We can still shop for groceries, and a few other necessities, but most of us in Washington State have been told to "Stay Home, Stay Healthy". In essence, we all are under a form of quarantine.
Social Distancing, they call it.
In fact, up until now, things like virus-related national emergencies, quarantines and lockdowns were the thing of disaster movies like I Am Legend, 28 Days Later and World War Z.
Now, lockdown is reality.
No, there isn't a total curfew, and no, there is no martial law -- Thank God. But it's a scary new world we live in.
And the scariest thing for me right now isn't the fear of catching the virus -- I am in good health, and I have had the flu before in my life, so I know what it does. I also take my supplements -- so although I realise that does not make me bullet-proof, at least my chances are good enough there is no reason to live in fear.
Over the past week and a half I experienced some of that panic. My local Walmart store is usually packed, and usually very, very busy. Wednesday night of last week I went in, and it was like a ghost town. There were few people, and the parking lot was spare.
Aside from those two factors, things seemed normal, except when I went to the paper goods aisle, as I had heard there was a run on toilet paper at stores, and I was curious as to whether Walmart had any.
Imagine my surprise when I saw the entire paper goods section -- about 100-120 feet long (30-40 meters) -- completely empty, aside from five or six freshly supplied and unopened cases of what appeared to be paper towels.
OK, I thought to myself. I guess people are afraid of running out of toilet paper and paper towels.
Then I went to the canned goods section. A huge swath of it was empty -- devoid of cans. That never happens.
That really scared me. Food shortages are the stuff of disaster movies to most Americans. Here was the definite evidence of panic.
The local supermarket was nearly devoid of paper goods, hand cleaners (and any other anti-viral or anti-bacterial body or hand wash, including liquid dish soap). There also was a run on eggs right after our governor declared the lockdown.
This past week the stores are stocked, but hand cleaner, toilet paper, and paper towels are generally missing. At the local Safeway I went to the paper goods aisle a couple days ago. A young couple were standing nearby. We were shaking our heads at the massive, empty shelves. The couple looked at me, and I looked at them.
"Panic," I said. It was the only word that needed to be said, and really -- it was the only word that described everything we were seeing. The couple agreed.
Another sign that we live in crazy times.
All is not lost, however. This Coronavirus crisis has sort of brought people together. When I was in Walmart a second time, Friday of last week, the initial shock of virus deaths had passed and people realised they had to live life, but live it a new way. I went into the bathroom and when I was done, I was washing my hands a long time, as authorities say we should. A guy next to me was also washing his -- and he was taking a long time, too -- much longer than any of us would have done before the Coronavirus crisis.
"Twenty seconds!" I joked. He smiled.
"If you hum Happy Birthday twice over in your head, that's twenty seconds," he said.
It was a pleasant interchange between human beings -- we were all in this debacle together.
Along with the run on toilet paper, paper towels, canned vegetables and eggs, there was a run on pain killers like aspirin and paracetamol. Why? Because. People were afraid that they would not be able to get the things they need, and when one is in pain, they need pain killers.
I then went through the store to get some things. It was pleasantly packed with shoppers, although people were keeping distance from each other, and there were a handful of people wearing masks. I had to pick up a prescription for a relative and in the line at the pharmacy I struck up a conversation with another guy who was also waiting to get his prescription. We had a nice chat. We both agreed that this coronavirus crisis was a wake up call to society -- pandemics can and do happen. Just because it's the 21st Century doesn't mean it can't happen.
Before the state lockdown kicked in at 6 p.m. Wednesday, I did some shopping before a lot of the local stores closed. Our governor in Washington State has mandated this lockdown, statewide, for two weeks. Only grocery stores and a few other stores (like drug stores) will be open. Everyone else is to stay home. This lockdown is a first in the history of the State of Washington, which was established as a state in 1889.
I went by the bank, as I had to make a deposit. When I got to my car a blonde woman pulled up, and she went up to the ATM machine. When she walked back I opened my window and shook my bottle of disinfectant.
"Need some?" I said.
She smiled. "I'm fine! I keep some in my car, too!"
Once again, it was a pleasant exchange between two strangers, both of whom share a common problem: fear of catching the coronavirus.
How about some Easter bunnies to lighten your day? Will things be halfway normal by then? Who knows?
Hopefully, this panic, fear, and apprehension many of us feel will fade as life returns to normalcy.
I really feel for the people in Europe, which has been extremely hard-hit. Over here in the US, news from Europe is scarce -- barely covered in the national news networks. But I'm aware that Europe is getting slammed. I have some friends over there -- in Scandinavia as well as Germany and Central Europe, and I really feel for them and their countries. I hope that they are able to contain this virus so that fewer people get sick and die.
My thoughts are with you, Europe. May we all come out of this pandemic healthier, a bit wiser, more prepared for such pandemics, and optimistic about the future. As American President Franklin Delano Roosevelt said in 1932, "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself."
Super sized stuffed animals, hopefully to make some children somewhere happy.
In other life, the vestige of the normal one, I've been creative writing and practicing slide guitar. The weather here is typical for Spring: between 38-60F (4-12C) and partly sunny, with a lot of rain, too. I have still been riding my ten-speed bicycle on the local trail, about a 5 mile trip (6-7 km) total -- which I usually take during night or early morning. The last couple mornings I have started to hear the frogs.
I listen to my MW radio nightly, although I don't DX much -- conditions haven't been all that exciting, and I haven't done much more than listen to South Asian music on KVRI 1600, a 'border blaster' station about 100 air miles north of here. Early mornings they play a lot of cool music, which a woman from India told me is Sikh prayer music apparently.
Aside from all that, life goes on, as much as it can. The news is full of coronavirus stories, and unfortunately on social media things get a bit too political about it for my taste. I don't think anyone in any government (Federal, state, or local) really expected something like this to happen. If they did, they would have been prepared. The only ones who were trying to tell us that it could really happen apparently was Hollywood.
Either way, I hope this finds all of my readers healthy and safe, and particularly my readers in Europe, which really has gotten hit hard.
Until next time, Peace.
CC -- 3-26 and 3-29-2020
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