Well it was just a matter of time. Call it precaution, call it hysteria, call it media driven, call it politics driven. It is what it is.
So this weekends usually much anticipated Saltwater Fishing Expo in Edison has been cancelled. It's huge show for some. One member of our family is affected as Patrick works for the company setting up and breaking down the shows at these venues. His job status is day to day as these big gatherings get shelved.
On a personal note. Juliet and Tara who work for big companies in New York and Dallas are working from home, for Juliet that saves her from multiple subway rides there and back each day going from one borough in NYC to the next. Erin and Lauren's school at Red Bank Regional is shut down as a student there caught it from her sibling, so schools now online. Theresa on her last class for her BSN is also having to adjust as her school is now closed, so no instruction, no library, no tutors to extra help. And at the office patients are skittish, and there's a push, from patients and insurance companies to use telepsych to see patients.
The markets are down and people, and people that are older like my parents are watching the gains they've made on their investments slip away, "should I stay or should I go now", is a question many are asking during the selloff and stock market decline. Supplies for living are being gobbled up and cant be restocked, the doomsday peppers or in their glory and saying, 'I told you so". The gun owners are ready to protect themselves from the apocalypse.
I remember 9/11, and days after leaving Ground Zero the push to get revenge was go out and live your life, the best revenge is good living. Now, with a virus, and according to the WHO, a pandemic, it is a little different. Its not just that fear is contagious, but germs and illness are as well.
Personal responsibility, taking precautions, and obtaining and processing the best information out there, is the best way to deal with this. While people are going to isolate, self quarantine, and be told where and when they can live their lives, my thinking has always been, if its your time to go its your time to go. That doesn't mean go poke the bear or swim with sharks, but be smart and hopefully your time isn't up.
What will take this country down is the financial collateral damage and fear from this. The loss of income and revenue will be devastating. One thing that for sure, we never learn from the past. Each recession are eyes are opened to how over-leveraged we all live. Credit is king, but its also a curse. Good for the people who live within their means and live credit free, as Dave Ramsey says each week to people that have paid off their debts......"Freeeeddddooommmm".
A lot of us will be forced to open our eyes, either for the first time or not, and realize how "good" they are or their lives are, or how really not they are.
Breathe, wash your hands, be selective in how often and from whom you get your 24/7 news from, and reset your life plans and how you live, sometimes getting knocked down is a blessing in disguise. Think of your happy place, this too shall pass.
