Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

He imagines himself as The Big Bad, Who Is Universally Feared… instead of The Big Jagoff, Who Is Universally Mocked.

Fani Willis claps back at Trump chihuahua, Jim Jordan.

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

No Justins, No Peace

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

They were going to turn on one another at some point. It was inevitable.

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

Fundamental belief of white supremacy: white people are presumed innocent, minorities are presumed guilty.

Meanwhile over at truth Social, the former president is busy confessing to crimes.

It’s pointless to bring up problems that can only be solved with a time machine.

Historically it was a little unusual for the president to be an incoherent babbling moron.

Whatever happens next week, the fight doesn’t end.

At some point, the ability to learn is a factor of character, not IQ.

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

We need to vote them all out and restore sane Democratic government.

It’s easy to sit in safety and prescribe what other people should be doing.

Motto for the House: Flip 5 and lose none.

In short, I come down firmly on all sides of the issue.

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

I like you, you’re my kind of trouble.

“When somebody takes the time to draw up a playbook, they’re gonna use it.”

Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

You are here: Home / Healthcare / COVID-19 / Stay Positive

Stay Positive

by | 220 Comments

This post is in: ,

I’m venturing out of the house today to do a curbside pickup of groceries for my parents, who arrived home from South Carolina yesterday. Lots of people have talked about the reversal of roles, with kids yelling at their parents to not leave the house, and that sure is the case with my family. All four of us have told my parents that they are grounded and I am their lifeline to the world. It’s going to be a unique challenge for both of them, because dad is a social creature, while mom is content to stay at home and read all day while watching sports. Unfortunately, ALL OF HER SPORTS are also cancelled.

At any rate, do yourself a favor and try not to drown yourself in bad news. Hell, just keep the tv and radio off. Netflix. Work. Play with the pets. Facetime friends. Just stay positive, wash your hands, and realize that this will one day end.

Also, stop calling my lifestyle “quarantine.”

Reader Interactions

220Comments

  2. 2.

    Soprano2

    Ok, I’ll try not to think about all my employees who now have no income, and how we’re going to have Biblical levels of flooding here if it doesn’t quit raining!!  :-)

  3. 3.

    Cheryl Rofer

    Totally agree on limiting news intake. A lot of what is on cable channels and the internet is repetitive. It’s okay to stay current but not to hear some bad news thirty times over.

    I’ve been watching the Coronavirus Show in full until yesterday, when I missed it by happenstance. They’ve been changing the time, so I was doing other things and came to it late. I decided to “watch” it via Twitter. It was much better for my mental health.

    Trump needs the hit of being the big media cheese. We’re likely to see much more of him now that he’s deprived of the audience hit of his rallies. Pence was saying, three or four weeks ago today, that we would have millions of tests available the next week. We’re starting to see an uptick this week, but it’s nowhere near the million that they predicted for this week.

    On Tuesday and Wednesday, Trump promised at least two things that were disproven by the afternoon. And there were others before that. Last night there were Twitter reports that today he will announce a treatment. It may be that someone at a university or government lab has something that looks hopeful, but it’s not gonna be a full-up treatment.

    The raising and dashing of hopes is an abuser tactic. The media folk who attend those debacles have bought in to the dynamic. I’m not going to watch today.

  4. 4.

    PenAndKey

    Sorry Cole, but I’d rather be stressed than caught flat-footed if things take a bad turn. Even if I can’t control the variables I feel more in control if I at least know them. I get that news isolation can help many, but me? My brain tends to invent worst case scenarios severe enough to end the world in an information vacuum. It always has.

    I get the part on parents needing to be grounded and yelled at the be responsible. My own parents are pretty good and tend to listen to me when it comes to anything science related, but they’re still coming to terms with things. They were hoping to have my son over for a day or two starting today. I can easily drop him off on my way to work, but my mom woke up yesterday stuffy. It’s most likely seasonal allergies because she doesn’t go out much beyond groceries and is a bit of a hermit herself, but I told her that she needs to track her and my dad for COVID symptoms and we’re not visiting her for at least a week to be safe.

  5. 5.

    Jim Parish

    We at the university have just been ordered to work from home, except for mission-critical things like keeping the lab animals alive. We have until the weekend to do whatever needs doing to make working from home possible. (I’ve got to go in tomorrow and grab a stack of textbooks and references.)

  6. 6.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Cheryl Rofer: The Corona Virus Show – brought to you by Kleenex and Dial!

    And now here’s your hostess with a global pandemic, Corona Virus!

    (Not my fault it sounds like a daytime talk show or game show. :))

  7. 7.

    Spanky

    @ant: Not just prune the top, root prune as well. And remove the trimmed roots so they don’t sprout a clone.

    Bad news for West Virginia: The total number of confirmed cases has doubled overnight. You’re up to 2 now.

  8. 8.

    Nelle

    I don’t think I’m your mother, John, but I’m perfectly okay (so far) staying at home.  Meanwhile, my husband has found somewhere to go Every. Single. Day.  Just hung up the phone from a call from unhappy son.  Thank goodness the pool has closed as the guy (76 yrs old) tries to swim a mile a day.  On the other hand, the exercise keeps him saner, so I may pay.  He’ll take to the bike when it quits raining.  Meanwhile, The Cough has turned chronic for me. Milder but chronic.   No one wants to be on the same street that I’m on.  If I were to go out, I’d be a bell-ringing leper.

  9. 9.

    satby

    Way ahead of you John, I quit watching news during the Bush2 era, and I honestly am better for it. Not at all less well informed since I read copious (real) news on the net from worldwide sources like BBC, Guardian, Al Jazeera, etc to get global perspectives. Plus online versions of major newspapers except the NYT, which we all know is trash ?

  12. 12.

    Eunicecycle

    @Cheryl Rofer: Ohio has limited tests to health care workers and people already hospitalized. So Trump is still lying about the tests. My daughter ordered a test for someone on Saturday and she still doesn’t have results. It infuriates me. It’s almost to the point where the tests don’t matter; they have to treat the symptoms anyway.

  13. 13.

    MomSense

    Well the morning commute to my dining table was much less stressful.  Now I’m trying to install apps so I can access my desktop and work server.

    Kid had morning meeting via zoom with his class and several of his classes every day will be attended this way.  He’s griping that he’d rather just do the work so I’m trying to explain that there are kids who need the interaction and if this goes a long time he may become one of those kids.  Every day a teacher or student records a video message that the school puts on their social media and website. I love the way teachers will roll with whatever they have to – hopefully all these parents at home will now rise up to give teachers raises.

  14. 14.

    O. Felix Culpa

    I’d appreciate good thoughts for my stepmom, who’s having surgery today for a recurrence of breast cancer, 20 years after her first go-round. They had initially cancelled her surgery as “non-emergency” and said she would have to take some inhibitor for six months before they could get her in. That sounded like a not-good solution. Thankfully she was able to wrangle an appointment for today. It’s early stage so hopefully will be ok. But how many others will have needed medical care delayed because of our lack of preparedness, thanks to Trump’s ego?

  15. 15.

    Fair Economist

    My mother needs 24/7 care and one of the rotating care workers refused to wash her hands recently. So my brother is going to supervise for a few days. Considering going to help but I would need to quarantine after flying there and hubby here is higher risk due to asthma and chronic lung damage so I may be needed here.

  16. 16.

    FelonyGovt

    I’m one of those parents being yelled at by my 32 year old kid to stay home. It’s certainly weird but oddly touching.

  20. 20.

    Jerry

    I’ve got a 4th grader here at home and my biggest concern is preventing her brain from turning into useless goo. We’ve got a bit of supplemental education that we’re trying to give to her, but it’s hard to get her to stick to it. And since she’s a Girl Scout, we’re also trying to get her to earn badges. It’s a good plan, but takes a lot of work to get a kid to stick to it, especially when we’re still working.

  21. 21.

    JMG

    @Nelle: Yesterday was nice enough to go outside for a walk and I also had to drive on an unavoidable errand and I noticed that cyclists were both prevalent and in hog heaven. It’s a solitary form of exercise and they were safer than ever before due to the lack of automobile traffic.

    I see pictures of an empty 405 in LA, of deserted streets here in Boston and see that NYC transit ridership is down like 80 percent and I believe the overall rate of people shutting their lives down to protect themselves and others is pretty good. Pretty good may not be good enough, but I don’t believe most folks are ignoring this crisis.

  23. 23.

    Cheryl Rofer

    @O. Felix Culpa: Thinking good thoughts for your mother!

    I canceled my appointment for dental cleaning on Tuesday. NBD, but I can imagine other people canceling more significant health care. It’s a difficult call as the care becomes more significant.

  24. 24.

    Avalune

    No idea what my dad is doing because he can’t stop coughing and wheezing long enough to have a conversation- if you can get him to answer his phone in the first place but that’s unlikely. He says he’ll call you back and you’ll probably wait for that for 3 years. Literally. And then it is you calling him because people are yelling at you on Facebook that he’s on his deathbed.

    My mom thinks “democraps” are killing our country and it’s just a flu and we are making a big deal out of it. So I can assume she’s doing whatever the hell she wants – though the vfw she bartends closed, so at least she’s not there.

    Leto and I are going to reluctantly venture to our accountant to complete the taxes. Unpleasant task made more unpleasant by the current situation.

  25. 25.

    MelissaM

    I swing between ennui and deepening anxiety here. I need to venture to a grocery in the next couple of days. I’m worried about my Chicago ER-nurse 60+yo sister, who last I knew still thought she was flying to CA in mid April for a wedding, and who is the main line of support to my 90 mother. I could work off some energy in the garden but only IF IT WOULD STOP RAINING! Even then, I’ll have to wait a day or more before digging.

    Cole, you still meditating every day? Did you just jump in or use an app or something? Enquiring minds…

  28. 28.

    p.a.

    Work from home post is old, so I’ll post this here.  Can’t comment on it; not something I need.

     
    Microsoft Free Offerings
    For businesses, municipalities, K-12 and other entities, Microsoft is providing six months of Office 365 tools for free to enable remote collaboration, file sharing and video conferencing. They’re also offering free assistance to set up these tools. Click the following links for more information about these free services:

    For Businesses: Free Office 365 E1 offer for six months. Please follow this link.

    For Schools: Free Office 365 A1 available to all educational institutions. Sign up by following this link.

    For Individuals:

    • If you have an email address through work or school, sign in using this link.
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    If you need additional assistance with this products, please contact:

    Jon Huber
    Technology Strategist | Microsoft Public Sector | 280 Trumbull St., 21st Floor | Hartford CT 06103
    860.573.2509[m] |  [email protected]

  30. 30.

    MelissaM

    Oh, and any stimulus cash I may receive will help to pay off the spending at local restaurants to keep them afloat!

  33. 33.

    MelissaM

    @O. Felix Culpa:

    Good thought for her here. Chemo for a friends husband continues, but she can’t accompany him, which was a ritual they had since his first go-round with cancer.

  35. 35.

    O. Felix Culpa

     @Cheryl Rofer: @FelonyGovt:

    Thank you! I’m not sure whether to worry more about her cancer or her picking up something awful in the hospital. So I’ll multi-task and worry about both.

    And thanks to MelissaM too. This situation is creating all sorts of unexpected strains. On the positive side, I’m finding more time to focus on the basics and to talk (remotely) with family and friends. I’m catching up on crossword puzzles and will soon start reading actual books!

  36. 36.

    E.

    Those of you who still have an income during this period, can you stay positive while also helping out those around you who do not have an income? I am probably going to lose my business, followed by my house, before this is over. And I am by no means alone. I am in touch with many small business owners who are experiencing terrible depression over this because the outcome is all too obvious for us. I wonder how much small business is going to be left when this is over. I fear wealth will be more concentrated and our economic world will be ever more dominated by large corporations.

    Please be generous. There are going to be a lot of out of work people with zero hope of finding employment in this environment, and a lot of totally broke former business owners sitting in shock. I am one of them. For the first time in my life, I really do not know what I am going to do. Getting a job at Wal Mart is not off the table for me. It’s real. It’s a real possibility.

  37. 37.

    Gammyjill

    @FelonyGovt: Me, too. My two sons, ages 40 and 38, each with a wife and 2 kids, think I’m a moron. I know it’s done out of love and concern and even respect, but it is funny.

  38. 38.

    Quiltingfool

    @satby: I agree 100 percent.  Limit your news time.  When the news saddens me, I go to the Love Meow website and read happy stories about rescued cats and kittens.  Now, changing subject, could you tell me your Etsy store name?  I know you aren’t working at your farmers market venue, and I’d like to look at your products.  We can all use soap, right?

  39. 39.

    geg6

    Spent the morning so far taking the dogs out (they are completely taking advantage of the situation), answering emails and completing the census.

    Things are so quiet that I really don’t have enough work to do at home.  So I plan to chill out after the 11 am Zoom meeting with the VA regarding any adjustments to educational benefits.  Unless my boss sends me some stuff he wants me to do, but he’s been so busy with meetings that he hasn’t gotten around to it to send it to me.  I am a great fan of the Outlander books and tv series and, for some reason, I decided to just record this new season so as to just have a big binge at some point in the near future.  Well, it’s the near future.  I have the first five episodes saved up and I’m going to indulge today.  I also have the first episode of The Plot Against America recorded.  It’s by David Simon, based on the Philip Roth novel.  Might be a bit too timely, but shit…David Simon is the best story teller we have today.  Looking forward to see if it’s as great as I thought the book was.

  40. 40.

    Fair Economist

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: A crappy one. Specifically, she came into the house before her shift started and said she didn’t have to because she was “on her own time”. She did eventually when her shift started but she had been touching stuff all over the room. My mother decided she should have said “well then stay outside until your shift starts” but she didn’t think of it. She is afraid of some of the caretakers because she and her husband are quite disabled (can no longer get to the bathroom without assistance) and that creates a bit of a “Baby Jane” situation. My brother being there will help with that.

    Not a huge SARS2 risk right now because her small city just got its first case and it’s travel related. But soon…

  41. 41.

    Ohio Mom

    O.Felix@14: Your stepmom wil surely benefit from the advances in breast cancer medicine over the last twenty years. There’s been all sorts of progress, including in surgery techniques.

    Sounds like she has the same type as I had surgery for seven years ago, estrogen positive. That means the cancer cells’ growth is fueled by estrogen, which our bodies continue to make past menopause. I am still on an estrogen blocker, to help prevent a recurrence — which yes, could come at any time, even 20-30 years out.

    Wishing her an easy recovery from her surgery!

  43. 43.

    danielx

    @MomSense:

    did see a quote from some guy in the U.K. within the last day or so to the effect that after the first day of home schooling his six year old, he is now of the opinion that teachers should be paid a million pounds a year.

  45. 45.

    MattF

    Back from the supermarket. They were out of eggs, pork chops, and TP, but appeared normal otherwise. I got my prescription refill and miscellaneous food items with no fuss. The self-checkout lanes were empty and being disinfected as I was doing my business.

  47. 47.

    Jinchi

    @Eunicecycle: I can confirm that you cannot automatically get tested, even if your doctor recommends it. You have to fit particular criteria. The criteria are changing as more testing becomes available, but we’re not there yet.

  49. 49.

    Marcopolo

    Good morning folks.

    On the positive side, as long as this situation persists humanity as a whole will be doing less environmental damage. Much less road traffic, drastically reduced air travel, etc..

    I hope (and am actually pretty sure) that there are folks studying it like they studied the effects of 9/11 on the skies & weather.

    Other than that, home on a rainy day with my octogenarian mother who, dare I say it, seems to be enjoying telling folks over the phone “my son has told me I am not allowed to leave the house.” Not 100% true, she can go for a walk if she wants though she’ll not want to with the weather we are having today.

    Spring wishes to everyone.

  51. 51.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @Ohio Mom: Thank you. I’m encouraged by the progress made in treatment and the fact that they seem to have caught it early. She’s scheduled for an outpatient procedure and, if all goes well, she should go home this afternoon. I’m hoping for clean margins. She’ll then go on the blocker. Fingers crossed.

  52. 52.

    Jinchi

    @Baud: Air pollution and CO2 fall rapidly as virus spreads

    Gives a person hope that the climate problem is solvable. It’s like discovering that all we have to do cool off the house is turn down the thermostat.

  53. 53.

    Major Major Major Major

    At least Uber will be fine. They’re saving loads of money since they operate at a unit loss.

  54. 54.

    Quiltingfool

    @E.: I can only imagine the worry and sorrow you are going through right now, and my heart aches for you and all the folks who are in the same boat.  I’d like to tell you things will work out, but we don’t know what that looks like, and you don’t need empty platitudes right now.  I know the fear that after this is “over” that we will be overtaken by corporate fat cat interests, and that could happen.  But I’ve been thinking that this crisis may force things to go the other way (hopeful thinking, lol).  That folks may now be waking up fully to the gross inequalities in our country.  That people may be seeing that strong health care is important.  That ordinary people are important, too.  We don’t know what the eventual outcome will be, honestly, and the suffering will be great.  We can only hope that through suffering, a better way will come about.  Do not lose hope, dear one.  Even though I know hope is a very hard thing for you right now.  Blessings be upon you, my sister.

  55. 55.

    A Ghost to Most

    Woot. Wife and I went in at 7am opening and scored toilet paper, along with our weekly stuff. No butter, rice, flour.

  56. 56.

    chopper

    At any rate, do yourself a favor and try not to drown yourself in bad news.

    good idea. first let me just check on the ol’ 401(k)…

  57. 57.

    tarragon

    @mrmoshpotato:

    Hope it comes back negative.

    I’m of two minds.  Negative would be good, yay negative!

    But the whole household is past the worst; everyone’s fever is gone and the rest of the symptoms are fading.  A positive at this point would be a bit of relief in another way.

  59. 59.

    khead

    I’m trying Ringo.  I’m trying. Real. Hard.  But I have to admit it’s pretty disappointing to find out just how many people out there are real shitheads.

  60. 60.

    Betty Cracker

    @geg6: I completed our census form the other day. Have they always asked people for details about their ethnic background? Maybe that’s a standard question and I just forgot since the last time I filled out a form. I’m extra-paranoid since the POTUS is a white nationalist.

  65. 65.

    satby

    @Quiltingfool: if you click on my nym you’ll be taken right to the store. I’m about to go work on some orders right now, and unfortunately one seems to have gotten lost in shipping. Lost ones ultimately turn up though, USPS does heroic work!

  66. 66.

    Quiltingfool

    @geg6: I’ll have to watch that show.  I just finished watching The Man In The High Castle – the ending is very open ended, but it was a compelling series.  I am now watching Hunters on Prime.  I had an odd thought about these new shows with a Nazi/fascist theme being shown right now during the administration of the ferret-headed shitgibbon – somebody trying to tell us something?  Like we didn’t already know, but, the timing is, shall we say, is interesting?

  68. 68.

    danielx

    I work at home (part time) and have for years, so it’s nothing new – spousal unit (works full time) and I have separate work areas, so no big thing. I’m almost as much of an introvert as Cole, so having time on my hands with nothing to do but read books (or Kindle publications) would ordinarily be a slice of heaven. But knowing I’m not supposed to go out, with nowhere to go if I did, is beginning to chafe – and I don’t have any more than the usual amount of friction at home.

    Went to grocery yesterday. Decent stock of produce, no tp, nothing in the meat cases except chuck roasts – not that there’s anything wrong with that :). I did thank one of the store workers for what they are doing. Speaking of which, Kroger for one goddamn well better do something nice for its workers, since it can’t be bothered to give them paid time off. Those workers and those like them are the ones who are getting us through this on a day to day basis, and for a hell of a lot less money than docs, nurses, etc. Bless them all.

  69. 69.

    Marigold

    Does anyone have any recommendations for managing a panic attack? Depression and I are old buddies, and my job is safe for the time being, but the tightness in my chest is completely new territory (it fades if I concentrate on breathing deeply, so I don’t think it is actively dangerous).

  70. 70.

    satby

    @Betty Cracker: yes, they have always asked ethnic data. It was modernized (I think) in 2000 to add multi-ethnic, before you had to check only one.

    Edit, or I may be thinking race. Haven’t even looked at my census form.

  71. 71.

    Major Major Major Major

    @Quiltingfool: There’s always been lots of Nazi content out there (in the sense you’re referring to as well as the bad one), obvious example being the Man in the High Castle book. That said, there is an observable trend towards fiction about fighting authoritarian regimes during trying times, for example Doctor Who becomes more revolutionary when the Tories are in power.

  72. 72.

    Ohio Mom

    The other day, Ohio Dad got a hankering for poutine and decided he would wait until Wednesday afternoon when the hipster cheese store has fresh curds.

    We called ahead, was told they are still doing the Wednesday cheese curd thing but don’t come into the shop, use the driveway and call in and they will come out with the curds.

    When Ohio Dad got there, the wife came out, said they had to layoff their entire staff. She was so grateful to have a customer.

    Bought home for us how fragile everything is right now. Our other outings have been to Kroger’s and CVS, and they are the cockroaches of retail, nothing will kill them.

  73. 73.

    Betty Cracker

    @E.: I’m so sorry. A lot of us could end up in the same boat eventually, no matter how secure our jobs seemed last week. Like Quiltingfool at #54, I’m trying to be hopeful, but I’m also scared about the future in a way I’ve never been before. It sucks, there’s no sugar-coating that.

  75. 75.

    randy khan

    My wife’s parents live less than a mile away, both in their late 80s.  I had a conversation with my father-in-law on Tuesday which I will paraphrase as me saying “we’re doing your grocery shopping until this is over” and him being kind of stunned.  And then it turned out that all they needed was a container of biscotti from Costco, because of course he’d done a full round of shopping on Saturday.

  76. 76.

    Quiltingfool

    @Betty Cracker: I know, right?  Like I know my country of origin.  Some of my people came here around the time of the Revolutionary War, and I think they were from Ireland, but, Lord, I don’t know.  I put down Ireland for me, because my maiden name is Scots Irish, but I had no clue about my husband’s family.  Maybe French, English, German, who the hell knows, and honestly, who cares?

    As I said above, my ancestors came to America about 200 to 250 years ago, so when I think of my origin country, I’m thinking America.

  78. 78.

    ET

    I am reposting this from a few days ago.

    If anyone is in the mood and bored and interested in helping future researchers, there is a transcription effort at the Library of Congress at

    https://crowd.loc.gov/campaigns/

    By the People is an effort to transcribe, review, and tag digitized images of manuscripts and typed materials from the Library’s collections. As you can see, there are a number of suffragette/women’s collections and a few Civil War era ones as well. For you baseball fans (and anyone not good with handwriting), the Branch Ricky may be pretty cool. Given the Library has had this going on for a while, there may not be as much in some of the collections as there will be for others.  The newest collection is Herencia but you have to know the language(s) to have any hope for that one. Some of these might be fund/educational for kids as well.

    • Herencia: Centuries of Spanish Legal Documents (documents written in Spanish, Latin, and Catalan between 1300 and 1800)
    • Rosa Parks: In Her Own Words
    • The Man Who Recorded the World: On the Road with Alan Lomax
    • Carrie Chapman Catt Papers
    • Letters to Lincoln
    • Anna E. Dickinson Papers
    • Elizabeth Cady Stanton Papers
    • Clara Barton: “Angel of the Battlefield”
    • Walt Whitman at 200
    • Susan B. Anthony Papers
    • Mary Church Terrell: Advocate for African Americans and Women
    • Civil War Soldiers: “Disabled but not disheartened”
    • “This Hell-upon-earth of a Prison”: Samuel J. Gibson’s Andersonville Diary
    • Branch Rickey: Changing the Game

    There is a bit more about the hows in the help center at https://crowd.loc.gov/help-center/

    There is a little bit for anyone. So make your mark on the Library’s collections.

  80. 80.

    Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism

    I met some friends for lunch yesterday*, and one of them talked about one of her friends who called her in tears Tuesday morning, convinced that his restaurant wouldn’t survive. His restaurant is inside a garden center; his entire clientele is foot traffic from shoppers. Between the phone call and the store opening, the store owners brought him a proposal to set up a drive-through in the parking lot.

    Will he make it on takeout? Don’t know, but at least he’s busy and not falling further into despair.

    *We got takeout from our usual restaurant and tailgated.

  86. 86.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    This is trivial, but I’ve decided I don’t like the cover for the book I have coming out in June. I had a chance to object but I couldn’t articulate what my concern was and now it’s too late.  I’m bad on visuals so maybe I’m wrong. I loved my previous covers. I just don’t like this one.

  89. 89.

    raven

    So I left a couple of months ago because I thought the treatment of a commenter and online friend was unfair. I still think it was bullshit, always will and I don’t really care who likes it. I also have a decade plus investment here and, especially now, think the interaction here is important to me. I’ve been reading along quite a bit and am especially glad to see the online ed posts.

  90. 90.

    Ohio Mom

    Marigold@69: May I suggest you call your PCP (or psychiatrist, if you have one), and get a script for an as-needed anti anxiety medicine. Easy-Peasy.

    You don’t want the anxiety to get out of hand. Even if you think it is situational (I mean, there’s a global pandemic and we have a complete jackass in the Oval Offoce, who isn’t anxious?), it can take on a life of its own. And battling depression is enough without adding an anxiety disorder on top.

    Pulling for you!

  91. 91.

    different-church-lady

    Thank you, Cole. Far too many people are looking at the most dramatic guess for the worst case scenarios and thinking, “OMG THAT’S WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN!”

    Everyone stop with the gloom porn. This things sucks, but we’re not doing this because WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE, we’re doing this so that we don’t all die.

  92. 92.

    Just One More Canuck

    @Avalune: Stay safe – up here in Canada, the government delayed the filing deadline from April 30 to June 1, with payments not due until August

  95. 95.

    Quiltingfool

    @satby: Thank you!  I have an Etsy store, too – quilts.  I don’t imagine sales will be very brisk right now, as folks need to spend what money they have on necessaries and that’s okay.  I love making quilts, and I sell them at a fairly reasonable price – I don’t need be be featured on a “Quilt Hoarder, Special Edition” show, haha.  But, if you like looking at quilts, browsing though my shop is free!  And I’m always available for quilt conversations with any interested party!  Oh, the shop name is QuiltingByCynthia.

  98. 98.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Amir Khalid:

    When I was young we had this thing called ‘low res graphics’ and the individual pixels in computer games were the size of the letters you typed on the command line because NO WINDOWS AND NO MOUSE TO CLICK.

  99. 99.

    scav

    @Betty Cracker: They’ve always asked about ethnic background / race to some degree — Mom filled out ours, but the big difference is  the specificity they went for.  Before you probably saw Caucasian/white, black, Asian/Pacific Islander etc and there was the joy that Hispanic could come in several flavours.

  105. 105.

    randy khan

    @Betty Cracker:

    They have been asking about race and national origin for eons.  The questions aren’t new, and I’m pretty sure the only thing the Administration tried to mess with was the citizenship question.

  106. 106.

    germy

    Can’t believe people are stocking up on guns now. We’re all trapped indoors together. Get some balls and stab one another.

    — A$AP CURRY (@lisa_curry) March 18, 2020

  108. 108.

    A Ghost to Most

    @Quiltingfool:

    who the hell knows, and honestly, who cares?

    Although I know precisely when and where my ancestors arrived (my mother was an obsessive genealogist), more of this, please.

  109. 109.

    Immanentize

    @Avalune: I am working on a project, so my time here has been sporadic.  And I keep missing you and Leto.

     

    Just wanted to tell you how much I have enjoyed your “In the Life” posts.  You guys are mad writers too!  There is so much there, so well told.  If I was not so lazy, I would steal it for a novel, make millions on the TV rights and give it all away as recommended above.

  113. 113.

    Immanentize

    @O. Felix Culpa: I am both sorry for and with you.  My father in law is going through chemo right now for prostate cancer (plus maybe somewhere else?).  He wrote and told me that his hair has finally fallen out and I reminded him that, for men particularly, hair is overrated.  I listed many sexy bald men.  He liked the idea of being a sexy bald man.

    Please take care of yourself while you worry about others.

  114. 114.

    Immanentize

    @raven: Woot. Very pleased to see you back.

    And Dude, we need some of your online and course design expertise also.

    Y’all know raven is NOT just about the Dawgs, right? (There is fishing too)

  115. 115.

    raven

    @Immanentize: I’ve followed them and really enjoyed them. Of course I keep thinking of our old saying. “If the Army wanted you to have a wife they would have issued you one”! I know it’s a totally different military now with women contributing both by serving  and being serving by being spouses.

  117. 117.

    A Ghost to Most

    @germy: I myself have stocked ammo for my guns, and bought an air rifle. Hunting may become an option to stretch resources.

    I laughed with my wife that if shit gets bad, there are plenty of elk around the school where my son works.

  118. 118.

    danielx

    For those who are having issues with olds (parents or otherwise) staying home and being safe, let it be noted there are just as many yootful dumb fucks out there.
    ‘If I get corona, I get corona’: Miami spring breakers say covid-19 hasn’t stopped them from partying
    I totes admit my first reaction after reading “aspiring SoundCloud rapper” was ‘we are doomed’. Then I thought no, HE is doomed. Not very charitable, but I’ve been told I’m getting crankier as I get older.

  121. 121.

    raven

    @Immanentize: I just don’t know what I could add with the excellent guidance that had been provided. The online program I worked on for a decade entailed building each course with a team of content experts, us and a tech person. These courses took a minimum of a year to develop and folks just don’t have the time or resources for that now.

  122. 122.

    Sure Lurkalot

    @MattF: I went yesterday and outside of their being no paper products whatsoever, the store was pretty well stocked. I am anxious every time I do a supplies trip. I feel like it just resets the possible exposure clock.  Less anxious when I walk the paths, but still wary. We may get some significant snow today so good that we’re stocked up.

  124. 124.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @Immanentize: Thank you. I’m taking a few days off from county party duties. I feel a little guilty because I’m not being “leaderly” and all, but it’s been a rough couple of weeks months years and I could use a brief break. All best wishes for your father-in-law’s recovery.

  125. 125.

    raven

    @Immanentize: WE had two weeks scheduled in May but that’s out. I’ve been surprised how many of our friends (we have a ton of 40 somethings with kids in the hood) have stopped by (from the street_ and expressed concern for us. We’re doing our level best to tinker down but the pups have so many needs that total isolation is not an option. Bohdi ate my hearing aids 2 weeks ago and landed in the ER and, while he is ok, he’s getting really rickety and the anesthesia really hammered him.

  126. 126.

    raven

    @schrodingers_cat: I thought of you a lot while we watched “The Beecham House”. It was beautiful and awful at the same time!  ”

    Gurinder Chadha’s new six-part drama series Beecham House is set on the cusp of the 19th century in Delhi before the British ruled in that region.

    Tom Bateman (Vanity Fair, Jekyll and Hyde, Murder on the Orient Express) steps into the role of enigmatic, soulful John Beecham, a handsome former soldier who has purchased the magnificent mansion, Beecham House, to begin a new life with his family.

    The ensemble cast includes Lesley Nicol (Downton Abbey), Gregory Fitoussi (Mr. Selfridge, Spiral), Adil Ray (Citizen Khan, Ackley Bridge), Pallavi Sharda (Lion), Dakota Blue Richards (Endeavour), Leo Suter (Clique, Victoria, Sanditon), Bessie Carter (Howard’s End), Viveik Kalra (Blinded By The Light) and Marc Warren (Safe, Hustle).

    Writer, director and producer Chadha is responsible for a number of international hit films including Bend It Like Beckham, Bride & Prejudice, Viceroy’s House and 2019’s Blinded By The Light.”

  127. 127.

    Betty Cracker

    @raven: Yay! I tried to bait you into delurking with a football conversation, but you didn’t fall for it! (Probably didn’t see it.) Anyhoo, happy to see you. :)

  131. 131.

    Immanentize

    @raven: It is definitely a “building a plane while it’s flying” experience.  We were lucky (a bit) at my Uni. because we were hard pushing the “continuity of learning” thing since the winter of 2016 when we were closed every Monday plus for the first six weeks of the spring semester because of snow. Most of the faculty were “whatevs” but now that the shit has hit the whiteboard, they aren’t complaining about not being warned. (small comfort)

  134. 134.

    Victor Matheson

    @Jinchi: The problem is that CO2 is much more of a stock pollutant than a flow pollutant. Once it is in the atmosphere it doesn’t disappear very quickly. Particulates, on the other hand, are a flow pollutant. When we stop driving and operating factories, particulates will go down quickly once we stop adding more. CO2 will not fall appreciably for many, many years.

  136. 136.

    Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism

    @randy khan: And even the citizenship questions aren’t really new. I took a class a few months back that included how to pull clues out of the census to track down the paperwork for a recent immigrant ancestor.

    (Where “recent” is after about 1800.)

  142. 142.

    L85NJGT

    Round these parts they are offering $20/hr for overnight big box stockers.

    Our dystopian tomorrow – your choices are: universal basic income (but you’re not allowed to leave the house), a stocker, or making pickups for the local funeral parlor. Sounds like a drive-in flick starring Charlton Heston.

  143. 143.

    Immanentize

    @raven:

    Bohdi ate my hearing aids 2 weeks ago

    “He never listens to me! I’ll show him.
    –UGh, those things do not taste like treats.”

  145. 145.

    Edith

    @E.:

    I have been thinking of you and those like you. My own job is secure, but I am worried about all of the small businesses in my neighborhood, along with all my artist friends. My first donations were to a food bank and the foundation for our local safety net county hospital, but my next ones will be for local business owners and artists who are suffering so badly right now. I’m also calling all my representatives, both at the state and federal level to request that other than broad-based aid to all people, that aid really be directed to small businesses like yours rather than bailing out large companies. Thinking of you.

  147. 147.

    Aleta

    @raven: Makes me glad to hear your voice.  Feeling glad is unexpected relief today, so thanks.  Been thinking of you all the time.

  148. 148.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @danielx: 

    Wife was speaking with a rep from one of the larger foreign tourism boards yesterday, which shall remain unnamed. His take was that we’ve really fucked up by blowing up the global economy and the hopes and dreams of billions in order to protect people who’ve lived out their entire lives or are medically frail. What should have happened was that the isolation should have gone completely the other direction from the very beginning (meaning “isolate the identified cases, the medically frail and those over 65”), with a goal to ramp up the manufacture of kits in order to test everyone and burn the thing out.

    As Tom Colicchio said it this morning, people aren’t going to be attending restaurants in droves even when they reopen, due to both economy and a reluctance to spend money just in case something like this closure happens again soon. Same thing applies to tourism and other entertainments, as those require both discretionary dollars and the desire to use them.

  149. 149.

    Fair Economist

    @Sure Lurkalot: When I go to the store I feel like I am in Soviet Russia. There is always a bunch sold out so I am trying to find substitutes. No sliced bread yesterday but there was fresh French bread (first bread in days) so I got that. Son used it for tasty cheese bread so ++good. No sausage for beans and rice (thx for recipes all) but I found some plant based “sausage” and it was just fine. To the point my hubby didn’t want to eat it because of cholesterol, lol.

    Also no paper products, sanitizers, milk (!), yogurt, muffins, soup, beans, or rice yesterday. Sad because a lot of that hoarded milk will spoil. Didn’t need any of those because I prepped but I couldn’t help noticing.

  150. 150.

    Nicole

    @O. Felix Culpa: As someone dealing with a breast cancer recurrence myself, who had my follow-up appointment post-radiation with the oncologist cancelled this week (it’s okay; when I got upset on the phone someone called back to let me know they generally wait 2-4 weeks after radiation before starting endocrine therapy anyway.  I just wish someone would have told me THAT EARLIER LIKE DURING RADIATION), I am sending all kinds of good thoughts to your stepmom.  I’m so glad she got in for surgery; wishes for a smooth and easy recovery and another long remission for her.  It’s the depressing thing with the hormone-reactive breast cancers; they can readily come back decades later.  Easier to treat in the short-term than the more aggressive types, but much more likely to recur.

  151. 151.

    L85NJGT

    @MattF:

    Things are tough all over.

    “In a nutshell, Saudi Aramco can sustain the very low price and can sustain it for a long time,” Chief Executive Amin Nasser said on Monday during a full-year earnings call with investors and analysts.

  153. 153.

    p.a.

    The only growth industry in the economy for the foreseeable future is recovered covid-19 patients monetizing the ability to run errands for the rest of us.

  154. 154.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @Immanentize:

    Enjoy measuring your margins and font sizes, while painstakingly counting your pages.

    And be sure that your brief cover is of the correct shade of color and appropriately bound!

  155. 155.

    Jeffro

    @Jim Parish: Same here in VA.  It’s a bit of a bummer – going into the office for an hour or two each day was going to be my break from my 9th grader!  =)

  156. 156.

    Fair Economist

    @Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: The conservative governments in power like the US and the UK wanted to take that route. The Imperial College report showed it was going to fail spectacularly, with ICU demand peaking at 30 times supply and millions of deaths. At those levels any attempt at quarantining the over 50 crowd would fail. 40 percent of US ICU patients are under 50 anyway.

  158. 158.

    Major Major Major Major

    @Fair Economist: My neighborhood grocer has had everything I needed the last few trips. Except, yeah, pork chops? I’ve also wanted just three little yeast packets but they’re always sold out.

    I feel like the alcohol and bleach were both sold out last time I was there too, but I wasn’t looking for them so I can’t confirm the exact part of the cleaning aisle with empty shelves.

    Lots of toilet paper and beans. Didn’t look for uncooked sausage but lots of salami, pepperoni, etc., sliced and whole. And as always the Japanese grocery has lots of good stuff.

  159. 159.

    BruceFromOhio

    Steady as she goes. Limiting news updates to once a day has really made a big difference, though of course the FP’ers here read it so I don’t have to. We were stocked back on March 1, saw what was coming. The household has rhythm where we can all stay out eachothers hair, and come together for meals or the occasional game. AT&T was kind enough to replace the router and confirm the tubes are all working as designed. I set up a mesh network to get wifi to every corner of the property. Now if the weather would just cooperate. I hear it’s spring.

     

    @E.: I am really sorry you are going through this. MrsFromOhio and I were talking about what we can do here in our community. For the moment, we are adopting two local restaurants for weekly takeout, and trying to get others to the same. If the direct cash payments go through, we’re thinking about who we can give ours to because we don’t really need the money.

    @raven: Good to see you again, man. I remember what happened, and I’m glad you are here.

  160. 160.

    Fair Economist

    @L85NJGT: Putin and Russia are in big trouble, with the $26 price of oil barely exceeding their $19 cost of production and a huge COVID epidemic already starting with the gov still in denial. It may be like Iran there in a few weeks.

  163. 163.

    Jeffro

    @Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism: I saw that on Twitter…it should be a major scandal, but then again trumpov was telling his rally crowds six weeks ago that the whole thing was a “hoax”, and his maladministration was actively trying to not test anyone.

    I mean, in a sane world, he’d have had to resign after his “let’s keep the cruise ship off shore – I don’t want the case numbers to go up” (and make me look bad).  But it’s the GOP, whatcha gonna do, right?

  165. 165.

    Elizabelle

    @raven:   You’re back!!  Yea.  Best to you, the bride, and the pups.

    Now we have to get Kay back.  She left for different reasons, but may have more time to lurk these days.

    Seems to me that fishing can be very “social distancing.”  And more assured than heading to a grocery store.

  168. 168.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @schrodingers_cat:

    I think my great grandmother had the Spanish Flu and there was some brief period when my lazy-assed redneck grandmother had to assist my great grandfather with the cleanup after a meal or two when she was five years old – which she used as an excuse, repeatedly, to do nothing of significance or any actual labor for the remaining 94 years of her life.

  170. 170.

    lee

    @p.a.: My understanding is they are not 100% sure you can’t catch it a second time.

    I think it is ‘you shouldn’t catch it again, but we have no proof yet so hold off’.

  171. 171.

    raven

    @Elizabelle: Hi!  I’ve been really bummed to see the charter boats running with crowds of breakers. I could wet a line locally but I shifted to saltwater years ago.

  173. 173.

    JMG

    In a call I’d been expecting, my primary care physician’s office just called and called off my annual physical appointment for next Tuesday. BUT, they did reschedule for the first week in May. I thought they’d leave it as “we’ll call you.”

  175. 175.

    Marigold

    @Ohio Mom: Thank you. I can send my PCP an email through their portal, where I might not bother them with a phone call, much less an appointment.

    I feel so stupid, because other people are faced with losing their homes or businesses. I will be working unless I get sick or the factory stops completely, but the layoffs are starting here as the automakers shut down. And I live in Sandusky, whose economy runs on tourism, so everyone around me is suffering and it’s beyond anything I can do.

  176. 176.

    Fair Economist

    @Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: Roughly, it seems like the *need* for venitilation is not too much affected by medical status. The difference is whether they survive weeks in the ICU. The 38 yo marathoner who was the first community case in Italy started breathing again last week after 3 weeks of no breathing reflex. The difference between him and somebody with a pre existing condition is they would not have survived.

  177. 177.

    zeecube

    @Betty Cracker: Sent mine in today.  I put down “mutt” because I am not more than 50% of any “origin” ( I am a French, Irish, Portuguese, and English mix).  (P.S., I heard that my great-great Irish grandmother’s marriage to an Englishman in mid 1800’s in New Orleans was quite scandalous.  Her brothers beat up the groom.)

  180. 180.

    Miss Bianca

    @O. Felix Culpa: First, good thoughts going out into the universe for your stepmom.

     

    Second, as a party official, some advice? So, up here in Colorado, for some weird reason, we went from an all-caucus system to a Presidential primary, *then* caucus for Senate, etc., then finally another damn primary. So, I showed up to caucus for Senate candidates, couple centuries weeks ago, we all caucused for Hickenlooper, there were so few of us there that we all ended up as delegates to the county assembly, supposed to show up for it at the end of the month.

    Then it turns out that Hick is going to petition to be on the ballot (Andrew Romanoff got more caucus votes), so suddenly, I am “free” to turn to some other candidate.

    Trouble is, I don’t want to. I find I don’t actually give a shit who else is on the ballot – fine, what the fuck ever. I cast a vote for the candidate I thought would be best poised to win statewide, others didn’t agree, my candidate is now going to be on the ballot regardless, and now I hate this whole stupid system so damn much – why the FUCK didn’t we just go to one primary for EVERYTHING?! – so I’m just like, “fuck the county assembly. Fuck everything right now!”

    We’re still supposed to HAVE the damn assembly, altho’ allegedly if we don’t want to show up we can designate someone else as a proxy. But I just don’t fucking give a shit right now.

    The question is: should I? I mean, should I bother to show up for some other candidate if I honestly don’t care who makes it?

  182. 182.

    MelissaM

    @Betty Cracker: Yes, because I vividly remember my sister 20 years ago saying she was going to write in “american, you dolt!” and I said I wouldn’t visit her in census jail.

  183. 183.

    J R in WV

    @Fair Economist:

    one of the rotating care workers refused to wash her hands recently

    That’s so strange. Refused to wash their hands!?

    So strange, hand washing is SOP in normal times. I wonder what was going on in their head to cause that ?

    Maybe Trump / Faux news was working in that brain, convinced it was a hoax, that all germs were a hoax, handwashing is a tool of the Marxists of the left wing?  Could be I guess. But dirt is so common, why…. I give up, there’s no understand crazy.

    Crazy has to be the answer to this situation….

  186. 186.

    Mr. Mack

    Hey Raven, welcome back. I understand and appreciate loyalty to friends.

    So, someone here a while back posted about online dinner parties. A group of friends and I are going to attempt this. Anyone have an idea as to best platform to use? As a group, we are not coders but not Luddites either.

  188. 188.

    trollhattan

    @J R in WV:

    I recall a study of hospitals with higher than average infection rates of patients who had undergone surgery. They aimed video cameras at sinks to document who did and did not follow washing protocols. Quelle surprise, a high percentage of the staff were skipping handwashing, doctors included.

    The good news: if you measure it, and communicate that you are measuring it, you will fix it.

  189. 189.

    Miss Bianca

    @Mr. Mack: Somewhat on the same note, I am wondering about Zoom, for “virtual rehearsals” – or at least, first read-throughs of the script. One of my cast members works at an academic library and said that there were free Zoom sessions, but *only* if your meeting lasted forty minutes or less. Wondering whether Zoom users like it well enough to get a paid subscription.

  192. 192.

    Aleta

    @raven:  You’re needed as much or probably more by this place.  A critical mass of decency and support for each other was a major piece of the ‘allure’ that brought some folks in closer.   Commenters were part of the brand (ha) that brought more readers to the FPs.

  194. 194.

    debbie

    Great. Now I can worry about the country running out of Plaquenil (hydroxychloroquine). It’s always something. //

  196. 196.

    J R in WV

    @raven:

    Hola, Raven. Good to see you’re still kickin’ down Athens way! Hope and assume you and wife are healthy and being careful.

    I am finding that B J is a good social fix now that we’re seriously trying to stay up the hollow. As opposed to just normally staying up the hollow. I have accumulated close to 300 pounds of DF for three big dogs, which isn’t nearly as much as it sounds, maybe 6 weeks? So I’ll be buying more when I go out in a couple of weeks….

    You know who I miss as much as anyone? Soonergrunt, who makes a comment about once every 6 months now. I understand he uses twitter, but I don’t use either the twit machine nor Facebook!

    We need to stick together in the course of this strange event.  Hang in there and keep in touch.

     

    ETA: Fuck LBJ, and Nixon, and Trump-plague too !!!

  197. 197.

    ziggy

    Here’s a positive note–I’ve been going to my favorite lunch place, they are doing take-out only. On Monday, I was the only one there and there was only one worker. He said they had to close one of their 3 locations, and business was very slow, not sure how long they could manage to stay open. Yesterday I went and the place was booming! Several cars in the drive-through, three workers and lots of activity. They said they are now offering a delivered “family pack” service, and it is selling really well. I think that combined with people figuring out they were still open for take-out made all the difference. If these small businesses can get creative, perhaps many of them can make it through.

    I’m feeling super fortunate–I work outside, my clients are retired, and I have plenty of work lined up. My suppliers seem to be staying open. Until a shelter-in-place order is put out.

  198. 198.

    randy khan

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    Tulsi Gabbard has apparently suspended her campaign.

    How did anyone tell?

    Anyway, it’s actually good news, partly because she endorsed Biden and didn’t try to go independent, and partly because we don’t need her complaining about being excluded by the DNC.  (Which was happening, but for the very good reason that nobody was voting for her.)

  199. 199.

    Ruckus

    @ant:

    He might…….

    John, I watch Netflix on my TV, I don’t watch TV on it but I could watch something like This Old House without crappy news.

  200. 200.

    Ohio Mom

    Marigold@174: Don’t feel stupid! You can’t help your brain being wired the way it is, that was the luck of the draw. It’s only stupid not to take good care of your brain’s health.

    Some of us had big if vague plans for an all-Ohio meet-up in Columbus this summer. If that ever happens (might not be this summer, obviously), I hope you’ll drive down to join us.

  202. 202.

    Ruckus

    @raven:

    Welcome back.

    This is an all hands time, even if we manage to annoy each other on occasion. Your input is more than welcome in my book, we missed your input.

  203. 203.

    Ohio Mom

    Debbie@193: Maybe I’d better go inventory my stash. I’m pretty sure I’m in that awkward spot of being toward the middle of my 90 days, way too soon for a refill.

  205. 205.

    debbie

    @Ohio Mom:

    Good idea. I’d just gotten a refill so at least I have a while before I start worrying. I also hope this doesn’t jack up the cost.

  209. 209.

    HRA

    After being home for 3 weeks, I ventured out to my drugstore and my coffee, olive oil and dog treats store. Both stores are barely crowded normally and much less yesterday. I was in and out quicly with my used and not used clorox wipes in baggies.

    Someone snitched on me. The I phone lit up as if it was a lit Christmas tree. Six children, 10 grandchildren and in laws showed up.

    One caution other than self quarantine is to not try to converse with Trumper relatives, friends, etc. It is not worth it. Some people are getting violent.

    Be safe everyone!

  210. 210.

    Eunicecycle

    @HRA: I just told my husband not to tell our kids we are still going to deliver for Meals on Wheels because they will yell at us. For now they have changed procedures do we don’t have physical contact with the clients. If MOW tells us we can’t do it anymore or we get sick, of course we will stop.

  211. 211.

    JeanneT

    I just ordered some fabric to make effective and washable face masks.  Good blog about it here from the US fabric manufacturer https://www.wazoodle.com/blog/face-mask-fabrics/

    I figure I’ll get quite a few masks out of 1 yard each of 3 fabrics for inner, middle and outer layers.  I can pass around any I don’t need for my own family….  Makes me feel as if I’m doing something useful for our new reality

  213. 213.

    cckids

    @danielx:Kroger for one goddamn well better do something nice for its workers, since it can’t be bothered to give them paid time off.

    Well, here in Seattle, Fred Meyer (Kroger store) gave each of the employees a $25 store credit “to buy groceries”; now that so much stuff is sold out. It’s not nothing, but most of us would prefer a hazard pay bump, or at least have an extra cashier who does nothing but rotate through each station to give people a chance to go WASH OUR GODDAMN HANDS.

    And I didn’t use mine on groceries, I bought a bottle of Irish whisky and toasted fate.

  216. 216.

    joel hanes

    @J R in WV:

    Soonergrunt … uses twitter, but I don’t use either the twit machine or facebook

    You can read the twitter stream of a person without having a twitter account, or if you do have an account, without logging in.   IMHO, the user experience is _better_ if you’re not logged in.

    Facebook, on the other hand, pretty much prevents you from seeing anything if you don’t have an account and log in.

    soonergrunt is here :

    https://twitter.com/soonergrunt

    I’d also strongly recommend hilzoy :

    https://twitter.com/hilzoy

  217. 217.

    Quaker in a Basement

    Thanks, John. I really need the positive messages right now. This helps.

    Ya’ll remember to be extra kind to any workers you come into contact with–retail, delivery, food, medical, or anybody, really. There are folks out there risking their own safety to keep us going.

  218. 218.

    Sab

    @Betty Cracker: The census has been asking about ethnic origin for ages. Obama started allowing multiple ethnic choices. My multiracial nephews and grandchildren were thrilled. But the category “Asian and Pacific Islander” is sort of hilarious. Everywhere from Israel to North Korea and also too the Pacific islands.

  219. 219.

    Morzer

    Watching John Cole’s alternative quarantine… sorry, lifestyle… evolve into blog-parenting is a strangely enjoyable plot twist in the final season of The Trump Plague.

  220. 220.

    No One You Know

    @E.: I know a couple of people in exactly that situation.  All we can do is clean out my son’s bedroom and offer it to the first requestor.  Gonna feel like shit if we have to makeover the garage using only what we have.

    We’ve got a panic pantry– our jobs are not stable, so that’s a habit that helps. Maybe six weeks of food. Major home repairs got skipped through lean period… hoping we get through. My spouse’s Food Bank is still OK, but the local WinCos were bare except for the highest- priced items and bulk foods. Butter toffee peanuts available, wasabi peas and almonds, not.

    Milk in plenty,  yogurt not so much. Eggs almost unavailable. We’re furiously cleaning and setting up a salad garden.

    Money running very, very tight as I await unemployment and spouse, who works hourly,  hopes the job holds out.

    And to think that five years ago… it was so much different. The cognitive dissonance and the austerity for some is vertiginous.  Having to listen to Trump on top of that…I have no words.  Herbert Hoover wasn’t this bad.

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