Friday, March 20, 2020, Santa Barbara, California.
This blog post collects photos, impressions, news of the period from Wednesday, March 11 to Friday, March 20. These impressions are mine and mine alone. This is not a news report. This is not comprehensive. This is not scientific.
The situation is changing fast. A few days ago our Governor Newsom said if we were over 65 then he really wanted us to stay home. It didn’t apply to those younger.
Last evening, the San Jose Mercury News reported, “Marking the most sweeping measure taken by a state to slow the spread of the COVID-19 disease, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday ordered all of the state’s 40 million residents to stay at home with exceptions for essential work, food or other needs.”
We plan to simply abide by the order, and not second guess it or flaunt it.
Solana Beach Trip Wed, March 11 to Sat, March 14
On Wednesday, March 11th, Chris and I took Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner to Solana Beach (San Diego area, 5½ hours each way). There were only 6 – 8 people in the whole car — about the same number on the return on Saturday, March 14th.
It was a friendly, low key visit with friends Kim and Marty at their condo there. Solana Beach felt very normal, not very different from pre-coronavirus times. Our hosts thought tables in at least one brewpub were spaced farther apart than normal, but at Pizza Port we had just the normal crowding, noise, and good beer.
Last Friday, still in Solana Beach, I was told my iPad class was cancelled for now. No real surprise there, but it helped me realize how much I enjoy conducting it.
Cancellations were being inflicted on Kim and Marty, too, and Kim immediately started looking forward to using her newly cleared schedule to do some good things she hadn’t had a chance to do yet. This immediate positive spin was very nice to see.
More detailed events and thoughts; all about me, me, me!
It’s nice not to be alone through this.
Unless one or both of us is clobbered by Covid-19 we’re gonna be OK.
Acquiring food will take more thought and time and money, but so far we’ve seen we can order and then pickup sushi with no trouble. We’ve ordered groceries from two organizations who send individuals out to grocery stores to pickup items for us, and we were very pleased with how that worked out.
Financially? I’ve been able to avoid checking on our retirement accounts. I know they’ve taken big hits but I don’t know how big. I do know I don’t have to worry about keeping our lights on or paying for groceries next month and I’m not worried about being furloughed. I also know not all are so fortunate.
Our internet, water, trash, gas, cell phones, and electricity services all seem to be operating normally. Phew!
The same day we got back from almost normal Solana Beach I was off to Vons and Trader Joe’s for what I thought would be an almost normal grocery run.
I was shocked by the empty shelves!
After doing the best I could at Vons, I remember thinking TJ’s might be better. I wonder why I thought that?
This is the list I brought to Vons and Trader Joe’s Saturday — just normal weekly items for us. The shortages are not our fault! No! No! No!
The list comprises 16 blue handwritten items on this piece of cardboard.
Of the 16:
5 — normal supply;
4 — severely limited;
7 — all out.
Orange text points out items missing or barely acceptable.
Green text says situation is not hopeless.
Would like to think folk less fearful than this. Oh well.
I would like to believe we don’t really don’t have toilet paper or peanut butter shortages in this country. But I hope as we get more accustomed to these various restrictions people will start thinking we’ve got enough peanut butter at home and we can actually buy some more without too much trouble so maybe we don’t need to keep stocking up any more.
To me this means the distribution of goods may be adjusted just enough so shelves will fill back up in about a week? Several weeks? Am I smoking something? It gets better from here? Or are these the last of the good days?
This morning Andrea wrote that she thought the groceries situation in Lancaster, PA was relatively normal. She was able to get 13 of 14 items on her list. Have they been hunkering longer than we have?
I’ve seen some signs of serious cooperation, innovation, flexibility, and altruism and it’s heartening.
The peanut butter “shortage” seems to be hitting me hardest! Surprise! Well, small surprise. Just saw a few cases of the stuff on the lawn at the Franklin Center as part of normal free food distribution on Tuesday. There seemed to be fewer people and they weren’t so close together. (And I felt a twinge of how come they can get peanut butter and I can’t?) (I’m trying to rise above that, but not really doing very well, am I?)
Chris and I tested the library’s new delivery system Wednesday. First you telephone to schedule a time slot at our Eastside Library branch to pick up that book they’ve told you they now hold. Then you show up at the right time and knock loudly on the locked outer door. This guy then shows up carrying a book and holds it up so you can see it’s the right one. You nod and hold up your ID and he nods and then opens the door about 4 inches and hands you the book. I was about 15 feet back and exchanged waves with him. Then we turn around and walk all the way home (all one and a half blocks) wearing a goofy grin. I’m not really sure what was so enjoyable about that.
Just a few minutes ago Chris told me it looks like the library isn’t gonna continue to do the hand-the-books-through-the-crack-in-the-door delivery scheme. Too labor intensive? Too much fun? Sure was fun while it lasted.
Yesterday we tried to get CVS to deliver our three prescriptions that were ready. They tout this free service a lot. Should be easy to get it to happen, right? WRONG!
We finally figured out that CVS requires you to pay a membership fee of $60/year for some sort of exalted status that allows you to call and talk to a human being to arrange final details. Let’s say I am not impressed. Sometime before final figuringitoutness Chris just went down there and picked up the prescriptions the old-fashioned way.
Because we’re both well past the threshold for being vulnerable older folk, I expect to check into senior hours soon at several local supermarkets.
One of our volleyball friends gave me one of their 4 large jars of peanut butter! I’m still smiling about that one. I’m set for weeks!
In Lancaster, PA daughter Andrea felt grocery shopping was almost normal — got 13 of the 14 items on her list.
Nine known Covid-19 cases in Santa Barbara County now; six in North county (Santa Maria area), three in South (Santa Barbara area).
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