He Who Dies With the Most Toilet Paper Wins! (AKA The Great Toilet Paper Frenzy of 2020)

This is a photo taken by my sister in law at her local Costco in Las Vegas. She was in line behind this panicked person's behind, who is making sure that particular behind is going to be pampered and not have to resort to using leaves during this pandemic of our world's toilet paper supply. I do believe this supply will last them for a good year or two lifetime. Or maybe they plan on selling it in some dark alley for a high gouged price. 

I am amazed and in awe at what is happening in today's world at the moment. 

We are currently in the pandemic of the coronavirus Covid 19.  What I am perplexed about is the virus has no signs of digestive tract symptoms. Maybe the run on TP is to keep from resorting to having to use old Sear's and Roebuck's catalogs in the event of a quarantine. 

I would think there would be a run on something a bit more important, like for example, chocolate?  I mean, come on, most of us could survive without toilet paper, but seriously, WHO could live without chocolate?  Maybe I need to stock up (more than I already have) on all things cocoa and then I will be able to keep REAL peace and happiness at bay in the world as I ration out my chocolate stash to those in desperate need.

Whatever the reason, it is madness. Here is my local Walmart's TP shelves last week. 

I was shopping yesterday in Ogden and all the stores I entered were OUT of TP.

Completely.  

Times like these (wait, I don't ever recall there being a time like this before), I am grateful for our stock piling tendencies in our family. We do have a case of TP in storage. That would seem adequate for two people, but since we rarely only have two people using our "facilities" it might not be adequate.  I did resort into buying these just in case:

I actually chuckled at myself when I hit the PAY button. Better safe than sorry though, right?  

This was what my email looked like today:

Pretty much a pandemic over the pandemic.

I have kept my panic mode in low gear for most of this craziness, but when in just ONE day the news stories included things I never thought I would hear, such as our church cancelling all public attendance to our annual general conference and now it will be broadcast digitally instead (and we had tickets to the conference center! Dang!). Though President Nelson DID say last October that this April conference would be memorable and unforgettable. If that isn't prophecy, I don't know what is. Then they announced that the entire NBA would be suspended for the rest of the season, that March Madness NCAA tournament and all college basketball has been shut down, Broadway is shut down, the LDS Women's Conference was cancelled (and I was so excited to go this year!). Then in a public address President Trump ordered our borders closed to anyone who has been in Europe. There are rumors the Boston Marathon will be cancelled as well. Oh, how that would bite if you worked SO hard to qualify and then this! 

And all in the same day, I learned my my Breast Cancer Survivor Retreat was cancelled and McKay's university, USU, cancelled all non classroom events. McKay and Taylor are currently in Costa Rica on spring break. I do hope they are able to arrive home since many out of country travelers are being held in quarantine for two weeks if they have been exposed in any way. 

The stock market has dropped like a bomb, cruise ships are NOT the place to be right now (Princess cruise lines has shut down for two months), and there is also a run on hand sanitizers, face masks and bottled water.

I heard this morning that local schools in Salt Lake City are also going to close and many businesses are tele-commuting to keep employees home. I saw in the paper that the Ogden Marathon is thinking of cancelling, just TWO days AFTER I signed up for the very expensive 5K!  I went back and forth about it for a couple days, unsure if I should do it, since I am still not running anywhere near a 5K distance, but I ended up signing up to keep me motivated. Brilliant!

Today when I went to the physical therapy gym at the hospital, I had to go clear around to the ER entrance, and then be interviewed by a staff member about my health asking several quesitons including if I have been in contact with anyone that has Covid 19 before I could even get inside!  A bright orange sticker was then plopped on my jacket indicating I had passed the test.

Basically America has shut down. I would have NEVER thought it would come to this. It has made me stop and re-think things a bit from my previous, "What is wrong with people?" and my blaming it on the right wing media trying to cause a panic (which they have and are guilty of) since it IS an election year. But now I am seeing that even though they hype it up beyond anything it should be, it is still serious stuff. 

Being a recent cancer survivor, I am still immune compromised. And let's face it, I am no spring chicken anymore. I do feel healthy and strong (at least for what my body has been through the last year or more), but it does cause me to reflect a bit on how serious and real this is. Yet I still have to admit I frequently ask myself, "Is it really that serious?" That is also part of the panic. No one is sure what to believe. Each day you will hear reports declaring it is, and then come across 10 more arguments saying it's not.

I have been a good girl and wash my hands frequently (while singing the ABC's), I wipe down anything the public has come in contact with, I try to avoid too much public contact, and I am trying to accept it for what it is even though it has really messed with my plans. I am heading to Nashville in 10 days with my niece Aubrey who is performing at several venues. We just found out all but one has cancelled, but we are still going. At least we are at the time of this writing. We think it will still be fun to see the city and all the history, but now I fear EVERYTHING will be shut down. The museums, the Grand Old Opry, the Bluebird, etc. But, we will still have fun because we love to have fun and some little old virus is not going to stop us from doing what we do best! (Update: it in fact DID stop us from doing what we do best as Nashville is now shut down too.)

Here is my conundrum. This is not an atomic bomb, an earthquake, or a nuclear attack on our country. It isn't going to ruin our water supply or our food supply. Yes, it might threaten our toilet paper supply because due to the frenzy you can no longer find any. But, if that is the worst that can happen, I think we can manage. We are not threatened like we could be if this were a natural disaster. Okay, we might get sick. Some people might die. But this isn't worthy of all the insanity associated with it. I do feel the media has turned it into a panic of sorts and that doesn't help any of us.  I know it can be dangerous. I have many loved ones whose very lives could be threatened if they contract it. But having said that, they most likely will not and the majority of the planet most likely will not. 

Bottom line is we all must do what we can to keep the risks low. We need to be willing to adhere to the CDC's recommendations of social distancing and using common sense. Threatening someone for a roll of toilet paper is NOT common sense. At least it wasn't last time I checked. 

The good news is, I feel like this has been a lesson for the future in how people will react if we ever do have something major. And a big lesson in being prepared! A WAKE UP CALL!
I think we all need it!  I know I did.

Just live! Be smart!  Stay safe!

Now off to find my supply of eggs! 

Cadbury eggs that is!

UPDATE
***Since the time of my posting, church has now shut down, schools as well. All sporting events (including the spring season of high school track and baseball) are over, as well as prom. Our Celine Deon concert, The Young Ambassador's with Marie Osmond concert, and my entire Nashville trip have all been cancelled. I wonder what people will do if they have a wedding or funeral???

Here is my view from grocery shopping this morning:

 No eggs! 

Glad I stocked up because won't be long before it's like this ↓ everywhere too!

However, DONUT despair!  There was NO shortage of these!

Look's like we will be doing this on Sunday ↓

Oh, Corona...

You have made life interesting, that is for sure!

***UPDATE:

This article was all fun and games when things were a bit more at bay.  But as of only five days later, I feel like I am preparing for war. 
Actually, I guess I am. War against this virus. And war against social stupidity.
Things have gotten real now. I fear in the next two weeks (or maybe less), the new word in this fight will be HAVOC.
I am seriously considering social distancing myself starting today. I am currently  immune compromised and I have family members that are as well.  My husband is a physician and so he is on the front lines of this war every single day. I have no idea how this will all pan out in my little world, but I want to do all I can to prevent it from becoming a worse case scenario. 

It's all about math.
If you want to educate yourself a bit more and see what I mean, you MUST read this article HERE. This common man (who is great at math) explains it in terms we can all grasp. Please read it and then PLEASE share the article on social media.