Afterwards

Amid the panic, we prepare to depart on vacation - luckily, we were not flying anywhere. The boy has long held a dream in which all of us are camping together as a family. Mom doesn't like to sleep in tents. An RV became the obvious solution and consequence of these facts and opinions. So, off we will depart tomorrow morning in a ~26 foot long vehicle that we will also be sleeping and eating in. When we pick it up today I'm going to ask if the previous renters were Italian.  Mom and I have discussed a backup plan if any of us become ill. One of our close friends here in Sonoma is in forced quarantine. These are times.

I will bring books and cameras. We will be somewhat off the grid, which should be nice as long as the basic structures of society hold. I can't decide if I want to bring my guitar or just the little ukulele. This might be the pleasant family vacation we had hoped for, if we can learn to let go of the worries that tend to circle in flight around any issue like this.

Have I lived through something like this before, or was that just the memory of having read Don Delillo? He is what will soon become an "at risk" writer. 

Some experts say within the next week or two there will be pockets of breakouts in the US that are very similar to what we saw in Iran and South Korea. Though they also questioned if the US response will be as coordinated and successful. These are the details that I hope to avoid while out camping. I withdrew more cash than I needed from the bank this morning. More than we would need for a camping trip in which we paid for most everything in advance.

Fears seem so silly afterwards. 

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