Stupid People: Please Keep Your Distance!

I walked to the nearby dollar store today to get a few items I needed. I thought it opened at 8 a.m, so I was there bright and early, only to find a sign on the door that said it opens now from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.  Great. So I walk back home and go back at 10. There are a few people waiting outside, keeping their distance, then this one woman walks up and stands 2 feet away from me and starts talking. I asked her "Ma'am, could you please keep your six foot distance. I'm vulnerable." She moved away, but kept moving closer and close,r talking all the while to the man standing next to her. I just kept backing off. When we were let in, she tried to push in front of me, and I said "I'm sorry, but I was here first. I've been waiting for 15 minutes." Rude people annoy the hell out of me!

The man she was talking to was saying he used to work for the department of defense, and soon they would be closing down everything but CVS, Walmart and gas stations. I kept saying he was wrong, but he then said he just heard it on TV this morning that they were doing it in NYC. I said "Look, Trump says this is a war. Have you ever heard of the Geneva Convention?" He just gave me a deer in the headlines look. I continued, "It's illegal to starve people to death. They aren't going to close grocery stores. They might limit the number of people who can go in at one time, and limit how much they can buy, but they aren't going to close them." He was still swearing it was true when I walked into the store.

Inside the store, people were trying to keep their distance, but it's hard when it's such a small store with such small aisles. I was going past people holding my breath. When I got in line to pay, I was six feet behind the girl in front of me, and a woman behind me got right up on me. I asked her to step back, please and keep a safe distance. She didn't move, so I moved up to the side of my cart to create some distance.

People are so ignorant and uncaring! Because we don't have a lot of cases here, they think we're safe. WE ARE NOT! The campus is still open, and students who have been traveling came back infected and are now under quarantine. All the restaurants and bars are closed, because one student tested positive after he went out partying at a bar the night before. You'd think college students would be a little smarter, but I guess not.

And the fear mongering! That man saying we were going to close all grocery stores and let people starve is an example of someone spreading false information that causes panics. He was never in the defense department, unless he was a janitor. Everyone in the defense department knows what the Geneva convention is. He was just showing off, trying to sound important. This is not helping us. Please stop doing it.

Yes, you should be careful. Yes, you should keep a social distance of 6 feet. Yes, you should stay home except for necessary trips out.  But don't cause a panic with false information. I wanted to ask that guy this morning if he had been listening to Fox News, but even they are starting to take this seriously, so I didn't.

The only way they could close ALL businesses is if they declared Martial Law, then they wouldn't close, but like in some countries, you would need papers to show what you are allowed to be out for. No country yet has declared Martial Law. China took extreme measures because they are a Communist country and they can. We can, but we likely won't.

After coming home today, I had an anxiety attack. My chest tightened up and started hurting. I knew what it was, but just to be on the safe side, I took two low-dose aspirin, then sat out in the sun doing deep breathing exercises until it subsided. No doubt, some of you have had anxiety attacks lately too. It's hard being afraid all the time, and not being able to socialize with friends and neighbors. All my friends are vulnerable. My two best friends here are 66 and 84. The 65 year old has diabetes and heart disease, and she almost died last year. I miss seeing them both, but I'm not going to endanger them.

On the 31st, I have to go pick up a restricted drug prescription from the WalMart pharmacy. I'm going to make myself some sort of mask to try to protect myself as much as I can. I saw a video where you use the inside of a 3-micron a/c filter to make the mask more safe. I don't even have a sewing machine, but I know how to sew by hand, so that's what I'll do. I'll go in through the garden center, which is closest to the pharmacy and TRY to stay 6 feet away from people. It's the best I can do. As far as I know, there is no other way. I can't send anyone to pick it up for me, because it has to be me, and I have to show ID. It's a catch-22. Damned if I do, damned if I don't.

So I'm asking you to all be more careful of maintaining a safe distance and at least don't talk to people if you can't. Like Mario Cuomo said this morning, "Your actions affect my health."