My Daily Struggle in the COVID-19 Lockdown

Well, friends, the good news is that, while the lockdown continues tomorrow, it will be modified, so some businesses will be able to reopen. That's excellent news for small businesses! Also, everyone over age 2 will be required to wear face masks in public, especially when they are not able to practice social distancing.  Let's pause a moment. When this all began, and people started wearing face masks voluntarily, the experts said that only those tested positive for COVID-19 should wear masks. Some listened, but others continued to buy masks, quickly emptying the shelves. Then, when the death toll skyrocketed, the experts changed their tune and recommended masks, especially medical masks and N95s. Though it is pointless to focus on what if's, I cannot help but wonder if it would have made a difference if they knew to recommend face masks in the beginning. Would more lives have been saved? Who knows? All I know is, I will not be happy if it is July, and we are still on lo...

Great news! Steven Landek, the Mayor of Bridgeview, my town, endorsed my blog! I wrote to him to see if Bridgeview had any plans for making masks mandatory, and he replied to say that Bridgeview would only follow what the Governor instructs.  Then, he wrote the following: "Also, I very much enjoy reading your daily post !!!  Don’t worry about the critics.  Nothing will ever be achieved by listening to the critic.  As Teddy Roosevelt noted in his famous speech, The Men In The Area, '…it is not the critic who counts…'" This post really made my week, and it is only Monday!!! And don't worry either, Mr. Mayor! I am too hardheaded to let critics stop me. If I did, I would never try to accomplish anything. I would not have gone to college or grad school, and I would not be a social worker. I would not be a writer either. I have noticed that the usual critics fit into two categories. The first one category belongs to those who keep everything and everyone int...

Another rough day. I received yet another example of how stupid and reckless people, even professionals, can be. Since Chase Bank decided to change their policy and tack on a monthly fee to my account, I asked them to close my liquid card. What did they do? They closed my checking account! Because of how I have things set up, I would have to be high on glue to cancel my checking account. So, I called customer service, and after 30 minutes of waiting, I get this woman who said that there is nothing they could do! Seriously? They cancel a checking account via messaging, but they cannot stop my account from closing by telephone? For one of the world's biggest banks, they certainly are incompetent, and this is just one of many examples. What if the government tried to send my stimulus check? What if I had a bill payment being processed? So, I went down to the local branch to talk to a banker on my lunch break. I had to sign in at the front desk and then wait outside because social di...

So, today I read more about how the number of people dying from COVID-19 continues to grow in Illinois, and that 5,102 people have died from this. I looked at the Illinois death statistics, and while some children, a newborn, a teenager, and a few people under 50 have died, the majority of those who have died are over 60--especially over 70. The supervisor of my side-gig, a septuagenarian (those she has more energy than some 60-year-olds I know), is now, metaphorically speaking, coming to Jesus. She is closing her office for a few weeks, so I might be working from home on Saturdays. As for Monday-Friday, I have been working at my backup location, and I have been getting more done! I am even starting to come home earlier than usual.  Okay, so for those who know me best, my beard is growing. Ever since the first state of emergency a few weeks ago, I have been letting my beard grow. I plan to let it grow until the crisis has ended. If I start looking like a yokel, so be it. Now,...

So, I survived my first day working at home, making phone calls and doing documentation. Work at home is not easy as it sounds, especially for one used to keeping work at work and home at home. First, it is too easy to want to get comfortable. I must sit on a hard dining table alone to work. Second, The cats keep insisting on attention. Actually, Felix, my tuxedo, will pull at my pant leg a little and then leave me alone. Tangaray, my wife's tabby, though, comes and licks my back, taps my side, and then jumps on my chair and smacks my temples. Then, of course, there's the wife, who asks me questions and strikes up conversations when I am trying to concentrate. I know. She likes having me at home in the afternoon, but it is very hard to get out of work mode when I am in it. I am already wishing for this lockdown to begin so that I can get normalcy back. I read on the news how these brats are ignoring the shelter-in-place orders, enjoying spring break when crowds are outlawed. ...