Okay, we missed St. Patrick's Day by 24 hours, but we went with the cartoon anyway because we promised the young woman in the cartoon that we could "get her into showbiz" and didn't want to disappoint her.
Having Irish blood ourself, we were disappointed that Covid-19 shut down all of the usual celebrations, but we successfully made do by watching "Darby O'Gill and the Little People" while drinking a Guinness.
All in all, not a bad day in the midst of Apocalypse. And certainly better than a friend of ours had...
Clearly someone hadn't really thought through this allegedly simple self-test, although we assume that it will still work for people who aren't Bernie Sanders supporters. And actually, we wouldn't want to bet on the accuracy of such a test, though it's not a bad thing to try anyway. Unless immediately upon finishing, you gasp in air at the same time someone is sneezing several billion virus particles at your face.
According to articles which we're too lazy to find and link to, it's folks around Lucy's age who don't seem to be getting the message about self-isolating to slow the spread of Covid-19. Many of them are aware that the mortality rate for people their age is very, very low (but not nonexistent). But it doesn't reduce their likelihood of infecting others, including grandparents who may be facing a mortality rate in the 15% range.
Hopefully, Lucy's friends will get the message and start staying home instead of going clubbing. Otherwise, the police may need to use some clubbing to get their attention.
BONUS: THAT'S ONE...SMALL STEP...FOR GROCERIES
The chaos being caused by Covid-19 was, until recently, something that we personally weren't experiencing firsthand. Well, apart from having our retirement portfolio unexpectedly throw us to the ground and giving us a Brokeback Mountain-style colonoscopy.
But yesterday, between growing reports of a possible lockdown or another wave of madness at stores, we decided we needed to get a few more items for our self-isolation time. Uh-oh.
We'd already heard reports that, in the initial scare, our quiet, local supermarket had lines of shoppers (each with Armageddon-ready baskets of stuff) stretching to the back of the store...and there were fist fights in the aisles that police had to break up. And as an additional bonus, any of these people might be spreading coronavirus everywhere - a very special worry since folks at the Jarlsberg home are in high risk groups.
So we planned our trip to the store down to the last detail: we'd go at 10:30 pm when crowds were likely to be low, we'd have an anti-viral N95 mask and nitrile gloves, we'd have hand sanitizer in the car, and a complete change of clothing waiting just inside the door of our home so we could shed potentially contaminated garments.
Arriving at the store, we were pleased to see that the dark parking lot was sparsely populated, so decided to move ahead with the operation. Before exiting the vehicle, we donned our gloves and our mask - feeling like we were preparing to rob a bank. And - oh yeah! - in order for the mask to function properly, we'd had to shave off our magnificent white Santa beard and return to looking like a turtle with a moustache.
Entering the store, we felt terribly weird and conspicuous wearing all of this stuff. The effect wasn't helped by the fact that we were mouth-breathing and sounding like Darth Vader, and that with every exhalation our glasses fogged up from the inside. Yeah, nothing creepy about THAT.
Happily, the store had very few shoppers - although only one other person was wearing a mask. There were employees in many aisles restocking stripped shelves (not with Purell, darn it) and we drifted past them like an asthmatic ghost.
Some shelves were bare: fresh meats, anything remotely like bread, toilet paper and paper towels, hand sanitizer, cleaning wipes, etc. Various other shelves were either stripped or greatly reduced from their usual capacity. That being said, we were able to find plenty of things worth buying.
Still, the overall emotional impact was a lot more than we expected. It felt like a nightmare made real, and made worse by the knowledge that we wouldn't be waking up from this anytime soon. And while shopping, we were constantly wondering if we should buy more of this or that, just in case it wouldn't be available in the very uncertain future. Or perhaps ever. And all of this with fogging eyesight and sweat trickling inside the mask and gloves. The undercurrent of desperation was all too tangible.
During checkout, which we did at self-check to avoid having others touch our groceries, we finally struck up a conversation with another human being - a nice store employee who didn't recognize our beardless, masked face. She saw dog food and dog treats in the cart and asked about our dogs - and it was wonderful to have someone just talk about something so normal and treating us like we were normal despite our odd getup and profuse sweat.
We chatted for five minutes or so about dogs and how much we love them (and how much they love us back). She showed us a picture of her labrador retriever - a beauty who, at 16 years of age, went to dog heaven just three days before Christmas. The store employee got a little misty sharing her story, and made us promise to give ear rubs to our dogs as soon as we got home.
After nearly two hours in the store, we left - thanking all of the employees along the way for the hard work and the extended hours they were putting in for the good of others. We then loaded everything into our car's trunk, after which we oh-so-carefully removed the mask and gloves in the parking lot and dropped them into a trash can near the shopping cart corral. Entering the car, we gave ourselves a little Purell party before touching anything, then slowly drove home after midnight thinking about how real this strange new world had suddenly become.
At home, we exchanged our potentially contaminated clothes for clean ones, used lysol wipes on our shoes (including, especially, the soles), then scrubbed up like we were preparing for surgery. Zombie-ish by this time, and emotionally drained, we wanted nothing more than to fall into bed in search of a long and dreamless sleep. So that's what we did.
Right after giving our dogs those promised ear rubs.
41 comments:
The gloves made total sense, Stilt. But the mask - other than getting you to finally trim your beard and fogging up your glasses - did you absolutely no good. Set those aside until you actually catch the damn virus, or donate them to your friendly neighborhood nurse. Now, where can I get one of those green beer servers???
Great humor and wit, as is standard with you - but the part about the lady and her Labrador even mde me a little misty too... in recent years, having lost my wife, one cat, and two of our last three dogs, I understand her feeling, and it was very moving that she wanted you to shower love on your own pups. God bless her, and you.
We had a similar eerie sensation at our local non-Walmart grocery chain store (it's a Krogers in case anyone cares)... There was plenty of milk, plenty of organic ground beef (although the regular stuff was all gone.) But the weird things that were sold out: bandaids (generic as well as brand-name); eggs (I guess the chickens all have COVID-19 too); cottage cheese; chips in party-size and family-size bags, but not in regular bags; all the prepared (cut-up) fruit; all the Stouffers Lasagna and family-size Asian frozen meals; paper towels (possibly to substitute for TP, which was also out, of course); and most baffling, distilled water in gallons (along with all the regular and flavored bottled water).
Since my spouse and I both need distilled water for our CPAP machines, we were dismayed that it was gone. Then our favorite clerk at self-check told us the pharmacy had moved most of it behind their counter when the run began, because you're really not supposed to drink it! So we got some after all.
We did find the bread aisle wiped clean of loaves and rolls, but the rolls/"French Bread" of the Poppin' Fresh type were still well stocked, along with pie crusts and biscuit dough. Then we passed through the bakery on our way to get some fresh veg, and saw piles and stacks of bread amongst the green cookies and pound cake. The locusts had missed that supply!
I am sharing this discussion, which goes a long way to make sense of an "over-reaction" that isn't... Although it uses the phrase "flatten the curve," it goes on to show why it helps.
I went to the store about three in the afternoon. Wanted to beat the homeward bound crowd. By looking at some of the empty shelves and the people that were in the store I think a lot of young mothers were stocking up to feed kids that would normally be in school. My wife and I lucked out and had made our costco run just before this calamity started.
Quilted Northern TP available at Amazon again 0353AM 18 Mar Eastern.
Not sure how much or for how long. We're still OK so I'll wait.
(On the 13th I predicted to myself that TP would be back at Amazon within two weeks.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv4eTE0aUiQ
I've quarantined all news watching, including Fox, as it all have become part of the wild-eyed, hair-on-fire, hysterical scream that is doing more than can be imagined to fuel the panic in stores and in governance.
As the insanity continues to unfold over TP, etc., I wonder if these panicked hoarders share a common demographic, psychological profile? Such wold be interesting to read about.
While most people are upset about the late 1800s life style, Mrs Rem is very pleased that we have advanced that far forward !!!
Spring has sprung
the grass has rizz
we can see where the flowers is
and it has rained for 3 days, and while we are grateful, the grass has gone wild and we are hoping the mower will handle it !!!
Being Hi-Risk (now a life health category instead of a comment on how I lived my life) I have avoided the crowds of truly rural far North Texas. I have come in contact with one person (other than family members) the past few weeks and the crush of that crowd has worn me out.
Well one thing is sure ......our media will be interviewing suffering hordes in order to blame the President for this world wide disaster 24/7 until a demonRat is elected and it will all be a never ending history Blaming Trump for what happened while praising the 'new' demonRat for saving the world ...... I can't wait ......
Things here in the high-risk Hobo household are pretty much normal-ish. Maybe because of warm weather here in central Florida, panic seems to have leveled off to just below Hair On Fire and I am reminded of what my grandmother used to say, “What cannot be cured must be endured”. Of course, she used to say that after my grandfather would to roll in after an evening out with the boys.
May your quarantine end soon, stores return to pre-Covid levels, and may we hold hands without fear of cooties while we hoist a glass of our favorite adult beverage. God Bless us, everyone! (hat tip to Tiny Tim)
1.2% fatalities among the 17% who contracted the disease, half of whom showed no symptoms. And this was in an older population to begin with.
https://thesilicongraybeard.blogspot.com/2020/03/remember-flu-boat.html
Haven't thought of "Darby O'Gill and the Little People" for some time, my go to St. Patrick's Day movie is "The Quiet Man," but it's hard to find fault with a movie where you get to hear Sean Connery sing.
Still no known cases here in Coconino County, Az. However, evidently on the side of caution, the mayor of Flagstaff has decreed the all restaurants, bars, gyms, entertainment, and recreation facilities are now closed. This includes the Arizona Snowbowl Ski Resort. The majority of Flagstaff's income is from tourism, so this will have a long reaching effect.
I do not live in town, but rather in a small community to the south. Our local tavern remains open, at least until the owner or the county says otherwise.
BTW, I am diametrically opposed to any government official being able to arbitrarily close private businesses. This is a very unhealthy and un-American precedent.
Lucky for us we became hard core preppers when o'boner was prez and threatened to cut off diesel fuel. Also, living in a small town in the apple-chain mountains is very good thing. We ain't the only preppers in town. All I need to shop for are perishables like milk and eggs. And I do that at six AM. Being retired helps too.
@Geoff King- A lot of VERY unhealthy and un-American precedents are indeed being set. I am getting the feeling that they are now seeing just how far they can push, and whether they will every need to stop.
Got sent home at lunch on Fri, hit local Kroger to pick up a freezer meal. OMFG!! Half the women wearing protective clothing, masks (normal, they're Muslim) a couple of dust masks, and freaking carts loaded with everything not bolted down. Didn't do any kind of survey as to what was / not there, grabbed my frozen stuff and got in a 10 minute check out line. NUTS! Sunday, went out to return a movie, hook some booze and Chinese takeout. New place (they were still open) got a PuPu platter ("for 2!) large soup, small noodle dish - < $20. I'm still eating on it. Granted, I don't eat much at a sitting, but golly, that was a lot of food! I'll be back! TP, I should be ok - at least a two month supply, hopefully by then the hoarder's basements will be full, and the rest of us can get on w/ our lives... And! Clarification! Golf courses are NOT closed, just the bar and dining room!! So there's THAT!!!
Should we remind Lucy she has 10 fingers? And 10 toes...?
Mmmh... naaaah.
This is a product of media hyperbole and selective reporting. If I'm right, the country will come out on the other side of this feeling rather foolish. Many people will have lost their jobs, potentially their cars and homes - all because an out-of-control media and an evil party bent on doing ANYTHING to dislodge Trump have foisted this horrific lie upon us, forcing the administration's hand. Oh, and I'll have a rather smug grin on my face.
If I'm wrong? Being an asthmatic already prone to bronchitis and pneumonia, I may not need to worry about anything afterward. But I still go out in the world and function as normally as our currently overly-dysfunctional society allows me to.
We shall see. So far, all I see is "War Of The Worlds"-like hysteria foisted upon us by pretty much the same mechanism as that dark, dark Halloween back in 1938, when it was discovered how easily our media can be weaponized...
In other news: Trump *DID* say he'd get the Mexican's to pay for the wall. Recent news suggests that they just might want to.
Hey Bo... made my day laugh .. cure with endure along with the aside story. Thanks
Would there be a "pandemic" if there was NO media? What good does testing do except that only the symptoms can be treated, not the virus. Viruses can't live in heat, humidity or sunlight, so why not wait a couple of months to panic? What is the point in hoarding TP?
These are all questions I have about this insanity. I'm almost 80 and have NEVER seen anything this stupid. We've had Asian flu, swine flu, Ebola, Mers, etc, etc. and they've never been heard about again. Good job Media!
"..In other news: Trump *DID* say he'd get the Mexican's to pay for the wall. Recent news suggests that they just might want to..."
True!
Here in the Texas Hill Country (we're on a ranch) life goes on but the school is closed for "two weeks" and our small library and resale shop closed to mirror the school. Had breakfast as usual with the old farts club yesterday morning in one of our two restaurants and there was another large group of old farts there as well.
I do think there is a lot of media induced hysteria probably aided and abetted by the DNC. A strong economy was going to be major plank for Trump's campaign and how convenient that the market took a dump after the impeachment debacle.
We're in good shape here on JJ Ranch, I have meat on the hoof if needed and about 2,000 gallons of water in tanks. I just planted some toilet paper seeds, they should be ready to harvest in a few weeks.
MAGA
The local Walleyworld deserves a "SCHMOTT GUY" hat (see the Girl Genius webcomic for an explanation of the term). They took advantage of the local locusts partially denuding the jernt, and did a scheduled updating of the grocery section without having to move as much stock as they normally would have...
And I'll have an order of the server, hold the green beer. :)
My 8 yr old grandson is upset because "Our dear leader" in Madison WI has followed the crowd in closing schools indefinitely, along with restaurants, bars, etc. But my grandson goes to a parochial school whose teachers focus on getting students to learn, not play. One of our local grocery stores had no empty shelves, but bread supplies were down. But there was no shortage of olives or mushrooms for martini drinkers. The convenience store two blocks away had more bread on their shelves than I have seen in years. We live 35 miles from Lambeau Field. It will be interesting to see if "da gubner" tries to close it in early August for the first game. And I am still waiting for "our glorious leader" to apologize for suspending our 1st Amendment rights of freedom of assembly and freedom of religion (he closed our churches also). Salute to Geoff King.
@ Geoff King said..."This is a very unhealthy and un-American precedent."
Personally, and others may disagree, I believe that THAT was the intention all along. I heard a left side of the aisle nut-job say at the end of the failed scam-peachment fiasco that the only way they could remove Trump now would be if the economy completely tanked. The left, in my opinion, hates Trump so rabidly that they will stop at nothing, including destroying the United States economy and taking citizens lives in the process. Paranoid? Maybe. But I cannot help except to believe there is more intentional shenanigans going on behind the scenes than any of us may know.
At least I am in good shape for a long "isolation", and all my "tools" are cleaned, oiled, and well supplied should they be needed.
Too bad about the mug of beer. But, on the bright side, there are two more jugs hanging on her chest! What they have in them is irrelevant!
I opened an email this morning from the local sportsman's supply store to learn that in the chain's online store "certain product categories have been prioritized for our physical stores..." (They added "including ammunition and reloading supplies.")
I am a BookBub member, and today's offering is the first in 10 days not to include at least one fictional or non-fiction treatment of plague, illness, and pandemics. What did they not get about the "escape literature" concept? For the same reason, I shot down my spouse's suggestion of our DVD copy of The Andromeda Strain as good semi-self-isolation viewing!
@Colby, Jack: Like many women, I'm sure Lucy can count to 12 without removing her shoes...
"...we promised the young woman in the cartoon that we could "get her into showbiz" and didn't want to disappoint her."
I am assuming that this wasn't one of those Weinstein-like deals. Or do things work differently in the cartoon business?
Celebrations: Interestingly, in my community our annual parade was not cancelled due to Covid-19 concerns, but due to blizzard-like conditions blew through over the weekend. Damned "climate change". I was told that I'd be able to plant my tomatoes by now.
Hey Lefty Lucy, I've got a better challenge for you:
Woman licking plane toilet seat for 'coronavirus challenge' is slammed by Meghan McCain, others on Twitter
"In the video, which was originally shared to TikTok, the 22-year-old aspiring influencer from Miami is seen licking a toilet seat, allegedly while in a plane bathroom."
Of course, how much dumber is that than what millions of other clueless narcissists are doing?
Spring breakers pack Florida beach despite coronavirus pandemic
Students on Spring Break Fail to Heed Coronavirus Warnings
I bet most of these "Ok, Boomer!" responding idiots consider themselves "educated" and "informed" too.
As Mrs. Econ & I watched the evening national news, (which we rarely do) we were discussing the "free money" that Trump is going to send us "within the next two weeks". Then we discussed super-cheap empty flights and hotel rooms. How many people are going to take an ill-advised free vacation?
Groceries: Being semi-preppers, Mrs. Econ & I were pretty well prepped up before the crisis emerged. I think the only things extra I went out for was milk and 3-months worth of bacon.
And puppy ear-rubs do a lot to mitigate the effects of anxiety.
@Section147- With love in my heart, I have to say that YOU'RE wrong about my mask and here's why: first, this wasn't a pansy-ass mask, it was N95 surgical grade that actually prevents viruses from coming through. Secondly, EVERYONE should be wearing masks in public now - even if they're not the high quality ones. Yes, such masks mostly help sick people keep their bodily fluids from flying everywhere. But for others, such a mask can reduce the viral load (number of particles) you get in the kisser if some asshole sneezes on you. The bigger the viral load you take, the faster and worse you get sick. A small viral load lets your body start producing immune cells while your infection count is still building. A big load will make you massively ill days faster...days your body could have used to build immune cells. However nutty it might seem, I'm making all of my decisions based on the best science available.
@j- I didn't know how people would take that little essay, but sharing a moment with another person - another dog person - did a lot for my soul.
@pat Cummings- Great post. It was odd to me, too, what things were cleared out and what weren't. And dang it, I wanted distilled water for my CPAP too, and there was none to be had. Maybe I'll ask at the pharmacy whenever I venture out again.
@Mike- I'm worried about all of those families. When I went to the store on NORMAL days, I'd seen Moms with carts stacked to overflowing just for regular use. Their food stores are likely to run out fast - although hopefully the supply chains will keep feeding stores.
@Dan- We're good on toilet paper right now so, like you, we'll let others who are in need get a shot at it.
@Fish Out of Water- I'm sure some fascinating psychological studies will come out of this (hopefully) unique event. Our "fight or flight" instincts have kicked in big time...and the anxiety from being able to do neither will be intense.
Wait! She's holding a beer? I'll have to go look... again... for the 7th time.
Regarding toilet paper, my older brother did three years in the Peace Corps in rural India, and there apparently was no such thing as toilet paper. They use their finger and wash it off with water. So, if push come to shove, folks, there's that!
@REM1875- Sounds like you and the missus are handling this very well! As far as the news media goes, I'm watching almost nothing anymore - my stress reservoirs are already full, thanks!
@Bobo the Hobo- Your grandmother was wise. And from the sound of it, your grandfather was fun!
@McChuck- There are lots of numbers being thrown around just now and it's hard to know which to believe. I certainly hope that increased testing will show that Covid-19 has a lower mortality rate than currently looks to be the case. And clearly, it is older folks who are at the greatest risk.
@jpb252- My family LOVES "Darby O'Gill and the Little People" and we watch it regularly. Can't go wrong with "The Quiet Man," either. Another good movie to add to the Irish trilogy: "Waking Ned Devine."
@Geoff King- Communities relying on tourism are pretty well screwed until further notice. Hard to image the economic and societal changes heading our way.
@Geoff King- I've got mixed feelings. I don't like the government curtailing our rights, but I can also understand a public health emergency. But then I can ALSO see how the wrong folks in government could claim a health emergency to steal freedoms. These are troubling times.
@Fred Ciampi- We should all have been following your lead. Or at least following you to find out where your still is.
@TrickyRicky- That's not what I'm currently worrying most about, but it's definitely on my list!
Oh, my, yes. Waking Ned Devine is a treasure. I held my breath for about 3 minutes yesterday and went to the public library. Large crowd, mostly the "homeless" of my town. I'm snarky because they all had a bigger, better cell phone than I do. They were using the "free" wi-fi and charging their phones.
My wife Sioux is the outgoing, bubly half of our marriage. This shelter-in-place is ok with her, but she would rather be out. She is staying busy with her quilting, reading and church work (on line). I, on the other hand, am a militant introvert. If Ghengis Khan was an introvert, I would have a statue of him in my front yard. I really, really like this. About three times a day, she says: Stop grinning.
Here in another part of the Hill Country, we old geezers are hunkered down on our acreage. Went to the big city and pulled Mom out of her Independent Living apartment for safety's sake.
We're well situated for toilet paper, but if we do manage to run out, well, that's what showers are for...
Plenty of food, lots of e-books to read, tons of projects around the property, not running out of cat food or treats anytime soon, and most importantly, lots of alcohol (of the drinking kind).
The county and county seat just declared themselves disasters, after one person in the county seat tested positive. Was a travel-related illness, and self-quarantined before the test came back positive, so no outside contact. But the disaster was called anyway. Still not closing bars or restaurants, just advising on distance and limiting numbers inside. But the oldest dance hall in the state is closed all week, maybe longer.
Still, out here on our hillside, we feel pretty good that no virus-laden folk will be contaminating us. The gate is closed.
@Pete (Detroit)- When I went shopping that night, there were a couple of Muslim families (Mom, Dad, kids) there. I thought "hey, as often as I have to look at women looking through eye slits in their burqas, you can put up with an old fat guy with a breathing mask." And I'm really jonesing for Chinese food now, but will do without the real thing until further notice. Damn it.
@Colby, Jack- It would work if she was counting toes. If she was counting fingers, she'd forget to include the one she was pointing with.
@Emmentaler Limburger- I sincerely hope you're right, even though I personally don't think so. Oh, I don't argue that we're not hearing insane spinning and fear-mongering...but the truth is scary enough. The disease itself isn't going to kill most people, but it's about to explode so badly that governments are having to make the choice between saving lives - potentially millions - or letting economies crash when people are forced to stay home. It's a bad situation, and I only wish Orson Welles and the Mercury Theater were behind it!
@Ole Scrapper- We need Bo's grandmother to be making daily broadcasts to the nation.
@Grana- There's plenty of misinformation out there, but I'll hazard a few answers based on my own studies. Yes, this would still be a pandemic even with no media. Testing is important because it lets us know what we're dealing with, how fast it spreads, and how dangerous it is. All of that is critical to effective planning. Viruses may be choosy about how much heat, humidity, or sunlight they're comfortable with...but the range varies. Currently, there are growing outbreaks in countries that are currently hot and wet - which means we MAY not get the hoped for summer relief here at home. Hoarding TP - okay, THAT one is just stupid! Finally, I'm about a decade behind you in age, but I've sure never seen anything like this either!
@John- Sounds like you have the situation pretty well handled!
@M. Mitchell Marmel- Good thinking by store management!
@Dave- I'm impressed that your local stores are holding up. I'm hoping that at the LEAST people will stop panic shopping and we can get back to more normal grocery runs. Regarding the freedom of assembly situation, as I wrote (some comments above) I have mixed feelings, but I'm certainly not dismissing the issue!
Regarding the run on TP; it seems that whenever there is news about an economic collapse, such as Venezuela, a comment about the subject is inevitable. These stories have conditioned us to believe that this is bound to happen here.
If one tests positive for this virus, what then? Only the symptoms can be treated. The virus is killed by ones own immune system. We've had countless viruses throughout the years. EG....Swine flu, Asian flu, Ebola, Mers, Legionnaires disease, etc., etc. They have all come and gone without media hype and we lived through them. What is being done now is destroying the booming economy and leaving an election open for a biden presidency. If that happens, he'll be declared incompetent, which he is, and who knows what we'll end up with. There has always been the flu, of some type, and more people have died from them than from this one.
No offense taken, Stilt! I appreciate your thorough explanation and I plan to copy, paste, print and give it to the Cleveland Clinic nurse who has apparently done steered me wrong! Come to think of it, we HAVE been fighting a lot lately...
Last Friday evening, a person infected with the Wuhan virus apparently entered the building in which the office is house, but not our office. The entire inside of the build was disinfected overnight. Now when this was announced to staff, two (millennials) decided they would bug out.
When/how did it come to be people have become so conditioned to respond in this way? But I suppose they were ahead of the curve as later in the afternoon all were told that except for management call were told not to report for work for the next two weeks.
I find that petting the cat helps...
_revjen45
@American Cowboy- This is such a worldwide thing that I don't really believe any political interest was behind it. And while I'm sure people will try to make political hay of this situation (like all others), I think that's secondary to the physical realities.
@Jim Irre- The good thing about having to stand 6 feet from people now is that women can't be absolutely sure where your eyes are.
@Pat Cummings- Plague books/movies are a little too "on the nose" just now. I can, however, recommend "This Is The End" as a funny end of the world movie with a "shelter in place" motif. No germs are involved - just the biblical End of Days. But seriously, it's really funny! I'm going to try to talk my family into watching it.
@John the Econ- Certainly nothing untoward occurs as I help aspiring cartoon actors with their careers. I just do it because I have a big heart. Good move on getting 3 months worth of bacon - enough of that can make even trespassers taste pretty good.
@Colby Muenster- It's like an optical illusion - if you keep looking, a mug of beer will appear! Regarding the finger method of wiping, it will also keep you from picking your nose!
@Sortahwitte- Our local libraries are shut down (not that I was planning to go in anyway). And by nature, I'm an introvert too. Although it was more fun when I thought there were things going on out there that I was avoiding (grin).
@MAJ Arkay- Glad to hear that you've got things under control, and that you were able to bring your Mom home. We just had the first coronavirus death in my city, which will help keep us on our toes. The victim was a 64 year old man with "underlying conditions," though I don't know what those conditions were. If he was already at death's door that's one thing...if he just had high blood pressure, that's quite another.
@NVRick- I think the panic about toilet paper was the still-threatening notion that Bernie Sanders could get elected.
@Grana- I certainly get where you're coming from. That being said, you say "more people have died from (various strains of flu) than from this one." That's true...but we really need to add the words "so far" to that statement. Infections seem to be progressing on a logarithmic scale now, with infections increasing tenfold every 15 days. 100,000 cases becomes 1,00,000 in just over two weeks. Two weeks later, the number is 10,000,000. Another 15 days and we're at 100,000,000. In other words, we "ain't seen nothing yet."
We won't see "herd immunity" (so many people with antibodies that it's hard for the virus to spread) until 80% of Americans have either had the virus or been vaccinated. We've got a long haul before we get to that point, which is why it's so important now for all of us to lean on each other. Well, from a slight distance (grin).
@Section147- The advice the nurse gave you was initially thought to be correct when looked at through a binary perspective of whether a mask will prevent infection or not. But it turns out that a mask that won't prevent infection may still buy your body a few precious days to ramp up a better immune response.
@Fish Out of Water- Spooky that someone came in. Spookier still, at least 50% of carriers don't know they have the virus at all - which is why it's so important to practice isolation for now.
@Anonymous- Pets are important now. They can help us ramp down our anxieties. Except, in our home, when the two dogs go out of their minds when Amazon makes a delivery (grin).
Oh, man @Stilton, you must be preoccupied. I was sure I was setting you up for a grand-slam with "Or do things work differently in the cartoon business?" line.
Went last week and the frozen food aisle was untouched, like some sort of blind spot to the panicked. We’re set for dinners for a month. Also, deli was wide open. People don’t know you can freeze cheese and cold cuts? We’re also set for sammiches for a month.
We have much the same going on here in the Pacific Northwaste - grocery aisles are largely stripped, and all manner of things are closed (restaurants, libraries, bars, bowling alleys, theaters, etc.). Thousands have lost their jobs. Actually, at some restaurants you can still get food, but they have to bag your order and set the bag outside where you can pick it up; you must pre-pay for the order over the phone). And you can still see a doctor or pharmacist if you call ahead.
You cannot ride a bicycle or take a jog unless you remain in proximity to your home and maintain a distance of 6 feet from anybody else. Otherwise, you're ordered to stay indoors. Although I do give the dog access to the yard several times a day (the back is fenced), even he's getting a little house-bound at present.
By the way, if the police see you away from your home, they'll order you to return to your abode forthwith. Failure to comply will result in an arrest and a fine of $1200. Which, of course, is more than a bit of a hardship for those who've been thrown out of work by order of state government.
The TV newscasters are now "reporting" from their homes.
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