We borrowed a moho from Vancouver in which to live during Sal’s knee recovery.  Which, by the way, is progressing brilliantly.  Now that we have returned home, we were planning on returning the vehicle as soon as possible out of consideration.  Of course.

“Unh, can you leave it up there?  For a bit?  All hell is breaking loose down here.  I do not advise coming back to the lower mainland right now.”  I did not see that coming.

Sal also has to ‘see’ her surgeon in Campbell River for follow-up and progress measurement. Her scheduled appointment was Tuesday.  “I’d rather not.  My knee is terrific.  I am doing well.  And the knee clinic is deep in the bowels of the hospital and I am not setting foot in there for a long time.”  That is kinda different…’no’ to the doctor?

Gasoline in the US hit UNDER $1.00 a gallon!!  Now that is a surprise but, in BC, we are still paying twice what Ontario is.  And five times what the US customer is.  I didn’t see that price drop coming.

The stock market is down the greatest amount ever.  From almost 30,000 to almost 18,000.  The Dow has lost almost 40% of the ‘equity’ value of how people value companies.  Airlines are parking their planes.  Chain restaurants are closing.  Starbucks closed all it’s Canadian outlets!  I really did NOT see that coming.

There is no question: C-19 is the greatest disrupter in modern history.  And – get this – it is has only just started.  Where does it go from here?

Prognosticating is a bit foolish.  We didn’t see 90% of this coming as it did.  We won’t likely be able to guess where it is going…..but let’s try….just for a bit…..

First a little hyperbole: India explodes with cases.  So does Africa.  All sorts of things shut down everywhere.  But people eat, drink and still get married.  Life, at a local-village level carries on…….a lot of old people die.

New York remains crippled for a considerable time.  So is London, Toronto, Berlin, Rome and virtually all the major centres.  And capitalism morphs but continues unabated – in some adjusted form – and new ‘services’ grow out of the new virus culture.  Invest in pizza delivery!  Amazon is well positioned to get even richer.  Freight planes will fly.  But Amazon will start to buy them up.  Airlines will fail.  Health care products will boom.  Pharmaceutical companies will get richer.  Huge security around borders keeping sick people OUT!

Is it possible we get even less human as we descend into a viral abyss?

I guess I could go on and on painting a changed-world picture but the main point is that we are, as a collective, still mentally waiting for the turn-around.  We seem to think that “Well, that was a horrible month but it will all be better next week.”  But that is wrong.  It won’t be.  NOT next week.  Not next month.  I have no idea how long it will take but it is clear that this is an international sea-change and that a lot will have changed forever even after this virus passes and there is NO indication that it is going to pass anytime soon.

So….news flash!  Life has changed.  You may not be ready to accept that yet but – for a minute – assume that it has and you are trying to wrap your head around that.  The question is, how do you change yourself, your habits, your lifestyle, your location, your job, your plans so as to deal with the new world order?  Or New World Chaos…whatever…..?  Elbow bumping will not be enough.

Like most people, my instinct was to just  ‘go home’ and ‘wait it out’.  But, really?  What am I waiting out?  For everyone to get better?  Do I really think there won’t be major changes to the way life is lived from now on?  Did C-19 just bring about the expected  ‘revolution’ and we just don’t see it yet?

Even if the virus disappears and things are given a green light…doesn’t that mean that airlines would be negligent if they didn’t impose even more restrictions?  Same for Starbucks, schools, hospitals, community centres and cruise ships?  Won’t everything be different?  And what about the poor and already beaten and downtrodden?  Are we gonna take care of them out of enlightened self interest or are we going to ‘write ’em off’? What are we gonna do with the homeless now – just let ’em breed germs?

What about the food supply chains?  Fuel?  How easily the institutions folded up?  Does none of that newly illuminated vulnerability influence your thinking, your plans?  Are you content to say, “Whew!  Glad that’s over.  Now I can get back to working 12 hour days and sinking deeper in debt.  Find me a packed transit bus!  Yippee!” 

The point:  If you have not contemplated change before, now might be a good time.