Its the End of the World as we Know It

(And I Feel Fine)

Just a little musical interlude. I guess this REM song is now back on the charts.

So things move pretty fast in the times of corona. Last night, our governor ordered all bars, restaurants and gyms to close. Not a big shock and now I have to figure out a home work out routine.

After that, I started getting emails from various places where I’ve ended up on a mailing list. Stores are closing or reducing hours so you can basically rule out visits to the mall. Our zoo and other attractions have closed as well. Our art museum had an extensive garden which they were first going to keep open but have now decided to close.

For now, our state parks remain open. Because the sun was out, we took Rocco to the park and it was pretty crowded. I guess you could maintain your six foot bubble but it didn’t really feel like social distancing. We’ll see if they figure this out and close them down as well.

The stores are a mess and have yet to recover from the panic buying of last week. I was out to get some fruit and, with the bars closed, the beer and wine aisles were starting to get depleted. The produce section was somewhat decimated but I did pick up some pears and oranges. They are also now limiting the purchase of certain meat items before they run out of those. It is just surreal to see half empty shelves.

I went to a smaller little market attached to a fruit orchard where they sell local meats. Again, the selection was limited but I figured it was better to support small farmers than a giant corporation. Was also able to get several large bags of frozen vegetables so we are essentially good for a couple of weeks.

I get there’s a need for speed but it kind of feels sometimes like we are just ratcheting up without even knowing if there was a need. No gatherings larger than 50. Nope, scratch that. Nothing larger than 10. Why 10? Why is that safe and 50 isn’t. Was 50 not working? Why not go to 5? What’s magic about 10?

And there are certainly places in this country where it kind of looks like things could spiral out of control and so some of this makes sense. The problem is going to be in places where the scary theoretical isn’t matching the real numbers on the ground. At some point, you can only push so far before people start openly defying things. Not everyone but there are a significant number who will look at the relatively low numbers compared to other places and think this is all over-hyped.

So I’m finding things to do. When I can, I try to post funny or uplifting things on Facebook. I think a lot of people are doing that as well. A steady diet of fear and panic isn’t good for anyone. I’ll admit I’ve mostly tuned out the news and intentionally stayed away from certain sites I used to visit because they were always going on with worst case scenarios.

It was kind of funny because I ended up having a text conversation with a former co-worker after I posted a photo of the rapidly emptying beer shelves at our local store. It was like she just needed a few minutes with another person.

Who knows what tomorrow will bring. Changes are coming quickly. I’m not sure how much more they can shut down but I hate to say that because I don’t want to find out.