My targeted travel this year was the United Kingdom in April for 3 weeks. “Man Plans, and God Laughs.” At the start of the new year, Wuhan and then all of China in quarantine was the world's news. OMG, another chaos in Motherland! Hong Kong was already a helluva mess effing up local and mainland government for months to no end. On YouTube I saw China’s emptied streets, and health workers in hazmat gears. All of China was shutting to a screeching halt. My Ebay orders from China vendors were delayed. So distant across the globe I sympathized but could not feel personal pain--so much tragedy reported all the time on the www, and incessant bad news, fake news, had numbed me long ago. At first President Trump diplomatically pitied China’s plight, but the cold reality was that China’s doom was America’s gain during war.
In February I bought plane tickets and made 6 hotel and 5 train reservations. I looked forward to the Tower of London, Henry the Eighth, Jane Austen, Oxford, The Beatles, museums, and teas. And then news came that the coronavirus had sprung up beyond China, and that people were dying on cruise ships. Travel bans and quarantines began. Like Sweden, at first the UK too counted on “herd immunity” in facing the pandemic. I was gung-ho on that concept, because my heart was still set on the trip. On Booking.com’s UK forum I posted my shallow concern; I asked whether there were still waiting lines at attractions. A reply posted that stupid tourists like me would use up their emergency resources. Touché. By mid March the US announced banning European entry to include the UK. Game over. The hustle for refunds on non-refundable bookings began. United Airlines, defying the fed's refund order, only offered a 2-year voucher. "Can't squeeze blood out of a turnip."
Italy was on the map with increasing death numbers. The news showed Milan’s magnificent Cathedral Square eerily empty. I felt myself there lost and confused. New York City was next. The news showed made-shift refrigerated mobile morgues lined up in front of hospitals. Death toll increased by moments. Numbers were cold, but each count was a human being. President Trump said this “flu” will go away as suddenly as it came. The Center for Disease Control's more “educated” guesses bet on trends and stats. Even a dead clock is right twice a day. God's Will is All.
The City of Los Angeles and the State of California immediately enacted a “safer at home” aka “shelter in place” order. Only “essential” businesses were allowed to operate. “Non-essential” businesses and schools/universities could either telecommute or shut down. On social media, I saw LAX's tarmac oddly filled with parked passenger planes. World segregation began. Within days the “butterfly effect” crept in; Dow Jones plunged 30%. The haves immediately flocked to Costco and Walmart to empty out non-perishable and frozen food, sundries, and home entertainment for an unpredictable future. The hard-ups in sedans and SUVs immediately lined up miles long for charity goods.
But America is great. Immediately free money was sent to all who had filed income of less than $90,000 to the IRS. A household with income up to $75,000 single or $150,000 couple gets $1200 per adult and $500 per child. It was a blessing to the unemployed and those with no rainy day savings. For the more fortunate, we would use this money to stimulate the economy by shopping online and buying takeout food. Meanwhile the US dollar was stronger than ever even with non-stop printing of paper into $100 bills. It appears that during world crises, the US dollar is considered the safest currency. Thank you world!
God Bless our essential workers for braving the pandemic. Deaths and sacrifices of medical, emergency, grocery, delivery, factory, convalescent, and other pandemic workers were especially sorrowful. They did not sign up for war, but they were on the front line. Some died on a job that paid minimum wage.
Our military paid tribute to them with sky shows all over the country. On that afternoon, a thundering whoosh above my roof came and went. I appreciated the shattering sound. That instant also felt like "Tora! Tora! Tora!" The news showed some hospital workers were outdoors for the viewing. This morale-booster was quaint, but I wonder if this was the best use of military resources.
First the CDC only urged washing hands for 2 minutes; it took them a while to necessitate mouth covering. Everyone was advised to wear a mask, and to keep 6 feet apart from each other, except with house members. Suddenly folks could not visit their loved ones in convalescent homes. Folks could not be by their loved one's death bed. Precautions were deemed necessary to get a grip on the crisis, by limiting human contact to slow the spread. However, there were many who rejected doing so, regardless of daily warnings and death stats. Obviously they could choose to risk their own lives. As such, don't trust others--wear not just a bandanna but an N95 mask.
California Governor Newsom and Los Angeles City Mayor Garcetti, in order to avoid potential mass homelessness, immediately placed emergency orders that unequivocally ban commercial and residential evictions for non-payment of rent by any mention of "COVID-19." Lawyer Dennis Block (1-800-773-8428) on a webinar said that a Beverly Hills residential tenant had since stopped paying his $27,500 a month rent. Politicians gallantly played Robin Hood on the backs of landlords. I had thought punishing landlords in times of economic crises could only happen in communist countries.
So finally, with plenty of time and not many activity options, it was still only half bad. Instead of feeling like being imprisoned, I convinced myself that stationing at home was like floating on a cruise ship, with nothing to do but lounge and eat. I resorted to watching hours of YouTube on my 65 inch smart TV guilt-free. Saw a lot of President Trump telling us we were doing better than ever. Saw a lot of hospital scenes and reports of COVID hot spots and numbers. Saw motivational deeds by average neighborhood Jane’s and Joe’s. Saw the horrific 8:46 minutes of a policeman killing George Floyd. And then saw the Black Lives Matter riots.
I support the protests, but I do not support the riots. How did robbing and burning an Armenian American’s jewelry store, or pillaging a Vietnamese American’s nail salon sooth the pain of inequality? It was pitiful watching the herds of thugs greedily carrying out their loot.
By the end of June on Memorial Day, bars and beaches were packed by Americans sick and tired of the CDC’s rhetoric. While Europe was flat-lining their pandemic deaths, US deaths continued to climb ferociously. “I don’t wear a mask for the same reason I don’t wear underwear,” a woman proudly spoke up at a public hearing in Palm Beach.
