A big surge in the Dow Jones Index this morning is a pleasant greeting, once again topping the 20,000 mark. As the economic  roller coaster continues, it will undoubtedly be a different story this afternoon. Is there consolation in knowing that you only lost half of what you thought? A call to my financial adviser yesterday brought this temporary relief, but still a big chuck on savings have disappeared. Today I’ll make some more cancellation calls for upcoming travel plans. The good news is that someday I’ll get the thrill of re-booking these dream adventures. Even the Olympics have now been postponed for a year so that will eliminate the Trials date on my shrinking calendar of things to anticipate. Tomorrow, I will have a new episode of Curse of Oak Island to watch and then Ozark starts a new season. Watching TV is about the only thing left to do.

Oregon Governor, Kate Brown, issued the “stay at home order” yesterday as expected. Traffic on the streets this morning workday was spotty, making my run less of a challenge. The blossoming cherry trees lining the Willamette River at the half-way point are a welcome sight after avoiding the growing number of homeless camps surrounded by trash. Other than a couple of quick outings with our schnauzer Tally, it will be my only exposure to the outdoors today, with the expectation of rain. To ease the not-so-unpleasant boredom, I’ll do some work on my Ancestry.com tree, as I continue to look for DNA connections with the Ban(n)ister family that brought me into the world. With the current COVID-19 situation, that’s not such a good thing!

My son has managed to hold on to his restaurant job despite the difficulties in that industry, but his wife has lost some crucial paycheck hours. It’s a reminder of how lucky I am to no longer be in the workforce. I can’t imagine trying to sell advertising to businesses that are being discouraged from generating traffic. Although, it has been proven that maintaining a presence will help them recover quicker once things get back to normal. By the opposite extreme, my wife’s youngest daughter in healthcare is overwhelmed by the demands of her job. The money we planned to spend on travel this year will probably go to support our struggling families.

It’s hard to maintain the sense of humor that was my initial goal in writing this blog every day. Toilet paper jokes have already lost their appeal. Facebook posts show the desperation of those stuck at home. Watching the news and political upheaval only adds to the depression, so many have turned to music, uninterrupted by Coronavirus updates. Fortunately, I’m not yet aware of a single person in my circles that has been affected by the virus, although several have reported being exposed. This just makes the whole situation seem unrealistic, as we stay home and wait for the invisible enemy to show itself.