Trapped in Place #Quarantine2020

Trapped in Place #Quarantine2020

Hallo Again From Acsho Tochter Trapped in den U.S.A.

My flight was cancelled. The airline didn't tell me this. I cancelled it in my heart and mind first. I had began calling the airline three days prior to confirm my flight and could never get through. As the days lead up to me picking up a rental vehicle to drive two states away to the airport I had no confirmation of a flight. And just minutes after check in time and no notification or reminder to even do that I imagined all was lost. Things were a little off and I couldn't even sign into the app or online. And of course without access I had no way to print a boarding pass. The airline itself who I will not name ebbed and flowed from the epitome of superior customer service to a blubbering mess. The online website and app both wouldn't accept alpha numeric characters so globally no one could sign in. The hotline stopped ringing going straight to an automated operator reply. The social media went unnoticed and was full of customer grievances. So at the 11th hour at around 23.5 hours before flight I was able to enter the matrix and reschedule. In this I got a refund and confirmation that my intuition was correct. The following day about nine hours before my flight I was informed that my same airline connection was cancelled. My third party travel app told me this and I have still never gotten a response or heads up from the airline. I could have been trapped in worlds largest airport in Istanbul, Turkey or sitting at my families home surrounded by packed bags. I preferred the latter. I got the latter.

The Wild, Wild West isn't as it seems on television. We aren't panic buying or hoarding toilet paper or guns. We are panic buying ammunition and everything our hands may ever wish to touch. There is no coffee, not a single banana or even a blank round. It is all gone and rightfully so. We aren't preparing for an uneventful pause at home. We are readying ourselves for war and anarchy. The government is sitting on their hands and fear is making us think of the worst. We don't exactly know what that looks like but if having a million useless things on hand for the one day they may become purposeful puts our minds at ease so be it. And I'm not going to tell you how much I participated in the irrational buying or what I decided to go and get because I do not want to be robbed or killed for mine. It really hadn't occurred to me just how quickly this thing could unravel and backfire. I forgot about the aspects of safety and the haves and have nots. I just imagined I could fill in my pantry, lock my door and fall asleep at night. But it is 4am and the sirens haven't stopped since yesterday afternoon. I can hear cars racing and dogs howling. The states are active and teeming with poor, hungry, scared people who will do whatever to safeguard their family and belongings. It is no longer about the virus. Hell it was never about that got damn virus.

The numbers of the infected are alarming everywhere and I like to think I would have been more at risk in Europe. In Germany especially in the NRW the reports are startling. People are still gathering en masse in clubs, parks and restaurants. The amount of infections and deaths must be grossly unreported. The border closings and flight precautious seem utterly useless if the Rewe is still open and people are still going into work. Therefore I am here watching my husband go about his normal routine in Köln knowing the probability of exposure and consequences. He however isn't informed at all. He worked up until yesterday having a colleague suggest his medical pre-conditions made him more susceptible. Instead of taking the opportunity to heed the warning he continued to work well past his normal end of day. So even the invitation to go home was completely ignored. His excuse was that he felt like he was already there and he felt insulted by the notion he was unfit to work. His pride was so hurt he purposely abandoned his milk in the office refrigerator. That'll teach em! Later I watched expats and undercover Germans fight over this on Facebook threads. Americans curious as to why Germans don't get it. Germans so insulted someone would imply that illness would keep them from work. I digress. Maybe I am better off here?

I feel confident about the outcome of this. I am thinking a month tops will contain those infected and prevent spread. Maybe, possibly the economy will recover and I personally would like a Tonald Drump relief check. It would be a nice parting gift if and when I board my flight to my real home. For now it is the dismal reality that the majority of my American friends and family are reliant upon normalcy. This pandemic, this virus has put a lot of them into a newfound state of dread. Most everyone including my own mother is so overly concerned about paying bills and driving their cars they have forgotten the world is on a pause. While they sort of expect a bailout they also know this is precedented and the claims of relief are just too good to be true. My mother wants to pay her mortgage as she believes in the systems in place will come after her if she doesn't. She imagines that during this time her mortgage holder will come extract her from her home and make her breathe throng air. She just cannot have that. I digress. I am trying to explain to people to just stay indoors and nevermind bill collectors or mean bosses. Unfortunately, the world really doesn't revolve around them or money. And trust me it shows ... in cryptocurrency, in money markets, in pension plans and so on. But if the restaurants are being shut down, its employees laid off and diners have to be quarantined ... the world does stop. Money is of no use here. It is gone.

People what you need to focus on is your health. You want to be actively washing your hands, checking your temperature and practicing social distance. You want to lower your risk of exposure. You want to get good rest to build your immune system. You should take supplements for vitamin D as you are stuck indoors. You want to read your books, stream content, spring clean and workout. You want to dote upon your loved ones and pets as now is the time. Gone are the days of waking to serve and frantically running on alarms, caffeine and empty. If you are in a safe place and symptom free, sleep in until 10:00 and portion your meals throughout the purposeless day. Go see what Dr. Campbell has to say and look at all the red dots on the W.H.O. map and be grateful. Maybe for extra credit plant some seeds, make your own hand sanitizer, shop for an elderly neighbor or "cash app" an artist or maker. Do not move about. Flight cancellations aside there is no reason to leave your home. Schools are closed, movies are postponed and life as we knew it is at a standstill. I am trapped but my mind is free to do basically anything the internet and my mind tells me to. And I am alright with this. I am more than alright.