together

Since my last post, I've re-thought the flippant attitude I had about social distancing and self-isolating as a means of containing COVID-19 and the virus that causes it. I supported the Princeton Freewheeler decision to cancel rides, and, while I may ride and may invite others to come along, I don't know yet what I'll do about stops or toilet breaks.

Both my mother and The Excellent Mother-In-Law are at risk from COVID-19. I'm in the age group with a higher fatality risk, but, despite my recurring bronchitis and strep throat, somehow I believe I'll be one who gets a mild case and recovers. (A "mild case", as I understand it, means one for which you don't have to be hospitalized. I can be seriously ill, therefore, and still have a mild case.)

John Green and his brother Hank (both published authors) have this Youtube channel, Vlogbrothers, that I catch regularly. I find it almost always speaks to me, and this one made me teary. It's about what humans do together, and that's a soft spot of mine. It's part of why I have no patience with isolationists and preppers; we're ALL part of it... not just the people I know, the people who look like me, the people who speak a language I understand.

At about 2:10 in the video is a graph that I've seen over and over, about how the effect of social distancing and self-isolation will reduce the strain on the healthcare system. Beneath both bell curves is an area representing the number of people who get the disease. Now, I know enough math to know that the area under those curves is more or less the same. Even WITH all these precautions, most of us (including me) will probably be infected. But perhaps we will not strain our resources past the breaking point if we manage this adequately.

I don't think we're all going to die (although some of us will). I think we will find a way to return to more-or-less normal. But now it's time to come together... even if that means staying separate. Let us seek other ways to reach out, different from the ones we are used to. Let us be flexible and imaginative. Let's ignore those who would divide us further. Find the ways to get the support you need. Find ways to stay connected. Perhaps there will even be ways to make new connections.