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Culture Shift and Covid Corridor

Culture Shift
15.november.2020

As I bleated (edited) to Sum1's Home :

"The culture is shifting due to covid... will it go back to 'normal'? No. A new 'normal' maybe. I'm a Cafe Culture person and now I don't dare step into buildings. I love cash not credit (so some places have lost my business). I live up 42 steps; delivery is 'iffy'. Plus, I don't believe in it. I'm not a shopper on-line and even in person; Target/BestBuy once, twice per year is good enough. I don't have an urge to go to WalMart. But I need groceries because I need to eat. Once a week will do. I skipped this week. I can get a free lunch M-F if I want to pick it up (I walk) and can even sit there in the hot sun, choke smoke, cold rain or snow or below zero weather. I'm cutting back on that as well. If I want to eat soups and pasta I don't have to leave my rooms for one month except to take out the trash.

Main Street is dying. Wall Street? As if I care. I've invested in people all my live not in stocks. But even that...

Maybe... maybe... traffic will calm down as it did when we had a lockdown here. But our transportation systems, food-chain, marketing, meeting-places (like bars... I don't drink) are all affected. Hospitals and health care? Who knows! Americans are content to have 'unwanted' people die... as long as it isn't them."

Does it feel good to rant? Not really. It lets out steam but it doesn't improve the situation. I live in an old hotel in 2 rooms. Perfect for me until now. I share the toilets, showers and baths. We have a competent janitor. But, I'm not 'safe' here. I have to go out into the Covid Corridor to take a shit. I can pee in my room. TMI? Too bad. This is what I have to deal with every day. Be glad you don't.

About 2 years ago they decided to change some units into AirBnB. Most have bathrooms but some don't. Regardless, more people I don't know in the hallways. No word as to whether they are covid positive, negative, don't know or don't care. This area depends on tourism... they decided to open up for the summer and autumn. They didn't ask my opinion. Montana is #12 with percentage of positive population at 4.4% along with Arkansas and Alabama. North Dakota at 8.3% (highest in the world) and South Dakota at 7.3% (#2 in the USA) border us to the east. Western Dakota (a.k.a. Eastern Montana) is worse than WMT where I live. Anti-maskers. "Muh Freedom!" reigns... and as hospitals overflow they'll be burying grandma. Rural America will be smacked in ways they haven't been in a century. "I told you so." will not suffice.

So color me pissed. I understand emergencies... but much of the pain is self-inflicted by denial and ignorant posturing; meanwhile our president is a toddler having a tantrum and is basically missing-in-action.

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