March 14

I think I may be repeating myself.  The last few days have been amazing.

Another press conference, another pundit giving frightening even if unfounded predictions. Opinions flying “Is the President handling this correctly?” “Is the President falling down on the job?” Even, “Does the President have the Virus? After all there were those Brazilians…”

But in the last few days, it has been several things that have moved the barometer of fear and panic into the Red Zone. 

The shut-down of travel to and from Europe

The declarations by various state Governors & the President for a “State of Emergency”

The cancellation of various sports playoffs or delay of the start of various sports seasons

Well known celebrities and sports stars testing positive

School Districts shutting down for known or unknown lengths of time

But the one thing that changed the social dynamic where I live is School Districts shutting down.  That one came a little too close to home.  It made it all very real.  Before this, it had been cancelled cruises, cancelled conferences, cancelled flights.

Shutting down public schools brings it so much closer to home.  It sends a real message “Your kids could bring this plague into your home.”

I usually go to the market in the middle of the day, say 1p or 2p.  The Parking lot is usually light, maybe 25% full.  It’s been packed since the schools shut down.  Waiting in rows to find parking packed, in the middle of the day. 

Shutting down schools, telling the kids to clear out their desks and all lockers is an extreme step. It sends a headier message than stay out of crowds, wash your hands or Tom Hanks is positive for the virus.  It gets people’s attention.

My mother used to say I was like a Mule, she needed to hit me over the head with a 2x4 to get my attention because I was so stubborn.  I wasn’t stubborn, I just wasn’t paying attention because I was a kid: kids don’t pay attention.  Kids actually have to grow into paying attention.

So, in places where schools have been shut down, like in Boston where they are shut down for six weeks or in Maryland where they have are shut down for two weeks, people started paying attention.

The entire Earth could have been zapped by a Death Star…but shut down the schools? Now it gets real.

The TP flew off the shelves, people cleaned out the water, milk, bread…like it was a snow storm.  But it’s not a snow storm that lasts a few days, it’s a process that has a beginning, middle and end.

Shouting matches have broken out, a man broke a wine bottle in a Sam’s Club in Georgia and stabbed another man over water.  Why Water, Why Not Ibuprophen?

In the midst of the beginning of panic and incivility, we took off and went to our rental house on the Eastern Shore of Virginia.  We have to get it ready to rent for the summer, Coronavirus or not.  There’s always painting to do, the ocean air is not friendly.  And because we don’t live there, we have to get done in a few weekends a year what most people do all year long at their own houses; cleaning, repair, painting, replacing things…etc. 

It’s a small town.

As usual, when we arrive, my husband went to the local grocery store with a list.  There was toilet paper on the shelves, plenty of water, plenty of every kind of item…except the hand sanitizer.  At one point we went to the Dollar Store to pick up supplies, simple things like kitchen towels for this season, Windex for washing windows, more liquid soap for the coming summer guests.  It was all there and check out was swift and polite.

It seemed busier than usual but there was no pushing or shoving, no stabbing anybody with a broken wine bottle, no carts filled to the brim with toilet paper and water bottles. I guess they haven’t decide to shut down the schools yet or they don’t think it’s that serious for Tom Hanks.

Meanwhile, back in the real world, Italy as of March 14^th now has over 21,000 cases of the Virus.  It had 7 cases on February 21^st.  Feeling better every day that we cancelled that cruise even if we had to leave a lot of money on the table.

The highlight of the day was walking the beach.  People were out, it was a sunny day, but the people on the beach were sparse.  At one point we had walked so far north that there were no people in front of us and we couldn’t see the people behind us. It was just us and the ocean.  A stark reminder of our place on this planet and the power of nature.  It made me feel at peace.