Tuesday, March 17, 2020

The rain starts, of course, as I’m walking home from work. I’d figured that it might. I often catch a bus in this weather, but transit has gotten unpredictable. After tonight, they won’t be running in the evening anyway, and they may have already started skipping most stops. On Tuesdays, I usually walk to the mall while listening to my favorite weekly podcast. But the mall is closed, and the park that I walk through to it may be closed too. I know that it will be as of tomorrow. Along the main street, the larger restaurants are closed. Some of the storefront eateries are still open, but with only outdoor seating. The doors are open at my usual shawarma joint, but everything is shut down inside. The usual array of condiments and add-ons is gone, and the grill, deep fryer, and shawarma spit are pulled away from the wall, possibly for cleaning. I stop into a cheap coffee shop and pick up a prefab pasta plate to take home. It costs less than two US dollars and is quite good. At home, I curl up in front of the big screen. I would love to shelter in place, but, at my boss’s request, I’ll be back at the office tomorrow.