Well, I guess it had to
happen, and happen again.
My family had another coronavirus scare, but it appears that once again, we avoided any calamities.
Unbeknownst to me, somebody that I had contact with during the past two weeks—not a family member—told me early yesterday afternoon that they were diagnosed with the virus, and had been self-quarantined for the past several days.
I was in direct contact with this person as recently as two weeks ago, and I had contact with this person for more than 10 minutes, so there could be a chance that I was exposed to the virus through this person, because the person was diagnosed with the virus roughly a day or two after we had contact.
Upon hearing that I might be at risk, and after doing the math about the days since I last saw the person, even though there was a scant chance that the virus could be present in my system, I went to a local walk-in clinic to get tested.
After seeing the lines of people waiting to get tested in other parts of the country—which, of course, the media shows us time and time again to rev up the panic level—my local clinic had maybe eight people ahead of me, and the wait was about 45 minutes.
Why does the media not show a place like this, but show lines stretching for blocks and blocks with hundreds of people on these lines? I guess that is another story for another time ... or maybe for later in this particular Rant.
This was the first day after Thanksgiving break, this was a Monday, and it was absolutely pouring outside, and there were not enough people on the line I was on to put a full football team on the field.
Anyway, I got to the back of the line sometime before 2:30 p.m., and I got to speaking to the person on line ahead of me, a guy in his 40s who told me that he was holding his place in line for his family, who were waiting in their parked car while the rain pummeled us.
“What’s your story?” I asked him, as any journalist would.
“We just came back from Mexico,” he said.
Right away, I took about two paces back.
This moron and his equally stupid family take a trip to Mexico during a worldwide pandemic? Not to be paranoid, but I don’t really think that was a very wise decision.
“I didn’t go anywhere over the holiday,” I told him as I moved two more paces back. “I might have been exposed to it through someone else who just tested positive.”
That was the last conversation I had with this person, which was fine with me.
The rain continued to pelt us, but the line did move, as the clinic was letting in about two people at a time every few minutes.
Finally, the man got near the front, called his family to meet him, and his wife and two teenaged daughters came out to meet him.
You not only take yourself to Mexico during a worldwide pandemic, but you take your kids too?
I guess you do things as a family, and you do stupid things as a family too.
An attendant came out and let two more people in, u=putting the man and his family at the front of the line.
“I can let one more in,” the attendant said. “Just one more.”
She looked at the man and his family.
“Are you together?” she asked.
“Yes,” the man replied.
I raised my hand. I was alone on the line. They could let in one more person.
You would figure that the family would go in together, but to my astonishment, the man sent in his wife.
How selfish is that? I would never go in alone without my family for such a test, but I guess selfish people do selfish things … and the rain had completely stopped by then, so it had nothing to do with that.
So I had to wait several more minutes, waiting behind the man and his two daughters, while the wife was inside being processed.
Finally, they let the rest of the family in—as a family, because the attendant asked if they were together--and I was at the head of the line. I turned to some people and told them about these idiots ahead of me, and some shook their heads in disbelief.
I am sure the ones who did not respond to me also traveled to Mexico during the Thanksgiving break.
Finally, it was my turn to be let in, and I quickly filled out all the electronic paperwork that I needed to—I had tested there a few months earlier with my family, so everything was in place—and I waited to be called.
After about five minutes, I was called, and I saw the man and his family still sitting there, waiting their turn, which was OK by me.
Let them wait, because of their own selfishness and stupidity.
Anyway, I went in, got both the rapid test and the longer test done, walked out, drove back home, and within about an hour, I got a message that with the rapid test, I had tested negative, which I kind of figured I would, bolstered by the doctor telling me that even if I had had the virus, the 10 day to two week incubation period had elapsed, and since I had no symptoms during this period, I was probably in the clear.
And I was.
I felt good about getting the test, just to make sure nothing was awry. You can have no symptoms and still have the virus—as the person I was exposed to told me about their own condition—but I kind of figured I was OK, and I was.
Looking back, I just wish the person would have told me earlier that they had been hit, but I guess that it didn’t lead to any problems, so it really didn’t mean too much in the end.
Look, I am not paranoid about this virus, never have been, and never will be.
I don’t buy into the media hijinks, the double talking from out legislators, the assumptions and the nonsense we are being fed about this thing.
However, unlike others, I do believe it exists, and I do believe that for certain people, it can be deadly.
But I don’t buy into any doubletalk from our politicians and leaders, who have made this thing the most political themed “event” in recent memory.
How dare they put front-line workers attending to these people who have gotten the virus and are in life and death situations with protestors, who they say have the right to gather because of “freedom of speech” measures in our country.
Yes, and these protesting fools are in their own bubbles, and immune to the disease?
Please.
But on a personal level, we have all been touched by this scourge one way or the other. Happily, my family has somehow gotten through it, and will continue to do so by taking the barest measures to protect ourselves.
Wear a mask. Wash your hands. Don’t be on top of others that you don’t know.
What is so hard to do?
But with the mixed messages we experience from different quarters, I don’t think no one knows what is right and what is wrong anymore.
On TV the other day was the perfect example of this.
One commercial was promoting a county in Pennsylvania to visit, demonstrating how some time away from home, but so close to home, could be beneficial.
The very next commercial was one telling us about all we should be doing to prevent us from getting the virus, including staying home.
And the very next commercial was one from a local retailer, showing us images of large family gatherings for the holiday, with a horde of people sitting at the table eating their festive Thanksgiving meal.
One mixed message after another … and these commercials ran during a local newscast yet, where we are fire fed even more mixed messages.
It make no sense at all, none at all.
My family had another coronavirus scare, but it appears that once again, we avoided any calamities.
Unbeknownst to me, somebody that I had contact with during the past two weeks—not a family member—told me early yesterday afternoon that they were diagnosed with the virus, and had been self-quarantined for the past several days.
I was in direct contact with this person as recently as two weeks ago, and I had contact with this person for more than 10 minutes, so there could be a chance that I was exposed to the virus through this person, because the person was diagnosed with the virus roughly a day or two after we had contact.
Upon hearing that I might be at risk, and after doing the math about the days since I last saw the person, even though there was a scant chance that the virus could be present in my system, I went to a local walk-in clinic to get tested.
After seeing the lines of people waiting to get tested in other parts of the country—which, of course, the media shows us time and time again to rev up the panic level—my local clinic had maybe eight people ahead of me, and the wait was about 45 minutes.
Why does the media not show a place like this, but show lines stretching for blocks and blocks with hundreds of people on these lines? I guess that is another story for another time ... or maybe for later in this particular Rant.
This was the first day after Thanksgiving break, this was a Monday, and it was absolutely pouring outside, and there were not enough people on the line I was on to put a full football team on the field.
Anyway, I got to the back of the line sometime before 2:30 p.m., and I got to speaking to the person on line ahead of me, a guy in his 40s who told me that he was holding his place in line for his family, who were waiting in their parked car while the rain pummeled us.
“What’s your story?” I asked him, as any journalist would.
“We just came back from Mexico,” he said.
Right away, I took about two paces back.
This moron and his equally stupid family take a trip to Mexico during a worldwide pandemic? Not to be paranoid, but I don’t really think that was a very wise decision.
“I didn’t go anywhere over the holiday,” I told him as I moved two more paces back. “I might have been exposed to it through someone else who just tested positive.”
That was the last conversation I had with this person, which was fine with me.
The rain continued to pelt us, but the line did move, as the clinic was letting in about two people at a time every few minutes.
Finally, the man got near the front, called his family to meet him, and his wife and two teenaged daughters came out to meet him.
You not only take yourself to Mexico during a worldwide pandemic, but you take your kids too?
I guess you do things as a family, and you do stupid things as a family too.
An attendant came out and let two more people in, u=putting the man and his family at the front of the line.
“I can let one more in,” the attendant said. “Just one more.”
She looked at the man and his family.
“Are you together?” she asked.
“Yes,” the man replied.
I raised my hand. I was alone on the line. They could let in one more person.
You would figure that the family would go in together, but to my astonishment, the man sent in his wife.
How selfish is that? I would never go in alone without my family for such a test, but I guess selfish people do selfish things … and the rain had completely stopped by then, so it had nothing to do with that.
So I had to wait several more minutes, waiting behind the man and his two daughters, while the wife was inside being processed.
Finally, they let the rest of the family in—as a family, because the attendant asked if they were together--and I was at the head of the line. I turned to some people and told them about these idiots ahead of me, and some shook their heads in disbelief.
I am sure the ones who did not respond to me also traveled to Mexico during the Thanksgiving break.
Finally, it was my turn to be let in, and I quickly filled out all the electronic paperwork that I needed to—I had tested there a few months earlier with my family, so everything was in place—and I waited to be called.
After about five minutes, I was called, and I saw the man and his family still sitting there, waiting their turn, which was OK by me.
Let them wait, because of their own selfishness and stupidity.
Anyway, I went in, got both the rapid test and the longer test done, walked out, drove back home, and within about an hour, I got a message that with the rapid test, I had tested negative, which I kind of figured I would, bolstered by the doctor telling me that even if I had had the virus, the 10 day to two week incubation period had elapsed, and since I had no symptoms during this period, I was probably in the clear.
And I was.
I felt good about getting the test, just to make sure nothing was awry. You can have no symptoms and still have the virus—as the person I was exposed to told me about their own condition—but I kind of figured I was OK, and I was.
Looking back, I just wish the person would have told me earlier that they had been hit, but I guess that it didn’t lead to any problems, so it really didn’t mean too much in the end.
Look, I am not paranoid about this virus, never have been, and never will be.
I don’t buy into the media hijinks, the double talking from out legislators, the assumptions and the nonsense we are being fed about this thing.
However, unlike others, I do believe it exists, and I do believe that for certain people, it can be deadly.
But I don’t buy into any doubletalk from our politicians and leaders, who have made this thing the most political themed “event” in recent memory.
How dare they put front-line workers attending to these people who have gotten the virus and are in life and death situations with protestors, who they say have the right to gather because of “freedom of speech” measures in our country.
Yes, and these protesting fools are in their own bubbles, and immune to the disease?
Please.
But on a personal level, we have all been touched by this scourge one way or the other. Happily, my family has somehow gotten through it, and will continue to do so by taking the barest measures to protect ourselves.
Wear a mask. Wash your hands. Don’t be on top of others that you don’t know.
What is so hard to do?
But with the mixed messages we experience from different quarters, I don’t think no one knows what is right and what is wrong anymore.
On TV the other day was the perfect example of this.
One commercial was promoting a county in Pennsylvania to visit, demonstrating how some time away from home, but so close to home, could be beneficial.
The very next commercial was one telling us about all we should be doing to prevent us from getting the virus, including staying home.
And the very next commercial was one from a local retailer, showing us images of large family gatherings for the holiday, with a horde of people sitting at the table eating their festive Thanksgiving meal.
One mixed message after another … and these commercials ran during a local newscast yet, where we are fire fed even more mixed messages.
It make no sense at all, none at all.
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