Your Governor Is Probably Smarter than Mine!

by Pa Rock
Masked Missourian

Unless you are stuck in a science-denying backwater like Florida, Georgia, or South Dakota - and possibly Oklahoma, the chances are that your state has a governor who is much smarter than mine.  As Missouri pushes its way toward the top of the COVID-19 infection list, our esteemed Republican governor, Mike Parson, continues to minimize the seriousness of the situation, is seldom seen wearing a facemask in public, and absolutely refuses to put forth any policies which would require residents of his state to wear a mask.

In fact, over the course of the summer Parson has been steadfastly declaring, "You don't need government to tell you to wear a dang mask!"

Parson's wife, Teresa, drinks her kool-aid from the same pitcher as her politician husband and is also seldom seen in public wearing a facemask.  The Parson's buy their kool-aid in bulk from the Trump White House.

Yesterday Mike and Teresa Parson both acknowledged that they have been diagnosed with COVID-19.  He is currently holed-up in the Governor's Mansion in Jefferson City and working from home while in quarantine.  Teresa returned to the family farm in Bolivar, Missouri, to serve out her time in isolation.

Mike Parson turned sixty-five one week ago today, and Teresa's age does not seem to be a matter of public record, though she is also reported to be in her sixties.  They have two grown children - one of whom is a public school teacher - and five grandchildren.  Governor Parson underwent heart surgery to clear a blockage in 2016.

Governor Parson, who replaced disgraced former Republican governor Eric Greitens when Greitens resigned due to a sex and bondage scandal one year into his first term, is now running for his first election as governor.  This past week Parson was the featured speaker at a large campaign event in Springfield, Missouri, where he and most of the other speakers and guests chose not to wear masks.  On Tuesday Parson and his wife toured a new golf resort in Branson along with another special guest - Tiger Woods.  This coming Friday Parson was scheduled to participate in his first campaign debate against his Democratic challenger, State Auditor Nicole Galloway.

Ms. Galloway has wished the governor and his wife a full and speedy recovery.

Pa Rock also wishes Governor and Mrs. Parson well and hopes their bout with this dreaded disease proves to be uneventful.  It would also be nice if Missouri's political leaders learned something from this scary situation.  Ignoring science can have devastating consequences, or, as one person on Twitter noted yesterday, "If you play stupid games, you win stupid prizes."

(Note:  Missouri is currently one of the coronavirus "hotspots" in the nation.  The state has had over 120,000 of its citizens test positive for the virus, and there have been nearly 2,100 COVID deaths - and news reports indicate that the numbers in Missouri are rising faster than the national average.)