Diary 16
Friday, April 3rd.
Another day, another lovely Zoom call from old friends, with plenty of hilarity. I think we’re all so relieved and happy to see each other that laughter at every joke comes exceptionally easily.
But then, perhaps we needed it more today. We made the not-so-great decision to head to a grocery that has lots of good fresh vegetables, and it wasn’t really an edifying event. The aisles were too small for people to maintain the 6 foot distance, and because people were buying more and there were no baggers, the lines were very long at the check-out, backing up into the store itself. I’m not sure why so many people are shopping. Logically, the population is the same and we’re all eating about the same, so there should be no change. I can only assume that we all decided to go shopping for a whole week’s worth of stuff at the same time. But I’ve yet to find the ‘down’ times. The emptier the store, the lower the risk, I’d guess?
Meanwhile it turns out that some parts of the US, the South especially, seem to be ignoring the whole stay-at-home order. Places like Mississippi and Alabama seem to have governors who simply don’t think it’s a good idea to tell the population what they need to know. Since these states have some of the higher levels of poverty one shudders to think what the outcome will be. Still, perhaps we can snag their ventilators now, as they don’t seem to think they’ll need them? (Sorry for the cynicism).
Some of the days ahead will be grim. Our favorite restaurants and stores may not ever reopen. With rents to pay and employees to look after they may simply go broke. People will suffer. Some of those people will be our nearest and dearest.
Once again, scanning the social media, I see a vast amount of fear. We are right to be afraid. We are right to take steps to protect ourselves. And we are wrong if we let that fear take us over. We can do our bit by remaining calm, by not panic buying, and by allowing our calmness to affect others. That’s a different type of infection; an infection of caring, compassion and of patience.
