ken vs. covid

COVID catches Ken Hoffman: CultureMap's columnist chronicles his case after a 3-year dodge

After three years of safety, vaccination, and boosters, our columnist came down with COVID.

My number finally came up: I caught COVID. It was bound to happen.

I recently went on a four-night, Thursday through Sunday, cruise out of Galveston with one port stop in Cozumel. It’s up in the air the time and place on the ship I caught COVID, but if I had to pinpoint it, I’d say an elevator, which was packed beer breath-to-breath or the casino where it was smokers’ hack-to-hack.

Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln …

I had fun on the cruise. I won a few bucks when the smoke cleared in the casino. I went overboard on Italian night at the all-you-can-eat buffet. I played HORSE with children on the top deck basketball court.

I won the ship’s Beatles Trivia Contest with a perfect 20 out of 20 score. (Editors' note: Not a fair fight, Ken, given your background.) My prize: a key chain.

I bought the Internet package so I could listen to Jim Cornette’s podcast.

No faulting the cruise line

cruise ship Our columnist places no blame on his COVID diagnosis with the cruise line. Photo by Stephanie Klepacki on Unsplash

I’m not accusing the cruise ship for being reckless with cleanliness. The opposite was true. The staff was obsessive about wiping down banisters and elevator buttons. My cabin was spotless.

Every guest was directed to a hand-washing station before they could enter the buffet. COVID just happened to me. Statistically, it was bound to happen.

Here’s one of bit of extra careful advice. During the stop in Cozumel, I took a cab downtown to do a little shopping at a pharmacy. Prescriptions are so last year. When I got back home and opened a box of “medicine,” I noticed the seal was broken on the bottle. Right down the drain. You might want to check your purchase at the cash register.

The ship returned to Galveston early Monday morning. If you lug your own bags to the gang plank, you can be one of the first to disembark at 7:30 am.

That’s one of the best parts of a cruise vacation. When the trip is over, you’re home within an hour. If you spend a week, let’s say in Europe, getting home takes the better (worse) part of a miserable day between cabbing to the airport, getting through security, waiting for the plane, the 11-hour flight, waiting for your carryon bag which they made you check anyway, the excruciating line at U.S. customs, the shuttle to the parking lot and the drive home.

When positive news is totally negative

Soon as I got home, I thought, "I feel fine..." — one of the answers to the Beatles trivia contest. (Editor's note 2: Showoff.) But hey, let me take a COVID test just to be safe. I had just spent four days mingling with a few thousand strangers wearing flip flops to dinner. Hey, nice feet. I just had a feeling.

Positive. Crap.

I made arrangements to quarantine. I placed my order for H-E-B home delivery, loaded up on frozen pizza and Diet Pepsi — the survival essentials — grabbed some clothes and headed to my Fortress of Solitude in Montgomery.

I also called my real doctor for a Paxlovid prescription, the anti-viral drug for after you catch COVID.

Superman Fortress of Solitude We're not sure if our columnist's own Fortress of Solitude looks like Superman's here — but we wouldn't be surprised.Screengrab via Warner Bros./DC Comics

A fairly light COVID cruise

I am fully vaccinated. I got the shots, five of them, each time on the day I was eligible. During the early days of COVID, I wore a mask in stores and wherever I might encounter people. I followed the science. But I didn’t stop living. I ate in restaurants, I visited Europe a couple of times, even took two cruises last year.

I believe the vaccines worked as intended. Yes, I still caught COVID, but I didn’t get laid up in bed or go to the hospital. I had the sniffles one day, that’s it. I’m glad I tested, though, because, while I had no symptoms, I could have transmitted the virus to others.

I tested positive on Monday and tested negative four days later. I quarantined: I invented fake sick. (Editor's note 3: Accurate.) Two extra days, tested negative each time, just to be safe.

Do I think I caught COVID on the cruise? Yes.

Would that stop me from going on another cruise? No.

I have a Beatles Trivia Contest title to defend. But I think I’ll stay on solid ground and out of buffet lines for a while.

closing the gaps

Texas no longer leads U.S. for racial progress, new report says

Photo by Jerry Kavan on Unsplash

WalletHub's report is released annually ahead of MLK Day.

Texas has been overtaken as the No. 1 state that has made the most racial progress, according to a new study.

The Lone Star State led the nation in 2025, but now ranks in third place behind Georgia (No. 1) and Mississippi (No. 2). It also ranked No. 5 nationally in the list of states with the most racial integration.

WalletHub's "States That Have Made the Most Racial Progress" study is released annually ahead of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. The report compares all 50 states and the District of Columbia across 22 relevant metrics divided into two main rankings: racial integration (which the study defines as "the current integration levels of white people and Black people") and racial progress (defined as "the levels of racial progress achieved over time").

The report's author clarifies that the study focuses only on the racial integration between Black people and white people "in light of racial tensions in recent years that sparked the Black Lives Matter movement."

"We released this report ahead of the holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who played a prominent role in the Civil Rights Movement to end segregation and discrimination against Black people," the report says.

The study further divided each ranking into four main categories measuring the gaps between white people and Black people over time; spanning employment and wealth, education, social and civic engagement, and health. Texas performed the best in education and health, ranking No. 4 nationally in both categories, and it ranked in sixth place for its social and civic engagement. The state ranked 16th in the category for employment and wealth.

According to WalletHub, Texas has "done a lot" to reduce gaps in health outcomes for white and Black residents, such as reducing gaps in health insurance coverage, and reducing the share of Black Texans suffering from "poor health" and diabetes. It also notes that Texas "made the second-most progress when it comes to obesity," but it did not acknowledge the racial bias in body mass index (BMI) that has been increasingly flagged in recent years.

The report further praises Texas for reducing the gap in business ownership between white and Black Texans, and for its improvement in reducing discrimination in the parole system. WalletHub does not offer data behind the parole claim.

"It’s encouraging to look at the data and see that some states have made significant strides toward racial equality over the past few decades," said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo regarding the overall report. "This change demonstrates that state-level policies and residents’ attitudes regarding equality have grown considerably better."

Though racial disparity gaps are closing between white and Black people, racial profiling and discrimination is still a major issue affecting Black people and other people of color across the country.

In 2023, a senate bill banned public Texas universities from having diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) offices and programs, prompting warnings of discrimination against Black, Hispanic, and other marginalized students, including those with disabilities.

The top 10 states with the most racial progress in 2026 are:

No. 1 – Georgia
No. 2 – Mississippi
No. 3 – Texas
No. 4 – North Carolina
No. 5 – Maryland
No. 6 – Florida
No. 7 – New Jersey
No. 8 – Massachusetts
No. 9 – Louisiana
No. 10 – New Mexico

wallethub texas report mlk day

ken vs. covid

COVID catches Ken Hoffman: CultureMap's columnist chronicles his case after a 3-year dodge

closing the gaps

Texas no longer leads U.S. for racial progress, new report says

Michelin-rated Houston barbecue joint fires up retro-inspired second location

'Contractual dispute' compels closure of prime River Oaks steakhouse

Soon-to-shutter Houston margarita bar will transform into new Latin eatery