What the hell is going on?
January 13–arrive on Marco Island, Florida to spend a delightful, unencumbered three months of “fun in the sun.”
January 15–begin visits, dinners, lunches, and even golf with family and friends.
January 20–read in USA Today about a virus in China
January 21–purchase plane tickets and use all our Marriott points to lock in what we figure will be our last big trip to Europe-Prague, Vienna, Florence, Cannes, Paris scheduled for September.
January 28–there are some deaths in a nursing home in Seattle but everything under control.
January 16-February 20–social activities continue unabated
February 21–something happening with the virus but “don’t worry,” only affecting old people in nursing homes or old people departing cruise ships from vacations to distant ports.
February 22-March 11–continue seeing people but told “this” could be serious so after Mike and Judy Mason depart on the 11th we call Fred and Marilyn Mastny and after much discussion, decide we will cancel and get together in 2021.
March 18–Farmer’s Market canceled, run on grocery stores and our last dinner “out”
March 19-March 23–continue walking the beach but ominous signs of impending crisis mount each day–Diane calls a Dr. friend who says return to Illinois now and don’t wait any longer. We pack the car.
March 24–get to Dothan, Alabama–540 miles. Check into Courtyard Marriott at maybe 10% booked, dinner is drive through at Burger King
March 25–drive 900 miles with light traffic excluding trucks and arrive in Macomb at 8pm
March 26to the present–self quarantined
Suppose I just typed this out as therapy for me to get a feel for what just happened to Diane and me and by extension to 330 million Americans and countless billions around the world. This is simply awful, incredible, and couldn’t happen-not in the United States, not to us. This is all so surreal. I feel like one day we are having lunch with friends and the next we are driving home on pretty much deserted highways.
Here is how the timeline of the past couple of months feels to me. I close my eyes and in one day the world has somehow fast-forwarded a month in terms of breadth and depth of coronavirus impact on our lives. A week is now a year as the virus spreads geometrically. Think about it. Restaurants, bars, stores of every type, motels, hotels, all closed and I’d guess air travel to follow.
Even the little things as I got a haircut a couple of weeks ago but someone who lives very near me, canceled an appointment with her hair stylist and we shall see how that plays out in the weeks ahead. I took a walk yesterday and saw no one. It’s like a bomb hit Macomb and the only thing it affected were the people who I assume are inside doing crossword puzzles, watching tv, or doing god knows what to one another. The buildings are all here, just no human activity.
No personal opinions here about leadership and how the crisis is being handled across the country BUT how about Dr. Anthony Fauci! Got to love that guy. No finger pointing here on how people should behave (hoarding toilet paper, really?), amuse themselves, or deal with what has befallen us, all of us. I worry about my kids and their jobs and my grandkids. I realize that I am now officially, no matter how you slice it, an old person and more vulnerable to whatever is “out there” lurking around looking for me, my loved ones, and friends. The term “loved ones” now includes friends.
Each of us is inundated with information about this crisis, so we all know about it and can make our own judgments regarding how we got here and what the final result will be as the nation and world move forward. Yet, it would appear clear that this will happen again. This “trip through hell” has been bad enough with deaths, unemployment at record highs, the stock market in freefall, and families torn apart. I am certainly no expert. We WILL get through this round of pain and suffering, but what about the next one and the one after that.
Please tell me that someone somewhere is exploring ways to prevent this from happening again and let’s hope we don’t have to wait for our grandchildren to find a solution to the “virus pandemic” paradigm that confronts us. Sitting here looking at my computer screen, I wonder how long it will this last, when will Diane and I and all of you see our families again. It would appear there is no good answer to those questions. Maybe I can get Fauci to move in with us for a few days.
I don’t know where all of you are right now attempting to cope with this “new reality” but hope you are well, in good spirits, and optimistic like Diane and me that someday there will be a rainbow of sorts at the end of this crucible. I feel helpless to do much else at the present time except follow the advice of the health professionals. The cars have gas, we have some food, the washer and dryer work, the tvs are operational, computers and cells are working, and thank God we have each other and of course all of you. God speed to one and all.
I shall not talk about leadership here as we all have our own opinions but how about that Anthony Fauci. Got to love that guy. No finger pointing here on how people should behave (hoarding toilet paper, really?) amuse themselves or in general, deal with what has befallen us, all of us. Like most in receipt of this with children, I worry about my kids and their jobs, my grandkids, I realize that I am now officially, no matter how you slice it, an old person and more vulnerable to whatever is “out there” lurking around looking for me, my loved ones and friends. It is ironic but the term “loved ones” now includes friends.
Each of us is inundated with information about this crisis, so we all know about it and can make our own judgments about how we got here and what the final result will be as the nation and world move forward. Yet, it would appear clear that this will happen again though probably not in my lifetime but certainly at some point in the future. This “trip through hell” has been bad enough with deaths, unemployment at record highs, the stock market in freefall, and families torn apart. This guy is no expert, but I believe we will “get through” this round of pain and suffering, but what about the next one and the one after that. Please tell me that someone somewhere is exploring ways to prevent this from happening again and let’s hope we don’t have to wait for our grandchildren to find a solution to the “virus pandemic” paradigm that confronts us.
Sitting here looking at the keys, one can’t help but wonder how long will this last, when will Diane and I and all of you see your families again and it would appear there is no good answer to those questions. Maybe I can get Fauci to move in with us for a few days. I don’t know where all of you are right now as a person attempting to cope with this “new reality” but trust you are well, in good spirits, and hopeful like Diane and me that someday there will be a rainbow of sorts at the end of this crucible. Time to close with that as I feel helpless to do much else at the present time except follow the advice of the health professionals. The cars have gas, we have some food, the washer and dryer work, the tvs are operational and thank God, we have each other and of course, you, who will, I trust always be with us. God speed to one and all.
Gordy and the Fourth Quarter 