Last Updated on June 23, 2022 by James Dziezynski
I’ve decided to keep a running journal for the next few weeks, mostly for myself. If you happen to enjoy reading it, great. Since I’ve never lived in a time of pandemic and because things seem to change so dramatically day by day, I thought it would be interesting to write about this event.
March 12, 2020 – Day 0
I still count this as day zero because Covid-19 hasn’t come to the Boulder area yet, but it will soon. I will start the count when Boulder has its first confirmed case, which I suspect will be as soon as tomorrow.
So where does this story start? After historically poor handling of the virus by the federal government, the first real shockwaves of a pandemic have surged across the nation. Most thinking people rightfully ignore the federal government and are turning to sources of expertise (Johns Hopkins and Mayo Clinic to name a few). Fox News pundits continue to call the virus a hoax and the president continues to treat the outbreak as a purely political circumstance.
All the high-level government stuff will be recorded for the ages, so no need to expound here, just set the stage. The ground view from Lafayette/Boulder is that stores, restaurants, gas stations, and public facilities are still open. Our climbing gym is still open (though I can’t think of a worse storehouse for viruses than gyms). I don’t personally know anyone infected, but I suspect that will change.
The big hit today has been the cancellation or suspension of sports leagues, specifically the NBA, the NCAA basketball tournaments, and MLB. Sports may be non-essential events, but for many people, they are more than superficial entertainment. American sports are rituals and traditions and the disruption is jarring.
Personally, my wife and I are supposed to fly to Arlington, VA for my father-in-law’s interment ceremony at the famous Arlington military cemetery. This is very much up in the air as the DC area has begun shutting down any sort of mass gatherings and there are transportation concerns—from air travel to Ubers. It’s still scheduled for March 31 but… we’ll see.
We have stocked up on food and supplies for a month or so, probably longer (all those outdoor skills come in handy in a crisis). Stores seem to be operating smoothly, with the exception of toilet paper raiders. I will need to get dog food in the next two weeks (our brand was out of stock, not an uncommon occurrence).
There is an air of uncertainty, but not panic. Not yet. I’ll be curious to see where we are in a week. Colorado is one of the most progressive and pro-active states—we have 49 cases, so Boulder County should see their first in the next 48 hours.
Real-Time Update: As I was writing this, I got an alert that Boulder’s first confirmed case has been reported. I’ll still start tomorrow as “Day 1” since this update came AFTER the posting of the first blog post.
It is my hope that the people of the country take this virus seriously and that my friends and family (and pets!) all remain healthy. This is the start of a very long process, one that may extend into years, and that is completely new to nearly all of us—especially on our home turf. I may eventually post my own informed predictions (again, really for my own entertainment), but for now, there is definitely a sense of this being the calm before the oncoming storm.
