not be common, it could be deadly.  It is widely recognized that the adults who administer to our children are at the highest risk.

Young people, frustrated by a virus that has little impact on them, behaved as one would expect.  Once the bars opened in Florida, the cases grew exponentially.

For scientifically approved information about COVID 19 and children:

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/faq.html#Children

For a scientific discussion about reopening schools (which is ONLY recommended AFTER states have the virus under control):

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMms2024920?query=featured_coronavirus

For a summary of scientific results relating to the disease in children.

https://hms.harvard.edu/news/covid-19-children

Animals.  CDC and WHO report that there is no evidence of across species transfer of COVID 19.  Felines, ferrets, and minks are the most susceptible to the disease; some dogs have gotten it from their owners; but most farm animals are not susceptible to the virus.  Animals can transmit it to their same species but not to humans.  It is widely believed that the original transmission to humans came from eating bats in the Wuhan Provence in China. But in America, we don’t eat bats, so we have that going for us.  Here are the websites about animals and pets.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/animals/pets-other-animals.html

https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/question-and-answers-hub/q-a-detail/q-a-coronaviruses?gclid=Cj0KCQjwyJn5BRDrARIsADZ9ykH157-CVLVvtj82_DvDKrGK8ddIw6_Z_BVmvfAwuZ1kgPAEbNaeeREaAlouEALw_wcB#:~:text=pet

Medications, Household remedies and prevention.  At this time, there are several drug combinations (not hydroxychloroquine or disinfectant) that have been effective in treating people with severe symptoms.  With some combinations, health professionals have been able to reduce deaths by up to one third.

WHO is also an excellent source for prevention and safety information (e.g., mail packages, impact of heat and cold on virus).  WHO also provides guidelines about washing fruits and vegetables, packaging, etc.

https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public

https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/question-and-answers-hub/q-a-detail/q-a-coronaviruses

https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public/myth-busters

Research.  In an unprecedented move, sites offer free access to all research articles on COVID 19.  These are exciting times; NIH is planning to offer 6 million COVID 19 tests daily by the end of the year. Two vaccine trials that have moved to their third and final phase.

https://www.nih.gov/coronavirus

WHO offers a global database of research on COVID 19:

https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/global-research-on-novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov

For those who are interested in reading scientific texts, Science, Nature, and the New England Journal of Medicine offer their articles on COVID 19 for free.

https://www.nejm.org/coronavirus

https://www.nature.com/nature/articles?type=article

https://www.sciencemag.org/collections/coronavirus

Thanks to the Internet, we can get the facts straight from the scientists; this pandemic is too important to rely on anything else.

Angela Rieck, a Caroline County native, received her PhD in Mathematical Psychology from the University of Maryland and worked as a scientist at Bell Labs, and other high-tech companies in New Jersey before retiring as a corporate executive. Angela and her dogs divide their time between St Michaels and Key West Florida. Her daughter lives and works in New York City.

I start to get excited in mid-June.  First the wagons appear.  Then the signs.  Then the awnings.  Then finally, they are here.

Produce stands.

I have lived in several places on the East Coast; so, I am hardly an expert.  But I have never seen as many produce stands as on the Eastern Shore. The Eastern Shore is a paradise for fresh produce.

Even before the wagons arrive, local supermarkets sell produce from local farms. Local farmers’ markets offer an array of produce, meats, eggs, flowers, and ready-made goods. They also sell a variety of organic vegetables and humanely raised meats.  My advice—never, never, never go there hungry.

Local farms allow us to purchase or pick our own produce. Blueberries and strawberries are safe enough for picking; but, for obvious reasons I no longer climb trees for the other fruits.  My sister gets me the freshest greens and tomatoes from the local organic farm.

But the produce wagons are my favorite. Maybe their rustic nature reminds me of the farm life that I was born into. Maybe it is the bright colors of the fruits and vegetables lined on the shelves.  Maybe it is the young people who help me select the ripest produce.  Maybe it is the oppressive heat that reminds me of my childhood. Or maybe it is because they are so convenient.

But they always make me smile.

Every produce stand is awash with color: bright vermillion, multi-colored, yellow and green tomatoes; fuzzy green beans; yellow wax beans; dark green zucchini with white speckles; creamy yellow, funny-shaped squashes; green and white freckled pickling cucumbers; and bright red, and green and yellow colored peppers.  And, of course, the sweet corn…yellow, multi-color and white…so fresh and so sweet.

I am especially fond of the fruits come and go with the seasons.  In the farmers’ markets, local farms and the supermarkets, I purchase bright red strawberries through early June.

In July, when the wagons come, there are fragrant white and yellow peaches, beautiful yellow fuzzy spheres with bold orange and dark red blushes. Next to the peaches are baskets of bright purple plums and yellow and dark red cherries. A table is stacked with dirt-encrusted cantaloupes whose fragrance wafts through the air. One side of the wagon is dedicated to everyone’s favorite: watermelons of all shades and patterns of green.  Their thick rinds hide the crispy, watery, sweet, beautiful red and yellow fruit inside.

I take advantage of every supplier.

Okay, summer on the Eastern Shore isn’t perfect.  The weather can be formidable. But it is a small price to pay for the produce bounty of the Eastern Shore.

Now it is time for the other tradition, the kitchen sauna; created by boiling and cutting the corn from the cob; blanching green beans; or making tomato sauce.

This morning I returned from the produce stand. After lugging my heavy shopping bags into my home, something told me that I hadn’t bought enough.

Time to go back.

Angela Rieck, a Caroline County native, received her PhD in Mathematical Psychology from the University of Maryland and worked as a scientist at Bell Labs, and other high-tech companies in New Jersey before retiring as a corporate executive. Angela and her dogs divide their time between St Michaels and Key West Florida. Her daughter lives and works in New York City.

A friend sent me an email this week which showed pictures of the leaders of countries that have handled the COVID 19 crisis well (Germany, Taiwan, New Zealand, Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Finland) and the leaders of those countries that have handled it poorly (US, Italy, Russia, Brazil, Spain, UK, France).

The leaders of those countries who have successfully managed the COVID 19 pandemic were all women.

This caused me to reminisce on my own career.

When I began my career as a scientist at Bell Labs in the 1980’s it was a tough climate for women.  Many people (both men and women) expected us to fail; the prevailing belief was that women were too emotional, too stupid, too fragile, too silly to work in a company.  As a pioneer, especially a single one, I knew that I was going to have to take some abuse.  The concept of sexual harassment hadn’t been accepted when I appeared in the workplace. So I had to attend lunches at establishments where waitresses were scantily clad; or worse, after dinner “meetings” at strip clubs; and if I didn’t come…well that was proof that women didn’t belong in the workplace. I had to call the wives of the scientists I was traveling with to let them know that I wasn’t interested in having sex with their husbands, lest I be forbidden from traveling due to a spouse’s objection. I worked in offices and conference rooms adorned with calendars and photos of nude women.  It wasn’t a glass ceiling; it was a concrete one and, in the beginning, the women who got promoted either emulated men or were having sex with them.

Many younger men came to my aid; but most older men did what they could to make my job difficult.  I have dozens of stories.  But to give you a simple example, one day, I got pulled out of my meeting by the secretary to let me know that my father had been in a terrible accident and doctors were not sure that he would survive.  I returned to my meeting with red eyes, it was obvious that I had been crying, my demeanor was immediately reported to the senior leadership.  Several weeks later I was reprimanded for being too emotional and was required to complete a training course in how a leader should behave.  Silly, of course, but for women to be viewed as equals, we had to suppress who we were and emulate men.

A lot has changed in the almost 40 years since I began my career. Sexual harassment has banned most bad behavior.  Equally important, women demonstrated that they were good enough to compete in a man’s world.  We had the intelligence, dedication, interest, ambition, and commitment to succeed.  One of the executives from Bell Labs told me that he preferred women to men; as he said: “A woman wants to get the job done, she will do whatever it takes; a man is more interested in his career and what his reward will be.”  Of course, this is also a prescription to be taken advantage of; but baby steps.

Since women have proved that they can excel; we can now be women employees, not employees who happen to be female.  We can be comfortable with our differences and can take advantage of our interpersonal skills, nurturing skills, empathetic and empathic capabilities.  Women are more willing to work as a team; and less likely to require credit.

This is not to say that women are always better leaders; my best and worst bosses were women.  But our perspective is an asset; not a detriment as was previously believed.  The world is a better place when gender and cultural differences are appreciated.  More perspectives and opinions ALWAYS result in a better solution.

So, let’s learn from the women leaders about this COVID 19 crisis.  Why did they make the decisions they made?  What were their considerations? What was their perspective? What can we learn from them?

It makes me wonder what would have happened in this country had we had a woman leader during this pandemic.

Angela Rieck, a Caroline County native, received her PhD in Mathematical Psychology from the University of Maryland and worked as a scientist at Bell Labs, and other high-tech companies in New Jersey before retiring as a corporate executive. Angela and her dogs divide their time between St Michaels and Key West Florida. Her daughter lives and works in New York City.

I believe that we are put on this earth to learn and to grow.  I have a number of lessons to learn. But without a disappointing list of these deficiencies, there is one that many of us share.

Patience.

I struggle with patience, almost daily.  I have made progress, but my friends and family will tell you that I have a lot of work to do…sigh.

It is clear from the recent surge of cases in the COVID 19 pandemic, that our nation collectively also has a patience problem.

Let’s start with the illogical reopening plan.  We knew from the pandemic in Florida, that unlike many flu viruses, heat does not kill this virus.  So, we knew that the summer temperatures would provide no respite. We also knew that despite the highly contagious nature of this virus, we were not going to develop a herd immunity.  Experts estimate that a herd immunity requires anywhere from 60-95% of the population to have had the virus. In the US we have no more than 1% of the population.  Even Sweden, which opted for a herd immunity strategy, “gave up” and only reached around 8%.

So we knew that there was nothing, except fewer cases, and conscientious behavior, that was going to stop the spread of the virus…but we opened up anyway. Why did we reopen? Because of the devastating impact of this virus on the economy and, frankly, we were impatient.

With the exception of natural disasters, we have been able to control or contain many aspects of our environment.  Controlling the environment appears to be a very human thing. Our earliest ancestors used prayer and supplications; animal and human sacrifices; dances and ceremonies in an attempt to control the environment.  In our modern society we rely on science and medicine.  But this pandemic moved too quickly, and we started too late.

But not all the news is bad. Scientists and doctors have been working tirelessly to solve this problem.

They have discovered several medicines (two of them old) that collectively have reduced the death rate by one third.  Trials with a cancer drug to reduce the impact of cytokine storms (if you recall that is when the immune system floods the body with immune cells that attack the body) are promising.  To date, scientists have discovered that the expected mutations of the virus have not resulted in more deadly versions (as happened in the 1917-1918 flu epidemic).

In the meantime, we as a nation must exercise our collective patience.  We must continue to wear those annoying masks, we must suffer from dry hands from over washing and sterilizing, we must keep social distances. In short, we must continue to do what we have done since the pandemic began.  And we must continue to do this until science comes to the rescue with a vaccine.

There is that damn patience problem again.

Angela Rieck, a Caroline County native, received her PhD in Mathematical Psychology from the University of Maryland and worked as a scientist at Bell Labs, and other high-tech companies in New Jersey before retiring as a corporate executive. Angela and her dogs divide their time between St Michaels and Key West Florida. Her daughter lives and works in New York City.

 

Recently I wrote a column about the steps that we need to take to make real change in the criminal justice system, starting with the front lines, the police.  One of the key components of change is effective, nonjudgmental coaching.

Constance Morris Hope is helping me understand how coaching can be an effective tool. She is a seasoned executive coach specializing in coaching in multi-racial and multi-cultural environments. With over 35 years of experience in 26 US government agencies, 39 countries, non-profit organizations, and academia, she has seen how coaching can impact real change in complex and diverse situations.

Since the police officer’s job is one of the most complex and stressful jobs in the public sector, I wanted to find out from an expert what is needed to help us move toward a more racially empathetic environment.

Question:  You indicated that it is critical that the police and justice system want to change. How do you know if there is real commitment to change?

Leadership creates culture, so assessing leadership’s readiness to change and the level of trust between leadership and rank and file is the first place to start. Other key elements are a sense of urgency and the formal and informal communication systems. Change starts at the top, but it will not happen unless all are involved.

Question:  What should we know about coaching that will help us understand its value in making change?

Coaching is not something that is “done” to you, nor does a coach show her client how ‘to do’ something. Our mantra is that our clients are naturally creative, resourceful, and whole.  Coaching is a collaborative process where the client sets the direction and agenda and the coach asks questions assist him in. Greater self-awareness is the key!

Question:  Which is more important, coaching officers or police leadership?

I think both are important, but it might be important to start with leadership, since leaders model the culture and set the standards. In a 2017 study published in Police Chief, 46% of subscribers felt that leadership was the most important factor in establishing change.

Question:  What plan or strategy would you use to coach police officers and their leaders if you had the opportunity?

I would first assess their readiness for change. Next, I would ask them to define what success looks like.  What measures would we use? What needs to happen? Who needs to be involved?

Most importantly, I would build their Emotional Intelligence (EI).

Emotional Intelligence is awareness of your own emotions and those of others; and using that information to build relationships and change your behavior. Self-awareness and empathy are the keys to improving Emotional Intelligence.

Emotions are central to everything that we do, every relationship that we have. They guide and direct our thinking, but they can also ‘hijack’ our reasoning and logic, leading us to make poor decisions and take actions that we might regret later.

High Emotional Intelligence helps officers to:

• Recognize triggers, including their unconscious biases, and immediately apply reasoning skills to make good decisions.
• Understand, manage, and control their emotions at the same time, recognizing the emotions of others. This keeps them from overreacting in challenging situations.
• Develop conflict management skills which focus on resolving rather than escalating.
• Manage their impulses by controlling their emotions instead of allowing their emotions to control them.
• Cope with emotional/confrontational citizens.
• Be more effective and efficient with crowd-control or policing civil protests and demonstrations, arresting people, interrogating suspects, and interviewing witnesses and complainants.

Question:  You explained that the Amygdala autonomic response can be especially problematic in police jobs.  The Amygdala recognizes dangerous situations and reacts automatically.  Can you elaborate how coaching can help “short circuit” the Amygdala and allow the rational brain to take over? 

The Amygdala is the most ancient part of the brain and forms a part of the limbic system where our emotions live.  This alarm system was crucial for our ancestors who needed it to recognize life-threatening situations.  The Amygdala still performs that function; however, today’s threats are less deadly.  The person who cuts us off in traffic, or who interrupts us, or who must be right, or is argumentative, all those can trigger an Amygdala response.

The Amygdala can also respond when we perceive threat in the face of DIFFERENCE. Our Amydala causes us to experience an emotional reaction before we have a logical response. If we let the Amygdala be in control it will take over the logical brain. This is called an AMYGDALA HIJACK and can result in a disproportionate reaction to a situation. Unconscious biases can trigger an AMYGDALA HIJACK. Training and coaching can help officers recognize and identify situations or people that might trigger an AMYGDALA HIJACK and help them develop strategies to allow the logical part of their brain to engage.

Question:  If you had a magic wand, what would be the first thing that you would ask for regarding the police and justice for the African-American?

I would like to see ‘policing’ re-branded to be seen and experienced by diverse communities/populations as a force for good. Police officers would be perceived as protectors of their well-being, as allies. I would like to see public confidence restored in communities where it once was and created where it never was. For that to happen, those responsible for policing and law enforcement will have to have greater emotional intelligence. They would have to change their attitudes, motivations, behaviors, perspectives, and understandings to be more attuned to the communities they serve. Building better relationships with and within diverse communities would go a long way to re-branding.

Question:  Do you think that racism in the justice system is everywhere? 

I think there is entrenched inequality that goes beyond the criminal justice system that amplifies the broader questions of lingering racial inequities in the United States.  We have systems and institutions that produce racially disparate outcomes.

This does not mean that the people who work in them are racist.  They are enforcing the rules and regulations that perpetuate these inequities. They are doing their job.  The question that they and we must ask ourselves is what can we personally do about the situation?

Question:  Do you have any final thoughts? 

My experience is that coaching one person at a time can create significant change that can ripple through the organization. It may require patience, but it creates lasting change.

Change doesn’t happen overnight.  We can take all the courses that we want and get all the coaching that is offered, but if we don’t put into practice what we learn or if leadership doesn’t support it, change won’t happen.  We need to understand that a lot of this is biology-based.  We need to rewire our brains, rewire our neurological pathways, develop new habits, new autopilot responses, new ways of seeing the world.  And that requires intention and practice, practice, and more practice!

Note: Constance Hope lives in St Michaels and is a local advocate for racial understanding.  She can be reached carapacecoaching@aol.com

Angela Rieck, a Caroline County native, received her PhD in Mathematical Psychology from the University of Maryland and worked as a scientist at Bell Labs, and other high-tech companies in New Jersey before retiring as a corporate executive. Angela and her dogs divide their time between St Michaels and Key West Florida. Her daughter lives and works in New York City.