So, since my last post, just before Christmas, everyone knows that it is a different world now.
We are all living a story that we wouldn’t have believed even possible a few months ago. Even in the worst ‘made for TV movie’ we couldn’t have begun to see much of the world would be basically shut down and millions of people, like us, sitting it out at home to prevent exposure for ourselves or even a chance of continuing the spread, if we were able to survive it! But that’s a test we DO NOT want to take to even try to find out!
“Uncharted waters” has been an oft mentioned description but I think it is an excellent description too.
A microscopic virus is killing thousands of people so far, and could easily continue killing for months. It doesn’t care about race, sex, country, borders, political leanings, it has just one mission, replicate and spread until the virus runs out of victims, then it would go dormant until it mutates into a new version and have a second or third or fourth go. Replicate until it can’t replicate any more.
We are very hopeful there will be a vaccine, at some point between now and next winter. Sooner would definitely be better!!!!
We are living in a rural small town in North Idaho, about 30 miles from Canada, and so far, in our county of about 11,000 people, there are no cases, yet. I am in no way on any “high horse” but I for one am glad to be living in a rural location over a city of any size, especially areas we used to live in that have continued to grow and grow. My last visit was two-years ago for about a week and even then I was amazed at the growth of our one time California ‘small towns.’ I have always liked small town ideals and living in “small town” almost anyplace over the crowds and wall to wall traffic and people of the cities. It of course, doesn’t really matter with this virus where one lives, but living here makes the necessary tasks to stay safe considerably easier for now but with the knowledge this virus could ultimately be everywhere, including here to.
Until then we will do all we can to stay safe, stay socially distant, and stay home, as much as possible. To protect us and to protect the people we know.
At this point, it looks like there won’t be any summer trip this year, possibly the rest of the year? Maybe by fall? At this point nobody can say for sure about anything that could happen regarding this virus.
About a week and a half ago our state started a stay-safe, stay-home, policy. We had been working but it was already getting to hard to do much of anything. We weren’t supposed to be seeing people at our office. We were still doing some office visits and testing but then with the new order, and the basic closure of the state Court systems, there wasn’t even any paperwork to take care of anymore.
So, the office is closed to all public and we only go there a few times a week, for an hour or so, but staggered to keep social interaction down even between us employees.
We are on this schedule until April 16th. Then we “might” be able to get to work again, although I’m not optimistic myself. As of today there are over 1,100 cases in Idaho, 6,000 cases in Washington, state. Almost 400 in Montana and I saw about a thousand cases in British Columbia, Canada.
We are surrounded and even with the various “no travel” orders in place there’s still a lot of crazy people that don’t believe Corona Virus, is a real thing!
Just look at your local Facebook feed to see the insanity of the conspiracy theories that are swirling around regarding Covid-19.
A Government secret test gone wrong? Really?
An attempt to have the “Deep State” take over the Country? You’ve got to be kidding!
A plot from China to do whatever? Insert your phobia there, but then, to me, why would China intentionally wreck their own status as currently the largest economy and manufacturing country in the world?
I like to listen to a lot of podcasts, and, of course, with all going on many have popped up regarding the virus. The most interesting ones have been history podcasts about the last Pandemic, the 1918 Flu, incorrectly labeled the “Spanish Flu.”
If you reader, are a more ‘visual’ person, check out a 2017 documentary from Smithsonian. I found it on VUDU, and probably Apple TV or even Google Play would also have it too.
This is just one episode as part of a series about some of the more interesting things from history, including that Pandemic, and was very good and recent enough that more information had been discovered with evolving technology.
They know, now, that the Pandemic started in Kansas, right here in the USA. It was a “bird flu” and was speculated to possibly originating with recently immigrated Chinese workers working there.
That aspect can’t be proven but it did start in the US and traveled the world through the travel of the era, trains, ships, all highly crowded and packed with people, with a lack of press alerting of the disease as it progressed.
It became the ‘Spanish Influenza’ as during World War One, Spain was a neutral country. As the flu grew and was decimating the world, and Spain, Spain freely reported on the disease creating the inaccurate moniker it became and will always be, the Spanish Flu.
In the recent news there are areas, like this one, with little or no cases, yet. That are starting to push back against the stay at home orders.
I’d normally say, just let them!
However, with this disease they aren’t gambling with just their lives and those people seem to me to be some of those who would complain about “their rights” yet scream the loudest when they get sick or hurt doing what they weren’t supposed to and cry “ why didn’t you stop us!”
For now, and including us, the world is kind of at a stand still.
I do believe it will be a long time before life’s goes back to the way it was in January. In our area and region, the schools are closed for the rest of the school year.
Those “Free Money” stimulus checks aren’t so free as initially thought. They’re an ‘advance’ on everyone’s next year tax returns. If you might get more than the $1,200.00 per adult amount you get, say $1,300.00, then your refund would be $100.00.
If you OWE more than the $1,200.00, then in a sense it is ‘free money’ as you wouldn’t have to pay the amount back to make the difference. There always seems to be a “gotcha!”
I’ve read news stories speculating it will be a long time before many people will trust being around very many people at once. Maybe.
It is most interesting to me to see TV shows on now that were created back when, before, the outbreak. Even commercials, of course with the newer commercials, they are solum and reverential saying how much they’re “standing with us all.” But many of them are still showing life as it would have been this time of year minus the virus. Want that boat or SkiDoo? They can sure sell you one! But where will you use it? Most states have closed all their state parks and recreational areas due to too many people using them!
That car, truck, or even RV you’re going to buy? Pretty much everyplace will do everything online with free delivery to your home. If you have good credit you can even get financing at zero percent for seven or eight years in an effort to get people buying, who might not be thinking about making those big purchases at the moment.
Oh well, enough of my musings.
Stacy and I are home today, I’m writing things as we listen to a mystery audio book and Stacy is making face masks as she was asked to for some people at work since the CDC advised to wear one when you go out in public now.
She had already made a few masks for us.
Where will this go?
When will it end?
Tad, April 7th, 2020
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