Day 10: California Under Martial Law Lite (Don't Forget The Chaos)

Last night Humboldt's count went to 18 positive, one still in the hospital. Our local McDonald's is giving away breakfast to ER workers every Sunday until this over. I now know where to stay away from, as if I needed a reason. I just don't want coronavirus attaching itself to the wrapper of my cheeseburger after its passed from a doctor's hand to an employee's hand.

Yesterday, as I had to make an excursion to the credit union that I could not complete Friday, I saw that a police officer seemed to be patrolling . . . the aisles of Walmart. It was odd, to say the least. I also learned at that time that the credit union in the mall is closed . . . as is the entire mall. There were only like five stores left in it anyway, so that isn't a big deal, though one place in there had the best incense for your money. Now I have to try again tomorrow. I can only hope I'll have better luck.

The judgment is ramping up on social media, too. It was always bad to begin with, but now total strangers are judging you as a problem if you mention you are going out for a shake because "a shake isn't essential." They then admonish you to "stay in your home," stating that you don't understand what those words mean. What they obviously did not read was the shelter in place order, which allows for going to restaurants for curbside pick-up. But, judge away. Not knowing the facts never stopped anyone before, however.

It all feels like Humboldt is slowly starting to buckle under the weight of all of this. The naysayers, the ones who think the media is just sowing fear, are getting more vocal. They don't believe the people in the medical field. They believe the president. They don't believe the doctors dealing with the overcrowded emergency rooms in New York City. They think since they don't have it, nobody does. These people hold down jobs (well, maybe not anymore), have kids, and vote. At the very least their ignorance should relegate them to section reserved for those we ridicule until they go away. Instead, they are a growing voice of insanity in a shit storm of crazy.

He can take that finger and shove it up his ass . . . as soon as Pence gets his tongue out of there.

Then there are the cheerleaders shouting that we "can do this!" They are going to spend their stimulus check on pom poms. They don't seem to realize that just by saying we can do it doesn't mean we can. I understand it makes them feel better, but maybe a better rallying cry should be, "Never again!"

Trump stated he wants the country running back to normal by Easter, as if his desire will just make it so. It may or may not happen, but to force it would be a huge mistake. We've seen what Covid-19 does when in a crowd. Do we really want to do this all over again? Of course not, but if the president says it . . .

This day marks us going into the double digits of martial law lite. Nearing two weeks, though it's hard to tell because I'm losing sense of time. I had to be out of work because of an incident I'm not ready to go into yet, but it was long and stressful and ate up some benefit time. I had a lot, but I did not want to squander it. This had to be done, though, despite it being nobody's fault really.

Day 10 in Humboldt. The sky is gray. The outside world quiet. The air smells different, too. I believe I can smell the bay because there aren't that many cars out polluting. It's nice, really. I could get used to that. The sad thing is, the only way that will happen is if the shelter in place order stays around or enough people who drive die off and aren't replaced for a few years.

How horrible is that?