“Social Distancing” is a new vocabulary word that needs to be added to Webster’s dictionary. The empty bench above is now a familiar sight of Spring 2020. The world-wide spread of Coronavirus has brought “unprecidented” changes in our American way of life. We are now entering into a second and third week of staying apart from one another, six feet is what is recommended, and no gatherings of large groups of ten or more. Now it is even less than that. It is a matter of isolating in your own home.
Businesses have closed, all large events with audiences cancelled or postponed to some future unknown event. Sports seasons, cancelled, or upbruptly ended. March Madness fused into March frustration as a favorite spectator yearly event fizzled down the tubes. The World Summer Olympics has been postponed until 2021, the first Olympic games to be held in an odd-numbered year. Spring American League baseball never held practice or got started. Baseball diamonds are empty.
Schools have closed. Some won’t reopen the rest of this school year. Others think they may go back in May. The Federal Government has shuttered businesses, big corporations and all mom and pop small businesses. We have been asked to “Shelter in Place.”
Unprecedented. That is what we are living now. The pandemic Coronavirus has stopped our life patterns. COVID-19. This is not an inspiring post. It is just a place-holder for what is happening in America and around the world in March 2020. The virus started in China and was reported to WHO too late to stop the spread and now whole countries and continents are experiencing its rapid spread. It is like a viral respiratory flu and the elderly are especially susceptible to the illness and death.
President Trump issued a 15 day isolation phase as the CDC and WHO work a plan to stops its rapid advance. Millions of people are out of jobs and small businesses threatened by uncertainty of surviving.
In Kentucky, the new governor, Andy Bashear has been very aggressive in clamping down and insisting on citizens’ isolation. Closing playgrounds and taking the hoops out of public basketball courts, backed by new mayor, Linda Gorton.
While the cases are still growing throughout the states, NYC and California and the state of Washington are hardest hit. President Trump is trying to get enough information to begin a safe start up back to business around Easter time which is two weeks out. On Friday, March 27, the US Senate and Congress passed a 2.5 trillion “UNPRECENDENTED” Economic stimulus bill aimed at large corporation, small business and individual citizens out of work to put a band aid on the harm that has been caused, both physically and economically.
We are all wanting this to end and return to life before this struck.
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