Another Day in the Pandemic

Lying in bed in my dark bedroom, I heard the train whistle. I heard the rumble of the wheels. The rumble went on and on. I knew it was a freight train; passenger trains aren’t that long. I rolled over in bed and looked at the clock. It read 3:53 AM. I had not yet gone to sleep. I knew sleep would not come and I might as well get up.

Coronavirus: almost a million cases confirmed and 47,273 deaths worldwide. In the US, almost 217,000 cases confirmed and 5,137 deaths. It will soon be higher, the experts say. Much higher.

I canceled a doctor appointment yesterday. It was a routine annual visit, so it wasn’t important. Why chance it? The last person to enter the clinic might have coughed into his hand before opening the door. Then I come along and grab the same door handle, and now I have his germs on my hand. Later I’m sitting in the waiting room and my nose itches. Without thinking, I scratch my nose with my germy fingers. Next thing I know, I’m in the hospital. That’s one way the pandemic can get you.

I ponder going to the grocery store. I’m out of chocolate chip cookies. Is it worth risking death for chocolate chip cookies? It might be. I can’t decide.

People ask me how I’m handling the isolation. They don’t understand that isolation has been my lifestyle for years. And as for “stocking up” on supplies, I’ve never done that. If the store is out of one thing, it will have another. You “make do.” Maybe you can’t make the meal you’d like to make, but you can still eat. You open cans or boxes and throw odds and ends together and make something entirely new. You “get by.”

You can live without eating meat. You can live without eating vegetables. In fact, you can live without eating anything at all for longer than you might think. After three days, you quit being hungry. I’ve done it. But you must drink plenty of water. If you don’t, you will get dehydrated, and then bad things can happen and you can end up at the ER. I’ve done that, too.

It’s 4:40 AM now. Time to hit the Publish button. To all my readers, have a nice day and be careful out there.