When the powers that be decided to close down the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo last Wednesday, this whole COVID-19 virus thing hit home with me.
After living in Houston for the past 30 years I was very surprised to hear they had done so. People in Houston are crazy about it.
I’ve been a few times myself and it is impressive. I have friends who volunteer all year before the rodeo starts to get special passes to go to things the public is not invited to. It’s a huge big deal.
And these kids work all year long raising their animals to get scholarships. That’s the saddest part to me. I hope they will still be able to make some money on their projects.
Anyway, the rodeo closing was the “thing” that brought this virus closer to home for me. Then today (Thursday) I get an email from HEB that they can’t run their inserts in the paper for the next few weeks because they are having issues with distribution. Another hit at home.
What’s next? We all know it’s only going to continue getting worse looking at the way things are going, and all of our lives will probably be interrupted in some way.
I have to go to the doctor at Scott & White tomorrow. I’m not looking forward to that. If you’re sick with the virus in Central Texas I’m thinking that’s probably the place everyone will go. I will be getting in and out as quickly as possible.
The news that Italy has been shut off from the rest of the world also seems very strange to me. I saw a letter from someone in Italy describing what things are like there. It wasn’t pleasant.
I also have a friend, Chelsea, who lives there because that’s where her husband is stationed. All of her news has been more upbeat. The guy from Italy was just being factual. It just wasn’t a pretty picture of what life is going to be like for the next few weeks.
As more and more people get sick and go to the hospital, they are going to run out of rooms to put them in. They have had to set up ICU units in hallways. He said that the hospital has basically had to decide who gets to live and who has to die. That is scary.
So I’m thinking we should follow what we’ve been told to do like washing our hands repeatedly. Luckily for me I am already extremely OCD about hand washing so that’s been an easy one.
(I used to have to touch a lot of gross plastic ad jackets at a former job. They had been touched and sneezed on and no telling what else. It was at that job where I developed my OCD about hand washing.)
Not touching my face is another story. I had no idea how many times I touch my face on a daily basis until recently.
Another important thing is that it isn’t about you getting the virus. It’s about the people you could possibly infect without realizing it. I live with an 84- and an 82-year-old, so I could show no symptoms and pass it along to them. That is very scary to me.
So I’m going to wash my hands in an even more OCD fashion, turn off the TV and disappear into a good book. If you’re feeling antsy do something you love. Preferable alone and inside.
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