STRANGE DAYS

I'm much more concerned about this insane mass hysteria than about the virus itself......but I've always been a lone voice crying out in the wilderness.


These are strange days. Very strange.

I decided to go to town last Saturday. Saturday is always the worst possible day to go shopping - even under the best conditions - but I knew that Monday was going to be busy with a visitation from the computer technician (see my previous post).

So I got up extremely early on Saturday and embarked entirely against my will. 

When it comes to shopping, this minuscule Tennessee town has few choices: Walmart, a supermarket, and a Dollar Store. There's also a Walgreen's but they're expensive and basically have nothing. 

My first stop is always Walmart.  
Cat food. They carry the favorite food of my feisty, finicky felines.

I always park near the garden shop because access is easy through the side door. Walking long distances is absolute agony with my bad back.

Imagine my dismay when I staggered to the garden shop entrance and found the gate locked. 

This means that I'd have to walk six miles (very slight exaggeration) to the front entrance. 

I'd never make it. Considering my ravaged back and the fact that I didn't get any sleep, I'd undoubtedly perish long before I got there.

I grabbed a random shopping cart and used it solely for physical support as I laboriously inched my way toward the main entrance.

By the time the front door was in sight I was out of breath, sweating profusely, in intense pain, and ready to pass out.  

My heart was beating 100 times a minute - like a bunny in heat.

Imagine my unmitigated SHOCK when I discovered the front entrance was blocked off with ropes and long strands of yellow crime scene tape (I'm not kidding). I had to walk another mile  (tiny exaggeration) to go around and get through it.
I don't know what "unmitigated" means, but it sounds good for dramatic effect.  

Along this new, improvised crime scene entrance were several grim-faced Walmart employees - holding clipboards and scrutinizing those of us who were daring to enter the store.

My first thought was that they were checking to see if we looked sick - kind of like the elimination process at Auschwitz:

You, to the right! Work duty!
You, to the left! Gas Chamber! 

I later surmised that they were probably counting  customers - keeping the influx to a minimal.

Once inside, I saw a huge sign that warned customers to KEEP SIX FEET AWAY FROM EACH OTHER.

Hell, I should have been warned to do that when I was nineteen and got a nasty case of the clap........
........but that's another story for another time.  

The process of shopping in Walmart is always excruciating - - but this time it was like a surrealistic Twilight Zone episode.

Frantic people wearing makeshift surgical masks, trying to avoid one another while filling their shopping carts with anything they can find.

I feel naked without a mask. Masked women are suspiciously glaring at me as if I were the Angel of Death.  


When I get to the toilet paper aisle there are only a few packages left. I grab one quickly and also greedily grab two rolls of paper towels.....while breathing a sigh of relief at my fortuitous acquisitions.

The Easter candy aisle is deserted - - I suppose no one is in an Easter mood. I wanted a chocolate rabbit, but I'm not about to pay a high price for a 2 ounce rabbit packed in a fancy 64 ounce box.
Instead, I settled for jelly beans....and those ubiquitous marshmallow peeps.

I also get a pound of prima della hard salami at the deli and a loaf of Italian bread. To me, this is absolute heaven. I might as well die happy....

The entire concept of the  STAY SIX FEET AWAY sign was thwarted in the long checkout line - - where scuzzy-looking customers were sandwiched together two feet apart.
I tried to hold my breath.....and hoped for the best.

I was stunned when I finally got to the cashier and she started taking inventory of my items.
"We're rationing items, starting today", she told me.

I could only have one roll of paper towels, one loaf of bread.....
There was a long list of items, most of which I can't even remember.

The annoying part is that I only shop once or twice a month. I'm not hoarding things. I buy them out of sheer necessity.

This blog post is definitely too long and probably uninteresting.
Wait - - how could I ever possibly be uninteresting??

At this point, my only hope is that these unnervingly strange days will end. Soon.

RESURGENCE

Will I be fortunate enough to find toilet paper the next time I go shopping in town?
I seriously doubt it.
Methinks this mass buying/hoarding hysteria is going to last for a very long time.

People panic easily, most especially when they're relentlessly manipulated. The news media has done its best to terrify everyone and cause a tsunami of alarm.

There's a reason why I've been referring to the news media as a dangerous epidemic.
There's a reason why I've been encouraging you to remain rational and rely on your God-given intuition.

Sure, the Coronavirus is very real. It can be deadly. We should be warned and advised.
But this negative propaganda and eternal promotion of fear is detrimental.

End of lecture.

It was 75 degrees last Friday when I drove to town. A balmy, slightly overcast day, stirring with the first breath of spring. I wish I could have taken photos. 
Trees were blossoming, hills and valleys were green, there were sprawling fields of yellow wildflowers.

So far, the blossoms around my house are few and unimpressive. My biggest fear happens every spring:
warm weather encourages trees to blossom, but late frosts inevitably kill them.
Cold weather is (unfortunately) predicted again this week.

I've been deeply depressed for a long time over my own health issues - which are much more disconcerting to me than a phantom virus. Now isn't the time to write about it.
We all endure our own private versions of hell. I know I'm not alone.....

There were more storms last night, but the foul weather vanished at dawn - and today was truly glorious.

Storms and gloom never last forever. Sunshine always returns - and with it comes hope.
Resurgence.

I felt renewed and optimistic today, thankful to be alive - happy to be immersed in the blessed rebirth of spring.

Shall I enthrall you with some photos? 

      Many of the trees are still bare, but a few timid blossoms are appearing. All of these photos were taken today (Sunday).

Facing north, toward the cow pasture

 Here's the "drive" coming up to the house where I always get stuck in the mud

 My favorite group of tall trees near the back porch

 Kitzee (also known as Scratch) showing off on the front porch.

Bosco getting excited over some birds that are building a nest 

My bedroom window in late afternoon

 This evening, photos taken from the front porch

D-DAY

Those people who read my blog regularly (all three of you) know how much I despise making the long drive into town. Navigating the narrow, winding mountain road unnerves me beyond the realms of redemption.

I'd rather be hung upside-down, stark naked, by my toes...in the public square.

I'd rather have my balls cut off by a myopic veterinarian.
 
Anyway, if the thought of driving to town sends me into spams of despair, the prospect of driving to town during a pandemic virus ordeal nearly renders me comatose.

I procrastinated all week.
Finally, on Friday (that's today), I decided it was D-Day.

So far there have been no Covid-19 Virus outbreaks in the Tennessee county where I live - but, of course - that could change in an instant.
No matter what, I'm infinitely glad that I live in a rural area rather than a big city. 

Our town has a population of under 2,000. A lot of people were out and about today but many places were closed or restricted. The bank and the fast-food restaurants (thankfully) kept their drive-through windows open.

The tiny convenience store where I get gas was closed, but they were still selling gas. I had to go around to the back door to pay for it.
The young woman who took my money was smoking a cigar - - I kid you not!

Walmart:
the dreaded but necessary highlight of my shopping excursion.

I always park near the garden shop and go in through the side door. The first thing I encountered were two women wearing surgical masks. 

Holy crap! Should I have worn a mask? Are they de rigueur?
The masks look too somber and sinister.
Besides - I'd hate to obscure my pretty face. 

About half the people in Walmart had masks, including a few employees. Ironically, most were women. The men were generally maskless.

I was delighted to see that most of the shelves were adequately stocked.....

.....until I got to the toilet paper.

Completely empty!! Not one shred of paper left! No Kleenex, either, and VERY few paper towels.
In a panic flash of greed and desperation, I grabbed some rolls of paper towels.

And I'm thinking:
Holy shit (no pun intended) -
what is this INSANE OBSESSION with toilet paper?????

Here's a flash:
Wiping your ass isn't going to alleviate the China Virus.    

And bread - - -
the entire bread aisle was completely empty.
Thankfully I was able to get six crescent rolls in the "markdown" bin - - and a dozen chocolate donuts!

My next stop was the local supermarket, where the situation was exactly the same:
absolutely no bread, no toilet paper...
.....and no Ramen noodle soup.
I always get Ramen soup and crackers for a snack.

A notice was posted in the empty toilet paper aisle:
NOTICE TO OUR CUSTOMERS
but the print was too damn small to read. I couldn't discern one word.


Well, my excursion to town yielded a few necessary supplies - despite the fact that I'm without toilet paper and bread.
I did manage to procure a package of hamburger rolls. But I forgot to buy trash bags, which I desperately need.
I might try to go to town again before Easter.....who knows...?

So, what's my take on this Chinese Wuhan Corona Covid-19 Virus?

I'm damn glad that I'm a hermit living in the wilderness. That doesn't fully exempt me from the plague...but at least I'm used to blissful ISOLATION.

Are there any positive aspects to this insane virus pandemonium?

Yea - Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders seem to have disappeared.

Aw, lighten up! You've secretly been thinking the same thing - - but I had the guts to say it out loud.

Smile.
Stay safe. 
Don't get caught up in the rampant epidemic of mass media hysteria.     

FRIDAY THE 13th

Blog posts have been showing up two to three days late on my reading list, which is why I'm behind in visiting your blogs.
Also, every time I try to access a blog, I get an annoying "Redirect" notice.

My shoulder still hurts so much that I can hardly lift my arm - which makes typing a bitch.

Foul weather again last night here in Tennessee. High winds accompanied by ample donner und blitzen. Eerily warm. At midnight it was 62 degrees (that's Fahrenheit, for those of you in the Baltics). 

I get those robocall weather alerts on my phone. Since I presently don't have a cell phone, the calls come via my landline phone.

I felt so rotten last night that I went to bed unusually early. The ringing phone jarred me awake. I was groggy, confused, and there were no lights on. I stumbled into the kitchen to answer the damn phone and tripped - - fell on my face. Somehow cut my knee. Blood was running down my leg.
As I grabbed blindly for the phone, I knocked some breakable things off a shelf and they crashed to the floor.

Me: Hello??

Robovoice: There's a Tornado Watch for Fentress County until midnight.

Me: F**k You!

My heart was pounding. I was wounded and bleeding. Broken glass was on the floor. I turned the ringer off on the phone.
I'd rather die in a tornado than get another robocall when I'm sleeping.
Almost....

Friday the 13th. Am I superstitious?
Not particularly. I prefer even numbers and tend to avoid odd ones (ironically, I was born on the 13th).
One true fact:
I NEVER go out on Thursday the 10th. It's my bad luck day. Something horrible happened to me on Thursday the 10th when I was twelve years old and I've avoided the day/date ever since. I refuse to reveal what it was.



How about that pesky Wuhan Chinese Coronavirus?

The virus is, of course, very real....
....but.....

The insane, perpetual, frenzied news media hype is absolute BULLSHIT and solely designed to generate panic and paralyze our country.

I'm very tempted to go into details, but I don't want to upset certain sensitive people
(not much, anyway......)

My advice:
Wash your hands and face

Be careful who you kiss

Stay the hell away from China.  

And if you're eager to blame our President for this fiasco, I'd advise you to spew your venom on China.

The virus originated in China and the Chinese government willingly unleashed it on an unsuspecting world.