Day Seven: Why so Grumpy?

Hawaii, paradise, The Garden of Eden? Immune to the Corona Virus? NOT! What follows is a 14 day series of articles about the typical experiences of a person living in Hawaii, but under isolation, social distancing, quarantine, Whatever you want to call it. Any way you define it, it means changing the way you interact with others in order to protect yourself and those you meet and congregate with. It is a morphing experience, differing day by day over the weeks.Enjoy the journey, grow with it, think the thoughts and consider ones of your own.

__________________________________________________________________

Day Seven

Life in the Light of Corona Virus

Why so Grumpy?

Walked and met several neighbors. No hugs were exchanged. We stood back from each other to talk. It’s as though we haven’t lived in the same neighborhood and interacted for years in various ways. Everyone is just afraid of everyone else. Now this is sad.

The truth is everyone is hurting somehow. A neighbor who has 2 food trucks, cannot park them at her commercial location. The location is right on the beach road. The homeless in that area are so pressured and emboldened that they are breaking into her food trucks and stealing everything that might even possibly be food. Surely the homeless are seeing their lives pass before their eyes. They have no money for masks. They are living in a community with members who have no where to go to isolate. They may be spending what money they have to simply numb themselves. Free meals are cancelled due to the health threat to kitchen and service volunteers who may be isolating themselves and are not even available. Plus, the meals are served in a large dining room that holds 25-50 people…a far greater number than can congregate according to the federal, state and county rules. So, the free meals have come to an end. Neighbors have picked up the slack and are preparing and delivering one meal a day to small pockets of the homeless. A drop in the bucket for sure, but a source of moisture in the desert none the less.

Now the beaches are closed…so their ocean front accommodations are no longer available and the many restrooms and showers that are located at the beach parks are closed. Even people with permanent addresses cannot sit on the beaches for more than five minutes. The homeless are truly displaced. And then there is the issue of what if and when they get sick. How will they get to the hospital? How do they call an ambulance for transport? What is the situation when they arrive at the hospital? All put together, the circumstances are really not good for those with no address and no resources. What if they are admitted to the hospital? Surely, they would be put in isolation there. That means no access to the sources of numbing that they have been using to make it day to day. No alcohol, no drugs, no cigarettes and no communication to the friends they have made in their day to day life. The alternatives are not appealing to these people and it is no wonder that they resort to stealing from parked food trucks in the dark of the night. The motivation to be lawless, to violate the quarantine order, and to be rebellious is strong.

The thought occurs that while the above scenario is the reality of the homeless, it is not all that far from some working people. Now they have no access to their jobs. They are laid off or fired. Their resources are diminished. They are at home and surrounded by children that would normally be in school and are at home. Being at home with small children when you are used to being in an adult environment can be stressful (and more!) to both the adult and the children. Spending the day with a room mate or spouse who is also stressed and anxious is a situation that can lead to spousal abuse, violence, abandonment and stress. Money issues surely exacerbate the situation. While evictions have been put on hold, there has to be a light at the end of the tunnel for this to even be comfortable. That rent money eventually will have to be paid. Even landlords have bills to pay, mortgages to cover and utilities to supply. All together with the threat of a serious health and economic collapse, this puts renters and landlords in a confrontational situation while both are under duress. And when will work resume? Will they ever catch up? No one wants to get the mail and face the notices from government, landlords, or creditors. It can’t be good news!

These thoughts just came up upon meeting a neighbor with food trucks.

A second neighbor, retired, with a rental and a small business was next. They shared that their small business, which was teaching ballroom dancing, had been closed. People are in close contact while dancing. They are in an enclosed space. They sweat and exchange fluids, face to face. The attendance was down due to quarantine, and the circumstances were not ideal for slowing the spread among the participants. And their rental was sitting vacant. No vacationers allowed, by state edict. And everyone is afraid to travel for hours on a plane. No income from that source. Their income was reduced to their social security and pensions, but the bills still come in. Still studio rental to pay, electric to pay, mortgage and maintenance fees on the rental to pay. They were stretching to meet these commitments. These were people with steady income and end of career pensions. Their resources are stretched and they are stressed. And they are among the lucky ones.

From this jumping off point, I began to think of the industries that were related to the vacationers who were not coming. No restaurants were open except for takeout. Restaurant workers were laid off. No rental cars, so detailers and counter workers and mechanics and the rental car businesses themselves were not operating. Cleaning companies were not cleaning vacation rentals. Repair people and appliance people and carpet cleaners were not required. Booking agencies were quiet, no phones were ringing. For an area that rested on the back of tourists, the support system was nonexistent! Many of these people already work for low wages at part time jobs. Tips are under the table and no longer coming in.

I have not seen a post for two days from a friend who lives in Spain. Is she well? She lives alone and has been complaining about being stir crazy. For a very outgoing person to be shut up in her apartment, while ambulances scream through the streets and ice rinks are converted to morgues, every minute is stressful and crazy making. Is she depressed because she is isolated and surrounded by so many sick and dying people? Who would not be depressed?

Friends in Italy are equally on edge. All the tourist sites are closed. We see the effect of that in the paragraphs above. They report that they are both working 14-hour days from home just to keep up with the workload of effects on their businesses. Both are upper level managers and CO’s, so still employed, but massively affected work wise. And if you know Italians, they thrive on their interactions with friends and family. Those are not happening! No big dinner gatherings. No meeting at the neighborhood bistro for wine and pasta. Life is just not normal. They are alive, but if you press them, they will admit they are not happy! And the ever increasing numbers of the dead are like lead weights around their necks.

Hard to imagine that my own relatively mild situation is really so bad elsewhere, down the block or across the country or around the world. How did it change so quickly? Was it just that fragile? Prayers and positive affirmations for all of them.

The little ones in our family think this quarantine is great. They kinda know things are bad, but how it affects their world is not so bad. There is no school. For them, this is not so bad. Mom and Dad are home all day and accessible when they are able to smile and play. Grandparents are home all day and if they are not sick, fun to be with. Somehow, they don’t seem to miss being with their friends, and missing soccer practice, and gymnastics. There are so many other people and siblings around to play with them. Hard to understand why Mom won’t let them run down the block to play at the neighbor’s house. She must have her reasons. And then wonder of wonders, if they get too rowdy or bored, someone turns on the TV and puts on a kid’s movie. Life is good. Even mealtime is good. No more food that they don’t recognize. Mom only bought what she knows they will eat. And the school cafeteria and homework is just a distant memory.

Tired of being inside. There is a trampoline in the back yard. Or a kiddie pool or a hot tub or a short trip to the beach—no sitting, have to swim—to change up the day. Or pets to chase around, or a walk to stretch your legs. Sometimes there is more than one walk a day! Great! We even built a fort out of blankets! Mom never has time to do that! Now she does!

Just answer one question. Why do grown ups get so grumpy about this thing called quarantine?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is the seventh in a 14 article series chronicling the first 14 days of the Corona Virus quarantine on the island of Maui, Hawaii. The eighth day will be published tomorrow. Read it on https://karenmac1999.wixsite.com/website-1, then click BLOG or enter this address on Favorites on your computer. Do you have comments or additions? Send them to Karenmac1999@hotmail.com. They are welcome.