The Coronavirus has really become about the only topic of discussion today on the news. Travel appears to be severely affected. The stock market closed up today. Some people are very afraid. It is sad we are fearful of something that cannot even be seen. Sixty million people in Italy are in lockdown, yet people may go to work. How can they enforce that? Wow.
I would be concerned about Mom if she were in a nursing home. The home Dan’s Mom lived in for twelve years in Sioux Falls, South Dakota was quarantined many times for the flu. It protected the residents and they did stay in their rooms. I believe this saved many vulnerable people. It could be what saves many older people during this outbreak of a not so new virus.
A can of Lysol lists Coronavirus as something the disinfectant kills. It has been on the label for over twenty-five years. I would imagine a different strain exists now and it is much stronger than in the old days. Clean up your surroundings at home and at work. Disinfect your phone, your keyboard, your workstation, your steering wheel and doorhandles. Clean places you never clean. And take care of yourself. And then do it again.
Our local newspaper printed an article where the father of the girl who was at the VFW Post 2503 last Wednesday was interviewed. He told her story. It is a beautiful story of unconditional love for a little girl who was adopted. She has been prone to respiratory illnesses frequently throughout her life. She visited the doctor many times since her return from the United Kingdom. They were sure it was just a cold or her normal illness. No one over there is ill in the family group they visited. The father and stepbrother are both on home quarantine. It is very sad for him. Here is the article:
I just find the whole story so very sad. Until the whole story was known, I too passed judgment on someone being out when they were ill. Being human, I think we tend to judge without the proper information. I am sorry I thought these things. At this point, all we can do is pray for her and her family. Faith can take people through things that they cannot imagine handling on their own. We hope this is the case. No one else from our organization has become ill. A couple other people are staying home due to contact that included a hug and a greeting. Both were elderly. There again, our VFW family will encircle it’s own and will help however and wherever we can.
There have been a lot of frenzied phone calls, asking if the building is going to be sanitized. The Health Department assured the Commander cleaning the tables and chairs with bleach, along with the door handles, door knobs, the bar, and any other surfaces we can think to clean. All will be well. We will be open tonight for darts and tomorrow night for food night.
The informational e-mail we sent out telling people about the situation ran into a technical glitch which my limited network knowledge could not solve, so we made a trip to the Post to send the emails. Technology is quite grand until it doesn’t work and you cannot fix it. Then it’s difficult and can torment your brain until you find out both what the issue is and how it can be solved. A curse.
Needless to say, there was no writing time today. Tomorrow will be another day of PT for Mom. Hopefully there will be time I can quarantine myself in my studio and work uninterrupted for a time between Thursday and Monday, the 16th of March. I’m kind of running behind the plan, you know? What do you do when you plan to do things that are interrupted by life? You want to be flexible but don’t want to be a doormat either. There is a fine line, and it seems as if it is constantly moving in my life.
I am going to push for some time tomorrow after taking Mom. It’s amazing how a scene can live in your head and take on a life of it’s own when you put it on paper. I’m hoping that happens. It’s a scene that connects cigar smoke with some memories my main character has. She tells the recollections as someone in the group lights up a cigar. The rest will come when it gets here. That will be my starting point. I may need to move it to another chapter if it makes more sense there. I will share it with you here when it is written.
Thank you for reading today, I’m looking forward to seeing you back here tomorrow.
Kathy Raabe 