Tuesday, March 24, 2020

Hunkered Down in Alaska

In the state of Alaska, we have been given an official order to "hunker down".  A lot of people might think that 'hunker' does not sound very official, but I am from Minnesota, and anything that rhymes with 'lunker' is serious.
The world is crippled by the effects of COVID-19, SARS-COV-2, or, more affectionately, the corona virus. Infection rates are growing exponentially... at least we think so, but in the USA we are only testing the dead, the almost dead, or the very rich.  Unemployment is reaching all-time highs, the government is telling everyone to self-isolate, and my brother just bought 3 kegs of beer because he is worried that liquor stores may be named "non-essential."
These are wild times. I shift between panic and calm a couple times a day, not always without grinding the clutch. My husband and I operate small tourism businesses-- probably going to close. I have parents in the highest risk demographic who can't stop going out to dinner or miss a single bridge game to save their lives.
People are not supposed to be within 6-feet of other people, because science doesn't know a lot about this virus, but they say it has long arms. Our grocery store has maps drawn to help you accomplish this distance and navigate the hoarder-ravaged aisles. The maps are displayed at the checkout counter, so you can check to see if you screwed up and caught the virus while you were shopping.
Restaurants are open for take out, and we have a local place that makes great food, but even when things are normal, you have to show up an hour before you are hungry to allow the cook time. They are now offering Eggs Benedict at the drive-thru. I'm learning that when the world is ending, there's really no rush, so I have 45 minutes to hunker in my car for some eggs.

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