GREED AND FEAR.

No one is responsible for the Corona Virus. It just happened. People are fearful and hopefully, as I, and others face Isolation things will improve. For the first time since I've been diagnosed with cancer, my Doctor asked me to skip a treatment and stay home. Part of the reason is that I'm doing well and I'm at great risk to have blood work and an infusion at my age with a serious disease.

My grandson,  Stewart and his fiance, Allie,  returned from Europe three days ago. They were immediately quarantined. I asked them what they were doing and they told me they were working jigsaw puzzles and eating a lot of popcorn. Allie is a nurse and Stewart is a tech writer, so he can work from home as long as his services are needed. And Allie will soon be needed with her skills.

My daughter bought me a lot of groceries so I could last a month without going to a grocery store. I'm at risk because of age and disease. I'm being very careful. But, I went to the post office. That is not very careful. I was out for therapy and I convinced myself it was all right. NOT! No one in the post office, not the customers or the workers wore masks or seemed at all concerned. I immediately came home and washed, washed, washed. I shouldn't have gone there.

My son Doug walked in his ankle boot cast to his local grocery and found the shelves quite empty. He has a turkey in his freezer, and was looking to buy some potatoes to go with the turkey. He said, "I can live for a week or more on a turkey. He called me from the market and I suggested he get stuffing mix to go with his turkey, or boxed potato flakes. All gone!  Looking at the emptiness he asked a checker whey the shelves were so bare. She told him that a group of men, swooped in and took everything. She found out they were hoping to sell the stuff on the black market when things get desperate. That is criminal greed.

I was stunned. Doug was too. However, the store had a sign up front that said no returns would be granted on receipts for purchases from March 17th forward. According to her, that put a stop to it. .

Now, let's talk about fear. This happened in a Save Mart, earlier, where Doug went to buy some hamburger and the butcher told him they were out at the moment but he was getting a side of beef in and to come back in about two hours and he'd have some meat in the case.
He returned and a man and his wife took all of the meat the butcher had cut and wrapped and put in the case. The butcher asked the guy to take a package or two. Allow someone else to have a some meat. The guy defiantly went to the check stand. The checker asked him to put some of it back and only take two packages. He growled at her, "Check me out!"
 And she did. I consider that greed and fear.

 I don't know if that Save Mart made it a policy, by posting a  sign, requiring patrons to limit their purchases to what they need immediately.  Doug's truck broke down and he cannot drive anymore and must hobble in his cast to the local market with the empty shelves. Maybe, deliveries will continue and the shelves will have more than bare spaces.

I hope we have leadership in Washington that can get help for everyone very soon. After all this isn't a political issue, it is a health issue and we should all be working together to keep the Corona Virus from spreading. I'm so grateful that I have stupendous neighbors who call and check on me and ask if I need anything. I'm grateful that I don't need anything but resolve.

May we all get through this with a minimum of disease among our friends and families. This pandemic is like nothing we have ever faced as a nation before. It is financially troubling especially for people like young waiters and waitresses who depend on tips to make ends meet and suddenly are unemployed with nothing coming in. And, who will gather the homeless and find treatment and testing for them who can continue to spread the virus without check?

Isolation, though not permanent, can surely slow the spread of this deadly disease. I pledge.