One Week of Social Isolation

 A week of social isolation gives one time to read about obscure topics like historic grain elevators. (courtesy Library of Congress and Wikimedia Commons)


Gina and I have been pretty much staying at home this week. Initially, it was going to be just spring break week, filled with catching up on dental and other appointments. The emerging crisis caused us to decide to cancel everything and pretty much stay at home. The rhythm of a day consists of quick dashes to stores to see if they have toilet paper, reading and watching the news, reading a few books, brisk walks and cooking better meals than usual. As an addict of Youtube travel vloggers, it has been interesting to hear their individual stories from the places they either live or have found themselves during this crisis. A world going through a crisis together is a rare thing.

There is strange psychology in the fact that I have been able to buy Kleenex, but no toilet paper. We didn't panic buy since I always like to have at least a few week's of food on hand in addition to a complement of the freeze-dried stuff in #10 cans that has a 20 plus year shelf life. It is lightweight, easy to store, forget about and may come in handy someday, but this is not that crisis. I am a big fan of the Mormons and their wise advice to have 30 days of food in case of crisis. Just from what we have in the apartment right now, we could easily eat for a month or two if needed. With long storage staples like rice, beans and various seasonings, you can eat for a long time. It is not just about us, though. In a crisis, it is always good to have extra to share. The more of us who are prepared individually can collectively help a community survive. My neighbor gave me a pack of toilet paper today; he was able to get at one of the cleaned out stores.

The social isolation of this quarantine has thus far not been that different from our regular lives. Neither of us are overly gregarious and are more attuned to quiet pursuits. We moved here last summer and have been too busy with new jobs to engage too much outside of work. Quarantine looks a lot like our regular lives except for not going to work and me staying away from the gym. There isn't a great deal to do in the edge of the world boomtown of Williston anyway.