Unprecedented times

We are in unprecedented territory.

Stores closed, concerts canceled, Broadway and Disney World closed, museums closed, schools closed, people shifting to working at home. Basketball and hockey season suspended, March Madness canceled, major league baseball season postponed, the Master’s Golf Tournament and Boston Marathon delayed until fall.

Sure there’s some irrational panic like the run on toilet paper and hand sanitizer (soap and water works just as well for the latter, unless you’ve got a bidet I’ve got no solution for the former). I feel for the hourly employees at restaurants, bars, stores etc. but hopefully the unusual (in this current era) bipartisan partnership in Washington on unemployment insurance and sick leave, etc. will help with this.

What’s most unprecedented, though, are the things we are seeing individuals, corporations, local governments doing to do the right thing. Its heartwarming. These people are patriots and you know what, I guess its not that unprecedented. People step up. It might take a crisis to see it, but they do. From Mark Cuban pledging to cover the pay for all of his hourly employees for the Dallas Mavericks (inspiring others to do the same, including New Orleans Pelicans rookie Zion Williamson followed by other NBA players) to the Rebeca Mehra in Bend Oregon who bought groceries for an elderly couple too scared to go into the Safeway, we are stepping up.

Sure, there are still examples of people who aren’t taking responsibility to keep others safe like the idiot who got on a Jet Blue plane this week after getting tested and before his test result was in or the bonehead in St. Louis who took his daughter to a father-daughter dance last weekend after being told to remain in self-quarantine. Or the scammers trying to profit from the hysteria or fake cures. Lock ’em all up with Harvey Weinstein.

Despite these rare stories making headlines and in these difficult times on the psyche and the 401K, people across the globe are stepping up, doing the right thing and being good corporate and global citizens. Let’s keep this ball rolling, at least until we can all feel safe about drinking corona beer again :-).