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| Bare shelves at a Seattle grocery store |
The
present concern for the development of the “novel coronavirus” reminded me of
the great swine flu epidemic of 1918. It was before my time, of course –
because it was mostly before everyone’s time – but my parents remembered it and
spoke about it from time to time. My mother was about eight at the time, and
her family didn’t get sick, but she remembered helping her mother deliver food
to the sick and quarantined.
And
what did they do to protect themselves? Mother said she wore garlic around her
neck, which probably didn’t do much good except maybe to keep others from
coming too close, unless they were wearing garlic, too. Who knows? Maybe it worked.
So
far, we have not curtailed our activities on account of the present virus
scare, but a state of emergency has been declared for Washington state due to illness
events in the Seattle area. Thinking the day might come when we wouldn’t want
to venture out, Mike and I shopped for a few groceries. I really think we have enough
food on hand so that we wouldn’t starve in the foreseeable future, but the issue
might not be illness so much as the lack of available goods due to panic,
whether or not it’s warranted.
The above picture was taken by son-in-law Nick at a Seattle grocery store on Sunday (March 1). Looks
like shoppers anticipate the need for broth. I guess that makes sense.
My
P.E.O. chapter is sponsoring its annual rummage sale this coming weekend.
Preparations continue. KW
4 comments:
I think that while it can be serious for people with other health problems, the media is fueling much of this. And it's working.
It's hard to know what to do, but this weekend I'm at the rummage sale and no one there is talking about it. I just keep washing my hands.
Yup! That's what seems to be the most important thing to do.
Hallie works for Amazon in Seattle, and they have been told to work from home until the end of the month. I'm relieved she doesn't have to ride the bus.
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