Tuesday, April 28, 2020

Becoming Vegetarian

We all wait on pins and needles to see if we will reopen the state next week. Well, I  suppose some people are. I am still not sure we should resume normal activities. The store phone, which happens to be red, has kept me busy all day. I am accepting campers, no contact, using the night registration drop box. We have been pretty busy with just that.

I have concerns, though. Do I open the pool? How does one maintain social distance in a pool? My pool is quite large, but, you wouldn't wear a mask in the pool, now would you? Does the virus spread in water? Why wouldn't it? People spit water out of the mouths and sneeze in the pool all the time. I would hate it if someone were to be infected in my pool. It won't be me, since I am cautious enough to stay out of it if there is even a possibility of contracting the virus. 

I have been told by more than one person that I am taking this too far. They could be right, for all I know I may be immune naturally. How to know?

Having talked to health care individuals, I will continue to be overly cautious. Those who have died have done so alone. No family to comfort them. What a horrible way to go. The family members who are not allowed to comfort their loved ones are also traumatized. I think I will be sporting a mask for awhile!

I ventured out to procure pantry items yesterday. Some things are not available on the online shopping menu. This was the first time I had been out since my recent cardiac event. I toyed with the idea of just going to the local market, but HeWho quit smoking was out of Jolly Ranchers and Juicy Fruit. They were not available in my last online order and he wanted the giant industrial sizes.

So, Walmart, it was. The drive was nice. Mostly just big trucks on the road, traffic was not bad at all. I arrived to my destination. Only one way in to the store. All roped off and they counted you as you made your way in. The center aisles were wide open. No giant displays of merchandise blocking the way. 

I meandered back to the garden center (old habits die hard) and rescued some pansies, picked up some tomato plants and perused the seed display. Unable to help myself, I bought several varieties of flowers. After that I made my way back through the store, stopping for some vitamins I was out of and some medicine for Toni Louise. She apparently has a yeast infection on her skin. Vet says to try the same stuff you use for athletes foot. After carefully reading a few of the ointments available, I settled on some jock itch remedy in a spray form. She does not like it when I smear stuff on herself.

Then I was distracted by a clearance rack. Old habits again. I scored some t-shirts for $2 each and a lightweight sweatshirt for $3. Feeling quite smug, I headed over to groceries. All this time I have my mask firmly in place. It was hot and stuffy, but I slipped a tissue inside it to keep my bifocals fog free. I was very aware of touching stuff. I saw them clean my cart before they pushed it my way. But still, I remembered times past when I thought nothing of what came into contact with my hands.

I noticed a variety of customers, some with masks and gloves, some with just masks like me. The majority were bare faced with children and babies in tow. This annoyed me. Also annoying me were the people, customers and workers alike, wearing masks pulled down under their nose! Why bother? I have been known to share my knowledge with folks from time to time and yesterday was no exception. One older gentleman was thankful to know he was not protecting himself properly and he was also thankful for the tip about the tissue keeping the fog out of his glasses. The Walmart employees, not so much. They were young and probably still think themselves to be invincible.

Anyway ….. I think the pool will open, but will be limited to only those staying in the park and they will have to sign up to use the pool for a time, then let the next camper and their family have their time. This is the only way I know how to make it work. Of course this will make more work for me in my mask.

I just heard about 60 new cases of Covid 19 in a small city at another meat packing plant. Maybe I will become a vegetarian.

5 comments:

Joanne Noragon said...

Perhaps your state or local health department has new pool regulations. You probably already thought of that.
I was thinking how hard this is on small businesses. I'm glad my daughter no longer owns a restaurant, and I'm glad I no longer have a small business facing a year of cancelled art shows.

River said...

I don't think you should open the pool. Even with only one family at a time, how will you know the first family hasn't sneezed or coughed into the water? The next family could get infected that way. And the one after that. Unless you plan to empty and disinfect the pool after each family, which is far too much trouble of course.
Simply explain the reasons for not opening, that you are keeping them safe by doing so and those who don't like it will just have to put up with it or go home.
There are still far too many cases in your country to become complacent about such things as pools.

ellen abbott said...

same with the Walmart here.

Val said...

I haven't been to Walmart since they started counting who goes in. Not because I'm protesting, or because I'm afraid. Just because I hate change, and it annoys me. I wouldn't be afraid to swim in your pool with those regulations. I'm sure you use some kind of chlorine or Baquacil. Any virus in the water would be so diluted, anyway. People can wipe down the chairs, or choose not to use them.

Linda O'Connell said...

I wore a mask into WalMart and a teen brat with his mom cursed those of us wearing protective gear. His mother told him to shut up, and he said he didn't F...G have to. We were all f...g apocalyptic blah blah blahs."
If I could have gotten close enough I'd have tripped him and said, "Oops."

Will the state regulate pool rules? Florissant is not opening theirs at all this summer.
Not sure how I feel about it. Lot of responsibility on you. Maybe the pool could "spring a leak" and be out of service. Although I know campers look so forward to it.