- If you pray, pray for the truckers that they don't get sick, or that they get replaced fast. Food arrives at our stores because of them. No truckers, and the food fights become something other than a lark at school.
- Pray, too, for the farmers. Next season is coming.
- That being said, gaining weight isn't likely.
- Upon my rare visits to the store, one of the Things That People Really Don't Need is bottled water. They're willing to forego the assurance that the water they're using for cooking and drinking is absolutely clean, clean beyond anyone's question. When pushed, they really do trust government--or, when pushed, they know they have to.
- Professional athletes are losing one of their most treasured aspects: Time. You're only young once. Baseball season should have already started. The professional basketball playoffs are supposed to be starting soon. The Masters golf tournament should have been played last weekend (though re-scheduled for November; we shall see). Not only does this virus rob us of watching them, it robs them of the one thing they can't have back: Time, and the experience that comes of it. We can always watch the next thing, the next superstar, that comes along. They can't have their careers back. The peak time of their careers is now. Never mind their immense salaries; at some point, they, too, will run out of money--though much later than we will, since the owners have very, very deep pockets. Pro golfers, whose earnings are not guaranteed, at the top of the scale probably have money saved up; those on the satellite tours don't. They will have to go back to selling insurance, if they can sell any; I would think that might be important now--and they, too, will miss this time to try to work their way up the ladder.
- You're not hearing much about the lack of sports, which are being missed for sure, but if the NFL delays its opening, look out. Plus that's getting close to the election. That's why 45 has already mentioned filling up stadiums: He has a nose for anticipation because he just sits and thinks all day--and will blame the NFL for any delay. Watch for it.
- People are being told to stock up for two weeks. This prevents hoarding. I have news: Ain't gonna work. As we go on, people know--they know--that they may have exactly one shot at more cleaning fluids, gloves, and masks. Stores will say One Each (package, item, whatever), but people will find a way around that, especially if they have kids who are old enough and functional, or friends that already have what they need. That's a genuine need, a survival need, and we still have no idea when we won't need them. That's a cruel fact fomented by an incompetent, intentionally irresponsible federal government.
- I have read that the ground itself can maintain the virus, because the droplets that people expunge upon coughing and sneezing cling to it and, apparently, don't die upon contact. That means when you go out, take your shoes off when you return and don't walk around with them for, what, two days? This fucking thing isn't fair.
- I saw an interview with "60 Minutes" last night, and a physician said that the virus travels through the ICU section in waves. It travels. Does it travel just because so many people have it in the same place? If it does that inside a hospital, does it also do that outside the hospital? If it's windy, does it move faster, or diminish faster? Is that why we're supposed to stay inside? That must be why masks are so important. I thought the only reason we can get it is from another person. Is that why they say it's carried through breath? Should we then shower each and every time we step outside, even momentarily to get the paper or carry out the garbage, after taking off our clothes and washing them (thus necessitating more laundry detergent)? Who's zoomin' who, here? Would someone please tell me what the fuck is going on??
- People are annoyed, to be sure, but not desperate. Let us hope that desperation does not descend upon us. We already know--and you should know if you've been looking--that Americans are not especially better than anyone else, that in fact they've been allowed to be plenty selfish and obsessed with things rather than Things That Money Can't Buy. That fact will be driven home if the things we really need become short. That's when the test will take place. Because so many of us really have sheltered in place, the sprint to the store has thinned out. So much the better. Sharing, for now, is something that the thoughtful have extended, but they, too, are not without what they need. If the supply chain lasts another month, we'll still be okay. But that's if. See above, about the truckers.
- We need to get tested. Everyone. But that feels as far away as Saturn. That it still feels that way is a colossal failure of the federal government. It cannot explain that away much longer.
That's it for now. More later. Be well, be careful, and with some luck, I'll see you down the road.
Mister Mark
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