Saturday, March 14, 2020

These are strange days.

Saturday morning, mid March 2020. Is it just me, or does everything feel off-kilter and bizarre today? I never thought words like "quarantine" and "pandemic" would apply to my life, and not only that, but become so regularly spoken as to start to seem commonplace! These are strange days we're living in, my friends.

When I went to my dental appointment Wednesday morning, I was sniffling a bit from my normal allergies. Sniffling, sneezing, and watery eyes (especially in the morning) is totally normal for me. Normal or not, I was very conscious of the sideways looks I got from the other patients in the lounge area while I tired to surpress a couple of sneezes. I don't blame them, but I was glad to get called back to the exam room. (Turns out the tooth seems to be fine, and no need for a root canal--hallelujah!--the muscles in my jaw are basically still strained and inflamed from holding my mouth open for over two hours.) I noticed there was hand sanitizer everywhere: three or four bottles in the lounge, bottles on the exam room counters, and several at the main desk in the lobby. That seems to be the case everywhere right now.

Our school district seems to be preparing everyone, the teachers, parents and students, for taking instruction online from home. All students were issued laptops at the beginning of the year and those without internet access received services to remedy that. The technology department sent technicians out Friday afternoon with boxes of repaired and/or replaced laptops for students who needed them. A series of emails and letters have been going out explaining how everything will work "in the event" we have to close schools. I think it's a matter of "when" not "if" at this time. It seems likely that they're shooting for Monday or Tuesday to be the last day before going online. One big concern is feeding kids who get free breakfast and/or lunch, but arrangements have been made for our food services to report to work for a few hours each day and prepare plenty of food for students and their families who need to come and get it. Again, I don't think they're making all these provisions for nothing. The Superintendent must really think we're going to have to shut down for a while. Luckily, I should continue to get paid if that happens.

Gregg is not so lucky. Yesterday morning he went to one of the three nursing homes where he services aquariums, and got turned around at the door. All (all) visitors are banned for 30 days by order of South Carolina DHEC. Which is the right thing to do, of course, but those three nursing home jobs are over a quarter of his monthly salary.....and schools with aquariums are another small chunk of income, and he has two hospital aquariums which of course he also won't be allowed to service...…..all told, we're talking over half his salary. He's probably going to lose even more than that for a while, too. He's more at risk from this virus than the average person and we intend to be super careful. We're planning to self isolate at home as much as possible until this thing blows over. We have plenty of supplies, for us and the animals. As long as we don't get sick, being at home won't be any real hardship for us. Anyone else who can say the same should be doing it, too. Maybe if most of the population will be as diligent as possible, the spread of this virus can still be contained.

A great idea I heard was about supporting your local economy during these trying times. Everyone is afraid of the economic ramifications, and rightly so. Those who can afford it can still spend money at local businesses....on gift certificates to be used later on when we're over the hump. They could be purchased online or over the phone to avoid going out, and that would get some much needed cash flowing in your area. Another good idea would be to donate money to food banks to help your neighbors who are missing paychecks that are sorely needed. We need to do what we can to support our communities while (paradoxically) staying as far away from each other as possible! Crazy.

And one more thing: having a good supply of necessities on hand is smart, but hoarding them is a real asshole move. Lots of folks can't afford to buy in huge quantities, and when they're legitimately running out of things they can't get what they need because some jerk decided they wanted to have 500 roles of toilet paper on hand. Speaking of which, here's the TP aisle at my neighborhood Food Lion as of 5pm yesterday:




And on a less serious note, a related funny I saw this morning. It's still good to have a laugh now and then....



Hang in there, take care of yourselves, wash your hands, think about your neighbors and what they might need, and try not to panic. After all, this is the outcome we're hoping for:

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31 comments:

  1. Oh dear, I hope for Gregg's and your sake that the 30 day ban from senior homes and hospitals etc. will really only be 30 days, and that this whole thing will soon blow over, as you say. Yes, hoarding is very selfish, and I refuse to buy any different from my normal weekly groceries shopping.
    At the moment, I am still holding on to my planned birthday party next week, even though not everybody will turn up, I guess. My sister's work place has already ordered everyone who can to work from home, and some of my clients have cancelled meetings.
    My home town has cancelled the Horse Market which has been going on for over 200 years and never been cancelled before except for the last war years.

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    Replies
    1. I have a feeling my birthday isn't going to amount to much this year. I hope you can have your party as planned!

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  2. I wanna bitchslap all the hoarders! spouse's workplace and mine are still open; neither of us work with the public. nor can both of us work from home; our jobs require us at an office.

    I look at it this way - I survived cancer 31 years ago, I can survive this. I'mma like a cock-a-roach, nothing kills me!

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    Replies
    1. As long as you don't interact with the public you should be fine!

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  3. Yes to all you wrote in this post, especially the leaves of three let it be quote. Humor is appreciated. I am staying at home, by myself, with only Bounce and Fluffy to talk to. I hope you and Gregg stay healthy, that this pandemic ends soon and Gregg's aquarium accounts will open again. I am ordering a book from my local Indie bookstore online, they are offering 99 cent local postage and I am happy to support them.

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    Replies
    1. I hope your self imposed quarantine isn't too hard on you! Bounce and Fluffy will be good companions for you!

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  4. Things do feel VERY bizarre. I love the idea for supporting local businesses.

    I'm sorry to hear about Gregg's job. That's a good example of the ripple effect that these closures have, on people who we may not necessarily even think about -- all the suppliers and producers and services up the supply chain. (My mom's retirement center has also gone into a 30-day lockdown. Wonder what the staff are doing?)

    We're not having school next week, though teachers and staff will be in to wrap things up, and then the following week we're going to "distance learning." For a couple of weeks apparently. So after limited duties next week, I won't be back to work until mid-April. SO strange.

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    1. It might be mid April before we go back, too. I wouldn't be surprised. I think tomorrow or Tuesday will be our last day for a while.

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  5. My kids' school has been closed. All Leon County. Also the public libraries and who knows what all. I think it is for the best.
    That last meme is my favorite of the entire situation so far. And it's what people don't seem to understand.
    That and the fact that they don't need to stockpile toilet paper. Good Lord! What a strange reaction.

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    Replies
    1. People want to feel like they can control SOMETHING in this mess. TP isn't the answer, but then again...what is??

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  6. I feel sure that if Gregg writes a nice letter to Uncle Donald or Uncle Mike they will happily fill the salary gap caused by this crisis.

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  7. I absolutely agree with everything you have said! Especially the feeling bizarre part! I'm sorry about Gregg's work situation. I keep hearing that they are trying to work out something on the state or federal level to help people that have their income affected by all this. That is part of the reason for declaring a national disaster - there are more legal steps that can be taken to help people. I'm not sure how you would find out about them though.

    I'm so glad your dental appointment was okay. That is at least one worry off your plate. I'm thankful you will still get paid if the school closes. Have you got any hobbies you've been wanting to work on? You may get the time. Please, both of you stay well and take care!

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    1. I doubt, being self-employed, that Gregg could get any kind of federal unemployment relief. Thank goodness we try to keep a safety net in our savings account for emergencies. I hate to dip into that fund, but I'm so very grateful it's there and our bills getting paid won't be another thing to worry about right now!

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  8. I work at a food bank but took off this month and will possibly continue the leave until this virus is over (they are saying a possible 6 months). However, I was told that our service will now be distributing weekly food boxes for those children who are eligible for food assistance at their school. I expect that other communities will do likewise.

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    Replies
    1. That's great about the weekly food boxes. I have a feeling lots of folks will be needing help before this is all over.

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  9. I don't understand the toilet paper hoarding. Can anyone explain it to me? Why can't we buy t.p. the way we always have? I always have soap and other cleaning supplies around the house. Doesn't everybody? Things are weird and they do feel off kilter. A lot of people are going to suffer blows to their incomes in the days to come.

    Love,
    Janie

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    Replies
    1. I'm afraid some hard times are ahead.

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    2. I think the hard times will include violence, especially domestic abuse with people locked up together.

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  10. What a mess, we all have to work together.
    Hoarding is so wrong what silly people, We have the anti vaxxers woke know it all running around here but they buy 10 packages of T.P.and fill their carts with hand sanitizers ?
    I hope Gregg is feeling better and will the fish be ok if he can't get in to service the tanks ?
    Take care and be well.
    parsnip

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    1. The "woke" anti-vaxxer types make me crazy!!!

      The fish should be fine. The staff at each place where he has an account knows how to top up the water level and feed the fish. And Gregg is feeling better, thank you!

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  11. I really don't understand the TP frenzy. I also saw a plea on FB today for horders to share their supply of face masks with their local hospitals. Hoping for the best for you and Gregg.

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    1. I think the TP frenzy is about people looking for something they can control, just like everything else they're hoarding.

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  12. Not just you! And... I was camping with friends (a long long toile ago in a galaxy far away) and one of them didn’t leave be those leaves of three! It was horrific. And we HAD toilet paper!

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    1. Omg....why on Earth would anyone use leaves when they had toilet paper? Sounds like that person deserved what they got!

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  13. What a stupid answer. Your shit is organic, leaves too. TP in a natural environnmennt.??..hope you put your shoes in toilet paper with shit when roaming around . Delightful!

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  14. My parents in their assisted home are in lockdown as well.
    Everyone seems to be posting similar to your post.
    As for the poison ivy = I remember!

    ReplyDelete
  15. I really miss seeing my grandkids but we are doing what is asked of us and staying in.

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