Post 4 - March 15, 2020
Day Four…
Thank you everybody, truly, for your concern but I promise you Michael and I are both fine. Whatever it was that we had has passed. If it was Covid-19, I pray that everyone gets such a mild case of it. If it wasn’t… well, we may never know as there is no testing available.
We had a couple of testing leads yesterday but ultimately decided not to follow up.
Someone on TV yesterday pointed out that even if you did test negative, you could pick it up leaving the clinic. It’s actually somewhat better, I think, that we all go about our days assuming that we DO have it and act accordingly. At this point, it’s just selfish not to.
Michael and I went walking in Central Park yesterday to get some much-needed exercise and fresh air. It was a beautiful day in NY - cold but crystal clear and bright. We stayed away from other people and when areas looked too crowded, changed our path and headed in a different direction. Lots of people were still out and about as if nothing was going on. Large group picnics and touch football games were very much in evidence. People are not concerned about getting it. Everyone thinks that they’re healthy, they’re young it’s survivable. It’s not about you GETTING it, it’s about you GIVING it to somebody else.
We know that almost every single word coming out of the White House is an out and out lie. I’m not being partisan or inflammatory here, just pointing out what we all know. Therefore, using logic, the announcement from the White House that the president tested negative…. Do the math.
The travel ban and contradictory tweets and announcements have, unsurprisingly, created complete chaos at airports. Don’t travel. Period. Now is not the time. Waiting in cramped crowded airport lines for hours on end is pretty much going to guarantee that if one person in the customs hall has it, after a few hours everybody will have it. American Airlines has just announced that they are suspending most of their international long-haul flights starting tomorrow through to the beginning of May. They rest will soon follow and I am sure it will start to impact domestic travel as well.
We are truly looking at the most monumental societal change that any of us have ever lived through. 9-11 changed things for us, but the immediate disruption was only a couple of days. We’ve ended up with some permanent changes (taking off your shoes at airports, enhanced screenings for example) but life continued on. This is going to be a much greater disruption and a much longer one. Don’t be alarmed, just be aware. It’s time to pull back and see not only what is going on, but what is going to happen.
Sporting events, theatrical events, church services have all been or will soon be stopped. This is not just happening here in NY, but all over the world. The West End in London has been much slower to react than the US, Canada and Australia, but it’s coming. Nike is closing its stores until May which means that a lot of other major US retailers are going to follow suit. Restaurants are also going to close either out of caution or because nobody will be going to them.
We have never lived like this before.
Breathe for a minute. We are truly all in this together. We have to support one another by limiting our contact. Online shopping is going to become the norm but there’s a huge downside to that. People are going to get bored at home and just start stress buying stuff they don’t need. Don’t. Now is not the time for a new pair of Nikes. We don’t have income. Our earning capability is on hold. Don’t go into debt because you are bored and end up down some online retail rabbit hole.
This is all going to be different and it is changing extremely fast. Most of these changes have come about in the last three days. Three days - that’s it!
So, moving forward, be safe. Take care of yourself but almost more importantly, take care of those around you. Stop hugging and shaking hands. If we do this now, it will be that much sooner that we can start up again. Stop being sure that you can survive it and start thinking of yourselves as the person who could possibly give it to someone who can’t.
Be kind. Everybody is going to react to this in a completely different way. Just look around on Facebook. Some people seem OK, and some people seem to be freaking out. Try not to add to anyone’s anxiety if you can possibly help it.
Be smart. With the ever-changing rulebook, the only way to stay on top of it all is to stay calm and take in new changes as they roll in. We all need to know what’s going on. The news, as presented, is only going to skew things one way or another. Try and put the actual facts together without taking in the spin.
All that we really need to know now is that our way of life is changing. That’s the only thing that we need to actually deal with right now. What are the changes and how do they affect us. Focus on that. Make a plan. When you have something concrete to focus on, it will quell the anxiety and the fear. Both of those require uncertainty. There’s plenty of that going around so let’s do what we can to eradicate the uncertainty.
Be safe.
Be kind.
Be smart.