Let's all take a breath before telling others how to react to the pandemic.
When I was running software development teams, I had a rule: tell people what you want accomplished, but not how to do it. Of course some need mentoring and everyone needs review. But if you’ve ever worked for someone who told you to do something and precisely how to do it, you know how annoying, even soul-destroying, this can be.
Which brings me to… STAY AT HOME!!!!!
Let’s all take a deep breath, shall we?
What’s being asked is: don’t catch COVID-19 and, if you do, don’t pass it on to anyone else.
If you want to accomplish this by never leaving your house, good for you. But there are other ways – like thinking about the effects of your actions and being careful.
Here’s why I bring this up. Mary Anne and I just returned from a spectacular week aboard Impromptu. Since we only visited uninhabited Islands, we rarely saw a living soul, even at a great distance. We left home, drove to our marina, boarded Impromptu and cast off. Total other humans interacted with: 0.
Did you do that well last week? Maybe, maybe not. But sure as it will rain in Seattle, someone will not be able to resist scolding me for not STAYING HOME!!!
Their likely argument will be that if we had trouble at sea, we’d require rescuing thus endangering the rescuers or taking them away from some COVID-19 duty. Yeah, maybe. But vastly improbable under the circumstances.
But, what if we’d stayed home like good, obedient folks? And had a stroke or heart attack at home (remember, we’re old!) Or, God forbid, we followed our Governor’s suggestion and went for a bike ride on Seattle’s pothole-ridden streets? No one ever got hurt cycling.
My point: you can build all the castles in the air that you like, but I’m not living in them.
Note: This rant should in no way be taken as support for the morons deliberately gathering in defiance of social distancing directives in order to “protect their rights”. You have the right of free speech – up until it infringes on the rights of others. Ditto your “right” to kindle another flare-up of this virus.
