One day I'm anticipating writing about Jackson County Central in the state boys basketball tournament. And then the next? The transformation in our lives has been so abrupt.
We have mixed thoughts about what is happening. Logic pulls us in one direction: we must do everything possible to try to prevent transmission of the virus. The social distancing has really just begun. We're in maybe the third day of the all-out measures.
On the last day of normal life, when I could visit the diner in the morning like usual, we probably already had enough information to take the drastic measures. The big push was yet to come. Many of us I'm sure were inclined to hesitate. It is tough to abandon our routine, to not be around people we are familiar with.
I have had "practice" in being alone because two years ago my family got whittled down to one. Imagine my worry if Mom were still alive and susceptible to the health menace. She actually defied the odds in living as long as she did. The current social isolation is going to be very hard on a lot of us. We have had too little time to try to get acclimated so far.
Our biggest enemy right now is probably despair. Judge Davison says he likes to get out a little each day. Seems like not a big deal, but it really is. The judge is in his 90s as were my parents when they came down the home stretch of life. These people already face a fair amount of challenge, keeping things steady and relatively happy.
The judge is lucky because his health is so amazingly sound. Would that this could go on forever. But it never does, not for any of us. I was in some denial as my parents got well up in years. We're inclined to try to think that our family routine can just keep going, with a few adjustments and a few more medical visits. Our family never discussed death. It seemed unthinkable. Believe me, the end does come.
I went on Medicare on Jan. 1 and so got caught up on my doctoring. Medicare is not a panacea for putting aside your financial concerns with health care, incidentally. I have no chronic concerning conditions. I have a hernia which for the time being will not be treated. Elective surgeries are supposed to be put off indefinitely. I'm taking Lipitor.
I got caught up with dentistry even though that's not affected by Medicare. One's finances are relevant to considering dental visits! Two minor fillings was all I needed - no need even to be numbed up. So I'm good as new? Well, knock on wood (and keep taking Lipitor).
My health is totally small potatoes compared to what we're staring down the barrel at, with this mysterious hovering health threat. I had a strong impulse to try to think the threat was overstated. There was an impulse toward denial. I did not want to admit that our lives were about to be turned upside down.
There is a school of thought out there that the cure might be as bad as the disease. Don't take this literally because if the disease ramps up, we're all in a world of hurt. But we can appreciate the point being made: the disruption is going to be more than many of us can handle.
My very dull life had two important habits: going to the senior center and going to church. Oh, and happening by the library once in a while. I'm not sure if the library is formally closed by now, but it could be. When I arrived the other morning, I was the only patron there. I was seeking to continue my routine, a routine that gives me some pleasant social contact each day. Losing this is not a minor deal.
One day we had our usual "congregate" lunch at the senior center, then word came down: no more. No longer will I have the opportunity to say "hi" to Keith Kirwin's dog "Joe" out in his pickup each afternoon. Judge Davison is a regular patron of congregate dining there. At present I'm allowed to pick up my daily lunch through the back door, 10 a.m. each day. I'm advised that all I should do is say "hi" and move on.
In a sense I am lucky: I am not responsible for any other family members. My life is "solo" which leaves a void of course. You'd probably consider that small potatoes, which it is, I guess.
Will anyone question me if I were to assert that the Democratic Party, far more than Republicans, are better equipped by their basic nature to respond to what's happening? Republicans tend to feel that everyone ought to just take care of themselves. Compare Herbert Hoover to FDR.
It was WWII that pulled us out of the Great Depression. Put aside all the Memorial Day speeches of reverence that we hear - WWII was total hell on earth, something that humanity should have had the tools to avoid. And, if no WWII to pull us out of the Depression? How would things have turned out in America? No GI Bill? No veteran benefits to help so many people past the hurdles of life?
Church is cut off. Just last Sunday, our church was reportedly 50/50 on having worship. Then the hammer came down for just about everything. And again, we have had so little time to adjust.
What is the despair going to do to us? And, I haven't even touched on the stock market woes. I have no stock. The government is going to print money like crazy. You create no real wealth like this, to say the least. Will inflation loom and will we lose faith in our currency, like what happened in Germany leading up to the bad stuff that happened there?
A despotic leader could rise up. Wait a minute, we seem now to almost have that. How will Trump handle "emergency powers?" My best hope is that our Republican leaders - this is the party that controls the Senate and presidency - will wake up some morning and have a fundamental character transformation. Yes, like Ebeneezer Scrooge on Christmas morning. We cannot rule anything out. So this is my fervent hope, but I am not betting on it.
Thanks to Erin Christensen of UMM for the thoughtful phone call I received from her yesterday.
Addendum: Edell Swanson is watching over all this from heaven now. Thinking of her brings to mind an anecdote from my Morris newspaper past. We had a huge front page article, the whole bottom half of the page as I recall, with photo announcing an upcoming visit by the noted feminist Gloria Steinem. Edell showed some enterprise, looked into the situation and documented how no way was it possible for Steinem to make her visit to Morris, in the midst of her planned itinerary.
It was wishful thinking by a pocket of zealous feminists in Morris to have Steinem come here. So the Morris paper got pulled into some fraud of sorts. There was no visit of course. And the feminists then responded, as I recall, by saying the weather was a problem, which it of course was not.
And this reminds me of the planned visit by U of M President Mark Yudof once, cancelled because of a "low ceiling" for flying, even though the weather seemed 100 percent normal. Jim Morrison was amused by that. We can easily theorize that some more urgent matters arose for Dr. Yudof down at the Twin Cities campus.
Oh, and this further reminds me of when I was totally new (full-time) at the paper, covering the high school graduation in 1979, when we saw the demise of the "graduation speaker" here. Our lieutenant governor, last name of Wangberg, was scheduled to speak. There was a weather excuse nixing this, appearing perhaps dubious. And it was easy to think Wangberg had more pressing matters arise. So our school said to heck with having these visiting dignitary graduation speakers. I believe we have had none since.
In my early years of covering graduation, I'd get positioned right by the late Walt Monroe, photographer. Remember Walt? I asked him once what kind of thermometer he used for checking developer in the darkroom. "I just stick my finger in it," he said.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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