Recorded for Posterity
Just for my own memories ... and anybody else that wants to read them sometime ... what's going on in April 2020.
This started out being "nothing to worry about, not even as bad as the flu." Should never believe what you read out of Washington nowadays.
At the present, we're quarantined with all "non-essential" businesses closed. Restaurants and grocery stores remain open, but stores are limiting the number of shoppers inside and restaurants are pick-up or delivery only. Healthcare isn't going to close, of course, and the mail's still running. Stores like Walmart and Lowe's and Home Depot seem to be open, though I'm not sure what's essential about Lowe's and Home Depot. I guess construction continues even during the pandemic. Looks like lawn care is also still operating if the number of pickup trucks towing mowers is any indication.
People are being advised to wear masks when going outside, though where you're supposed to find a mask to buy is up in the air. Walgreens ran out back in March and hasn't had any delivered in weeks. People are making their own make-shift masks and putting directions on social media. One of our customers gave us 4 home-made masks before I got canned so that was nice of her even though the ones we were provided were probably more effective.
People are doing a lot more walking in their neighborhoods now. I'm seeing lots more of my neighbors passing my window than I usually do, and kids are playing outside more. Haven't noticed much reduction in car traffic when we do get out to get groceries and such, but the morning and afternoon school traffic is gone because all the schools are closed.
Our so-called leader has been spending the crisis tweeting about his FaceBook ratings and making ridiculous statements about how to cure the virus. If you ask me, the man has dementia and his followers are afraid to pull him out of office. Nobody could seriously wonder out loud if injecting disinfectants might cure a virus unless they had something seriously wrong upstairs.
The rest of the world seems to be coping better than we are, with far fewer deaths and overall cases. We've actually had protestors gathering to whine about the quarantine and demand their "rights" to congregate whenever they want to. Many of these later turn up with COVID-19, which I consider karma at work, but they're also risking the lives of innocent bystanders and family members, which I consider grounds for a lawsuit or jail time.
The really crazy thing during all this has been the toilet paper. I can see people buying up disinfectants and stuff, but nobody can keep toilet paper in their store! People are actually hoarding the stuff. Before stores started limiting the number of packages you could buy, they were loading up 2 or 3 carts full of paper. Not sure if they were actually thinking they'd use it all during quarantine, or if they thought they could resell it at a huge mark-up to their neighbors ...
So far, food is still plentiful, even if some of the stuff you really want isn't always available when you get to the store. Hamburger meat is especially chancy. People are rediscovering how to cook and sharing tips on social media for baking bread (yeast is another chancy purchase so get to the store early) and making various dishes. We've been eating oddly after being mostly gluten-free for years, but we haven't seemed to suffer too much from frozen pizza and spaghetti noodles and sandwiches. We do still try to cook healthier options when we can find the proper ingredients.
Entertainment is in big demand of course, and most movie companies are releasing films direct to DVD and AppleTV, although at a marked-up price for rentals. Jigsaw puzzles are a hot commodity, as are paint-by-number kits. Since there are no sports events or concerts, many musicians and actors are giving free shows from their homes on social media. Patrick Stewart, for example, is reading Shakespeare's Sonnets (one a day) and many actors are reading children's books. Musicians are performing for free and artists are giving free demos and classes. Many authors are offering reduced prices on their books (or no prices in some cases) and also doing free readings on social media.
It's annoying having to cancel things you really wanted to attend, such as the writing conference that was supposed to be this weekend and church services. However, the only way to contain a pandemic is to quarantine and stay quarantined until you "flatten the curve." The danger is that people are getting tired of it and are likely to push to reopen everything (our so-called leader is already doing this) which will cause a second wave of cases that will likely be worse than the first wave has been.
I'm trying to save/share as many of the humorous memes on FaceBook as I can for "posterity." We've got a pretty good base of folks with quirky senses of humor. Now if they'd only get out there and vote come November ...
Have been chatting regularly with J & P via Minecraft and Discord; telephone calls and FaceBook messaging with Bar and my family. Haven't heard from B & A in ABQ though, which worries me a bit. B is particularly bad at correspondence however, so I'm hoping that's all it is. My other friends periodically post on FaceBook or text the group, so they're all OK. The fear is that, with social distancing, you or a loved one could catch the virus and nobody would know about it. People are literally dying alone in the hospitals because visitors are not allowed. Lots of praying going on, you can bet.
Stay safe out there friends!
This started out being "nothing to worry about, not even as bad as the flu." Should never believe what you read out of Washington nowadays.
At the present, we're quarantined with all "non-essential" businesses closed. Restaurants and grocery stores remain open, but stores are limiting the number of shoppers inside and restaurants are pick-up or delivery only. Healthcare isn't going to close, of course, and the mail's still running. Stores like Walmart and Lowe's and Home Depot seem to be open, though I'm not sure what's essential about Lowe's and Home Depot. I guess construction continues even during the pandemic. Looks like lawn care is also still operating if the number of pickup trucks towing mowers is any indication.
People are being advised to wear masks when going outside, though where you're supposed to find a mask to buy is up in the air. Walgreens ran out back in March and hasn't had any delivered in weeks. People are making their own make-shift masks and putting directions on social media. One of our customers gave us 4 home-made masks before I got canned so that was nice of her even though the ones we were provided were probably more effective.
People are doing a lot more walking in their neighborhoods now. I'm seeing lots more of my neighbors passing my window than I usually do, and kids are playing outside more. Haven't noticed much reduction in car traffic when we do get out to get groceries and such, but the morning and afternoon school traffic is gone because all the schools are closed.
Our so-called leader has been spending the crisis tweeting about his FaceBook ratings and making ridiculous statements about how to cure the virus. If you ask me, the man has dementia and his followers are afraid to pull him out of office. Nobody could seriously wonder out loud if injecting disinfectants might cure a virus unless they had something seriously wrong upstairs.
The rest of the world seems to be coping better than we are, with far fewer deaths and overall cases. We've actually had protestors gathering to whine about the quarantine and demand their "rights" to congregate whenever they want to. Many of these later turn up with COVID-19, which I consider karma at work, but they're also risking the lives of innocent bystanders and family members, which I consider grounds for a lawsuit or jail time.
The really crazy thing during all this has been the toilet paper. I can see people buying up disinfectants and stuff, but nobody can keep toilet paper in their store! People are actually hoarding the stuff. Before stores started limiting the number of packages you could buy, they were loading up 2 or 3 carts full of paper. Not sure if they were actually thinking they'd use it all during quarantine, or if they thought they could resell it at a huge mark-up to their neighbors ...
So far, food is still plentiful, even if some of the stuff you really want isn't always available when you get to the store. Hamburger meat is especially chancy. People are rediscovering how to cook and sharing tips on social media for baking bread (yeast is another chancy purchase so get to the store early) and making various dishes. We've been eating oddly after being mostly gluten-free for years, but we haven't seemed to suffer too much from frozen pizza and spaghetti noodles and sandwiches. We do still try to cook healthier options when we can find the proper ingredients.
Entertainment is in big demand of course, and most movie companies are releasing films direct to DVD and AppleTV, although at a marked-up price for rentals. Jigsaw puzzles are a hot commodity, as are paint-by-number kits. Since there are no sports events or concerts, many musicians and actors are giving free shows from their homes on social media. Patrick Stewart, for example, is reading Shakespeare's Sonnets (one a day) and many actors are reading children's books. Musicians are performing for free and artists are giving free demos and classes. Many authors are offering reduced prices on their books (or no prices in some cases) and also doing free readings on social media.
It's annoying having to cancel things you really wanted to attend, such as the writing conference that was supposed to be this weekend and church services. However, the only way to contain a pandemic is to quarantine and stay quarantined until you "flatten the curve." The danger is that people are getting tired of it and are likely to push to reopen everything (our so-called leader is already doing this) which will cause a second wave of cases that will likely be worse than the first wave has been.
I'm trying to save/share as many of the humorous memes on FaceBook as I can for "posterity." We've got a pretty good base of folks with quirky senses of humor. Now if they'd only get out there and vote come November ...
Have been chatting regularly with J & P via Minecraft and Discord; telephone calls and FaceBook messaging with Bar and my family. Haven't heard from B & A in ABQ though, which worries me a bit. B is particularly bad at correspondence however, so I'm hoping that's all it is. My other friends periodically post on FaceBook or text the group, so they're all OK. The fear is that, with social distancing, you or a loved one could catch the virus and nobody would know about it. People are literally dying alone in the hospitals because visitors are not allowed. Lots of praying going on, you can bet.
Stay safe out there friends!