Update From Up North

I had forgotten about those two comic strips but, when I looked at them, they looked familiar.

Slackers are a problem with any system, and different cultures have dealt with them in different ways.  Generally, a culture will tolerate slackers until times get tough, and then the culture gets tough on the slackers.

Cheboygan County has reported its first case of coronavirus.  It was only a matter of time, since counties on three sides of us have it, if you count Mackinaw County across the straits.  The count for the whole state is somewhere in the thousands and is rising as we speak, with 134 deaths so far.  I haven't heard anything about Illinois, but several urban centers including Detroit are hotspots, so I suppose Chicago will be too, if it isn't already.

Shopping conditions in Cheboygan have improved since last weekend.  There is more product on the shelves, and I even found some toilet paper in a gas station convenience store.  It was 2 ply and they didn't have much of it, so I left it for somebody who might need it more than we do.  We are good for a couple of weeks yet, and then we've got to get serious about finding some.  None of the stores are accepting deposit bottle and can returns by order of our governor, I suppose to minimize anything that might be contaminated coming into the stores.  Checkout clerks are wearing gloves now, but not masks.  I still have not seen anybody wearing a mask except on TV.  The six foot rule is starting to be enforced, at least in the checkout lines, which are marked off with tape on the floors.

My recliner chair, which is where I sleep at night, is broken, but I will have to make do with it for awhile, since I doubt that furniture stores are on the "essentials" list.  I tried to fix it myself with no success.  There is a pivot point connector broken off, and I couldn't drift or drill the hole out to put a bolt in it.  It looks like they put it together with some kind of press and then built the chair around it.  The good news is that it has lasted almost 20 years, so the next one should be the last recliner I ever have to buy.