Coronavirus Hits Closer to Home…

As I await to listen to President Trump’s address on the Coronavirus, I become aware that stories about the Coronavirus are starting to hit closer to home. I received a Robocall from the church that I attend stating that Sunday’s services have been cancelled, as well as Lenten services next Wednesday.

It’s definitely a changing mood here over the past day or so. Some school systems have called off classes and universities have taken even more drastic measures. It would seem that the virus has gone from something happening “somewhere else” to our back yard.

I will have to admit I’m paying closer attention to the latest news concerning the spread of the virus. A week or so ago, it was something happening in other countries…this week it’s more prominent in the U.S., forcing one of our major sports events to be cancelled.

And as I stated in an earlier blog, this is all happening during a time when I’ve cut myself off from social media, that might answer a lot of my questions and see how others are responding and being effected.

I did go get a haircut this morning and went to eat at a small restaurant, where I saw a long-time friend. His company had requested that their employees work from home if at all possible, which he was choosing to do. I’ve also received an email on my school account that’s offering options on their website for students whose schools have been closed.

My personal opinion is that our own school system will be closing its doors when we’re supposed to return next Tuesday. It just so happens that we had two scheduled workdays this Friday and next Monday. The end of the semester is occurring right as things start to worsen in our own county.

Just a few thoughts on a very fluid situation and I’ll continue to update.

David Lee

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Hiatus Insight – What is Facebook Saying About All This?

I consciously chose to take a hiatus from social media for the season of Lent. At the time I made that decision, I had no idea that something as big as the Coronavirus would become such a big deal and the topic of so many conversations. I ask myself this morning, what must Facebook be saying about this pandemic/

I would imagine that there is a LOT of talk on social media about the virus, especially the NCAA’s decision to cancel March Madness. There would be a fair number of people that would blast the news, thinking that most everyone else hadn’t heard and they would become the ultimate headliner. I’ve seen that happen a lot of other times with school closing, election results, and the like.

I also think of particular FB friends who make a big-to-do about almost everything and wonder what their posts must be like. I know there are some who will make frequent posts sharing boatloads of information, while certain other friends will say nothing at all.

And then of course, I wonder what I would choose to post on my page. I used to shout headlines for everyone to here on such matters, but then realized so many others were doing that same, that it really wasn’t necessary or helpful.

School cancellations are a prime example of these types of posts. Whenever someone would get word that schools were being delayed or shut down all together, they would broadcast it in a sentence, usually ending with an exclamation point. I soon realized that however it is they found out was going to be heard by so many, that it wasn’t necessary to share it myself. And yes, that includes when someone saw it snowing…I can look out my own windows and figure that one out.

I thought for a short while that I might break my time away from social media to see what FB’s take was on all of time, but then said that this was perhaps perfect timing for it to occur. I don’t need to know what anyone else is thinking…I have a few trusted news sources to find out the real stories, and long-story-short, it wouldn’t really make any difference if I knew what others thought or not.

Just my take on the all of it.

David Lee