“Necessity is the mother of Invention” is a phrase most appropriate for the current Chinese coronavirus contagion. There is no question that we are being forced by circumstances to change our habits and patterns of living. Of necessity, we have to invent new ways of doing things for ourselves and our families. Below are some examples.
In the recent past, I visited the grocery and not only bought what was on the shopping list but also did a lot of impulse buying. Now, I am not going into the grocery but I am ordering online and trying to arrange pickup or deliver. I say trying to arrange because a lot of stores are swamped with pickup and delivery requests. My waiting time for pickup is a week, and I don’t dare change my order as I might risk losing my place. Even worse, grocery stores simply can’t deliver. Amazon has said it will hire 100,000 people and reduce some service during this crisis. Until that happens, my Whole Foods delivery time is “unavailable”.
Suddenly, the kids are home from school yet actually have daily homework which requires them to use distance learning. Talk about destabilized kids? None of them seem to know exactly what to do to keep busy and productive. Friends on the computer are not the same as friends in real life. Computerized friends somehow become virtual. One state has said that they intend to close school until September. Essentially, the kids are looking at a half year break with no schooling, no working, no entertaining, and no place to go. The obvious question is who will drive who crazy first.
I normally go to a restaurant a few times a week. I also go to movies – but fewer in number because I don’t appreciate actors and actresses who are constantly insulting America and Americans. The restaurants should survive this pandemic with pickup and delivery options – but what about the wait staff? Movie theaters are in dire straits and how they are going to survive is questionable. Are they doomed to go the way of the old drive-ins? The movie production houses are now going direct to pay per view and the heck with a theater imposed waiting period.
There will be winners and losers out of this situation as new habits and patterns of living emerge. My biggest loser is global government. The Chinese government has utterly destabilized the world order, and have threatened America by suggesting they would withhold pharmaceuticals. My biggest winners are e-commerce and a return to buy American. The stock market, tanking like it is, still likes Amazon.
As you change your habits, think about what you are doing. Don’t just fall victim to the panic or situation of the moment. There are substitutes for toilet paper although not for ammunition for your AR-15. It also helps to be positive and have a sense of humor. I try to find the comment or joke of the day, and there are some good ones.