Plague Diaries, Issue 15: March 27, 2020

Last night, in the wee hours, I was dimly aware of rain steadily falling, and thunder crashing. It was a cozy feeling, to be there in bed, dozing lightly but not wanting to sleep and miss the storm. It was also the most normal thing I've experienced in a while. I am finding that it's the nature shit that seems to bring consolation, or at least something upon which to anchor one's self. The spring season progresses; the trees bud; the birds sing; the daffodils bloom. There's no coronavirus in their world.

Today, the weather is freakishly, inappropriately, unseasonably warm (just as it has been throughout most of this past offensively warm winter) --it's been in the low 70s, and fairly humid, and cloudy. It feels ominous and oppressive and we are probably entering Spring Storm season, and that's the last thing we need--for Mother Nature to drop an EF5 tornado on our ass.

This wasn't a productive day. I slept late, I didn't exercise, I ate crap, I scrolled through my phone too much, I did the bare minimum of chores. But--I didn't freak out, didn't spend time lamenting cancelled plans, didn't focus on how all of our lives our on hold I did reach out to many people, I did stick to my blogging schedule, I did do a few chores, I did not feel sick with anything. And tomorrow is a new day, with countless opportunities to be better and do better, whether I can leave my home or not.

News of the Day, and Amused Meanderings: 

Zoom is totally a thing now. I can attest to this, personally, because prior to, like, a week or so ago, I'd never really heard of, or used, Zoom. Within the past 7 days, I've used it 4 times--twice for work, once with friends socially, once with strangers, socially. Remember when I was reflecting on what may change due to COVID-19? Welp, at the very least, some stockholders' lives, somewhere, have been changing!

Boris Johnson (AKA "Metric System Trump") has coronavirus. Christ.

COVID-19 count in Indiana: Y'all, I just about done had a heart attack today. Yesterday, cases were at 645--today, 981. Positive test results increased by 50% in one 24 hour period. Yes, yes, we are testing more, but that's beside the point--and how is that reassuring? That the more we test, the more we find? That only means it's more motherfucking pervasive. Also, to the best of my knowledge, we're still only testing folks in the "at risk" category. So what does that mean? To me, it means that there are hundreds, probably thousands, of people who are not at risk, who are asymptomatic, who are carrying this, and transmitting it, and we're not testing them, so we don't know.

This is it. This is happening. I don't care to make prognostications in a semi-public place like this, because I hate being wrong, but nonetheless...this is it. I think we missed the window to flatten the curve. Maybe things would be worse if many states--including my own--hadn't sheltered in place, but things are gonna be bad enough. Please listen to me. Do this simple thing--aspire for hypothetical goodness, and unselfishness, even if you don't believe what's happening. Do this for other people.

We cannot sanitize everything, all the time. I am trying to wash my hands at least hourly, and that's still not enough. Each time each of us go out, we make the situation worse. You might feel fine. You might be fine. But each time you go out, and I go out, and we go out, we Make. Things. Worse. I know things suck right now. It's the worst. But please, for the love of god, as much as you are able, as much as your job permits it, stay home and limit your contact with other people as much as possible. When this is all over, we will celebrate in the streets and shake hands of strangers and if some cute feller wants to kiss me and the Prof as we are rollin' and strollin' on the streets, he'll be welcome to do so if only we just

Stay

The

Fuck

Home.

Still, Let's End Things on a Positive Note, Once Again: