I am writing from Southern California, in the midst of the biggest crisis the world has ever seen. The only way I can get the news is via Google, then Twitter, then Youtube as it breaks. Local news here in America has not reported on other countries for some time. My husband watches the television for his news. He gets it much slower than I do. Maybe because our minds work differently.
I am watching what the president has to say along his Twitter feed. One of the worst aspects of this crisis is to watch all the lesser politicians scramble to get in line for their potential shot at the JOB, because this is what they are doing. Trying to make themselves look good. In this I refer to Cuomo and Newsom along their footage. What the President said yesterday or so is that he is LEAVING IT UP TO THE STATES. The message from both Cuomo and Newsom is that millions will die, so it isn’t very comforting at all.
I think what I will write you now in this diary, is a part of the experience of being “here,” in this region, as the days roll by like waves. From what they released about “flattening the curve” we are all told to stay in. People for the most part have obeyed this. Everyone is very frightened and this panic is not going to subside anytime soon. Before I look at any more news ledes today, or read any more editorials, I just want to take a breath.
We cannot go out for anything except essentials. This means stores that we love and frequented will go out of business. It’s been three weeks of the hoarding. First it was toilet paper and now it is food, so I can tell you about yesterday and going to a small sized chain supermarket. THE SHELVES WERE EMPTY. I wish I had taken my camera out, to document it. Perhaps next time I will. The only way that I can describe it? What we saw in Russia, in the late 80’s on the news. As everything FELL.
We don’t have reportage like that anymore, on TELEVISION. We no longer have a PRESS in America that can do the reporting city to city. It’s all broken. This post will be long, today. I want to talk about yesterday.
I have to go backward in my mind to think about the first time I went to a store, after hearing about this. I was still using my FACEBOOK account, at that time and so I had begun to process news stories that were breaking around the world. I went to what we call a drugstore, or a pharmacy here in California, maybe four weeks ago? It is hard to remember. I was looking for the hand sanitizer as the stories began to break about “WASHING YOUR HANDS” and we were seeing news on China suddenly. There was NO SANITIZER and I asked a store clerk maybe a week later if they had masks, because suddenly on the news everyone seemed to be wearing a mask. This is maybe a month ago. The next time I went to the market, maybe two weeks ago, there was no paper to be had. NONE. I thought I would venture out again, to try and find some and so these are my last FB posts. I did find some in a little import store in a poorer part of the town I live in. For $7.99 I was able to get some toilet paper from Vietnam, and at a Mexican market here I was able to get some chamomile scented Charmin, not the sort you would expect. It was $2.99 for four rolls.
It was when I went back to the store for food, though, perhaps two weeks ago? I was scared. I had begun to see the shelves be emptied. First it was staple things, like rice and beans, potatoes and so forth. They simply were not there, along with the non-existent paper. Yesterday, and the last time I was in that store I spoke with clerks who are working valiantly, and not wearing masks or gloves. What was said to me yesterday? “This will pass by the end of April” the meat and fish counter which has fresh fish was CLOSED. He told me it was a matter of “social distancing” – on the part of the corporation. I said, “In our lifetimes we have never seen anything like this,” and he said, “No, we haven’t.” To see an American store EMPTY? I have.
Yesterday, there were NO EGGS.
THERE IS NO FLOUR.
THERE WAS NO MILK.
Something larger is going on. You can sense it. Here is the headline of the day from NEWSWEEK https://www.newsweek.com/u-s-now-has-third-highest-number-covid-19-cases-after-china-italy-1493618
I’m going to see what the President has tweeted. There was a positive story about the company Hanes on manufacturing the masks here. It would be good to see all the American companies rise to the fore and come home, not just for Economic Nationalism, but because THEY WERE AMERICAN COMPANIES. Most Americans are aware of what has been sold down the river over the last 30 years by very crooked politicians running the country.
Here is that story on Hanes: https://abcnews.go.com/Health/hanes-start-making-masks-health-care-professionals-treating/story?id=69729931 from ABC. Hanes was like this fantastic company that made cotton clothing, T-Shirts and underwear and so forth al my life. Hanes was the sort of thing you could fall back on? I am so glad to see this news. See this COMPANY come to the fore. There will be others I am sure. I think, Americans would like to be known as the ones who produced the things the world needed, at this time. This is a great story, and when the President talks about “it is a beautiful thing to see” this is what he means. He is talking about “the American Spirit” – which is to come to the fore, versus the ‘you didn’t build that spirit” of the previous President.
This is DISGUSTING. The virus is not the President’s fault. https://nypost.com/2020/03/22/de-blasio-blames-trump-for-nyc-hospital-equipment-shortage-people-will-die/ so, the actions of the politicians are something ALL AMERICANS CAN SEE RIGHT NOW.
Frankly there are many questions about this VIRUS and those can be had over in Twitter in terms of who was working on it as far back as 2015, and who is working on the antidote just now. Twitter is pretty admirable that way, and there are some very curious things if you search things like Gates on that right now. The President may be part of the billionaires club in America but he isn’t evil.
This is how I am following the Governor of California: https://twitter.com/search?q=newsom&src=typed_query in Twitter.
LISTENING TO THE REPORTERS and our President at this link: https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump it is important to listen to what is said, by the reporters and the President himself. He has just acted as an AMERICAN, in this latest press release. In that, the AMERICAN SPIRIT. So he is talking about himself, he is also talking through the lens that is the AMERICAN spirit in terms of helping other countries as well, because all of them are facing the same thing.
HOT SPOTS: State of Washington, NY, California – President DT
Something I want to say as an American around what the news is calling “racist” – the term CHINESE VIRUS – this is being used because as the President said – “it came from there”meaning it started (as much as any of us know, in a place called Wuhan) – this is what we saw in the news. Now, Americans also say this – “Let’s go get some Chinese Food” – this is true. I’m not sure if in other countries American Food is called this same thing? Here in CA we would say, “Let’s go get Thai Food and so forth. This is a reality, not racist. Where I live in Southern California, we have many cultures all coexisting together. All of my life. So, it’s the same thing for Japanese Food. We would say, let’s go get some Japanese Food. Here in CA, in our markets, there is food from all over the world. Except now the shelves are EMPTY. We would say the same thing about Mexican Food, French Food, and so forth. Here we also have Greek Food and Greek Festivals. Many people live in America from all over the world and from all the different cultures IN THE WORLD. The only thing I haven’t seen is CANADIAN restaurants in Southern California. They might exist but I have never seen them. This is the way Americans SPEAK about things. It would not be different in other countries I am sure, so a matter of Semantics.
BREAKING LEDE – The National Guard. Yesterday in Twitter you could see Army style trucks in a vid somebody posted from Seal Beach on trains. Here is the story from NPR News which is a trustable NEWS SOURCE https://www.npr.org/2020/03/22/817978107/white-house-coronavirus-team-to-hold-briefing-as-death-toll-continues-rising FROM THE STORY:
“President Trump said Sunday he has activated the National Guard to New York, California and Washington, states that so far have been hit hardest by the rapidly spreading coronavirus.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency will fund the deployment of the Guard, Trump said.
“This action will give them maximum flexibility to use the Guard against the virus without having to worry about costs and liability,” Trump said. “And [it frees] up state resources to protect the health and safety of the people in their state.”
I have used YOUTUBE to double check that news lede: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svmAqo1Daiw here is the President speaking on that https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rVD4p4CY0A
I am watching a video on how New York is coping. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4iZLfiK3rk I have never seen New York, but I know that many many people live there. They are very strong having gone through 9/11. These are New Yorkers speaking.
Like many other Americans we are watching news from Italy. Here from Sky News, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdx4Jo0GCRU It is so tragic. In the rains today, tears cring over the whole world. We had studied things in history, like the Black Plague, but to see this, in terms of the way we are all on the Internet in this era? There is not a way to process what the whole world is going through.
I am watching this news from Italy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWP1_Q065PQ it was from two days ago.
On the local news they are reporting today that the cases are up to 18 in this county. I am grateful that today we had food to eat. I was able to get it the other day. Life as we know it in California has SHUT DOWN. I have no idea what will happen tomorrow. I know that we have enough food, for tomorrow. I have a dog and a cat. I need to feed them too. Tonight the dog had to eat dry cat kibble as he had nothing in the store. I will have to go out to get his food. if I cannot find anything for him, I will feed him meat, if I can find some. This is the TERROR of life shutting down, after the governor has said what he has said. I want to show a picture of my dog and cat and the news has made me feel so nervous I cannot remember the tools I have to use here in WordPress to do that.
You could see them in Facebook if you knew me. My dog is named Odin, and my Cat is called Hemingway. They were both rescues from the local shelter.
Today, I heard planes still overhead, and I listen for the sound of the cars. I can hear some cars racing, in the distance. We are self-isolating, because we have been told to. But tomorrow I have to find food for my dog.
Just watched this video on what the California National Guard is doing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onuUGWejKOg&feature=youtu.be in terms of Foodbanks.
Listening to NEWS from NEW YORK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Trar6seIhDw this is about the doctors and the masks they need. FROM ABC NEWS, a trusted source.
Adrienne Wilson 