Sitting at my computer here at just after 3am in the morning, I'm wondering how the rest of my friends in the Amiga and MorphOS communities are coping with this horrible pandemic that the whole world is experiencing over the past few months? Yesterday I spoke to, or texted many family members, as I have done much more frequently over the past three weeks, since the pandemic has become more wide spread and deadly here in the USA. I worry about all of my family and friends, but staying in contact with them allows me to worry less often, knowing that they are doing everything they can to stay safe, and hopefully avoid catching the COVID-19 virus.

I thought that it might be helpful for some of the users here to share their experiences with the rest of the members of this forum site, and it might help me learn what is happening in some places around the world, because it appears that the news agencies can no longer be trusted 100% to present the whole picture, without their "Spin", or "Slanting" of the truth. As much as I dislike our current president, the one thing his presidency has accomplished, is to show how biased some news agencies can become, either for, or against him. I don't want this thread to be used for any political ranting, so please do not destroy this thread with such messages, but I for one, will never trust any news agency blindly again, and will try to confirm what they are presenting as their version of the news, through other means, such as the Internet, where hopefully I will be able to see enough other perspectives, that will allow me a chance to piece together the information and form my own opinion about what the truth is in our ever shrinking world.

I am glad to have this community and this forum, as a place to share information, and it is my wish that this thread be used to share personal stories of how each of you are coping with this pandemic, and how it is affecting you and your families. I'll begin with my own story of how my family and I are coping with this terrible situation.

Ever since learning about the COVID-19 virus, my significant other and I have become increasingly more careful about being in crowded places with lots of people. Since we live in a very rural area, mostly farmland, or hundreds of acres of grazing grass for beef cattle, it is easier for us to maintain distance from other people, than it would be in a crowded city. Recently, we have begun disinfecting everything we bring to our home, the mail, all of the groceries, everything! We wear latex gloves when grocery shopping, and if disinfecting wipes are offered at the door into the grocery store, we use them to wipe down the shopping cart handles, before beginning our shopping. In the last two weeks, some things have begun to be scarce in the store shelves, with the first thing to become unavailable being toilet paper, because so many people have been buying up all of the supply, in anticipation of a possible shortage in the future. Two days ago, while doing some shopping for just a few things we had forgotten to get the week before, was the first time I noticed that there was almost no produce in the fruit and vegetable isles of the store, which showed that the pandemic has finally begun slowing down the delivery of some perishable items that cannot be stocked long before they will be sold. We have done a small bit of buying non-perishable foods, so we will have about a two week supply, just in case the stores have trouble receiving goods in the future, but we are trying to not contribute to the problem by participating in panic buying of several months worth of food, like some people appear to be doing. I am retired, so work stoppages will not affect my income, but my significant other still works, and is starting a new job next month at a nursery/florist, unless the newly released California guidelines for all residents of this state to stay home, if they perform non-essential jobs is still in effect when she is supposed to start her job. Luckily for us, she also has another job doing online sales, that she does from home. Both of her daughters have been locked out of their jobs until further notice, and my daughter in-law worked her last day on Monday of this past week, as a dental hygiene technician, and does not know when she will be able to return to work. Losing half of their income will put a great strain on my Son, and his wife, as they had just bought a home with a very large mortgage, so now he is working 7 days a week, hoping that the over-time will make up for her lost income. My younger Son has been fighting health problems, including Asthma, like myself, which makes both of us more vulnerable to mechanics of the COVID-19 virus, so I am urging him to stay isolated as much as possible. I wish that he would come live with me until the virus is more contained, or a treatment has been developed, which will lessen the danger for everyone, but specially for those who have preexisting respiratory illnesses. I have a friend I have knows since High School (1970's), who is still working as a flight attendant, and who is based in the state of Washington, where there are many cases of COVID-19. She is thinking that it is just a matter of time before she is exposed to the virus, if she has not already been exposed to it. I wish she could just stop working, and let the younger flight attendants work the reduced number of flights that the airlines are providing. My Mother lives in an "Assisted Living" facility, which has closed it's doors to all visitors, in an attempt to keep the virus from affecting the many vulnerable residents that they have. She just turned 92 on the 5th of this month.

I feel lucky to be where I am, and to have a partner to spend my time with, but in reality, there is not any place that is entirely safe from this virus. I hope that all of you are doing everything you can to stay safe, and keep your families safe as well.

Please use this thread to share your own stories, but not a place to repeat what the news agencies are reporting day after day. Thanks for sharing (if you decide to participate).