The news hasn't been very encouraging in the last 24 hours.
The enormity of this pandemic continues to wash over my senses, dulling them to the constant alerts on every news channel. It's starting to feel like a bad science fiction movie.
So many sudden and crazy societal changes from coast-to-coast. Cities sheltering in place. The growing death toll that authorities say will get much worse.
Random thoughts
What will gambling addicts do now that casinos are shut down across the country? There's no slot machines fleecing the elderly population from Jersey City to Las Vegas because they had to roll up their sidewalks and close.
Congress passed another emergency bailout bill, but the stock market wasn't impressed and the Dow closed down 20,000 points.
Did you know that the coronavirus started with bats? They infected humans in China and the rest is history.
Oregon observations
** Shirley and I are isolating in our house. Our only contact with the outside world is one of our sons, Nate. He keeps his distance when he does come by. We will probably have him do our shopping when the need arrives in a couple of weeks.
** Downtown Medford is empty. Restaurants and bars are all closed. Small businesses are shuttered up. There's restrictions against 10 or more people gathering in one place.
** Another one of our sons, Richard, and his girl friend both got laid off from their jobs here in Medford. Three days ago their were 800 unemployed people in the Rogue Valley. Now there's 18,600 and counting.
Surreal news
Watching state after state declare they had their first coronavirus fatality like a death race...
Invoking the same war act we had in WW II for factories to gear up on needed items - in this case respirators and masks instead of tanks and planes...
The federal government telling citizens not to leave their homes unless they absolutely have to...
Panicked shoppers, reminiscent of the Cuban Missile crisis when the public raided stores stocking up on supplies...
The stock market closes the floor to traders because of a COVID 19 breakout and is now doing all business via telecommunications...
A final thought...
While I'm not worried about Shirley and I, I am concerned about my father - he's 92-years young, and my 72-year-old sister.
Thank goodness for phones.
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