"What is next up once the schools are closed? Unknown. I do know this however - many grandparents will be plucked out of retirement life, and back into part time parenting to help out their kids."
It is ironic. I was just re-watching the last episode of Atlas Shrugged when we were down in Florida on vacation. In that movie, John Galt gave his famous line, "I am going to shut down the engine of the world". That is exactly what is happening right now. Only it is not a fictional character like John Galt who is doing it. It is a microscopic virus. And the result is the same. Slowly in our country, rapidly in some Euro countries, the engine of the world is shutting down. And soon, we will all be hunkered in our houses, wondering where the next roll of TP, the next pound of hamburger, or the next bottle of water will come from.
Today, the Governor of Minnesota will lay the bad news on parents. Starting on the 18th of March (March 16th in some districts), school will be cancelled until the 31st of March. My guess that end date could slip out into April. Depending on the spread of this thing. What are parents going to do that can't work from home? Stay tuned - that is one of the many questions floating around right now, which does now have answers.
On the news this morning, was a story about some guy stabbing another guy at a WalMart. Why? Over a case of water. Stabbed him with a broken wine bottle. Stocking up has devolved into hoarding, and hoarding has devolved into sheer panic. Is there a water shortage in our country? Nope. How about meat. No, again. TP? Certainly not. But we have strained our supply chains so much, that we have created a temporary shortage of those items. How desperate are some folks getting to have those scarce items? Way, way too desperate.
Italy is locked down. Ireland is locked down. Yesterday, Spain went into lock down. More and more flights to foreign countries are being scrubbed. Apple and Nike have both closed their stores. With sports all but gone this spring, store closings and kids home from school, to say 2020 is becoming surreal, is a vast understatement.
Every time I am tempted to think this entire thing is nothing more than a flinch, I look at what has happened in Italy. 17,000 cases, with 2,500 new cases yesterday alone. Even in a "locked down" condition, this virus is still raising havoc in Italy. The fear is, the contagion will spread to the other Euro countries. Bottom line - Europe is a mess right now, and unlike the US, countries like Italy waited too long after playing footsie with the Chinese.
What is next up once the schools are closed? Unknown. I do know this however - many grandparents will be plucked out of retirement life, and back into part time parenting to help out their kids. And what if the out of control hoarding continues? Turns into total lawlessness? I shutter to say this, but the National Guard could be called out and some kind of Marshall law invoked.
Preppers - this is what you have been preparing for. Now is the time to help our friends and neighbors who have not adequately prepared. It is time for families to grow tighter, and neighborhoods to act more neighborly. We will get through this, and we will be much stronger when we get to the other side.
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