All of the 4 cases in my township trace back to NY hard hit area. Probably best to avoid. BTW, NY passed up CA in numbers and fast approaching WA.
My gut reaction for how to address this is New Deal level, or broader, changes in public policy.
@homerdog . No rules yet since they aren’t home yet. We are in Chicago and not sure If I want them on the mass transit but that is how they get around. They almost never drive the car. Might have to go back to that. I just think common sense rules. Not going to lock them up but they do have “real” classes to finish also. It’s not going to be playtime 24/7.
@homerdog. Also in the Chicagoland area…definitely no public transportation riding and I don’t want her at the mall. Totally OK with any outdoorsy things. As of right now, she’s planning on going back to school after break as they are keeping dorms/dining open at Purdue (at least for now).
Went to BJs this morning. I had already done all my Coronavirus shopping but then found out that S19 will be moving home for the rest of the semester so much more food is needed. I was surprised that it wasn’t that bad. While it was very busy, the store was well stocked. There were only a couple random things I couldn’t find. But the check out line was all the way to the back of the store and then wrapped around. It moved quickly though and all in all was not a bad or stressful shopping experience.
I am in Florida in an area that is full of retirees. Some of whom are my FB friends (really mere acquaintances to me, but local to our area). Many of these folks are in their 70s. I am amazed at what some of this demographic is posting. They STILL aren’t getting it (or as someone else said, don’t care). One guy, in particular, has posted groups of them at bars (at least they are outside bars), captioned, “Quarantine - Florida style!”
I like the StaytheF…Home movement. I think that other than food production and distribution and pharmaceutical production and distribution, everyone else should just Stay the F Home. This is what Italy and Spain have come too. We may as well start and get this thing over with now.
Cedars Sinai has set up tents outside the hospital. Restaurants are doing take out only. (This seems very sensible).
My limited observation is that older people are taking this crisis seriously. It’s the young who are not. In the college town where my daughter lives, the students who were told to stay home are congregating in their usual spots in the college area. The university has asked them to stop congregating in order to protect the town’s people.
I think the over-70s people “get it.” To be blunt, they have a different perspective than a younger person might about what they view as quality vs quantity of life. As incomprehensible as it seems to us in our “middle” ages, many of my over-70 friends are much, much more concerned with enjoying their few remaining years as opposed to undergoing unpleasantness to possibly buy more time. Not all, obviously. But some have and they’ve decided they’re OK with continuing on their enjoyed activities at risk of contracting the new coronavirus.
They get it, they’ve just made a different calculation and drawn a different conclusion. It’s not much different to when I explain to my kids that when I hit 85 I’m never again eating another speck of kale and am going on an all-Little Debbie and Scotch diet (nonperishable, I like 'em, buy me a few cases of each and I’ll be good for months - easy peasy.) The kids are horrified at what that would do to my “system” but from what I’ve seen of how my 85 year old friends live, I think it’s a reasonable tradeoff.
As long as they’re of sound mind, it’s OK that people make different risk/reward calculations.
We were planning to give our high schooler a laptop for graduation next year but ordered it now instead. His school will be online for quite some time I believe. It arrived in record speed and we figure we are doing our part to stimulate the economy.
@milee30 I agree; some of them are making a different calculation. My mom said, “In two months we will either be dead or it will be going away.”
But…I’m not sure that I agree it’s “ok” for them to make this risk/reward calculation, when seemingly many of the rest of the nation are taking extreme measures to protect the most vulnerable. They are the ones most likely to be in contact with their peer age/health conditions group, and they are increasing the risk for those neighbors and friends.
@rosered55, Why do you feel guilty? We all do the best we can. Many of us boomers have been fighting for others rights for decades. Yet many of us are also among the poor. Being a boomer doesn’t buffer us from being underpaid, undervalued, or underinsured.
The generation before us drove what change they could. My peers and I are doing the best we can, but we can’t do it all. The next generation will have to pick up where we left off. Are young people sacrificing things that are important to them? A semester of residential college? Graduations? Travel? Of that I have no doubt. Yet previous generations have also sacrificed. And their sacrifices were deeper and lasted much longer.
What we can do is provide a strong example. Maintain social distance to protect our communities. Those who aren’t in a high risk group can use Next Door and other apps to see if they can help their communities. They can reach out to neighbors and friends to make sure everyone is okay. Keeping in touch with others via text messaging or phone calls may help others feel more connected to the outside. Staying positive and being proactive are both productive. Feeling guilty for things that are outside your control isn’t.
The craziness has hit here. There were long lines outside the regional grocery store, HEB, at 6:00am when it opened. It hit after the first presidential speech. Now that Fiesta is postponed and almost all area schools are cancelled, it is is full swing.
H and I are stocked up and are trying to stay away from the supermarket until Monday. We have what we need, but are spoiled by being able to pop over anytime and get what we want.
I like the idea of carry out from small restaurants. We went to a wonderful place Friday for lunch that was not crowded. It was packed when I went a few weeks ago. I am going to see if I can pick up some of their great salads for dinner.
@austinmshauri , I appreciate your post very much. Feeling guilty for things outside my control is part of my personality. I realize it’s neither rational nor helpful to feel guilty. That’s why I’m looking for tips on how to dampen the guilt and do more productive, positive things.
^this
I am conflicted about whether I should be shopping online for things I don’t need. On the one hand, I understand keeping the economy going, but on the other hand it seems irresponsible somehow?? Idk.
Some online retail therapy would help me mentally for sure!
I have a more practical question. The organization for which I work has not decreed working at home, but has cancelled all in-person meetings and gatherings for members of the organization. The org has not, however, cancelled in-person meetings of staff nor encouraged people to work at home. I already have the flexibility to work at home much of the time and will continue to use that flexibility. But I’m concerned about the in-person meetings of staff. Should I be bold and suggest that our weekly team meetings be cancelled or should I call in sick on those days? I don’t want to force my views on other people, but I do want to do the right thing as far as outbreak control is concerned: not be part of a group of people sitting next to each other (much closer than six feet). Thanks.
@rosered55 — could you ask your workplace to try virtual staff meetings with FaceTime, zoom or other app, as it would be more efficient and your workplace may be forced to do it sooner than later?
I think it is selfish to go about life as usual ‘to enjoy your remaining time’. My daughter is in the first trimester of pregnancy. I am terrified of what this virus may do to her and her baby. Will it cause birth defects like rubella and chicken pox can?
Going about potentially spreading the virus, is being the new anti-vaxxer. I think we all agree that being an anti-vaxxer is stupid and irresponsible. I would even say immoral.
I don’t think we need lectures from younger folks who really have no idea what some of us might have gone through to get where we are, and what we might have done in our careers to help others, and the OK Boomer comments can be skipped for now. Thanks.
I worry about the manufacturers and transportation industries shutting down or at least limiting production/operations.
Are we are in denial thinking that 2 weeks of food supply is going to be enough?
I went to my local LA county supermarket at 7:30am this morning and there was no meat (steaks, chicken, fish, pork chops, ribs, bacon, etc) on any kind on the shelf’s! Completely bare. I’m going to try our local butcher shop and see if they have anything left?
This might get real ugly over the coming months…
Thank you for the reinforcement. I’m the same person who posted less than a week ago that I overheard my organization’s executive director say that he was still shaking people’s hands because he didn’t want to make them feel bad. I’ve felt at least low-level anger ever since.