Post #9 Dispatches From Around the World and the US
I'm starting to hear from friends around the country and even around the world. Here's some what they are saying:
From Bue Meraviglioso in Italy: We live in Vedelago, a very small town in the North-Eastern Region of Veneto, Province of Treviso. Veneto is the third worst hit Region in Italy with 5.122 cases and 169 deaths (March, 22nd). We have been in quarantine since March, 8th. We are all fine for now.
Here are our 5 things we do with our 3 year old to stay positive and realistic during this Covid-19 quarantine, in no particular order:
1) We focus on being the best role models we can be. We take the situation very seriously, we follow the rules, and our hearts are with the victims, their families, and those who are not only isolated, but also alone. That said, with our young one we try to laugh, joke and have a good time together, to show our daughter that responsible humor encourages resilience and dissolves anxiety. We applaud and share with her every gesture of solidarity we know of. We discuss things we are grateful for and how we can help others from home.
2) We cook everything from scratch. We asked our grannies for their favorite recipes and cooking tips and we ask our daughter to join in the kitchen. Our daughter loves to take care of desserts. She has a sweet tooth and she's in love with tiramisù. We are blessed with abundant food, so we also ask her to join us in preparing our groceries list, understanding what is essential, necessary food and what is a treat. We also ask her to join us in our zero waste approach, particularly at this time.
3) We observe in wonder the changing of the season in our garden and what our unpolluted country looks like online. We notice every new flower, every newborn animal, every insect nest in our garden. We watched online the crystal clear waters with shoals of fishes in the Venice canals, and the dolphins playing in the empty harbors of Sardinia. We hope one day we will be able to see that in person.
4) We don't lie to our daughter about what's going on. We try to speak to her in an age appropriate way that reinforces positive attitude. We deliver relevant updates to her when necessary. Footage for preschoolers was sent to us by her teachers. She's in contact with them as well as her classmates and she does basic homework via Whatsapp. We ask her to draw her fears regularly.
5) We encourage her staying active. She used to be a swimmer. Now she rides a bike and jumps on the trampoline in the garden. We also like to dance together, she obviously likes to play the princess part and dance with daddy alone. Mommy should play the audience.
Three Notes From Florida: I'm doing okay - a little bummed out about some pool friends (in their late 40s) who just totally ignored that I asked to give them a list of 2 or 3 things they might try to get for me, since they were going out anyway to many stores in their own efforts to get stuff. Then later one of them asked if I had any oil. I told them I wasn't comfortable sharing something with a single inhaler/nozzle and hoped they understood. I think they might be the end of that particular pool-side friendship. Oh well. Whole Foods and Prime delivery will work to some extent for a while.
But I got Mantel's new Cromwell book via Kindle, so that will fill some hours very pleasantly, and my morning walks are apparently early enough so that even on a Sunday in these times there were damn few people also walking on the pathway around the grass and tree/bushes (might have seen 9 different colored flowers today - highest ever previous total was 8).
The younger people in this sprawling complex don't seem to be taking social distancing all that to heart, nor does the county sheriff who's pissed they closed the beaches, and not too surprisingly the reported number of confirmed cases in this county (cut off from Tampa by water on 3 sides) is going up.
***
I am being ridiculously cautious - and figured out a couple of things: the senior early openings were likely to be totally jammed down here (especially this week, given that it's the first week they're doing it - and only 2 days a week), and since I expect things to be fairly worse later this week, and increasingly felt I had to act somehow; if I had my gloves and it was mid-morning, I might as well try and see how jammed the parking lot was, and if not, try shopping.
I wasn't wrong - there weren't a lot of people in the store (though no paper goods or fresh chicken at all) but in 30 minutes, wearing disposable gloves, I got a lot that was on my list - and was even reminded about Pesach so got an extra jar of gefilte fish and horse radish. None of it was terribly necessary (I say that without knowing how long social distancing, semi-self-isolation and disruptions in supply chains will last) but I feel better not to have been so damn passive in the face of all this. It was silly. But I washed like crazy when I got home and can again have mayo and baby spinach on the rye toast that I throw the sauteed onions and veggie burger on with melted Swiss cheese! Yay!
***The funny thing is I realized I risked my life today to get scallions. I mean, they're important - for my hummus, and cream cheese, and all my quiche require them. But still, I'm not exactly certain it was a reasonable trade. If I get sick I'll think about that, probably a lot.
Meanwhile a number of the kids from Florida Universities on the beaches during their spring break are testing positive for the virus. I've loved witches for many.many years, and even more now.
From Sal in Queens, NY: I'm okay until I'm not. Of course I am scared, but mostly for others. I certainly don't think I am invincible, but I am smart. We stay inside. We wash up. My hands are literally cracked and bleeding. We have food and toilet paper. We are not taking public transportation. We are not panic buying. Melissa is working from home, so she is occupied a good portion of the day and night. I am writing more posts than usual for Burning Wood and playing music from sunrise to sunset, doing everything I can to avoid anything I don't need to hear. I don't want to be scared. I suffer with enough anxiety and being scared of whatever is ahead cannot be helpful to me or anyone.
I've been doing decent business and I am grateful. We don't have money, so I need this, for many reasons. People want music and now they can't just go get it. I've changed my shipping policies from daily to twice a week to keep me out of the post office as much as possible. And when I do go, I wear gloves, carry sanitizer, drop off boxes and leave. I've been social distancing and avoiding people since 2006. I can do this, if I am not scared.
I have a real problem with Facebook and not just with the usual idiots. My problem is that within five minutes of scrolling, I'll see five differences of opinion on the same subject, ranging from "calm down" to "we are all going to die." That can't be helpful. Knowing that NYC now has five percent of all cases worldwide makes me sick to my stomach, but then my head takes me to "maybe I am sick to my stomach because the virus just set it." I simply can't let that happen to me. I can't curl up and die and worry about every normal allergic throat clear or tension headache being a step into the grave.
I am heartbroken for the people I love, friends like you with health issues, my brother-in-law and nephew, both with health issues, but I couldn't be of any use to anyone if I am in the throes of a panic attack. So, I keep on keeping on, waiting for the news to get even 1/1000 of a percent better.
From Oregon: [His partner, who was diagnosed as "presumed positive"] She got a little better two days ago, and yesterday seemed to slip back some. She’s only bad-cold-level sick, so it’s been manageable so far. I’m still healthy as far as I can tell.
A retired nurse, also from Oregon, writes: We found out yesterday that David’s brother is at home with a fever and severe cough. He was told he couldn’t get tested unless he was in the hospital!!!! I am so angry with our health care system and the fucking GOP.
His brother's fever had gone down by day 3, but he is still coughing and aches. The good news is he doesn’t get worse each day, and says he is not having labored breathing. So I’m feeling more optimistic. I do worry about his 2 roommates, who are both over sixty, one with underlying health conditions. He never went in for a test, apparently in Oregon Kaiser system you only get a test if in the hospital, or the ED. The risk of going to the ED, unless in severe respiratory distress is greater, which just goes to show how many more cases there are, than what is being reported. In Oregon anyway.
Our attempt to get online groceries was an epic failure. so we are trying again through Walmart. A store I swore I would never shop at. If they come through, I’ll never say a bad thing about them again
We’ve been getting out and walking for about 2 hours every day, other than that we are pretty much home bodies. Which leads to too much MSNBC, which leads to increased worry....etc.
I may end up throwing a shoe at the TV when Trump is on.
From a Pub Owner in England: Well I discovered why so many people are stockpiling toilet roll: shit about to hit fan.
So far we’re fairly safe. Pub had to close on Friday as our supreme leader finally made a sort of decision that they avoid bars but keep open.
The sun has reappeared (it’s not all fog à la Sherlock Holmes) just in time for recreational activities to be closed down! At least most countries will greatly reduce their CO2 emissions; except the big tech firms with their giant cloud storage services.
In the words of Joe Strummer “we’re working from the clampdown”. Seems that too many people were treating this pandemic as a holiday. It’s real and deadly ; hopefully we’ll all be here come May!
And then the prospect of everyone being logged and tagged.
From Bue Meraviglioso in Italy: We live in Vedelago, a very small town in the North-Eastern Region of Veneto, Province of Treviso. Veneto is the third worst hit Region in Italy with 5.122 cases and 169 deaths (March, 22nd). We have been in quarantine since March, 8th. We are all fine for now.
Here are our 5 things we do with our 3 year old to stay positive and realistic during this Covid-19 quarantine, in no particular order:
1) We focus on being the best role models we can be. We take the situation very seriously, we follow the rules, and our hearts are with the victims, their families, and those who are not only isolated, but also alone. That said, with our young one we try to laugh, joke and have a good time together, to show our daughter that responsible humor encourages resilience and dissolves anxiety. We applaud and share with her every gesture of solidarity we know of. We discuss things we are grateful for and how we can help others from home.
2) We cook everything from scratch. We asked our grannies for their favorite recipes and cooking tips and we ask our daughter to join in the kitchen. Our daughter loves to take care of desserts. She has a sweet tooth and she's in love with tiramisù. We are blessed with abundant food, so we also ask her to join us in preparing our groceries list, understanding what is essential, necessary food and what is a treat. We also ask her to join us in our zero waste approach, particularly at this time.
3) We observe in wonder the changing of the season in our garden and what our unpolluted country looks like online. We notice every new flower, every newborn animal, every insect nest in our garden. We watched online the crystal clear waters with shoals of fishes in the Venice canals, and the dolphins playing in the empty harbors of Sardinia. We hope one day we will be able to see that in person.
4) We don't lie to our daughter about what's going on. We try to speak to her in an age appropriate way that reinforces positive attitude. We deliver relevant updates to her when necessary. Footage for preschoolers was sent to us by her teachers. She's in contact with them as well as her classmates and she does basic homework via Whatsapp. We ask her to draw her fears regularly.
5) We encourage her staying active. She used to be a swimmer. Now she rides a bike and jumps on the trampoline in the garden. We also like to dance together, she obviously likes to play the princess part and dance with daddy alone. Mommy should play the audience.
Three Notes From Florida: I'm doing okay - a little bummed out about some pool friends (in their late 40s) who just totally ignored that I asked to give them a list of 2 or 3 things they might try to get for me, since they were going out anyway to many stores in their own efforts to get stuff. Then later one of them asked if I had any oil. I told them I wasn't comfortable sharing something with a single inhaler/nozzle and hoped they understood. I think they might be the end of that particular pool-side friendship. Oh well. Whole Foods and Prime delivery will work to some extent for a while.
But I got Mantel's new Cromwell book via Kindle, so that will fill some hours very pleasantly, and my morning walks are apparently early enough so that even on a Sunday in these times there were damn few people also walking on the pathway around the grass and tree/bushes (might have seen 9 different colored flowers today - highest ever previous total was 8).
The younger people in this sprawling complex don't seem to be taking social distancing all that to heart, nor does the county sheriff who's pissed they closed the beaches, and not too surprisingly the reported number of confirmed cases in this county (cut off from Tampa by water on 3 sides) is going up.
***
I am being ridiculously cautious - and figured out a couple of things: the senior early openings were likely to be totally jammed down here (especially this week, given that it's the first week they're doing it - and only 2 days a week), and since I expect things to be fairly worse later this week, and increasingly felt I had to act somehow; if I had my gloves and it was mid-morning, I might as well try and see how jammed the parking lot was, and if not, try shopping.
I wasn't wrong - there weren't a lot of people in the store (though no paper goods or fresh chicken at all) but in 30 minutes, wearing disposable gloves, I got a lot that was on my list - and was even reminded about Pesach so got an extra jar of gefilte fish and horse radish. None of it was terribly necessary (I say that without knowing how long social distancing, semi-self-isolation and disruptions in supply chains will last) but I feel better not to have been so damn passive in the face of all this. It was silly. But I washed like crazy when I got home and can again have mayo and baby spinach on the rye toast that I throw the sauteed onions and veggie burger on with melted Swiss cheese! Yay!
***The funny thing is I realized I risked my life today to get scallions. I mean, they're important - for my hummus, and cream cheese, and all my quiche require them. But still, I'm not exactly certain it was a reasonable trade. If I get sick I'll think about that, probably a lot.
Meanwhile a number of the kids from Florida Universities on the beaches during their spring break are testing positive for the virus. I've loved witches for many.many years, and even more now.
From Sal in Queens, NY: I'm okay until I'm not. Of course I am scared, but mostly for others. I certainly don't think I am invincible, but I am smart. We stay inside. We wash up. My hands are literally cracked and bleeding. We have food and toilet paper. We are not taking public transportation. We are not panic buying. Melissa is working from home, so she is occupied a good portion of the day and night. I am writing more posts than usual for Burning Wood and playing music from sunrise to sunset, doing everything I can to avoid anything I don't need to hear. I don't want to be scared. I suffer with enough anxiety and being scared of whatever is ahead cannot be helpful to me or anyone.
I've been doing decent business and I am grateful. We don't have money, so I need this, for many reasons. People want music and now they can't just go get it. I've changed my shipping policies from daily to twice a week to keep me out of the post office as much as possible. And when I do go, I wear gloves, carry sanitizer, drop off boxes and leave. I've been social distancing and avoiding people since 2006. I can do this, if I am not scared.
I have a real problem with Facebook and not just with the usual idiots. My problem is that within five minutes of scrolling, I'll see five differences of opinion on the same subject, ranging from "calm down" to "we are all going to die." That can't be helpful. Knowing that NYC now has five percent of all cases worldwide makes me sick to my stomach, but then my head takes me to "maybe I am sick to my stomach because the virus just set it." I simply can't let that happen to me. I can't curl up and die and worry about every normal allergic throat clear or tension headache being a step into the grave.
I am heartbroken for the people I love, friends like you with health issues, my brother-in-law and nephew, both with health issues, but I couldn't be of any use to anyone if I am in the throes of a panic attack. So, I keep on keeping on, waiting for the news to get even 1/1000 of a percent better.
From Oregon: [His partner, who was diagnosed as "presumed positive"] She got a little better two days ago, and yesterday seemed to slip back some. She’s only bad-cold-level sick, so it’s been manageable so far. I’m still healthy as far as I can tell.
A retired nurse, also from Oregon, writes: We found out yesterday that David’s brother is at home with a fever and severe cough. He was told he couldn’t get tested unless he was in the hospital!!!! I am so angry with our health care system and the fucking GOP.
His brother's fever had gone down by day 3, but he is still coughing and aches. The good news is he doesn’t get worse each day, and says he is not having labored breathing. So I’m feeling more optimistic. I do worry about his 2 roommates, who are both over sixty, one with underlying health conditions. He never went in for a test, apparently in Oregon Kaiser system you only get a test if in the hospital, or the ED. The risk of going to the ED, unless in severe respiratory distress is greater, which just goes to show how many more cases there are, than what is being reported. In Oregon anyway.
Our attempt to get online groceries was an epic failure. so we are trying again through Walmart. A store I swore I would never shop at. If they come through, I’ll never say a bad thing about them again
We’ve been getting out and walking for about 2 hours every day, other than that we are pretty much home bodies. Which leads to too much MSNBC, which leads to increased worry....etc.
I may end up throwing a shoe at the TV when Trump is on.
From a Pub Owner in England: Well I discovered why so many people are stockpiling toilet roll: shit about to hit fan.
So far we’re fairly safe. Pub had to close on Friday as our supreme leader finally made a sort of decision that they avoid bars but keep open.
The sun has reappeared (it’s not all fog à la Sherlock Holmes) just in time for recreational activities to be closed down! At least most countries will greatly reduce their CO2 emissions; except the big tech firms with their giant cloud storage services.
In the words of Joe Strummer “we’re working from the clampdown”. Seems that too many people were treating this pandemic as a holiday. It’s real and deadly ; hopefully we’ll all be here come May!
And then the prospect of everyone being logged and tagged.
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