Quarantine Times: Coupling is Key
Baby Making While There’s No Food On The Shelves
This pandemic has been causing us to behave strangely. This novel virus has a unique tactic to take down the human race. It’s attempting to slow us down, so we can become extinct like the dinosaurs. However, as human beings, we’re an enduring species. It’s these hard times with barely any food on the grocer’s shelves that impels us to consider the plausible outcome of our nation. How will we survive?
I remember learning about the 1930’s Great Depression in grade school and wandering down the narrow lanes of the local grocery store was only a slight pinch of what that must’ve been like. As I move through the aisles, in my nice suburban community of sunny California, I pass by only a few eggs left in the refrigerator and I suddenly fathom the idea that our president could be calling an end to the celebration of Easter too! Geez. We already canceled church. What more are we going to do?
I keep pushing my shopping cart down aisle four where all the canned goods used to be. I roll on to aisle two, where all the beverages and liquids are stocked and I recollect the ABC news coverage on a story that took place overseas. Americans were stranded in Peru. Many people are beginning to believe that COVID-19 is even present in ocean water, yet that information hasn’t been confirmed at all. I grab a gallon of Crystal Gyser from the store shelf and I keep going because that’s all I can do. I can’t let worry get the best of me.
A sweet-looking, elderly lady stands at the checkout line, demanding another bundle of toilet tissue. Many signs have been taped to the cash registers that read, ‘two toilet paper supplies per customer’, but she patiently waits for a manager. I’m thinking that somebody better get this lady some more toilet tissue or there’s going to be problems and repercussions.
I keep going. Luckily, my experience at the store felt more like a process than a struggle. Walking out of Albertson’s with a bag of M&M’s and a carton of chicken broth, I thank God that I don’t live in the ghetto anymore. I don’t want to imagine the consequences of the pandemic and what that’ll drive people to do, as desperate times cause some to stoop to drastic measures.
As I stand alone on my balcony among the palm trees, I notice couples strolling together along the sidewalks next to perfectly landscaped lawns. I smile at them. I watch the middle-aged man bicycling and a few others swiftly walking with their heads down on their way to wherever they need to be during these quarantine times.
Ghost Town
- Stores close at 8 pm — nothing is 24 hours anymore
- School is completely out! (Prom forget it! Graduation — maybe?)
- The local parks and recreational facilities are closed
- Bars, restaurants, and fast-food chains closed (or operating on special hours)
- Many industries slowed to a halt, due to employee leave
- Curfew (for everyone and not just kids!)
These are the quarantine times. It’s the time when our president slipped up and referred to the coronavirus as a Chinese virus, disregarding the enduring hardships of the Asian communities. A time when a 39-year-old Louisiana woman loses her life to the deadly outbreak before she can even receive her positive test results and homeless populations must take shelter. It’s a time when we have to figure out how to help one another. Luckily, compassionate superstar-singer Rihanna donates 5 million dollars to coronavirus relief efforts and scientist are diligently researching a potential vaccine or treatments. Our government, however, is mandating the country to peculiar social distancing practices to combat the spread of infection, forbidding us from congregating in large crowds per safety guideline regulations.
I step off the private balcony into my cozy living room and use the remote to flip on the television. I watch anchorman Phil Shuman sit a few more feet away from his co-anchor Araksya Karapetyan while they report the Fox channel 11 news. According to the article written by Austin Williams, Social Distancing: What to do and what not to do to slow the spread of COVID-19, we’re required to maintain a 6 to 8 foot distance from each other. I find that to be very bizarre practice, making it hard for some of us to follow suit. “Spring breakers” are only some of the ones who haven’t been listening. The gatherings at Florida beaches are high in numbers. Hanging out at the beach is enough of a danger that governor, Ron DeSantis, was prompted to “call them out”.
It’s interesting how the spread of COVID-19 is affecting the world.
My doorbell rings and I’m so excited. I rush to the front door and welcome the greatest man I know into my home, hoping that we can weather this storm together. I’m finally convinced that coupling is key! It’s not about isolating from everyone. Rather, it’s about minimize the amount of people we encounter day to day and sharing a safe place with at least one other person. Forget about social distancing in the confinement of the household, just practice cleanliness and good care is best.
Since we’re required to quarantine we should probably be enjoying the intimacy of a dynamic duo, instead of spending countless hours in isolation — panicking. People shouldn’t be so distant that we’re quarantining alone, allowing ourselves to wallow around in our own restlessness. Some people can go crazy being in the house with nothing to do. Remember Jack Nicholson in The Shining?
We have to find productive things to do with our time so we don’t lose our minds. That’s just our progressive nature. Some of us laid off from work, others are confined to working from home, and some of us can’t stop working. People are even applying at Walmart right now because that’s what this good American society knows how to do — work through the struggle. It’s in our denim blue jeans (LOL).
Umm-hmm-humm! Don’t worry. That was only me clearing my throat. From daily household chores to surfing the web, we all need to be occupied, entertained and engaged in daily tasks. A few of my personal favorites are reading, creative writing and watching my favorite Redbox movies.
You know . . . Netflix and chill!
Why not give ourselves the time to relax and enjoy shooting the breeze. It’s time to spend it with one or two family members or maybe a loved one. Feast on some good o’ home cooking and practice being grateful for life.
The two of us watch the news alert projecting from my tv screen. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), we are to practice these five things:
- HANDS- wash your hands several times throughout the day (Great . . . now I have to lotion them)
- ELBOW-cough into them (Is an elbow bump still safe?)
- FACE-don’t touch it (My eyelids itch every time I hear them say that)
- SPACE-keep a safe distance
- HOME-stay if you can
On the tv, I see a red hand symbol displayed on the big screen and one finger at a time is counting off all the safety tips we should practice.
Right then, the anchorwoman sparks the brightest, most speculative idea I’ve ever heard. She says, we shouldn’t be surprised if there’s a baby boom due to the novel coronavirus outbreak. Can you believe it? Due to a highly contagious plague, that would rather rip us apart than bring us together, the world may face an increase in the prospective population. “Kick back — relax! It won’t overcome us. We’ll just multiply, using our procreative nature to fight against it.”
