I had a conversation with a friend in a place Covid-19 is just beginning to emerge and it felt like... like I was having a conversation through a time machine.

Buy toilet paper, I said. Don't hoard but make sure you have a few weeks worth for it shall disappear. I do not know, sir, do not ask me why. From Sydney to Savannah the toilet paper is scarce.

Rubbing alcohol, hand soap. These are the medicines you will need. Do you have flour? For the flour will go. Rice? Beans?

We also talked about the social stuff - how you will suddenly become terrified of anyone inside of your perimeter.

You will find yourself pacing outside of the "too crowded" post office as you decide if you "really" need to mail that package.

You will cough and panic and even though logic tells you it is allergies or something that went down a little funny you will take your temperature. Then you will take it again. Then you will worry that if you keep taking your temperature your battery will die.

Eventually, you will know people who are sick. If you are lucky (I am lucky) they will have gotten sick ranging from "barely noticeable" to "mild" where they're so sick for weeks but not enough to require hospitalization.

You will pump them for tips (I did not tell him this)

You will worry about your loved ones constantly. Because it all came down so quickly, even if you were worried and concerned there came a point where all of your choices were bad choices so you will pick the bad choice that is the easiest and you will avoid thinking about it.

People will ask you about this bad choice and you will get tired of laying out why you choose that choice over the other bad choices. It doesn't matter now anyway the choice has been made. You just have to wait to see if it was the best bad choice.