Community Chat

[Hoovermom]

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@hopi wrote:

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@nana59 wrote:

But I feel badly for my 2 high school grandchildren....all of their final sports games and banquets have been cancelled....but i know it's necessary....

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Most schools will make up those type of events at a later time in the year. It is not the same but it is an effort to say thank you and good bye to the athletes and parents. Over my years of teaching many events have had to be cancelled for many weather, world issues, trama's etc. None the less is disappointing to the students. You a good grandmom to notice.

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The school calendar is running out.

[NicksmomESQ]

  My son is graduating from law school, among the top in his class in May.He's being presented with a special award.We are all so excited to attend the ceremony . Now it's all up in the air. Yes, either way he will get his JD & his award,but I was so looking forward to watching him receive them.

   I also booked a huge party for my son in his favorite sports bar.I hope it doesn't get cancelled.

   Yes, I know worse things can happen & good health is of the utmost importance.But this really hurts. We waited 4 years for this day & we're all extremely upset at the possibility of it not happening.

[I am still oxox]

My Dh's retirement party scheduled for late April has been canceled as of today

[Sooner]

I feel terrible for all the kids impacted, but maybe adults can help them focus more and understand what life is about and how many people like the military sacrifice a lot for all of us.  All the time.

[Isobel Archer]

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@Kachina624 wrote:

I feel sorry for people who will lose their livihoods and will have no income to feed their families.  The kids whose sports and social activities are disrupted will soon get over it.  There are many much more serious consequences to this epidemic.

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And it's the very people you mention - losing their livlihoods, income etc., for whom I feel most.

I know this is unpopular, but I really believe this is an Emperor's New Clothes situation and people are afraid not to go along - canceling everything.

If this is really a "pandemic" "crisis" then it's a very mild one. Four months in -  we have less than 5,000 deaths worldwide - 40 in the U.S.  We lose 40 people in a weekend in violence in Chicago.  If this is "so much worse" than the flu, the numbers aren't even remotely close to bearing that out.

I know we are being told that "millions will die" and "ventilators will be rationed" but I see absolutely no evidence of that happening based on the actual severe illnesses and deaths so far.

[wismiss]

We just haven't had any experience with an epidemic in our lives because of all the immunizations and wonderful medical care we have in our nation. Smallpox, influenza in the 1920s when so many died, tuberculosis, and other epidemics in the past are just that---things of the past.  Now, when a situation like the present one happens it interrupts our lives and we haven't had to cope with such wide reaching circumstances.  Young people may be confronted with more situations like this during their lifetime when you consider all the "superbugs" and "superchemical" that are possible.

Hopefully, things will have calmed down in time for graduations----proms, maybe not.  My cousin's son is getting his doctorate degree in California in June, and of course she wants to go, but has not booked her flight because she doesn't know if there will even be a ceremony.  

All we can do is be supportive of our children/grandchildren who may have to give up a "rite of passage" and make it special in some other way.  

[Johnnyeager]

New York's Governor is shutting down most gatherings of 500 or more.

BROADWAY will shut down for 4-6 weeks.  

These actions are painful economically (a number of shows will close and not recover) but will help us avoid the situation in Italy.

[Alison Wonderland]

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@Kachina624 wrote:

I feel sorry for people who will lose their livihoods and will have no income to feed their families.  The kids whose sports and social activities are disrupted will soon get over it.  There are many much more serious consequences to this epidemic.

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It's going to be really bad for so many. Aside from all the brick and mortar businesses and employees who are going to suffer are all the small businesses that rely on conventions, festivals, parties, and other events that are being canceled.

I have several artist friends who rely on conventions and festivals to sell their art, another who works as a magician and entertains at corporate events, bar/bat mitzvah celebrations, and musicians who play in theaters, bars, festivals, and other events that won't be happening now. And if they're self-employed and aren't doing that as a side hustle while working a full-time job with benefits, their insurance is either going to have a huge deductible or a huge monthly premium that's going to be hard to pay with little to no income.

There have already been layoffs because of reduced business, like in the port of Los Angeles and the company behind the canceled SXSW festival. And if you get laid off, you lose health insurance. They can get COBRA insurance for a while, but that's a dramatic increase compared to plans paid for by an employer. After that, they'll also be left with high deductible plans or huge monthly premiums unless they can find a new job with benefits. And I suspect it's going to be harder to find a new job if we have both a pandemic and an economic crisis.

[Cakers3]

I feel for the low-income families and people like seniors living on fixed incomes.  Some food banks are running dry.

Our local food bank is sponsoring making food packages for those who cannot afford to buy so much at one time.  Included in the packages are sanitation kits.  Donations are being taken and volunteers are needed to put these kits together.

I cringe when I see people all happy that their case of TP arrived.

I have yet to see anybody saying they bought a case of this or a case of that but at least took a few cans or packages of beans or rice to their local food bank or place of worship.

I saw something today at market that really made me see how greedy and selfish some can be.  I'm not going to get into it but suffice to say my view that people are basically good just faded quite a bit.

Multiple threads about poor Tom Hanks who will not go hungry, can afford the best of care, and was someplace making yet another round of millions really didn't move me in the sympathy column  Not one bit.

Multiple threads about toilet paper do provide some levity, and I've participated in those myself.

But underneath the laughs about TP lies the serious and sad fact that people heading to market with the few $$ they have are not going to be able to buy very much to eat.

Let alone hand wipes or other means of sanitation. 

So I'm not going to get all sorry for sports being cancelled.  Kids have to learn disappointment.  As a grandmother, I get it.  I truly do.  But this is a time for a lesson about life.

Take them to buy even one can of veggies or a bag of rice or beans.

Because no matter how young or how old anyone is, there is always room for compassion, even if it means an inconvenience of a cancelled game.

One can be disappointed, for sure.  It's natural.  But it isn't the end of life.  Things will get back to "normal" for most; but for some the struggle to survive daily will not go away.

[Porcelain]

I feel bad for all of them. There are small disappointments and big ones. And some people have to deal with both at the same time. I'm not going to tell someone who burned their finger to quit hollering because there are people with gangrene who would be happy just to have a finger.

At that rate, nobody gets to express their disappointment. "Oh so you've got gangrene? Well I have that plus knock knees and a hangnail! Beat that!"