As I write this I’m at our Arizona home which is a couple of miles from many of Major League Baseballs’ Spring Training Ballparks. It’s a Saturday and it would ordinarily be a great day to take in a ballgame. But there are no ballgames to take in.

I guess I’ll watch a NBA game on TV instead. Oh wait, there are no NBA games. There are no hockey games either. There are no games at all.

That’s very interesting.

I did go to Walmart at 7:00am this morning…I was confused at first because it seemed a lot like a Black Friday. The place was packed. What was different from a Black Friday however was that the shelves were mostly empty.

I remember shopping at a surplus store years ago in my hometown of Saint Paul, Minnesota. They had a slogan that said “if we don’t have it then you don’t need it.” One of the Walmart employees said a good rule of thumb for these times was that “if you need it then it’s most likely that we don’t have it.” That’s more than interesting.

We certainly do live in interesting times.

“May you always live in interesting times” is an English expression which purports to be a translation of a traditional Chinese curse. While seemingly a blessing, the expression is normally used ironically; life is better in “uninteresting times” of peace and tranquility than in “interesting” ones, which are usually times of trouble.

But I’ve come to the conclusion that interesting times can be less trouble than they otherwise might be if we work together to limit the trouble. I had a 40 year old guy say to me “I’m not affected by the virus so what the hell do I care.” Well now he’s out of toilet paper and you would think the world is coming to an end.

We are ALL affected by the challenge facing the world today. We can limit the trouble traveling around the world by ALL sticking together. The best way to keep the world healthy is to keep yourself healthy. There have been about a billion warnings to wash your hands regularly (I now have an hourly reminder on my phone) and to stop touching your face. (Easier said than done)

Pay attention to that advice. In fact, pay attention period. You’re pretty safe if you’re in your twenties but you know what? You are about the most likely age group to pass an illness on to the age groups who most certainly are not safe. So pay attention. Take the same precautions as if the virus is a serious threat to you.

All the experts say this is likely to get worse before it gets better. Together we can limit how much worse. Let’s remember the together part.

So for the next while help other people a little more. If you do choose to go out to dinner then tip a little more. If you’re going to the store then offer to pick something up for a neighbor. Check in on people over the phone more often.

Since it’s likely you’ll be around home more often take advantage of the time to complete those projects you’ve been putting off. And how about this for a crazy idea, put down that stupid Smartphone and talk to people the old fashioned way.

There is a lot of fake information and rumors out there. Remember the ONLY official source of information is CoronaVirus.gov Point your browser there for the latest accurate information on these most interesting of times.

I’m pretty sure that the best way to get through interesting times is to be more interested in others and less interested in ourselves. As Mr. Spock once told Captain Kirk, “The good of the many must outweigh the good of the one.”

It’s only by working together that can we truly flatten the curve.