Coronavirus Pandemic Update April 26, 2020

New proposed airline seating arrangements

These days of sheltering in is feeling like Ground Hog, very repetitive.  As much as I have complained about living in a tourist area of the country, I have to admit I wish I would see that onslaught of vehicles speeding down Route One to  Rehoboth Beach.  I miss the energy.  Even though I avoided most of the seasonal tourist craziness, I did get a peripheral enjoyment of witnessing (and making a living at the hotel) of all the folks taking a few days (or weeks) off to partake in our coastal delights from the many and varied restaurants, shopping outlet stores and of course, the warm sands and gently rolling waves of the Atlantic Ocean. The few times I did partake was perhaps a occasional late Sunday afternoon when the weekenders, headed back north and west back to their jobs, gave up the boardwalk for a few hours to us locals. 

These pandemic days the only jobs left are first responders, grocery check out clerks, and here in Delaware, liquor store clerks, and skeleton staffs (no pun intended) of some restaurants doing take out service. The other jobs are landscaping, contractors and, of course, chicken processing plants.  Even my local favorite garden center is open but my last two visits I was the only customer in the store. With my mask on, I felt like I was going to rob the place.  I told that to Alyssa, who checked me out. She said she didn't recognize me with my mask on but did recognize my voice. Hey, who DOESN'T recognize my voice, the bane of my existence? 

I'm getting used to my new routine. Sometimes I do have some difficulty remember what day it is which is a new experience for me. I miss my Monday and Thursday anchor days when I used to work at the hotel.  

I am lucky that I am collecting unemployment insurance payments. Even though it was a long process applying online, I didn't have as much of a problem as others are having in different parts of the country like Florida and New York. While I do enjoy my job, it is necessary for me to help pay the bills. For that I am extremely thankful.

When will this shutdown end? I don't know but I suspect we will be living under restrictions for a long time, at least a year or more. However, I do think some of the restrictions will have to be lifted.  We cannot continue to live like this indefinitely. 

It is interesting that restaurants and airlines will have to discontinue their practice of cramming people in small spaces to maximize their profits. That's a good thing. Nobody wants to sit in that middle seat on a six hour flight to California. Hey, maybe booths might even return to restaurants.  Remember booths? Lately restaurants have been tearing them out and replacing them with long tables with chairs to cram more people into their restaurants. Time for readjustment airlines and restaurants.

One thing, my landscaping is getting a lot of attention during this shelter in place. However, our home isn't getting more attention, yet. Which reminds me, time to do some housecleaning and end this posting. 

Stay safe everyone!