Glendale, Arizona during the coronavirus - March 2020


The concern about the coronavirus has escalated very quickly in the last few days. And since I'm a history adventurer, I'm noticing that this will become a time that people will remember, like 9/11, or when Kennedy was assassinated, or the flu of 1918. This is an interesting time, which, as the saying goes, is a curse.

By the time you read this this may all be history, or you may be reading it today, March 19th 2020, on the day I'm jotting these thoughts down. And they're only thoughts, not conclusions. Conclusions will come later, by better heads than mine.

As a "roving reporter", I'm really not much good. Social distancing, which is being recommended right now, is something that I've done for a very long time. After I stopped teaching at GCC, about ten years ago, I mostly worked online, and very rarely needed to do any "face-to-face". Nowadays I consider myself retired, and mostly spend my time working on my collection of old Phoenix images (I haven't counted them for years, but I have over 10,000 digital images) and working on my fitness. Oh yeah, and caring for my dogs.

I went to a dental appointment two days ago, about the time places like San Francisco were essentially shutting down. I really didn't see much to inspire alarm, or even malaise, except the stray notice, like the one at the Dunkin Donuts there at the top of this post, and some notices taped on the walls of my dentist's office that advised you to tell them if you had the virus.

After they checked my teeth (which are fine), I went over to the Walmart Neighborhood Market for some bananas, and it was there that I got a feeling that this was an unusual time. I understood by talking to one of the cashiers that I "should have been there yesterday" as there were lines all over the place. I could see empty shelves in the paper good aisles, the dairy case, and the dog food aisle.

On a more personal note, the McDonald's where I hang out every morning with my cronies and drink coffee has now switched over to just the drive through, and take out. That is, I could go over there, walk in, get my coffee, but I couldn't sit in the dining area. For what it's worth, I had already decided to not go for the next few weeks as a show of solidarity for my brother in the Bay Area, who has no choice. But back when I made that decision, just a few days ago, everything at McDonalds was normal.

Like most people, I'm trying to do the right thing. I wash my hands a lot anyway, and I have plenty of toilet paper, water, and dog food here. I will continue to pedal around my neighborhood and wave to people, I'm not really a person who hugs much, anyway.

When this is all over, even the most common things will become precious, like sitting in a McDonalds drinking coffee with friends. Stay safe.

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