Business as Usual, Sort-Of

Less than a week later, on my return to the US, it was largely uneventful beyond the delays due to weather.  Once I landed in Chicago, the international return for Customs was a little different.  The touch screen kiosks were all familiar, but most of the airport staff were wearing masks and gloves.  Some of the travelers from different countries were also wearing masks.  Again, the most important question was with regard to whether or not I had been to mainland China.  There was a question about whether or not I was around domestic livestock.  I answered yes, I had gone to Dolphin Cove and swam with the dolphins and I did pet and feed a camel at Dolphin Cove.  They waived me through.

I returned to work for the remainder of the week at the end of February, and prepped furiously for the Women’s Expo on Saturday, February 29.   I was thinking it sure would have been nice if it was a week later because I had little time to pull things together.  There was growing concern of the Coronavirus spreading overseas, but it was still overseas so life continued on as usual for us.  I still was not paying attention...

The first week in March, the conversations started to shift in my office.  Some folks with questions over concerns about the Coronavirus.  They wanted to know my thoughts.  From my perspective, it was like a flu, much like the flu strains that hit us every year, but more aggressive.  I was not worried.  I simply said, if they were sick, they should not be coming into my office.  The news about hoarding toilet paper had me shaking my head.  Why toilet paper?  Why not water, soap, soup and crackers, cold and flu supplies, etc.  The panic and hoarding had started, and I wasn’t even aware.  I had not seen it for myself yet.  The news about large gatherings, sport events, etc., were all coming through the media.  I was somewhat surprised at first, but it made sense with increasing concerns of the spread of Covid-19.  Anything with 250 or more people was being cancelled.  It all made sense with an aggressive bug roaming around and likely thousands of people mingling to curtail things for a bit.  Unusual, but it kind of made sense.  

Watch for my email titled: “Maybe it is a good time to start paying more attention…”