Guys-
What a crazy time! Three months ago, the CoronaVirus, COVID-19, hit China hard. After an initial period of denial, cover-up, and misinformation, China dealt with their problem by quarantining citizens. They were not permitted to leave their homes. We Americans thought it was crazy and scary. But we thought it was an “over there” problem.
I thought the problem would come here. I made investments shorting the market. Even I had no idea how bad it was going to be. No idea.
Today is Sunday, two days into your spring break. Gibson, you are 5, in kindergarten. Decker, you are 7 in first grade. Last Thursday, McDonogh made the decision to close down for two weeks after spring break. Later that day and the next day, many other schools made the same decision. You will have virtual school starting next week.
We are at Bethany Beach. Decker, you are a little homesick. We usually eat out all the time. Four nights a week, sometimes more. We haven’t eaten out in four days, and have no plans to anytime soon. Restaurants and bars are closing. Sometimes for up to two months. No large gathering are allowed. This is absolutely unprecedented.
We might stay down here at the beach for awhile. A month or more. You guys will do virtual school from here. We played tennis today. We had some batting practice. We took Violet to the beach. It was her first time in the sand and the waves. She loved it. It was too cold for her to really go in, but she got her legs and feet wet running in the surf with you guys.
I went grocery shopping for us tonight. Many of the store shelves were empty. You couldn’t get eggs, produce, many cleaning products, or bleach. I got the last of the milk. It’s crazy. That’s probably short-lived. At least I hope so.
Gibson, you have been particularly interested in CoronaVirus. You ask thoughtful questions. At this time, there is a lot we don’t know. We know that it spreads rapidly. We know that a lot of people wind up in the hospital with really bad breathing problems. We know that some people die. After China, South Korea got it bad but handled it well. Italy got it bad and had a delayed response and so far a bad outcome. Same with Spain and now us. Donald Trump did a smart move by initially banning flights from China, but most everything he has said and done since has been wrong. He minimized it for a long time and the government failed to secure tests for the disease. That’s a huge problem in a widespread pandemic.
Thus far, THANK GOD!, it seems like younger people almost never get the virus and when they do, they don’t have a particularly poor response. Of the many thousands of deaths thus far, none are under the age of ten. Very few are under the age of 20.
The economy has suffered greatly. Stores and businesses are going to remain closed for quite some time. It’s likely many people will lose their jobs, and some companies will go bankrupt. No one wants to go on cruises and the cruise ships have been a big source for spreading the infection.
Decker, you love Beyond Burgers, a kind of veggie burger, and have been eating them constantly. Gibson, you’ve recently refound pizza as a favorite. We recently saw the Pixar movie Onward, which you guys really liked. It’s about brothers, specifically an older brother who looks out for a younger brother after their Dad dies. After we saw the movie, Gibson, you thanked Decker for looking out for you. It was super cute!
Decker, you need to work on speaking a little kinder and a little softer to people, specifically your Mom. Gibson, you need to work on whining a little less. Those two things aside, you boys remain absolutely wonderful people who Mom and I love being around. Tomorrow, we have tennis, legos, and an online zoo tour planned. Oh, and three meals at home!
You’re living history right now guys!
Love,
Dad
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