I recently blogged about Americans travelling to trouble spots in the world with only a passing thought that it might not be wise. In that vein, I issue a follow-up that implies we as a people don’t always think things through before we do them, and in hindsight, perhaps we should be thinking . . . . . no.
First comes the story, drawn from our local newspaper. It’s about a college student in a neighboring community that had been saving for and preparing a Semester-At-Sea. This is a program where a bunch of students travel the world on a cruise ship. As this student tells it, everything was going beautifully, and she was having the time of her life. The ship had apparently crossed the Pacific, making a number of stops on the Pacific Rim – Australia, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, etc. etc. All the countries closest to the outbreak of viral warfare. They then proceeded to South Africa, where, according to the article, the company running the cruise program suddenly abandoned them, setting them down and leaving them to find their own way home. That, I agree, is inexcusable and completely lacking any sense of responsibility on the company’s part. I assume that at some point, as litigation works its way through the courts, it will cost them dearly for that decision. But, back to my story. The mother was distraught, as was the daughter, because this was happening just about the time that overseas travel, particularly air travel, was being halted. I don’t know yet whether the daughter made it home, is still in South Africa, or is stranded somewhere in between. I do hope the newspaper keeps us fully informed. Perhaps the National Inquirer will do an update in the coming weeks. With that in mind, as this was a semester out, and presumably the ship left in January, when all things pandemic became breaking news, alarm bells didn’t go off somewhere? That little voice in somebody’s head didn’t say, “New virus sweeping the globe. Round the world cruise not a good idea!!” Maybe even pictures of cruise ships quarantined in distant ports didn’t raise a red flag?
An acquaintance and a friend went off to Europe last week. Really? The two were planning to return via London, which is currently experiencing ten-hour lines getting through customs, and I’d assume similar lines back here at home. Also, I see that the President has added the UK to the list of “don’t go there” countries – in fact, most of Europe is now on the list. So, again, as I used to ask students shortly after they’d done something defying logic, “Explain to me what exactly was your brain doing when you did . . . . . . . ?” If you think nothing bad can happen to you, that could be true but the chances of passing it on to others is still remarkably high.
My other story, and stop me if you’ve already seen it, which you probably have, is the business tycoon from Tennessee who went from one end of the state to the other buying cases of sanitary wipe cloths. He bought out supplies of every store he came to, amassing a stockpile of 17,000+ cases in his garage. The intent was to sell them at colossal mark-up prices, known the industry as “price gouging”, on Amazon and eBay. Those vendors shut him down as soon as they saw what he was doing, and he’s now stuck with this monster supply. The gentleman saw nothing wrong with what he’d done. In his mind, it was a business opportunity, which he’s done before with high demand toys at Christmas time. He was also shocked by the public backlash, which in my limited perspective, he fully deserved. In a perfect world, he’d try to pay his mortgage in cases of sani-wipes and the bank starts foreclosure proceedings. Or his power is shut off and he can’t open or close the garage doors.
On a slightly humorous note, Her Ladyship and I went for a drive on Saturday because it was such a beautiful day. We had determined that we wouldn’t have breakfast or lunch out, just a nice ride. We went over to the coast and just sat for a couple of hours looking out at the ocean. It was delightful. At one point, I felt the need for a cup of coffee. Her Ladyship indicated that she’d like something too – perhaps a frozen drink of some kind. There was a food stand right across the street and with nobody much there, so I got us two small frappes – the idea sounded very good as opposed to coffee, and which we thoroughly enjoyed. On the way home, however, my bladder which has over the years shrunk to the size of a walnut, needed attention, so we stopped at a Dunkin’s on the way home. You can’t really go into a place and just use their restrooms – well, I guess you can, but I always feel guilty so I bought a small iced coffee. Later that evening, Herself had a slight stomach upset, as she usually does when consuming creamy frozen stuff. It passed quickly, which I’m sure you’re delighted to know. The difficulty came the next day when, speaking to Princess Hypochondria, she gave all the details of our day out. Yes, the frappe stop, the Dunkin Donuts, everything. I said to her later, “You couldn’t just have told her you didn’t feel well but it had passed and now you feel fine? You had to provide way too much information?” First came the texts: “DAD WHAT WERE YOU TWO THINKING?” When you see the capital letters, nothing good can follow. Then we had the stern phone conversations in that reprimanding tone that causes icicles to form on the phone lines. So now, four days later, I’m still getting the follow-up conversations demanding that we not set foot out of the house. She, of course, has popped out to Whole Foods and a variety store around the corner, and got takeout from Starbucks (which fortunately is still passing to-go orders out through the emergency window), but we’re in full scale quarantine, although neither of us fortunately has had any indications of illness. Starvation may be a likelier possibility than the fortress we’ve built around infectious disease. The drawbridges are up and the ramparts are secure. Truth be told, Herself is ideally suited to quarantine, having been rehearsing it since her retirement. If the cable and internet go out, however, we’re dead in the water.
As the nation adjusts to a brave new world of face masks, disinfecting wipes, hand sanitizers, singing “Happy Birthday” twice from the bathroom, and shortages of toilet paper, chicken, and bottled water – not necessarily in that order, by late summer this should be a distant , faintly traumatizing memory, right along with the Trump Administration. On the plus side, school children across America are joyously celebrating the longest “snow day” in history, while their shell-shocked parents are trying to figure out what to do next.
Stay safe, My Faithful Readers.
I'm Thinking...No! 