No More Normal
I didn’t wake up until 11:00am. The sounds of rain outside my bedroom window lulled me into a hypnotic state-peaceful, calm, and “quarantined” from the rising specter of the pandemic. Now I know something is definitely wrong in the world if I sleep in that late and am not sick or hungover. The rain could not prevent me from making the mistake of reaching for my cell phone at which point I was bombarded by coronavirus news.
In a dizzying set of events since last I checked 16 hours ago, California Governor Newsom issued an order shutting down all bars, nightclubs, wineries, and pubs and cut restaurant capacity in half. Included in that order is a self-quarantine for all persons over 65 years of age and those with a compromised immune system. The financial system is collapsing as Las Vegas hotels have closed their doors, the entertainment industry goes on hiatus (movie theaters closing their doors), and there are rampant rumors of martial law being imposed. I looked at the stock market and it has already dropped 9%, even after the Federal Reserve announced 0% interest rates.
There is a major fear being disseminated through online social media news feeds and photographs reporting that food supplies are running low. I personally have to fight against emotionally reacting to this because my logical side says this is not war and the grocery stores in quarantined countries are still open. Yes, there may be empty shelves but there is still food available along with other essential food and water items. Plus, the water is still flowing through the faucets and my refrigerator has a water purifier.
CNN reported the first vaccination for the coronavirus was tested on a small group of healthy participants. This is good news but was tempered by the information that it is still months away from being approved and doesn’t necessarily mean it is a cure.
I feel like I’m in a movie and have no idea what is going to happen next. My wife and I went to grocery store again today, and we found the shelves emptier than three days prior. I overheard a clerk telling an elderly woman that they receive two shipments of food a day but he noticed they were becoming smaller in size. I stood pondering this brief exchange and thought to myself; what does this mean? After visiting three separate stores, we felt like we had bought enough food to sustain us for a couple of weeks. All the basic staples were gone: no rice, no beans, no gallons of milk (only half gallons), no eggs, limited selection of frozen foods, no meat, no chicken, no sliced bread, limited selection of baking goods, no butter, no peanut butter, and the list continues to grow. While shopping, Trump announced new restrictions for the country which included limiting gatherings of ten or more people and he stated we should expect this to continue through at least August.
The children seem confused and we are trying to talk to them about what is happening. My youngest daughter asked if a friend could come over and we said, “No.” It’s difficult because we don’t want to overreact but with the societal upheaval, we don’t want to take on the responsibility of other persons children. At the same time all this is happening, our family dog died this afternoon. I can’t make this shit up. My wife and I were finishing the shopping marathon and my oldest daughter called and informed us the dog had died. In the midst of a cold, gloomy, overcast, rainy day we had take on this challenge. We rushed home and confirmed he had died. We paid our respects to our family dog that for the past ten years had done nothing more than be faithful, loving and ever-present in our lives. Coryn and I carried him to my car and I transported him to the veterinarian hospital where he was cremated. I’m done for the day (over 169,000 infected and 6,500 dead)…time to turn the news off.