Coronavirus Part II

Many parts of the world are almost shut down, including many areas of the United States, because of the threat of Coronavirus/COVID-19.  While it’s clear that Coronavirus spreads rapidly and is more serious than the seasonal flu, I sometimes wonder if the media had called it another strain of the flu,  would we be closing much of the country and disrupting so many lives.

According to the World Health Organization:

World Wide deaths                                                             US deaths

Seasonal Flu  290,000 to 650,000/ Yr                               24,000 - 62,000 (thru 3/24)

Spanish Flu  50,000,000 in 1918

Coronavirus  36,800  (as of 3/30)                                      2,800                                          

A projection yesterday predicted 100,000 to 200,000 deaths from Coronavirus in the US.  That would be worse than seasonal flu this year.  Coronavirus is an unknown, and we all fear the unknown. 

I take a daily dose of Warfarin and must have a blood test every two or three weeks.  I drove up to the UNC Family Medicine Clinic and a person asked my name.  I parked and within five minutes, a technician rolled a cart to my car, took my blood and gave me the results in one minute.  I loved that service.

What’s ahead for our country and the world?  We’ll  wait and see.

Seasoned Man

stevelem@gmail.com

Coronavirus

After we returned home from Florida, we needed to pick up some food and supplies so yesterday we headed to Costco.  We needed gas and had to wait in line for 15 minutes before a pump was available.  We filled up ($1.97 a gallon) and then looked for a parking place.  The lot was full.  I drove around for 10 minutes hoping I could catch someone pulling out.  No luck.  I let Aloma out and continued driving around.  Finally, someone left and I grabbed her parking space.

Inside was chaos.  People were loading up their carts with food and supplies.  Aloma bought some grocery items and then went to buy some toilet tissue.  They only had one brand left, Kirkland (their own brand), and as we passed by an employee asked us how many bundles we wanted.  He took a package directly from a pallet and put it in our cart.  Even though everyone was rushed, customers were friendly and apologized when they ran over us with their carts.  It was actually kind of fun.

Now for checkout.  Customers were queued into many lines that reached all the way to the back of the store.  Every cash register was manned by two employees and they worked quickly.

I personally believe the fear of Coronavirus is worse than the disease.  Sure, it’ll spread, but for most people, I hear it won’t be much worse than a common cold.  For seniors, like me, it sounds pretty serious.  We’ll wash our hands a lot and hope Coronavirus passes us by.

But I really hate that March Madness is canceled.  That is one of my favorite sports events of the year.

Seasoned Man

stevelem117@gmail.com

Wiggins Lake

We ended our two months stay in Naples, Florida a few days ago and said goodbye to
Wiggins Lake.  Our condo had a lanai, with glass doors that could be pulled back
depending on the weather, and we spent hours each day sitting on the lanai watching
the plants grow, sort of like watching paint dry, but more exciting.

Wiggins Lake is small, about the size of two football fields, one of five lakes in the
development, a fountain in the middle creating pleasant sounds, wildlife always around
the lake.  We saw egrets, osprey, kingfishers, herons (baby blues and great), multiple
kinds of ducks, anhingas fishing underwater, turtles swimming in the lake and basking
in the sun on the shore.  Lake otters played in the water and Aloma saw one going
through our backyard toward the water. One raccoon skirted our lanai. Every morning
a flock of Ibises with their beaks curved down would fly in and aerate the lawn while
pecking for bugs and seeds.  It was great fun watching the wildlife.

In a previous blog, I wrote that a panther was spotted by two different residents.  No
further sightings. The snake I mentioned that battled me in the garage was a corn snake,
according to Rowland, the maintenance man.  I looked them up and I agree with the
identification, but the article said they are very docile and some people keep them as
pets. Why did my corn snake want to battle me over control of the garage?

Now we are on our way back to North Carolina to watch our own flowers and shrubs
bloom and watch the many species of birds prepare for nesting.

Not many people could endure the excitement of our lives, but, I’m proud to say, we
are up to it.

Seasoned Man

stevelem117@gmail.com