Living In The Epicenter

It’s quiet here in Camden today.

We are being called the “epicenter” of the virus in South Carolina, though there are a little more than a handful of presumptive or confirmed cases of Coronavirus. We are also home to the world’s largest steeplechase event, a party that brings nearly 100,000 to our town of 7,000, but that event has been cancelled.

That’s devastating to our economy; that’s devastating to all the people planning on working the event and now being told they are not.

Schools will close this week—USC closed last week—but most businesses in town are open, even some of the restaurants, though I wonder how they’ll do in the long run. There was even discussion of closing churches yesterday … no church in South Carolina? That’s insane! 

Luckily that other church in the state, the liquor store, is still open.

There are some eight cases here in Camden, and that isn’t bad for a town of 7.000. I remind Carlos of that because he gets a little worried. I remind him that 8 or 9 cases in a town of 7,000 isn't a great risk. Still, we are an old money town, and there are a great many people in Camden in their 70s,80s, 90s and beyond here, so that may explain the “epicenter” tag.

We stayed home most of the weekend—I took a three-day weekend—though we ran errands Saturday; our local grocer was stocked up with just about everything, the only bare or nearly bare shelves were the cleaners and soaps and hand sanitizers. We did a Lowe’s run, got cat and dog food, litter, picked up some sheet music for Carlos, and then came home and hunkered down for a couple of days. I binge-watched the second season of Westworld and Carlos practiced his trumpet.

Luckily, Carlos, though he’s on disability and does not work, can do translations from home; I don’t know about my job. I will go in today and we’ll play it by ear if we work from home or don’t work at all. I'd be fine with staying home and working, or not, from here.

I may like a little staycation as long as it isn’t too long.

I read this and it sounds kinda desolate, and it shouldn’t be, and it isn't; we are cautious, not scared. We know this may go on longer than we’d like, but we’ll be okay. I just worry about those people who won’t be …

I’m’a go and get a cat hug from Tuxedo. I'd hug Carlos but we're social distancing today.