My Life in LA County During COVID-19: May 6

Harry Keller 80By Harry Keller
Former ETCJ Science Editor
& President of SmartScience

I have seen people argue that the most at-risk people should be isolated, and the rest of the population should return to pre-virus behavior.

May 6, 2020 at 5:48 PM. Sure, we see some people fuming about shutdowns, about economic damage, and about loss of freedom. However, most people have come together by being apart. This is truly a wonderful response to a crisis. It has been weeks since my wife and I walked around on the streets here. On those few walks, though, people would go out of their way to stay far from us. We have gray hair and are more than most susceptible to mortality from this awful scourge, the novel coronavirus.

When you consider that death is the ultimate loss of freedom, this shutdown makes sense. When you understand that our economy cannot recover until we squash this virus, delaying until the science says that we can lift restrictions makes sense. So, we support the shutdowns and the self-isolation to speed the return to a close-to-normal life. 

How many classes in your life required you to perform any real thinking, the sort that involved deep dives into layers of meaning or thinking ahead about consequences of consequences?

You may find it odd that I have seen people argue that the most at-risk people should be isolated, and the rest of the population should return to pre-virus behavior. I cannot even begin to tell you of my outrage upon seeing these opinions. How can I bear this combination of selfishness and ignorance in my fellow citizens? It also demonstrates a complete lack of thinking skills. I shouldn’t be surprised because too much of our education depends on memorizing and following orders. How many classes in your life required you to perform any real thinking, the sort that involved deep dives into layers of meaning or thinking ahead about consequences of consequences?

My wife and I worry daily but try our best to avoid letting our worries affect our lives. We worry about each other, about our children and their spouses, and about our grandchildren. There’s my brother who has diabetes and has had a triple bypass operation. We have a friend who is recovering from a breast cancer operation.

We continue to work on our mountain land, stopping only for gasoline on the way. I wear a disposable glove while pumping gas and dump it as I leave. We haven’t been to a grocery store in weeks. Everything comes by delivery. We only order groceries, not restaurant food, but we rarely frequented restaurants previously. I am doing more cooking than before, but I have reached the point where I no longer make our jams. It was hard to get them to come out like I wished them to be.

I really am looking forward to California opening up, however slowly. We all have had enough of crisis life.

One Response

  1. Harry, your question is especially pertinent today: “How many classes in your life required you to perform any real thinking, the sort that involved deep dives into layers of meaning or thinking ahead about consequences of consequences?”

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