Earlier this year there were, as they say, “rumblings.” A virus had developed in China, a common cold that seemed more serious than the sniffles. At first people shrugged it off, but not for long. Tourists began arriving from the affected areas into the US and Europe, and soon, COVID-19, or “Coronavirus,” began to present itself across Italy, the UK, and eventually, the US.
Millennials did what we do best: made memes and took advantage of quickly dropping in price international flights. Places that are typically packed with tourists soon became ghost towns.
Things escalated quickly as more and more cases began appearing in America. The president went from “This is just a more aggressive common cold” to “this is a national emergency and we’re shutting down the borders.”
Over the course of the past three days, companies have put employees on remote work, emptying out offices until further notice. Disney, Universal Studios, and Seaworld are closed until the end of the month. Schools have closed. Hospitals are on high alert. Experts are declaring “social distancing,” IE, everyone stay indoors and don’t interact with anyone until this all ends.
Pharmacies, grocery stores, and anywhere else you can think of are depleted of water, frozen foods, and hand sanitizer. Oh, and toilet paper. For some reason people got into fistfights over toilet paper. I blame Chuck.
It’s gotten to the point that most of digital society is saying “Take advantage of those shows that you’ve been meaning to watch on Netflix. Don’t go to bars because of the lack of crowds. Don’t risk infecting people.” Jerks like me are only too happy to oblige. That said, it makes me think about all the things I want to enjoy when the “social distance” period ends. I want to walk the Brooklyn Bridge. I want to visit the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. I want to visit the Riverwalk with Aaron. I can’t wait to go and enjoy public places with people I love. I was one of the people who contemplated “Wait. Buy a cheap flight. Go see ‘Mean Girls’ on Broadway.” or “Go fly to Boston and hang with the girls.” It didn’t last, because I’ve since fallen ill to the actual common cold.
In times like these, I will be nursing myself back to health and expressing gratitude for the fact that I am healthy and able-bodied. People like me will likely recover from coronavirus if infected by treating ourselves to cold medicine and bedrest like any other common cold. Those with heart, lung, or compromised immune system issues do not fare so well. It’s heartbreaking and scary. I am staying indoors and away from the gym until I feel 100% and even when I feel better, I will be sticking to the treadmill until the COVID-19 virus settles.
I am personally looking forward to watching the following:
- Big Little Lies
- The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
- Stranger Things
- Elite
I will also be finishing up the years of paperwork I need to do, from finishing my Thank You notes, my name-change paperwork, and (ugh) my taxes. I can’t wait.
If you’re reading this, wash your hands, air-hug, and stay indoors. Don’t panic. If everyone does their part, we will all emerge from this wiser and healthy.
