And the world falls apart....

When my Aunt Dolly passed away at the age of 106, my husband said the world would fall apart without her because she did so much and meant so much to so many people. Aunt Dolly was born in 1913 and lived thru the flu epidemic of 1917-18... and she was buried a scant few days before all hell broke lose with this current virus crisis.

My husband has been patting himself on the back because we live up here in the hills, away from the crowds of Houston and Clear Lake and Galveston. Okay... I have to give him that... if you're going to be quarantined because of such a pandemic, then living in a vintage Victorian in the middle of nowhere with a third-floor library filled with 1,413 books is the place to be. I have been reading even more than usual, being that the schools and shops are closed and I can't browse the local bookstore or host my Magic Wand Book Club at the elementary school.

We have just two grocery stores up here... HEB and Walmart.  Both are filled to the brim after 9:00 in the morning, so the best time to shop is soon after they open at 6:00am.  I couldn't sleep last night and I woke up at 3:00 and just stayed up. Before five o'clock this morning, I was ready to go... dressed,  makeup, hair.... but I waited till it got light before I left for town. I fed the cats and walked Savannah before I left, and all of them looked at me... where was I going so early?  Savannah is like the cats... any change in the schedule upsets her, and she goes to her blanket and sits there to think about it.

This morning was the first time I've been to town in the past few weeks. My husband has been going to Home Depot for gardening supplies every week (he has turned into Mr. GreenJeans since the university closed)... and he was stopping at HEB for a few things each time... fresh fruit and juice and milk and frozen pizza. Why is it that all men go to the frozen food cases in times of crisis?  I cannot tell you how many brands of frozen pizza Gary has brought home since the end of February. Most of them were inedible. I was born in NY, and grew up in Queens and on Long Island... home of 'real' pizza, and I am also Italian, so I'm guilty of being a pizza snob.

The streets in town are empty... all the stores are closed... the parking spaces in front of the shops on Main Street and Alamo Street are also empty... it looks like a Sunday. This is a small town. Everything is closed on Sundays.  I have to say that I miss browsing in the local bookstore... and the thrift store bookshelves... I like adding to my on-going count of books in my library. Heaven knows I have enough to read, and I have been knocking out books on my To-Be-Read shelf every day. And I've re-read some of my favorites.  I only keep books that I know I will read again. I am up to 1,413 books... are there enough years left in my life to re-read all those books?  I've heard that 65 is the new 45, so I think I'll be okay.

This virus crisis has woken everyone up. We are all more cognizant of what's important. Celebrities and athletes are not essential to our lives, unless there is one in your own family. Doctors and nurses and truck drivers are not only essential, but supremely necessary to keep our health and our world in order.  Who do you think is taking care of the virus patients? How do you think all the food and paper items and cleaning supplies gets on the shelves in the grocery stores?

I think children are missing their schools and teachers and classmates, and realizing that the education system in this country is life-enhancing and more than necessary for a full and good life. People are missing their church communities but learning that The Powers That Be don't need a fancy building, they just need a faithful congregation. My grandmother used to tell me that she didn't need to go to church to talk to God, she just had to sit out in her garden and thank Him for what he created for her. "Look at the birds," she would say... "Look at those flowers... they are all gifts from God."

Social-distancing is the current result of this virus... a necessary practice in this time of crisis, and totally understood by us all. But the absence of hugs, of genuine handshakes, of simple touches on one's arm... all of which makes us human. We are all missing that, I believe. Everyone is smiling, though... and thanking the workers in the grocery stores for the endless hours they are working to make sure the shelves are stocked with paper products and frozen pizza.

When this virus circus (not a misprint) is over... I hope everyone doesn't rush back to where we all were before. We need to remember these days and weeks and months, and realize how quickly everything could have been taken away from us if we had been the unlucky ones to succumb to these horrid virus germs. We need to remember just how small a planet we all live on... we need to be aware that everything that happens, from a nasty remark to a relentless virus... every little blessed thing causes a ripple effect in this world.  We need to be more mindful, more caring, more aware, more generous, more kind.

Kindness... it may not be a cure for a virus, but it can be a cure for indifference and intolerance.