We are living in very strange times. It is particularly strange because it is on a global scale and continues to get worse with almost every headline. The pandemic is crazy enough, but it's the confluence with other global events that makes this time in our lives very precarious.
I decided to start journaling about pandemic life from the beginning. What we consider the beginning of the pandemic in the USA and what others may consider the beginning differs a lot. As I am writing this I am on day 592.
As I look back on those 592 days a lot has happened and it continues to happen. I remember the last day that I went into Costco and I was mocked by the employees in the pharmacy and some of their customers for wearing a mask. People were panic buying toilet paper and other items on that day. That was the beginning to us. Even though our government was telling us over and over that there was no threat to the American people. Some people knew that this was not the case. Something was definitely wrong.
Number One was in the car and watching people filing out of the store with carts filled with toilet paper and some other items. I'm not sure why toilet paper was such a hot commodity. It doesn't make too much sense to me. It seems like they would run out of other items before they would run out of toilet paper.
Fast foreword to today and we are still dealing with consistent shortages across the board. We have a pandemic, massive droughts, infestations, flooding, fires and increased crime across the globe. Natural disasters have put a strain on our crops. We will really start to feel this in the next few months through inflation and shortages. This will continue until the next crops are grown and processed. What does it look like if we have a repeat of last year or worse?
We have had to learn how to live with the people that actually live within the walls of our homes. Many people learned that they didn't like their lives and opted for divorce or separation. Parenting also took on a new meaning when homeschooling became the only way to educate children. Some parents couldn't handle the new norm of being forced to be at home with their children. Domestic abuse, violence and even murder became a common headline.
We have shortages of people, containers, packaging, contents for packaging, computer chips, automobiles, parts, tires, raw materials, metals, heating oil, gases, food and more. More than I can list. We have inflation on all these items. Has your income increased along with the inflation of almost everything you use? The answer for the most part is a resounding "No". The world has seen a six fold increase in people living with famine like conditions. Have you ever wondered how these mega corporations have had record profits while the rest of the world is drowning in inflation?
I think that these events have come in such record succession that it has been hard to wrap our heads around our new world. Plus, we are told one thing one day and it changes the next. This leads me into my next point which is our divided republic. Fake news is the latest buzz word. Let's call fake news what it really is... Lying. Lying and deception are now tolerated and considered to be standard practice to get ones own way and force an agenda driven idea on the people. What confuses me most is the fact that no one is held liable for their actions. The attention span of people is now eight seconds. A gold fish has an attention span of nine seconds, but gold fish can't drive a car.
As we weave our way through this new world we must pay attention to what is going on around us and adapt and overcome to our new circumstances. I urge you to read about World War I, II and the Great Depression. We can learn a lot from those who have gone before us.
Mrs. Smith
