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Post by moonglum on Apr 15, 2020 11:33:38 GMT -6
Well, as if the covid-19 situation wasn't bad enough. Yesterday morning at 8.30am our neighbours house next door burst into flames. We live in a terrace of three houses, in the middle, and the fire quickly engulfed our neighbours house and then burnt through into our attic. Luckily the fire brigade got the fire out before any of our lower rooms suffered anything other than smoke damage. However we've been instructed not to enter our house until survey work has been carried out. The roof felting and tile battens have been badly burnt and the fire brigade knocked a nice hole in the roof to dowse the flames. Due to the current travel restrictions, we've had to get special dispensation to stay in our caravan. Oh the joys of retirement!
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Post by Mini Mia on Apr 16, 2020 5:03:07 GMT -6
Phalon: I hope all goes well for you & BP.
Moonglum: Sorry to hear that. I have Mom's scanner, and there have been a couple of house fires here too. Plus tornadoes have destroyed a number of homes as well. It's horrible to lose a home ... but to lose one now when it's a sanctuary for survival is all the more devastating.
Last night I had a howling contest with some coyote. Mom's dog had wanted to go out, but I smelled a skunk and decided I'd wait to make sure it was gone before letting her out. And not long after that the coyote started in, and were drowning out my movie ... so I went to the door, wedged myself between the front door and storm door to prevent the dog from getting past me, and I opened the storm door a crack and yell to the coyote to, "Get out of here!" I thought that would scare them off. It didn't.
They howled back. I yelled at them again. They howled back. (They were between my house and my sister's house. They were so close. Usually they're in my back yard, and not as loud.) So, I howled at them, and they got excited and howled back. We had a howling contest for a little while, and then I yelled for them to, "Get out of here!" They ignored me, though they did finally quiet down so I could go back to watching my movie. The dog wanted to go out, but I kept her in until morning.
My sister said my BIL said the coyote were still in the field behind their house when he went to work this morning. Tonight, the dog wanted to go out, so I got the baseball bat and full can of wasp spray from beside my bed and went outside with her at 10pm. I stepped out on the front porch, thinking how I haven't been out since March 4th to protect myself from this virus, and here I was going to end up being eaten by coyote. Thankfully that didn't happen. It's been quiet so far, but the dog isn't going out until the sun comes up.
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Post by Phalon on Apr 16, 2020 6:04:35 GMT -6
How horrible, Moonglum! I hope everyone in your house was able to get out before breathing in any smoke, and that your neighbors are okay also. It's fortunate you've got the caravan to stay in, although a very unfortunate reason to be able to stay there! I hope your house is back in order very soon. Aw, Joxie, it was just trying to get you to participate in "The Howling" that's taking place across the country: apnews.com/5f9c18b0003178b81b3858e6d52a6321
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Post by Phalon on Apr 17, 2020 11:09:03 GMT -6
Vegetables - fresh and frozen!!! Chicken!!!! Facial tissues and paper towels!!! And CHOCOLATE!!!
All stuff we've run out of or haven't been able to get at the grocery store, was available this morning! The store was much better stocked this time around (though the obvious things were low or unavailable such as toilet paper and any kind of sanitizers). Therefore our pantry and fridge are much better stocked than it has been. Good *&^%ing thing, because I'm not going back there in a loooong time. Still can't believe the number of people standing cart-to-cart chatting with each other, no social distancing, no masks, and no gloves. Even the store employees weren't wearing any PPE. I was way too stressed by the time I was done shopping.
There's been a lot of talk and gobs of news articles about the stimulus checks that started to go out this week. I haven't been to concerned about it, figuring when it comes it comes, and whatever we get we get.
What I am concerned about though, and what I haven't been able to find out in any of the news articles, talk, or on the IRS page is what do to if you get a stimulus check deposited into your banking account, but aren't entitled to it.
BP falls into that category of people who will not be receiving anything. She's over 17 so she doesn't qualify as a dependent child, but she is a dependent on our taxes because we pay over 50 percent of all her expenses; Hubs and I don't get a child-tax credit because she's over 17, but can claim a small percentage of her college costs on our taxes. I double-checked her 1040s from 2018 and 2019; both tax years have the box marked "someone else can claim you as a dependent" checked.
She's not supposed to get any stimulus money, but she did - the full $1,200. I have no idea where or how to send it back (since the site keeps crashing, and I'm not even going to attempt getting into it anytime soon) but I know full well she can't keep it - and will probably be charged an interest penalty for not immediately returning it!
What else....oh! Regarding something I mentioned the other day:
Yesterday, in the MLive (Michigan news) was this:
"Earlier Thursday, Whitmer, (Michigan) and the governors of Ohio, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky announced they’d be working closely on measures to reopen the economy at a regional level.
The group of governors said in a joint announcement they’d be making decisions based on several factors, including sustained control of the rate of new infections and hospitalizations, enhanced testing and tracing capabilities, sufficient health care capacity in the event of a resurgence and best practices for social distancing in the workplace.
Phasing in various sectors of the economy will be more effective if the region works together, they said in a statement."
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Post by katina2nd on Apr 17, 2020 23:38:34 GMT -6
Sorry to hear about the fire Moonglum, the positive though I guess is that there was minimal damage (apparently) and that you're both safe.
Things seem to be taking a turn for the better here, it's currently 3:30PM and the latest data I can find has just thirty six new cases for the entire country since 6:00AM yesterday.
Made a dash to the supermarket this morning to stock up on a few things, went early so not a lot of people around and I was in and out like a fiddlers elbow.
Stay safe everyone.
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Post by Mini Mia on Apr 19, 2020 3:51:05 GMT -6
My county now has 4 cases.
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Post by Phalon on Apr 19, 2020 7:33:50 GMT -6
Good news, Katina! I hope that trend continues!
Our state seems like it had reached its peak and is on the other side of the curve too - or rather more accurately, the cases seem to be declining in the larger cities, while they are rising elsewhere. The numbers are still quite high overall though - the number of new cases in Michigan yesterday was below 800 for the third day in a row (with 5392 tests run yesterday), and 81 deaths yesterday was the lowest its been since April 5th.
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Post by Mini Mia on Apr 21, 2020 3:04:49 GMT -6
It seems my county is just starting its upward curve, and if we don't hit our peak before May, we'll be opening up in the middle of worst time to be getting out. Which is why I'm hoping I can stay in until the middle or end of May. I doubt I can make it that long though.
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Post by Phalon on Apr 21, 2020 10:50:46 GMT -6
Argh, I just can't right now. Frustrated, disheartened, and angry with how people are acting. All you have to do is look at the photos of the anti-lockdown protests happening around the country...heck, all you have to do is look at people in the grocery store...too many ignoring social distancing guidelines and not wearing face masks, and you just know it's going to be a free-for-all when things open up with many people displaying no regard to other people's safety.
If these people's actions are any indication of how things are going to be, I am so not looking forward to going back to work, which if the Republican Senators who are trying to block Whitmer from extending the stay-at-home order past April 30th have their way, looks like it'll be happening May 1st.
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Post by Mini Mia on Apr 21, 2020 14:40:48 GMT -6
If only when they open things up again they’d let those who wanted out out first, and let those who wanted to wait another week or two stay home. I will need to get out at some point, and I’m wondering if I should have gotten out earlier, so that I could have stayed in when things opened up. But I’ve heard the stories from the beginning how some didn’t follow orders, so it doesn’t seem that it matters when you get out, as it has always been dangerous.
I tried to buy toilet paper on Walmart's website, but what was in stock could only be bought in the store, or through their pickup system. Both has you going to them, and not them mailing it to you. I could order some food items though, if they weren’t out of stock. How long is this hoarding going to go on? Because those people are stealing food and supplies from people who don’t have it. And, yes, I know stores are setting limits, but that doesn’t do anything when hoarders are going from store to store and still hoarding. There needs to be a bracelet or individual code used that lets stores and online stores know when to cut people off. We could be doing this for two years. Maybe it was better during pandemics before the internet and other modern gadgets that spread the news quicker.
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Post by katina2nd on Apr 21, 2020 20:39:55 GMT -6
Argh, I just can't right now. Frustrated, disheartened, and angry with how people are acting. All you have to do is look at the photos of the anti-lockdown protests happening around the country...heck, all you have to do is look at people in the grocery store...too many ignoring social distancing guidelines and not wearing face masks, and you just know it's going to be a free-for-all when things open up with many people displaying no regard to other people's safety. If these people's actions are any indication of how things are going to be, I am so not looking forward to going back to work, which if the Republican Senators who are trying to block Whitmer from extending the stay-at-home order past April 30th have their way, looks like it'll be happening May 1st. Understand how you feel Phalon, I feel alarmed at what's happening and I don't even live there (thankfully I have to say right now) People on the streets with automatic weapons protesting, a "leader" (I use that term loosely) inciting them, it has all the ingredients of a disaster unfortunately. We're in a better position here yet there's no talk of a full reopening any time soon, just a gradual easing of some restrictions. Stay safe the best that you can (you as well Jox)
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Post by Phalon on Apr 22, 2020 8:08:39 GMT -6
Yeah, Katina - like your country, the US is supposed to have a gradual easing of some restrictions also, dependent on individual states meeting criteria for being on the downward side of the curve, which is a policy set forth by the government and announced by Trump on Thursday - the day before his "LIBERATE MICHIGAN", "LIBERATE MINNESOTA", "LIBERATE VIRGINIA" tweets, to include of course, reference to the 2nd Amendment. In the minds of some people, it pretty much negated policy set forth the day before. Hopefully, some of those people - the ones who feel the need to be on the streets displaying their automatic weapons - won't see it as a "call to arms".
WTF is that?! Complete irresponsibility? A lack of regard for human life? A warped humor combined with a perverse sense of satisfaction sitting back and watching his tweets incite his base? Probably all of that.
Oops, gotta run. Work chat now, trying to figure out how this is all going play out.
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Post by Mini Mia on Apr 22, 2020 16:48:04 GMT -6
I’m doing well, so far, katina2nd. My only contact with the outside world since March 4th has been mail and package deliveries. I have seen a few family members, but from a distance, and so far I’m still good. I’m planning to do without for as long as I possibly can, and only getting out when I absolutely have to have something. I have a doctors appointment and an appointment for the dog’s haircut at the end of May. I’m hoping I can manage to stay in until then.
I’ve seen some videos of what’s going on out there, and it’s crazy. We’re most likely going to be having a second wave soon. And, sadly, those people will spread it to others who have been working hard to stay safe, but need to get out for food and medicine. And they’ll overwork healthcare workers, and infect more of them. Much blood will be on their hands. Come election time, Trump may not have the numbers due to a lot of people not surviving after getting out too early.
There’s craziness going on in my neck of the woods as well. Some men were upset at not being allowed to sit and converse as usual, so they got together somewhere else. Seems all of them have the virus. I don’t know if they’ve been tested or counted. And there was an infected woman who pushed her way into a store when refused to be let in due to her infection ... and the police were called in. She made a threat to the local town on Facebook, that someone managed to talk her into deleting. Not sure what’s going to happen there. Since she mentioned she knew someone who had access to the water supply, and that people needed to be careful about drinking it.
Stay safe, y’all.
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Post by Phalon on Apr 23, 2020 9:07:06 GMT -6
Joxie, you mentioned earlier that Walmart had what you needed, but only for in store, or pick-up purchase. I believe their pickup is a contactless type thing, where up just drive up and they load everything into your vehicle for you.
Based only on my experience at the grocery store, there are both benefits and downsides, I think, about waiting until you absolutely must get out to restock. The benefit, of course, is avoiding people for as long as possible; the downside is that the longer you wait, the more you have to get, which means you're at the store longer.
I'm rethinking how I'm going to shop - the two times I've been since the shutdown, I went just after the store opened in the morning, with a long list of what we needed. The store was crowded, and it took me about an hour to shop. Thinking now, it might be better to shop more frequently, but with a much shorter list of things needed. The next time I go, I'll go about 9:30pm (the store closes at 10), with only a hand-basket of things to get instead of a heaping cart. Maybe there won't be as many people there - elderly shoppers and people with young children might not be out and about at night? Quicker in and out trips means less contact, I'm hoping. We'll see.
Weirdness up at the university too. BP's dorm room is in one of the smaller residence halls on campus, but still, it houses almost 400 students. She only knows of three that are still living in the hall; there are two roommates down the hall from her, and someone is living above her. That would creep me out, but she didn't seem to mind it. I got a text from her on Tuesday though, out of the blue during a regular text conversation, saying "I don't want to be here anymore."
I think she got spooked by a couple of recent events. Monday evening, there was a shooting that resulted in death at an apartment complex right off campus; she can see the complex from her dorm room windows. She and I kept getting campus alert automated phone calls, texts, and e-mails (they make sure you don't miss the alerts), saying the shooter(s) were at large, and to stay inside and away from windows. It wasn't until a few hours later that the "all-clear" was given. The victim was a college student, the two shooters were not. BP didn't know any of them.
More personal was the other incident. One night last week, she got a frantic phone call from a friend who lives off campus about the girl who lives in the apartment across the hall. Though BP's friend who called doesn't know the girl very well, she knew BP is very good friends with her. The girl had pounded on the other girl's door, panicked and begging to be let in because "they were after her" and "coming to get her". She wouldn't let the other girl call the police because "they were in on it". Not knowing what to do with the panicked girl, she called BP, and they agreed the one girl would drive the panicked one to campus, and she could stay with BP until they figured out what was going on. After she dropped off the girl at the dorm, the girl who drove her there called the police, who were already aware of the panicked girl's situation. The police showed up at BP's door, talked to the girl, and kept asking if she was okay - though she had calmed down and wasn't panicking, BP, standing behind the girl, shook her head at the police, indicating "no, she is not okay". Apparently, not only was her demeanor not normal, the girl's appearance was way off - something was horribly wrong with her. One officer asked to talk to BP out in the hallway, while another officer stayed in the room with the girl. The officer asked BP if the girl had ever mentioned feeling unsafe with her family, or if she knew of any problems within the family. BP didn't know anything about her family, but the girl had never spoken badly of them, and BP was friends on social media with the girl's sister - based on their posts, the sisters seemed very close. He asked BP if the way the girl was acting was normal for her; it was not. The police officers ended up convincing the girl let them take her to the hospital for medical evaluation.
Apparently, what had happened was the girl was Facetiming with her sister who lives at home, and her sister was alarmed by her appearance and demeanor, so much so that she called their mother into the room. The mother was also alarmed, and told the girl, they were leaving immediately to come get her, and because they lived hours away, in the meantime, were sending the police to perform a welfare check. That's when the girl panicked, and banged on the other girl's door.
BP has spoken to her since on the phone; after a brief hospital stay, she is recuperating at home with her family. Turns out, the girl, who lives alone, hadn't slept for days, and had been rationing her food to the point of being malnourished and severely dehydrated. Those conditions left her disoriented, in a near state of delirium, causing her paranoia that "they were coming to get her".
Weird-@ss tricks your mind can play on you sometimes.
Anyway...BP was able to get her move-out time rescheduled; I'll be picking her up this Sunday instead of the first.
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Post by Mini Mia on Apr 24, 2020 3:50:36 GMT -6
Glad BP will be home with you soon. Hope her friend gets better soon. I'm sure her family will get her feeling better in no time.
Walmart is 22 miles away, and surrounded by four-lane highways. I won't be going anywhere near it on my own. I'll try Amazon for whatever Walmart won't ship. But, I will keep in mind about small grocery lists. Maybe get enough for meals for two weeks. Meals with plenty of leftovers for a few days.
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Post by Phalon on Apr 24, 2020 7:21:35 GMT -6
I'll be glad too. These are just kids really - teenagers living away from home for the first time, trying to cope with a situation that even adults are having a difficult time dealing with.
Yanno...with the stay-at-home order still in place, this might be the best time to practice driving on the highway, not to go out joyriding, of course, but to get essentials. I'm assuming there's very little traffic in comparison to what there is during normal circumstances.
How's your niece doing - I think I'm remembering correctly that she's a nurse at a hospital?
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Post by Phalon on Apr 24, 2020 20:47:10 GMT -6
Sigh.
Our Governor gave a press conference today extending the stay-at-home order, which was due to expire April 30th, until May 15th, but relaxed some of the order's more restrictive measures - one of which was to reopen garden centers and nurseries. (Meanwhile, the Republican senators voted on a bill restricting her executive order power, so I don't even know if the order will stay place until the 15th; they want restrictions lifted immediately. She said during the press conference she'll veto the bill, so who knows how it will play out).
I don't think she was even done speaking before my boss ran out her front door of her house to the garden center next door and flipped on the open sign. She worked by herself until closing time. And had customers all day!
We are back in full swing - normal hours, seven days a week - with absolutely no set protocol in place about how to conduct business safely. I totally understand the economic repressions of being closed, but a slower, more thought-out reopening of the nursery was my hope (as well as my co-workers' hope). Exactly what I told my boss more than once during our group discussions - that we cannot do this on the fly, scrambling to figure things out as we go - is exactly how she reopened. She doesn't even have any f***ing hand sanitizer for her employees.
My phone blew up immediately with calls from coworkers and friends, wondering how this is all going to play out, and what measures we have to take to make it safe. I've literally been either texting or talking on the phone since noon; I just ended my last call a half hour ago.
I start back to work full time tomorrow morning at 8:30am.
Suddenly the best part of my job, the part I've always loved the most - helping people - has become its biggest liability, and the part I dread the most.
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Post by Mini Mia on Apr 24, 2020 21:54:26 GMT -6
If you're out in the open, the fresh air might help. But inside, fans circulating the air, or vents blowing air around, might spread the airborne virus around to more people than without any air circulation. Maybe sanitizing sprays position all over, and spraying the air off and on when people come and go?
The floor she works on doesn't have covid19 patients on it. I haven't seen her since the other day when it was nice and she and the kids were out looking for Morel Mushrooms.
Ballard now has another case of coronavirus. I've lost count on how many that makes.
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Post by Mini Mia on Apr 27, 2020 5:11:42 GMT -6
Two new cases. Total: 7 Active: 4 Recovered: 3
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Post by Phalon on Apr 27, 2020 22:14:19 GMT -6
Our state has leveled off; new cases in the Metro Detroit area have decreased, while every county on the west side of the state where we are have increased. The Grand Rapids area topped 1,100 cases today, and the cases in the county where I work doubled within a week to nearly 100.
Work. Heavy sigh. It was horrible on Saturday. The precautions that the boss put in place were minimal, but are the suggested guidelines - everyone must keep their social distance, and must wear a mask, both staff and customers; because of the nature of our business, she did extend it to the nursery grounds, not just inside the store. Disinfect the counters, phone, credit card keypad, etc. In theory, it should have worked. It did not.
I could go on about specific instances in which I felt myself in danger, but it would get too long. We were just too busy, too many people out, conducting business that was not essential. Why, in the middle of a pandemic, one would feel a concrete birdbath is an absolute necessity is beyond me. Of course that concrete birdbath must be lifted into a vehicle, and that is not possible unless you are working in tandem with someone, your faces inches apart from each other, and crap, that person's face mask slipped and they just coughed. And the out-of-state license plates? - from the number of cars with Illinois and Indiana plates in the parking lot, obviously people aren't taking staying home seriously. This was supposed to be a gradual easing of restrictions - give people an inch, and they take a mile!
She has always run lean on employees; it never feels like we have enough staff. On Saturday, there were three of us - her (the boss/owner), a co-worker, and myself - to cover 7 acres of retail area, and the store. Inside the store, which is "cozy", it was nearly impossible to enforce social distancing - we were just too busy. It was too disorganized, too chaotic...too everything not good. It honestly felt like she was putting making money over the lives of her employees, and the lives of their families.
After one day in these conditions, my co-worker will not be returning. He's worked there for 21 years, and is the only other retail sales manager aside from myself. He called the next day to tell her he cannot work under these conditions - it is too dangerous. Another co-worker has not returned from out west - he feels it's safer staying where he is in the desert than here. Since Sunday and today are my normal days off work, I have no idea if the one other retail staff returned or not. If so, he, my boss, and me are the only retail staff left - nearly impossible to work that way under normal circumstances; I don't know how the hell it could have anything other than disastrous results during a pandemic.
And Saturday was gray, drizzly, and barely 50 degrees. I can't imagine what it'll be like when it's sunny and warm. And Mother's Day weekend is coming up?!!! Our busiest weekend of the season. I just can't. Tomorrow, unless she agrees to make some drastic adjustments to the way we are doing business, after working there for 20 years, will be my last day.
On a much brighter note, BP is home!
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Post by Mini Mia on Apr 27, 2020 23:45:06 GMT -6
So happy to hear BP is home. Very sorry to hear about how things are going at the Nursery. If she doesn't take the concerns of her employees seriously, then she indeed cares more about making money than the health of her workers and customers. This pandemic sure is getting people to take the 'masks' off, and show their true selves. Sadly, our new reality is just repeating history.
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Post by Mini Mia on Apr 29, 2020 5:05:21 GMT -6
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Post by moonglum on Apr 29, 2020 9:37:35 GMT -6
I see President Harpic (clean round the bend) is at it again. I can't believe a world leader would make remarks like that and not realise that there are idiots out there that would take him at his word.
On a brighter note, we are fairing well self-isolating in our caravan (trailer). We've got the housing society assessors coming in on Tuesday to assess the damage.
JOXIE. Very chilling video you posted. I think there are remarkable simililarities between then and now. Especially that part about the governments lies/half-truths, call them what you will.
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Post by Mini Mia on Apr 29, 2020 15:13:24 GMT -6
Moonglum: Yes. History seems to be repeating itself. I’m not sure anyone is using past experience to have a much better outcome this go round. Hopefully most of the population will continue to be cautious and careful, and will help the medical staff by keeping their workload low. Those determined to get back to normal will soon see their mistake, and hopefully it can be mostly contained to only those who aren’t following the rules.
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Post by Phalon on Apr 30, 2020 5:59:26 GMT -6
Just checking in...glad to know you guys are still safe.
I'm still working...still wishing I wasn't, although some changes have been made.
And as always....still running late!
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Post by Mini Mia on Apr 30, 2020 15:49:33 GMT -6
I figured you were still working, since you went quiet. Sending you good vibes.
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Post by Phalon on May 2, 2020 5:29:40 GMT -6
Thanks, Joxie. Good vibes are always appreciated! It's always physically tiring when work starts up for the season again; this year it's mentally exhausting as well.
It's President Lysol here. Different brand; same results.
I had a long talk with her when I went back to work on Tuesday....honestly, it was more of a rant on my part, although that wasn't my intent.
People do not work in this business for any length of time if they do not love it, and they do not stay with the same employers for decades if those employers don't treat their staff well. In addition to my co-worker and I who've been there for 20 years, the landscape designer, and all the landscape crew leaders have been there for 30-plus years, which is a testament to what kind of employers they are.
My talk (rant) gave her a different perspective though - the human side as opposed to just the business side of what it meant to be bombarded with customers during a pandemic. Is it better than that first day? It all depends on the customers...
...someone wrote a very bad review of the nursery last weekend because we require customers to wear masks and social distance. Aside from some false accusations, this couple from the same town as the nursery, are "not paranoid mask wearing social distancers" (shows what kind of people they are, in my opinion), who both had a "mild case of the virus last winter" (improbable that anyone from tiny rural town would have had Covid-19 before anywhere else in the country, not to mention there was no testing had that time, so how they know for sure that's the illness they had is suspect) and are "therefore immune" (research from the past few weeks is showing that a prior infection doesn't mean immunity).
So....you've got people thinking they are immune, which in all probability they aren't, walking around in public places, not social distancing, and not concerned about the possibility of getting the virus and passing it on to other people - it's a total disregard to everyone else's well-being. I didn't see this particular couple, but there has been one just like this every day since we opened - it's always a couple, always in their 40s or 50s, and they never just leave; they either yell about their rights being trampled on, or peel out of the parking lot, tires squealing and horn blaring. Like WTF?
Makes you wonder if they scream and make a scene when they walk into a business that has a sign posted "No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service" or a "No Smoking" sign, because it is really the exact same thing: policies set in place for the health of everyone else at that establishment. I don't know why people can't realize public safety is not an infringement on rights.
Welp, off to the masses. It's gonna be a tough one today - sunny and warm weather. If we were busy last weekend when it was cold and rainy, I can't imagine what it'll be like today.
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Post by katina2nd on May 2, 2020 22:12:03 GMT -6
Sending you some good vibes also Phalon (and Jox and Moonglum) sounds like you could sure use them.
People (well some of them) just amaze you, carrying on in the way you describe in a state that recorded another 154 deaths just last Saturday, for a total of just over four thousand, and they're complaining about their rights being infringed.
Have to wonder what the heck has gone wrong there (and in the whole country for that matter) four thousand deaths in a state with a population of around ten million, while here we've had under one hundred in a country of twenty five million.
Seeing the videos of those protesters (morons) perhaps goes some way to explaining it, too many seem to have absolutely no regard foe others.
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Post by Mini Mia on May 4, 2020 22:46:57 GMT -6
My niece texted today asking if I needed anything from the store ... she's going tomorrow. I gave her a small list of things I ran out of about a month ago, plus some things I'm going to run out of soon ... so I guess I can stay in a little longer now. Well, since I don't have those items yet, I shouldn't go counting my chickens until they hatch.
Hope everyone is continuing to stay safe. Hope Vox isn't ill from being coughed on a few weeks back. I'm hoping that those of us who can stay home will do so, and that by doing so we help flatten the next curve coming up ... because you know more waves are coming.
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Post by Phalon on May 5, 2020 5:21:01 GMT -6
It's easy to see what went wrong in Michigan and the events leading the state having over 40,000 confirmed cases, and over 4,000 deaths. I read an article in early April, about how Michigan did everything right, but yet (at that time) it ranked third in the nation with the highest number of cases.
It was the perfect storm.
Governor Whitmer declared a state of emergency early, in February, before there were any confirmed cases in Michigan; in fact Michigan was one of the last states in the Midwest to have a confirmed case. She closed schools the day the state had its first confirmed case, and issued the stay-at-home order days later. Cell-phone GPS tracking data showed Michigan citizens were among the best in the nation at following the stay-at-home.
But Detroit, the epicenter in the state, was one of a dozen U.S. airports, and one of only two in the Midwest (the other was Chicago) to receive passengers when Trump called citizens in China to return to the states, and later, when every U.S. citizen traveling abroad was called home, again Detroit served as one of the dozen points of entry. The Detroit metro business community has extensive connections with Asia and Europe, which were earlier hotbeds of coronavirus. A large part of the population relies on public transportation. The virus was spreading unseen.
And then the second week of March hit. As Michigan was gearing up for its presidential primary, both Sanders and Biden held rallies in the Detroit area days before primary voting. Colleges let out for spring break. The presidential primary election drew a record turnout - and later in the day, the first cases of Covid-19 were confirmed.
As the cases in Detroit surged, and the hospitals were overwhelmed, Governor Whitmer dared to criticize the Trump administration for a lack of response, and the availability of test kits, PPE, and ventilators. Trump hates criticism of any kind, and responded in the way he does best - by riling up his base. He starting calling her "that woman from Michigan, and when he referred to her by name, it was "Governor Half-Whitmer".
As he debated whether to respond to Whitmer's request for a disaster declaration, he said, "We’ve had a big problem with the young, a woman governor from, you know who I’m talking about, from Michigan. You know we don’t like to see the complaints."
His base took note. The protests started. And Saturday, a security guard at a store was shot in the head and killed for denying a person from entering a store without a mask.
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