On Sunday evening, I was group texting with a circle of friends. One of them, Shookie, was lamenting that she had been unable to find toilet paper and she was nearly out. As a last resort, she had ordered some biodegradable napkins from Amazon. I had an unopened pack that I offered her, but she told me that a co-worker of hers had scored her a package.
We all shared our (formerly) unbelievable tales of going to the store, what our lives in our workplaces were now like, etc. We than began to talk about plans to get together when this mess is over. We were looking at possibly taking a late August trip (coinciding with a wedding we are going to) to the Portland area together.
But as the evening wore on, the news on TV and over the internet just got scarier and scarier.
On Monday, I was supposed to meet my friend Stacy at the movies. We had planned this several days before. She wanted to see BRAHMS: THE BOY 2 before it left town. We were planning on meeting for the 2:45 pm showing. At 11 am, I texted her to cancel. She was okay with that. Not long afterwards, there was a news bulletin about the White House asking Americans to social distance and not meet in groups of more than 10. Had I not backed out, our movie would probably have been canceled anyway.
Later that afternoon, I got this notice from the theater chain:
In fact, I had been getting several emails from several businesses, ensuring the public's health and safety. They had been coming from every imaginable business; Denny's, IHOP, Groupon, Universal Pictures (announcing they were holding "FAST AND THE FURIOUS 9" until 2021. What did I care? I'd never seen any of them.), Costco, Sherman-Williams Paint, Door Dash, my banks, my pharmacy, my dentist, etc. Mostly I was perplexed as to how they got my email address (Denny's? Really?). But how bizarre...
I checked out the tracking on a package I had ordered and saw this notice:
Jeepers! Reality began to settle in.
Then, last night, the entire San Francisco Bay Area was ordered on lock down. It's just so surreal. The world keeps going topsy-turvy down the rabbit hole faster and faster and there doesn't seem to be any slowing down.
My best friend in the Bay Area (in Alameda County) went to the grocery store. The lock down (which went into effect at midnight) had caused even more panic. The shelves were still bare, but the checkout lines were crazy long, he said.
And then, that same night, my city declared a state of emergency.
With the virus claiming more and more victims, I reached out to some of my friends I had not heard from yet. I sent news articles to them from their areas. My friend in Russia had 10 cases in his town of St Petersburg (up from just a few cases in all of Russia at all just a week ago. There are now more than 50 in Moscow alone).
I have two friends in different parts of Colombia I had not heard from. I had messaged them days earlier and both seemed oblivious to the virus or what was going on. There were only 60 cases of the virus that evening in Colombia according to the John Hopkins map, but that means there are probably more like 600 or more who have already been exposed. I sent them articles (in Spanish) as well.
This morning I heard from both of my Colombian friends. Both said they were sick with "the flu." I asked them how they knew they had the flu and not something else. I urged them to get tested and to quarantine themselves. Angel sent me a photo of his sick self. And then another, showered, dressed and cleaned up, wearing a mask--and obviously out in public. Oh my god. Hello? Clearly they do not get it. And it makes me wonder just how accurate the virus numbers are being counted, especially in poorer countries like Colombia where the citizens might not understand how grave things are. (But today's report says there are now 75 cases. I'm guessing it is more...)
This virus doesn't just kill the sick and the elderly. It can strike and kill any one of us. There is a doctor in Seattle in intensive care who is in his 40s. Dr. Li Wenliang, the doctor in China who first got word out about this virus, was only 38 when he died. Today a 21 year old soccer coach in Spain died as a result of contracting the virus. And yet, I read about a 103-year-old woman in China recovering from it. The death to recovery ratio (currently 7,948 to 81,950) is roughly 1 out of every 10 or so victims. Those are not very reassuring odds.
Today I had to venture out in to the public once again. As the old saying goes, you can only be sure of two things in this life; death and taxes. Well, today was the date of my long-standing appointment with my tax lady. I thought for sure it would be canceled or postponed. It wasn't. Okay. My area is still reasonably safe. There are only 3 confirmed cases in my county so far.
I expected the streets to be empty. I thought everyone would be at home as I've been doing, hunkering down. Not so. It was just like any other day. There was ample traffic. All sorts of businesses were open, as if nothing out of the ordinary is going on. Crazy. Go HOME, people. Whatever you are doing canNOT be that important... (thinks the man going off to get his taxes done...)
At the tax lady's office, I was a little uneasy walking in. There was the receptionist talking to a client at the front desk and the assistant at the desk behind her. I was told to take a seat, which I did, but the whole time I was wondering who had sat there before me.
When I was called into the office, I noted a big bottle of hand gel and disinfectant wipes. The tax lady had walked someone out when she called me in. She hadn't had time to sanitize anything. I had everything prepared for her and she put my tax return together. I would be getting a decent return after all. (I was grateful. I have so many bills to pay...) Of course, it cost me $250 (up $25 from last year) to get them prepared, but... I knew they were done correctly and things should be okay.
But as I was moved to the assistant's desk, the tax lady made a big show (for the next client's benefit, perhaps?) of disinfecting the area I had been sitting in. Really? Hmm.
Sitting at the assistant's desk was also unnerving. I was sat in a large, cushy upholstered chair. Again, I wondered who had sat there before me. I had to sign some forms and was directed to select a pen from a caddy full of them to my left. Reaching for a pen felt a bit like Russian roulette, wondering what germs might lay in wait on the pen I selected. Would it be a germ-free pen or one with the virus? Things didn't calm me down any when the assistant let lose with this big, uncovered cough. Ugh.
On my way home, I called my mother. She informed me that the island on which she lives in Washington has had a jump from 7 (where it was in my last diary entry) to 16 cases of coronavirus victims. My mother wants me to quit my job and move up there. She has a plan to help me with an income if I do move up there. It involves getting some of her properties rented out as soon as possible, taking out equity loans and cashing out retirement funds. I understand my mother's concern. I hate being so far away from her during this crisis. There are just too many factors that would prevent me from going there, though.
The White House also said this crisis may last through July or August. If that is the case, so many people are going to be out of work and scrambling to make ends meet. The trip to Portland with my friends (as well as the wedding we were to go to) may very well be canceled or postponed. Not all of us may be alive by then anyway.
Now that this lethal game of LIFE has started, it looks as if where I am right now will be my personal playing field. Only in this version of the game, you do not start out with $2,000 and a car (although you may get $1,000 to help see you through if Congress gets its act together. Big corporations will likely get billions, though. GEEZ!). Who knows what moves we all may spin? I just hope we all make it through alive and healthy. That way, for better or worse (financially, emotionally, spiritually, etc.), we will all be winners.
Good luck.
Stay home. Stay safe. Stay healthy.
It's your turn....
Continue to Part 4 HERE
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Stay safe.
CHEERS!