The Viral Virus

A couple of weeks ago, someone asked if I was going to write a blog about the coronavirus.  I guess it’s about time.

No doubt we have all heard of the virus by now, even celebrities just getting home from desert retreats.  Novel coronavirus, coronavirus or COVID-19 call it what you want. For simplicity in this piece let’s just call it the virus. 

 

A pandemic, they say, and I guess that is the best way to describe it.  There are no doubt people who don’t believe in it or think it is some kind of hoax.  One doctor ascribed it to the introduction of 5G wireless networks apparently repeating a theory from the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1919 – 1920 where the introduction of radio was blamed.  If this really had been the cause, why were there no pandemics when television and 1G, 2G, 3G and 4G networks were introduced.

People are being vigilant about signs of the virus.  Since this is a virus that affects the respiratory system, the signs include coughing and sneezing.  I frequently have to cough but it has nothing to do with the coronavirus.  It is a condition that has been going on for a long time.  So, I have this vision of being in a store one day and inadvertently coughing only to look around and find everyone else fleeing from the place.

If I may delve into religion for a minute, some people pray and hope that God will save them.  But God doesn’t solve problems.  God gives us the strength and wisdom to solve our own problems.

There have been some humorous reactions to the virus.  To the best of my knowledge about all of the symptoms of the virus I have read, diarrhea is not one.  But this did not stop a rush by everyone to buy and hoard toilet paper.

So here we all sit at home. Some can work from home, but many cannot because of the nature of the work they do.  This can be quite a hardship for many.  No interaction.  No personal socializing.  Us retired folk have an advantage here.  We’re used to sitting at home with nothing to do.  Or we can wile away our time writing inane pieces like this. Oh, we can get out for essential supplies (wine? chocolate?), but that only takes a couple of hours a week.  And even that is in the hope that there is still toilet paper available.

There is no doubt that there will be a lot of downstream effects to this whole thing.  We had plans to have our kitchen redone and the planning was well underway. Now everything has been shut down and when the work will get done is anyone’s guess.  It is surely a lesson in patience.

It is important that we keep up our spirits at this time.  There have been a lot of suggestions about how to get that done.  Most don’t take into account the many families, like our neighbours, have several children at home demanding that be kept busy and entertained.  Sure, you can set up a home gym in your basement, but will your teenage son ever let you get near it?

As you’re sitting around wondering what to do with your isolation, may I make some suggestions:

-          Spend time getting to know your children better;

-          Read those books that you have collected and put away for just such a situation.  Reread books that you have enjoyed in the past;

-          Surround yourself with music so that you get something out of it instead of treating it as background noise;

-          Spend some time with your spouse or partner and talk about things you never had the time to talk about before;

-          Spend some time each day doing a littles self-contemplation.  Get to know yourself a bit better;

-          Bring as much humour into your life as you can;

-          Be optimistic.

None of these things will solve the virus problem, but they will make it easier to deal with it.

Listen to real health experts and not on-line quacks. And stay safe and healthy.