Hi Everyone, I feel like everyone else is speaking their piece on the topic, so I thought I would update you all on my status and my plans for the coming period of time as the country and the world deals with the pandemic caused by the COVID 19 coronavirus.
First and foremost, I am safe and sound and healthy. As I write this, I’m currently in Corpus Christi, Texas and there are, as of now, no reported cases in the city or in surrounding Nueces County. The hospitals are preparing to offer testing to anyone who meets the criteria to get one and respond accordingly. The stores have weathered the initial storm and while the toilet paper and hand sanitizer supplies have been depleted everyone remains civil and courteous. I think the fact that the Gulf Coast has had its share of hurricanes and tropical storms over the years leaves it a little less likely to react over-zealously. I have made some rounds and stocked up for myself with enough food to last for several weeks if the need arises. I have plenty of water, a full propane tank and yes, I even have enough toilet paper to last me if necessary. Most of my equipment, from my camera to my computer, can run or be recharged on board my van. We’re pretty self-sufficient at this point. In short, I’m good for the foreseeable future when it comes to supplies. Also, for those of you who don’t know, my mother is a nurse so I’m getting expert professional advice on keeping safe and healthy.
I’m pretty good at the whole idea of “social distancing” and have lived most of my life in at least a somewhat isolated space. I rarely get the flu because I’m rarely in that close a contact with anyone. But I cannot park and hide out in my van for the next few weeks or months. I would lose my mind and that’s too much to ask. I don’t think driving 24 hours to get home would be very helpful either as I think I would be putting my folks at risk just being there and I would be putting myself in a far more concentrated area than I’m currently in. It seems the more spread out people are, the better situated to deal with this. So for now, I’m staying put, and by that I mean I will continue on this journey albeit on a modified course with an eye towards safety always.
I’m keeping updated on the news but trying not to overdue it. I think many people aren’t listening critically and seem to be making up their own version of what’s going on. On the one hand, some people have watched too many disaster movies and feel like the apocalypse is upon us. It is not. Others think this whole thing is a hoax or a test or something significantly less serious than it is. It is not that either. It is a time for caution and a time to pay attention to real doctors giving out real advice. People have lost faith in the media and while some of that is deserved, there are still good reporters doing real coverage out there. Try and keep informed the best you can, and as a general rule it’s better to err on the side of caution.
Being in Texas is an interesting place to be for all of this. Being on the Gulf Coast, as I mentioned above, is a good thing because most people aren’t totally freaked out by stocking up and staying home for a few days. On the other hand, people here are used to “riding it out” and are unlikely to do anything until they are forced to. A hurricane is a great analogy - it’s something you see coming. Some people prepare, some evacuate, and some people keep doing what they’re doing. While I respect that latter and their decisions, they are the ones who end up on their roof holding a sign. This is coming, you’ve been warned, prepare accordingly. In a different vain there is a part of me which worries about a state’s commitment to public health and safety in a place that still allows smoking in indoor public places. I fear that if they feel you can choose to be in a place with smoking, you can choose to be in a place with coronavirus. I’m a big supporter of personal decisions and freedoms, but these are great examples of where public good should supersede personal freedoms. There are also a lot of guns here in Texas - pretty much everyone has one and more likely more than one. I’m a big supporter of the 2nd Amendment for many reasons, but as a defense against tyranny is one of them, and one of its original intents. On the one hand, the number of guns around is a good thing because if martial law is declared, the National Guard will have to tread lightly. People will have their eyes on them and not allow crazy abuses of power to go on. There is a sense of law and order in an armed culture, and one I understand, respect and believe in. On the other hand, things can turn bad really quickly if people start shooting. Most gun owners are responsible people with families and won’t turn to this as anything but a last resort, but if comes to that it’ll get ugly quickly. On this issue, I’m still leaning towards feeling safer with the guns around than without.
While I do not consider myself “homeless” in that I am out here by choice and have other options if I choose to take them, I often use the same facilities as people who don’t have the same choices I do. Many people use public libraries as a respite from the street – a place with clean bathrooms, comfortable chairs and nobody to bother them or tell them to move on. They are a safe haven. I can look around myself now in the public library where I am working and at least half of the people here today are homeless. Closing public libraries will affect these people way more than it will affect most. I generally shower at the gym, and I’m not alone in doing so. There are plenty of people living in their vehicles who shower, shave, change and go to their jobs from the gym and you’d never know by looking at them that they were living on the streets. The longer you’re out here the easier it is to blend in and the better you get at living this way. Gyms are a luxury to most, but not to all who use them. On most nights I park and sleep in a Walmart parking lot, and while I’m often joined there by other RVers doing the same thing, there are plenty of other people parked overnight as well, most in far less comfortable digs than Shadow Catcher. Some people don’t have a vehicle at all, but sleep in the adjacent woods or bushes. People know that there are security cameras on the light poles to keep things somewhat safe, and others around if something were to go down. Again, there are public restrooms available for people to clean up. While I understand and support Walmart’s new shortened hours, this will affect some more than you may know. This is life at the fringe of society. Most people don’t even see these people in their trips to Walmart or the library or the gym, but I promise you they’re there – in cities and rural areas both. And generally speaking people are getting by okay. But something like this can change all of that. While you may see a gym or a library as a luxury that can and should be closed, for some people these are their lifelines, and they’re barely holding on.
Being quarantined and shutting everything down is very different for different people. Please keep that in mind. While you may have a safe, quiet, well-stocked home, many do not. There are children who will be put in harm’s way because of this, and children and adults who will be subjected to domestic violence they would have otherwise avoided, at least in part. As a former teacher, I’m well aware that the only decent meals many children get in this country, they get at school. Charities will be shuttering to keep the people who run them safe, and rightly so, but many will suffer as a result. One reality most people don’t like to hear is how many of our homeless people are veterans. In this country we love to wave the flags and “support the troops” and simply can’t or don’t want to believe that despite this, young people come home from these wars badly damaged. Many need social services and mental health care they are simply not receiving and many end up addicted to drugs and/or on the streets because of that. Please be mindful that many of the faceless “losers” you may sneer at behind your picket fences and think they should be pulling themselves up and out of harm’s way are children and veterans. Many have nowhere to go, and many would rather be anywhere but the places they now must go. While a lot of people will be hurt by this crisis, the most vulnerable among us will face challenges many of you can’t imagine. Maybe you can spare some change for the next few weeks. Maybe throw a ziplock bag of dog food in your car to give to that guy on the street who will feed his dog before himself. Maybe some granola bars or something to help those who tell you they’re hungry.
Things will start to close here at some point, probably sooner rather than later. In order for me to keep going, I need gas stations and grocery stores to stay open. The gym is a tough one because I shower there, but I do have a shower in my van and a solar camping shower as well. As long as I have food and fuel I can push on. I generally depend on the gym or, more often, the public library or a local coffee shop for the internet. If those are closed, I will do what I can to keep this blog updated as best I can. If this blog goes dark for a while, I’ll keep up my posts on Facebook and Instagram and keep taking photos as I go. I’ll catch up with it all eventually. Many “attractions” will probably be closed, and I’m okay with that. I’m sorry that I will miss out on some of the things I want to see, but I support public safety above my own personal needs (and these are not really needs anyway).
And that’s really an important topic. Most of us will be inconvenienced by this. And that is really all it is: an inconvenience. We must not lose sight of the fact that some people will die. Some will lose their homes and/or businesses. Many will lose their jobs and livelihoods. I hope those who will come out of this okay will come together to support those who won’t and as a society we can move forward when all of this blows over. Which it will, but not without leaving a path of destruction in its wake. How big or small that path is largely depends on how we act and react to what’s coming.
Please give people a break out there. You don’t know their story, nor have you walked a minute in their shoes. You don’t know that that person “hoarding” toilet paper isn’t buying it for a whole retirement home, or a homeless shelter, or maybe they’re a hospice nurse who wants to be sure she has plenty on hand if people in her care need it. It seems to me that the only reason people know there is no toilet paper in the stores is because they themselves have visited that aisle. If it were full, you might grab an extra pack yourself. While you may be a gourmet chef, some people may truly only be able to cook ramen noodles and they are buying it by the carton trying to do what they can to get through this. While you may be young and fit, most people probably know someone older and with conditions which make them more susceptible to this virus. We’re worried about those people, and may not be thinking as clearly as we normally do. While I personally have been through several hurricane evacuations and other emergencies, so many people have never had to deal with anything of the sort. They’re trying the best they can to take care of themselves and their loved ones.So give people some slack out there while this unfolds. You may be smarter, wealthier, more experienced or simply better prepared than the next guy, but we’re all going to sink or swim together over the next few months so be kind to each other out there.
So for now, I’m going to push forward. I will keep my distance from everyone and everything in an effort to not just keep myself safe, but to keep them safe from me. My camera will be charged and handy in the event that things go in a weird direction and I need to switch quickly from travel photography to virus photojournalism. I will continue to take photos of the towns I visit no matter how empty they are (most of the towns I visit are pretty empty regardless, to be honest). I will post what I can where I can and when I can. And most importantly I’ll be watching out for myself and my fellowman and will especially be keeping my eye out for those living on the fringe. Please stay safe out there. Please be kind to each other. I have to go. I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep…