Spinning out of control

The city (and the world) is in a state of turmoil and panic; fear has spread rampantly to go along with this virus/flu that's been making the rounds.  I'm now on "work from home" orders as so many other people are and it's discombobulating and off-putting.  I have been diligent and common sense driven - and even though "social distance" (I hate these fucking buzzwords) is helpful, it's also wise to do the basics all the time - get a yearly flu shot; wash your hands; get ample rest; take vitamins, etc. 

This weekend was beautiful, weather-wise; a glimpse of the spring that is due to arrive by the end of this week.  As of this morning, schools are shut in New York City until mid-April (by orders of the governor, not the criminally-inept mayor - let's be clear about this); bars and restaurants are to close for seating tonight and hopefully we will see an overall lowering to the curve of this "pandemic".  Having gone out Saturday certainly showed me how people can act in a "proper" fashion during such an upending crisis.  Traffic was light - but it was already noon when we were driving; Target was not packed; toilet paper was available with the very wise "one package per customer, please" - cleaning products and all the usual groceries we buy were purchased - simply because we needed to replenish our standard supply.  We went out for lunch at Chili's and the restaurant was busy - not packed - and people were glad to be in a more social setting; a lot of smiles, if anything.  Even the brief run to Stop & Shop wasn't what I expected -  again, we were able to get exactly what we needed - all of what is regularly bought by us - and there weren't outrageous lines or fights, etc.  Maybe we we lucky; maybe we timed it right - I don't know.

What I do know is:  this is strange, but it's not something we can't get through on the whole.  9/11 was worse because it was unexpected and we were thrown into something we weren't previously used to.  This is an illness; we've been given warning and instructions on - if anything - how to prevent it and, more importantly, how collectively, we can bring the curve down.  Patience and acclimating one's self to these new circumstances is paramount - and if people do things the "right way" and follow simple directions, I think this could end faster and without greater damage.

I remain optimistic.