Keeping It In Perspective - by Lance

Social media in these trying days is many things.  From toilet paper jokes to visceral political opinions and blame the impact of this virus is unavoidable.  It is both entertaining and at times sad.  So here it goes, as I see it.

Back a few short months ago I thought it would be fun to get a part-time retail job for the holidays to relieve boredom.  Today, I'm an essential employee.  I have official travel papers and am receiving hazard pay.  I've seen and heard a lot.

Overall I do have faith in mankind.  An overwhelming majority of folks are kind, understanding and grateful for the job I have to do.  Yes, I've been called names for removing two of the three 18 packs of toilet paper from a man's grocery cart.  The handful of thank you comments from the witnessing customers is appreciated.

Yes, we are out of Clotox wipes and toilet paper.  We will have more when we open in the morning, but not at noon.  No, we dont have hand sanitizer or facemasks, it's all being sent to essential places.  Those are the daily phone calls.

So how could we have been better prepared?  I dont believe we could.  It's not governments fault and it's certainly not the president's fault.  I've seen so many misleading or outright false political comments I just shake my head.  The political system is what it is.  The same systemic problems we experienced during past viral outbreaks continued to exist.

When this is over well forget about them until the next time.  Think of it as you would your home.  Will you maintain a six month supply of toilet paper when the store shelves are amply full.  The big news is the urgent need for respirators in NYC.  Companys are shifting production, a noble thing.  What will the hospitals do with them all when no longer needed.  I had face masks when I was doing home projects and never replaced them when I was finished.  I didnt need them.

So the bottom line of all of this is what you ask?  Take a deep breath and relax.  What ifs are meaningless.  Who did or said what is meaningless.  Pray for today and let tomorrow worry about itself.  Hope we learn from this experience. 



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