corona virus wtf blog

Chris Eugene, Oregon There will be no evictions in Oregon during the crisis, which is a tremendous relief, even to the rich, because stealing would be all some folks could think of, to keep their families indoors.  Utilities will not be shut off for non-payment.  I'm assuming that unemployment insurance will be very expensive for the budgets involved, on top of the free money to every American, and threatened airline bailouts. When this crisis is over, we'll have a very good idea of who we are.  Villains will not escape notice.  Heroes will be remembered.  Friendships may deepen, and some lousy "friends" will be shown for what they are.  What do our politicians do with the crisis?  It will show very clearly who  they  are, too.  The System's trying to blanket us in illusions, but this epidemic will wake people up to who is on their side and who aint.  Could be a useful development, as well as a scourge.  Might as well work the better side of it, eh?

Ana  Eureka, CA I know some of the world is in a panic state, but I do believe most are rational and staying well. We are sensible and calm, and I love homeschooling and gardening. It is nice to homestead and we are fairly self sufficient with eggs and vegetables.  David and I are both happy to be working together on our home.   I'm now incubating more eggs called Olives. I traded my farmer friend with starts and greens for her fertilized eggs at her mailbox.  We have been going shopping rarely as I can get drive by meals for the kids at their school one mile away. It's actually a big bag of sunflower seeds, chickpeas, milk, cheese, oranges, kewis, apples, pears, cereal, etc. We get 2 gallon bags.    Also, I ordered school supplies online like books, workbooks and flash cards of times and division and received educational packets from school. Max and Alexander are above their grade levels already though it is exciting to find topics and we are working on handwritin

Susan  York Me. We are all contained in our houses with no medical care, doctors or dentists.  Some go out to the  grocery store for supplies which are quite missing on the shelves.  Some take walks around the neighborhood, keeping the 6 foot distance even the dogs.  So I am making quilts and my husband is working in the Shop.  We read, we do acrostics, we prepare meals, we clean, we communicate with family and friends over the internet. We are in the elder group.  How has this virus impacted us?  We have compassion for those who cannot work or cannot get needed medical care;  we cancelled our trip to Italy in May and may not be reimbursed;  we make up charts how we will pay for things in case the stock market really crashes;   I sit with a temporary  crown over a root canal because the dentist is closed;  we are fine and play by  the  rules.  I  do not want the virus and I do not want to give it to anyone.  Just under a mile is a beautiful ocean with  crashing waves free of all of th

Gordon Portland The things around here that look very different are 1) All the closed businesses.  Drove by the Woodburn Outlet Mall today: not a car in the parking lot.  2) Traffic - It's almost fun to drive!  Gas is cheap, too.  3) Thinking that regarding supplies and the like, we can't wait until we need anything.  Instead, we need to plan ahead and hope the supplies will be there.  In my case, I'm on meds that my body depends on.  That means that quitting them could have bad side effects.  4) Lots of closed urgent care centers and the like.  Marilyn's niece works at a convalescent home and says they are down to a 7 day supply of masks - and they are using 1 mask per day.  The poor unlucky patients and medical staff that are going to get covid and die because fuckhead trumpski blew away the pandemic organization Obama had put in place - and the amount of time he and all the "leaders" of our country pissed away when they could have been building up st

Steve  Arizona Things here are probably not as bad as other places in the country.  Those over 70 have been asked to restrict travel to necessary trips we are pretty much doing that although I do still go to the grocery store, gas stations, etc.  I try to avoid large crowds.  Some of the grocery stores have shopping hours for seniors several days a week.  Stores are out of toilet paper, most bottled water, paper towels and sanitizers.  I noticed yesterday that some meats were in less supply and lots of boxed type dinners were gone, but other than that there was most everything else including milk.  The southern border with Mexico in closed for non-essential travel, but the workers from Mexico can still cross to work in US and that is a big issue for the agricultural areas along the border.  We were in Mexico at Rocky Point last week for three days, but came back the day we heard that some restrictions on the border were being discussed and wanted to get out while it might be ea

Rose  Mississippi I live in Lamar County MS. My area is called the Pine Belt. So far only four have tested positive and one has died that was in a hospital in Louisiana with underlying conditions. Mississippi has had about 140 cases so far.  We have all we need at the moment. Of course people have been buying the items you see on the news. I still have not comprehended the rush on toilet paper. We went thru hurricane Katrina, did not have power, water, for over three weeks. We made it with a generator. We are very self reliant here in Dixieland. We have many veggie/fruit stands that have begun to open.  I just checked the statistics for Mississippi and the total cases is 140. In our area as of today it’s 6 cases with one death last week.  We don't live close to the city...we are out in the country on 20 acres. Lots of sunshine and fresh air. We exercise and eat relatively healthy. I am not on any kind of medication for health problems. My hubby has eye drops for beginnin

Chris Eugene, Oregon There will be no evictions in Oregon during the crisis, which is a tremendous relief, even to the rich, because stealing would be all some folks could think of, to keep their families indoors.  Utilities will not be shut off for non-payment.  I'm assuming that unemployment insurance will be very expensive for the budgets involved, on top of the free money to every American, and threatened airline bailouts. When this crisis is over, we'll have a very good idea of who we are.  Villains will not escape notice.  Heroes will be remembered.  Friendships may deepen, and some lousy "friends" will be shown for what they are.  What do our politicians do with the crisis?  It will show very clearly who  they  are, too.  The System's trying to blanket us in illusions, but this epidemic will wake people up to who is on their side and who aint.  Could be a useful development, as well as a scourge.  Might as well work the better side of it, eh?

Jim  Colorado We’re doing pretty well, hunkered down and social distancing as needed. Can’t believe how quickly it all has happened.  Just 12 days ago I was skiing at 13,000 ft up on the Continental Divide, and now all ski areas in the state have been closed since 13 Mar.  Additionally, here in Colorado the normal stuff is also closed: schools, churches, bars and restaurants (except selected take-out); barbers, hair salons, nail salons, spas, gyms, fitness centers.  I think marijuana emporiums are still open, along with grocery stores and pharmacies. We do have our priorities!  As of today, there are 600 cases reported statewide, with 7 deaths.  Companies who still require people to be at work are asked to go to 50% manning. Our kids and their spouses are all working from home.  The local stores are usually out of what you’d expect: TP, canned goods, eggs, pasta, paper towels, wipes, cleaners, with skimpy meat and produce options.  Quite honestly, it was somewhat of a shock to

Charlotte Delaney England Rant from the east Like the rest of the world – how often do we get to say that? – I am enjoying/enduring self-isolation/social distancing. Fortunately, since moving to fuck-wit-nowhere from central London a decade ago, I have been practising and am adept. This doesn’t mean I have a pantry stocked with pickles from last years harvest, freshly laid eggs or a freezer full of homegrown vegetables. I did flirt with all those things during our first few years, here. But then the children lost interest and it wasn’t as much fun doing it alone.  But I am one of the lucky ones. I could afford to stock my pantry with staples – the usual suspects: rice, pasta, tinned goods and cartons of organic milk substitutes. I didn’t panic buy, I get wholefoods in bulk from time to time anyway, so I’m okay. Also, I’m not in an abusive relationship. I don’t have pre-existing health conditions. I’m not homeless. I’m not disabled. The list could go on.  I live on the east

Duke Ducorsky New York City   Coronavirus  👑 has us in a tizzy. Not helpful is the leadership of that overly tanned orange 🍊 Tin Lizzie of a POTUS Whose every word and deed is bogus.  Focused with his hypnotizing grotesque Locus of self-serving, con man, snake 🐍 oil Salesman making my blood boil. While he soils his soul (though that’s his biz) It boils down to soiling our Constitution.  Our once great 👍 institutions The American Way corrupted by A dictator-in training fouling and foiling This dictator in dirty diapers Toiling to make his take great... His estate greater.  The state of our once greater nation In peril as seas rise drowning coastal plantations and more humble dwellings. Human rights caged compelling fears there’s no telling the atrocities his base will endure Ignore and applaud!!! in the face of crop failures Market collapse What goes on in their brainwashed synapses Is truly a lapse in historical pers

Chris Eugene, Oregon Actually, The Crisis seems so unreal, that we don't have much testimony to offer.  We're hunkering down on a sunny spring day, fearing everyone for no empirically confirmable reason.  Water the peas, surf the net, wait.  Tomorrow: same.  Looking forward to the weekend?  Same.  Maybe as things progress (if that's the word), we can offer some testimony from Oregon.   The generation that lived through rationing is small and very old.  Rationing will be a shock, when it arrives for us.  This disease is perhaps an overture, a preface, for events to come.  And maybe corona will have salutary effect on a numb population, helping us shed our guilt over not achieving The American Dream, which has been the hopeless pursuit of Americans ever since the glory days of the 1960s and '70s.  That is, having received our dueling scar, we may be ready to assume a more pertinent and appropriate set of priorities and expectations. A greater worry than per

March 19, 2020 Rima Safady Darwiche Ecuador How are we living in Ecuador these coronavirus days? In simple words: we are not prepared. Current public health events have wreaked havoc and disrupted our lives, especially those of us living with cancer. No country is ready for this let alone ours. This is probably a desperate call from our own planet, everybody thinks this was going to eventually happen. Our planet is dying calling us and we never turned back. As a patient living with cancer, I could open my eyes and became much more empathetic, I realized that our stay in this world is brief, and God gave us a simple task, to save it not to destroy it. I know these are difficult times but I know we'll get through it. Enduring such a challenging pandemics will help us turn back to our relatives, our children, our home. Many of us will have time to clean up our houses, get rid of useless stuff, unplug ourselves from shallowness and go back to listen to our motherland. Gard

March 18 Jenna Orkin New York The city is shuttered; the atmosphere, muted. Busses go by on what used to be the busiest streets in the middle of the day with only three or four passengers aboard — all maintaining more than adequate "social distance." The MTA's mulling cutting back on service. Who could blame them? New York's neighborhoods have peculiar specialties. Madison Avenue between 86th and 88th makes you wonder if Carnegie Hill's been zoned for baby boutiques. Even at the best of times, you never see more than one customer in those dear little shops, mostly grandmothers, but they remain open now. Further downtown on Lexington, hairdressers, barbershops and nail salons are also soldiering on. ("I need an emergency haircut.") Unusually for this time of year, when it's 50 degrees out, their doors are propped open wide, either for ventilation or to keep people from having to touch them. Hard to maintain social distance in these professions

Gema Mendoza Chicago, Il. This era strikes me as unusual a bit bizarre.  With a calm tone my son's teacher walked us through the details of v-learning.  Even though her tone was calm I could perceive her feelings, a mixture of fear, incredulity and anger. “Homeschooling” is definitely a challenge for all of us. I set up a special space for him at home. Most of us still remain optimistic but worst case scenario thought are also present. I think nobody knows what's going to happen 2 o 3 days from now. I also keep track of what's happening back home. [The writer is from Latin America - Ed] All this makes me realize the incredibly huge amount of things we all take for granted.  “I’m afraid that I’m not going to see my mother ever again” My friend told me, whose mother lives in Italy is desperate. Her tone is one of despair, we feel so scared and fragile, unable to do what we want to protect our own families. Technology helps but it will never replace a hug, a kiss. All

   As the current crisis unfolds, this blog is intended to serve as a virtual meeting place where readers can share their experiences and observations related to the Coronavirus. These may be long or as brief as one sentence. Life has turned upside down in a way that those of us who lived through 9/11 recall — only this time, it's on a global scale. Let us bear witness. Re the name of the blog: the other more appropriate names were already snatched up. Submit entries to jennakilt@aol.com./ Jenna Orkin   March 15   Jenna Orkin   New York City    Central Park is jammed. No one's observing social distancing protocols; friends hold hands, threesomes and larger groups stroll along together nonchalantly, as though this were an ordinary Sunday afternoon. Presumably, they're not all roommates.    You'd never guess anything was amiss. Only two people wore the masks that not long ago were associated exclusively with the Japanese: A father/son duo, on bikes, the boy about