Coronavirus Blues

Well, here we are. All of us holed up at home (hopefully), while a full-blown pandemic grips the World. The fact that governments massively screwed up, didn't plan (or failed to execute plans that were already in place), or are all caught up in 'He said, She said' battles ad nauseum, are really a total waste of time and effort. And, cash. Lots and lots (and LOTS) of cash. While emergency rooms and ICU's around the world are overrun with COVID-19 patients, Federal and State governments are lining up against each other in a battle for supplies -- and subsequently, power -- that would make ol' J. R. Ewing's head spin.

Basically, everything that my life is occupied with right now is on hold. No NHL hockey (in fact, no sports, professional or athletic, of ANY kind) for the foreseeable future. No travel advised to anywhere beyond your local area. The only people we see on the TV these days are epidemiologists and infectious disease specialists; nothing else matters right now. Meanwhile, other businesses that make our lives palatable -- the shopkeepers that own restaurants, bars, department stores, specialty retailers, and so on -- sit on the sidelines, no money coming in as their stores sit idle, the bills mounting, but there really is NO WAY that they can safely open...

Transit? Trains to anywhere? Forget it for the most part. Providing essential travel, Amtrak's long-haul Western trains still operate, but few Eastern trains still run. Most of the remainder of the fleet has been shunted into the yards, as have most long-distance buses. And, we all know of the perils of the airlines, with their $5 Billion request for bailout funding. And if you are in the Dominion of Canada, it's even worse: VIA Rail Canada is only running their 'Corridor' (Quebec City-Montreal-Ottawa-Toronto-Windsor/Sarnia) sparingly, if at all; and any trains outside of that? Fuhgeddaboutit. Canada lost its' long-haul buses two years ago when Greyhound Canada, Ltd. retrenched. Little else remains in the Great White North.

Even local transit has pulled back. Way-y-y back. And with good reason. No one's out there to take to places anymore. It's like someone just told everyone to stay home.

Which the doctors did.

Stay safe, Minnesota. Stay home.