Don’t hope for the past…plan for the future…

April 20, 2020

OK, I get it. These are uncertain times. We’re all in this together. We’re here for you. Yada, yada, yada. I think most have gotten the message, even if some reject the need for the precautions that government leaders have imposed. So, what now?

Many seem to be sitting around hoping and waiting for things to return to the old “normal” that we had, before all of this happened. Guess what, Yolanda? It aint’t gonna happen. When the dust settles, things will be permanently different. We need to accept that and plan for our new lives in the new reality that we are living in.

There will be people who are no longer with us. There will be businesses that didn’t make it through the crisis. There will be new rules for how we live and work together. There will be a new appreciation of how fragile our lives really are and how precious the time is that we have. There will still be jerks; there will always be jerks running around with “Don’t tread on me” signs and refusing to do what is needed for the good of all.

The key now is to let go of those false hopes for a return to how things used to be and to focus upon making the best of things as they are and will be. We must learn from this experience and hopefully be better prepared for the next big things that happens to us. We have already learned that we were woefully prepared at all levels of government  for this event; just as we learned from Hurricane Katerina how poorly prepared FEMA was  for that type of event.

This event exposed the poor planning and preparedness at the Federal level (exacerbated by the total lack of understanding and leadership at the top) and the lack of any form of Federal/State coordination to deal with such events. That needs to change, beginning in November. There will be lots of campaign talk about being better prepared for the next major crisis. Try to find the few honest politicians who aren’t just blowing smoke and vote for them

At a personal level, each person needs to reflect on what they discovered about themselves, their lives and their relationships during this crisis.

Financial planners have been telling us forever that we need  to have at least 6-8 month cushion of readily available cash to see us through temporary setbacks like this. That is to say, that you need 6 to 8 times what your normal bills would be in an “emergency fund” that you can readily access. That’s a lot and it won’t be easy to save that amount, but it should be your goal when you get back to work. That means a lot of sacrifice for a while, but keep in mind how exposed and helpless you felt during the current crisis and that might help you make those sacrifices for the future.

While I certainly don’t espouse that we all become “preppers”, stocking our bunkers in anticipation of a Zombie apocalypse, this experience did expose how ill prepared most are to ride out even a short crisis. We have become accustomed to being able to hop in the car and go get a roll of toilet paper or some eggs when we run out. We did not anticipate the hoarding and supply chain issues that this crisis exposed. Being better prepared may mean having a better-stocked pantry that can supply our needs for a week or more.

As for our relationships, I suspect that being quarantined in place with family was an eye opener for many, especially for husbands who now see what their wives go through every day with the kids. For a few that may have been the straw that broke an already shaky marriage. For many, I hope it was the event that changed the relationship from one of convenience to one of interdependency – from love in the Greek word Eros to that of Agape. . For couples, that may mean a completely new understanding of the words “us” and “we”.

And for our feelings about ourselves, this event likely forced more alone, “ME” time than any that has led up to it. Some probably came away disappointed or depressed with what they came face to face with in that alone time. Hopefully, most love themselves enough to have enjoyed a bit of time alone to think and reflect on life. With that base of loving yourself, you could also explore your love for others and perhaps make some life changes to better share and express that love.

A friend of mine is a financial planner who uses the tag line – “People don’t plan to fail; they fail to plan”.  That was certainly true for most of us before this crisis. We can take actions coming out of this experience to make sure that it is not true when the next crisis hits. So, let go of the past and hopes for a return to something that is gone. Start planning  for your future. That future starts now.

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Posted by Norm Werner

Science or intuition – what will we depend upon?

April 19, 2020

In a recent Corona Virus daily briefing President Trump said, in response to a question about how the decision would be made on re-opening the country, that he would depend upon science and intuition, adding – “a lot of intuition”. So our future is in the hands of a man who depends more on his “gut feel” about things and people than on any intelligent decision making process. Disappointing, but not surprising.

The decisions that must be made on relaxing the current measures to combat the virus really boil down to answering the question – How many lives are we willing to lose to keep the economy afloat. There is some number circulating in the back of POTUS’ mind of the acceptable collateral damage death toll that Americans will accept as the price for getting back to work.  

In fact, Sweden was in the news recently for having made that very decision at the start of the outbreak in their county. The government leaders in Sweden acknowledged that their decision not to impose any stay at home or social distancing mandates would come at a price in deaths – a price that they deemed to be acceptable, in order to keep the economy of Sweden running. Not every Swede agrees with that decision, just like many disagree with the stay at home mandates here .

The few scientific minds that get snippets of TV time during stories about getting America back to work have consistently warned that it will be a complex problem to solve and that acting too quickly to relax social distancing restrictions will put America at risk for a second wave of infection from the virus. Little is currently known about the virus and whether or not some level of herd immunity can be achieved from those who survived infections in the first wave. Scientific progress is being made on multiple fronts – testing, treatments and developing a vaccine – but much work remains to be done, especially to ramp up to the levels needed to insure safety – especially testing  and tracking.  The most honest answers from the scientific world start with “We just don’t know”.

So, on the one hand, we have our best ab brightest scientific minds cautioning against going too fast to reopen the country, while they work as fast as they can to find solutions to slow the rate of infections and deaths.  On the other hand, we have POTIUS going with his intuition and focusing upon reopening the country’s economy at some acceptable cost in lives. Upon which hook shall we hang the health and fate of the nation?

As I watch the posts in Facebook and elsewhere, I often see people who have been posting that this all B.S., a hoax and government overreach that it’s stealing their freedom. They quickly turn to posts of “Holy Crap, this stuff it real”, as soon as someone close to them gets it and dies. One can only assume that a number of the idiots who flaunt the rules on re-opened beaches and at large anti-government mandates rallies will soon become “Holy Crap” posters, if they live to post about it.

Now, more than ever, it is time to pray for God’s help. Pray for intelligence, patience and perseverance to prevail over frustration, stupidity and intuition.

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Posted by Norm Werner

Getting beyond stage three…

April 16, 2020

I wrote back on March 20 (see What’s your plan?) that there are four stages that we all would be going through during this crisis. Stage 1 – Shock and Awe, Stage 2 – Fear and Anxiety, Stage 3 – Frustration and anger and, finally,  Stage 4 – Acceptance and inventiveness.

We have been through stages 1 and 2 for the past few weeks in quarantine and many, if not most, have already entered stage 3, as witnessed by the protest rally at the state capitol yesterday. The frustration and anger are fueled by fear and have been exacerbated by a total lack of leadership at the national level. One is tempted, while watching the daily briefings from Washington, to cue up the music “Send in the Clowns”, but as the song itself says, “Don’t bother, they’re here.”

So here we are, into stage 3 – frustrated and angry. Frustrated that we don’t know who to be angry at and angry that everything that we want to do is frustrated by the situation at hand. For some, that frustration and anger results in stupidity – going to crowded protest rallies unprotected by masks or social distancing comes to mind or going to large church services. For others it has resulted in family friction that threatens to end marriages or cause depression. For many this feels like the same anger and frustration that as children used to cause us to hold our breath until we turned blue. It didn’t work then and it won’t work now.

Stage 3 is the most dangerous stage to get through, since it is the stage that precipitates to most dangerous reactions. When anger takes over your life, reason is often pushed aside in favor of a response – a response that in many cases just makes the situation worse. In this stage, even God becomes a target for our anger – we ask, “How could God let this happen to us?” In fact, it is in this stage that we need God’s help the most. We need to pray for God’s help to let us quickly move on to Stage 4, where we start to take positive steps to deal with the changes needed in our lives. We might pray that God calm our frustrations and anger or end our self-pity party and give us the strength to accept our new reality and find ways move forward within that reality.

The focus at state leadership levels will soon turn to defining the rules that must govern or lives as we return to work. We will not be out of danger with this virus for months, but efforts to flatten the curve have worked to some extent to reduce the severity of the outbreak and prevent the wholesale overrunning of our health care system. We could soon be at an acceptable steady-state level of infections and deaths (if there is ever an acceptable level for deaths), that will allow us to slowly put people back to work. It will not be life as we knew it. Nothing will be as we knew it. Some will call it the “new normal”; many will just use the old hack – “It is what it is”. I call it Stage 4 of this crisis – the accepting and adapting (inventing) stage.

In this next phase we will need to understand how to conduct our lives and our businesses in a manner that doesn’t harm others by re-introducing the virus to them. The virus will still be there. It will always be there. We will not have a widespread vaccine or enough people with herd immunity for a year or more, so we must learn to live without killing each other. Social distancing rules and practices will dramatically affect how we live and how we conduct business.

It will be literally impossible for some businesses to operate profitably under social distancing rules. How can a restaurant, that may have been small to begin with, be expected to continue with half or less of the tables that it needs to be profitable? Yet that may be the new reality, if tables must be far enough apart to prevent the spread of the virus.  How can small stores, in which 3-4 people constitutes a crowd, remain open under new occupancy and social distancing guidelines? How can large events like sporting events or street festivals that draw huge crowds be allowed or made safe? There are no good answers to these simple questions, yet, and we have not even thought of all of the questions at this point.

It is in this stage that our resourcefulness as a people and as a nation will be tested. It is also in this stage where a moral triage of sorts will take place. We will be making the conscious choice to accept a certain level of illnesses and deaths as the necessary price for the survival of our economy. While that has always been true in our society, it has seldom been as starkly apparent as it will be now. We have always chosen to let a certain segment of our society go without access to healthcare (and die) for economic reasons. It was convenient for us to ignore that segment, since they were usually the poor and homeless. This new choice puts our friends, co-workers and families equally at risk. The virus is not discriminatory in that regard.

Let’s move as quickly as we can into stage 4. It is a much more positive stage than the self-destructive environment of Stage 3. Our best scientists and medical professionals will continue to focus on finding treatments and vaccines. Now our best business minds must focus upon creative ways to get America safely back to work. It won’t be easy, but there is not a challenge that we can’t overcome, once we put our minds to the task.

As a business owner, the first task at hand in Phase 4 is making it possible for customers to shop or eat or get services in your business with a minimum risk of becoming infected, and still be profitable while doing so. That task is quickly followed by finding the best way to let your customers know that you are open again and have taken those steps to protect them. Just don’t be the bull-headed merchant who re-opens without regard to the guidelines and gets shuttered again by the authorities (and there will be those jerks).  

Believe me there is plenty of pent-up demand for goods and services and food . It’s time to get to stage 4 and get ready to re-open. There is not a more creative group in our economy than the small business owners who make up the backbone of that economy. It’s time to get creative.

Let’s re-open American for safe business!

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Posted by Norm Werner

Look for it…it’s still there…Hope

April 13, 2020

Pastor Jack Freed used this quote from the movie Shawshank Redemption in his blog today –

“Hope is a great thing, maybe the best of things.  No good thing ever dies”

Hope never dies, but sometimes it eludes us. Perhaps it is because we are so consumed with fear or anxiety that we fail to look for it. Hope is like an onion with many layers. You may start with I hope things get better soon or perhaps I hope things get back to normal soon. There may be a layer that says, I hope they find a cure for this soon. Right below that hope maybe the layer that says, I hope I don’t get this virus. If you dig down deep enough, at the core for almost everyone is the hope  – I hope I don’t die from this virus.

When one gets down to that level of the onion it is not unusual that one find that hope is joined by faith. Faith and hope together form the foundation for belief – belief in the message and promise of Easter that there is life after death.

As we wait out this pandemic, one can find  guidance and reassurance in the Bible. The book of Romans has quite a few good references to hope –

Romans 5 – “we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope”

As we persevere through the current stay at home lockdown, imagine the character that we are building. Think of it as a long workout at the gym, but we are not building muscle; but, rather, we are building  character. For most of us, this lockdown may be the longest amount of time that we’ve had by ourselves, maybe ever. For some it is building character that they did not know that they had in them and bringing out hope that may have been long forgotten.

Romans 8:24-25 “For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”

Perhaps hope is the best thing. Hope based upon faith and belief is the strongest hope of all. We all need that kind of hope during this prolonged crisis.

Romans 15:13 – “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”

Keep hoping and have patience.

Keep the faith. God be with you.

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Posted by Norm Werner

Easter Service

April 12, 2020

Rather than writing anything today, I invite you to view the Easter Church Service for Holy Spirit Lutheran Church in West Bloomfield. During the COVID-19 Stay at Home period, our congregation has chosen to do the right thing and avoid holding services that might expose our congregation members to the risk of infection. I have been working with the pastor and church organist and choir director to create alternative services that we can deliver via video. I hope these videos help you get through these trying times.

Fair warning, there is a rather lengthy prelude to the actual service, so stick with it.

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Posted by Norm Werner

Time to relight the star…

April 8, 2020
Taken right at dawn coming back from walking the dogs

Years ago I bought a large Star of Bethlehem to use at Christmas time. It is a commercial display piece that is about 4 feet tall and 2 ½ feet across and lights up, so it can be seen from quite a distance. I usually use it as part of the Christmas decorations on my home. Since it is large and positioned on the second floor of the house, I just leave it up year around, but usually only illuminate it during the Christmas season. Until now. I have set it to light up from dusk until dawn until this crisis is over.

The current COVID-19 crisis has put the entire nation on edge and the stay at home order in this state has exacerbated those feelings of fear, uncertainty and doubt. I just felt like it was time to turn the star on again, to give people who see it something to cling to and have faith in.

It is ironic that it is lit during the Holy Week of Easter, yet somehow very appropriate. Christmas and Easter represent the birth and resurrection of hope as well as of our Lord. Now is a time that we all need hope and it is my intention that those seeing the star lit will find some measure of comfort and renewed hope for better days ahead.

If you drive by my house at night and see the star, please don’t honk, just smile and perhaps look over at the loved ones who may be with you in the car and have hope and faith that things will get better.

Be safe out there.

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Posted by Norm Werner

We’re not all in this together…

April 7, 2020

Lately, we constantly hear the phrase, “We’re all in this together”; however, there are many who don’t seem to buy into that. There are the hoarders, who are obviously looking out only for themselves and their families. Then there are the ignorant, who refuse to believe that this is important enough and serious enough to inconvenience the, so they ignore the advice, and even the orders, to practice social distancing and avoid crowds. They are the beach party goers, those still playing team games and those in street corner groups. There is a tendency to sit back and go – “Tsk, tsk”.

A more insidious group are those that we see reported in news casts who have found ways to take advantage of others during this crisis. The scammers are not doing harmless things. Some are just finding ways to get money through frauds like fake charity sites.  Some are, in fact, leading many people to their deaths by schemes that extract money for fake cures or even collecting money from people at fake testing sites. The penalties for those people should be much more than just a fine; perhaps they should be charged with attempted manslaughter.

Some of the worst cases of ignorance may be the religious zealots and cultists who seem steadfast in their beliefs that God will somehow protect them from the virus. So, they believe that it is all right for them to continue to gather in their churches. If they were only putting themselves at risk one might be able to overlook them as harmless kooks; however, they go out into their communities after the church services, potentially spreading the virus and well as their good news.

I have posted here before about the divergence of faith and religion and the harmful effects that the hand of man in religion has caused. The latest examples of ignorance and intransigence from church leaders in Texas and elsewhere provide more fodder for religious skeptics. One minister was quoted as saying that they believe in healing by the laying on of hands and will deal with this pandemic that way. One can only hope that they avoid touching their faces while laying on hands (that hopefully have been washed).

We must all lean more heavily than ever on our faith and find ways (virtually, of course) to practice our religious beliefs, too. We can do that without endangering others. My church, like most others, has found a way to provide a church service experience remotely. I do the video each week and edit it to put in the music and graphics to help the viewers follow along. We post our services to YouTube. Other churches are using streaming services or Facebook to reach out to the congregation members with services, prayer sessions, bible studies and other church activities. Those alternatives help the participants reinforce the sense of being “all in this together” even if we can’t physically be together.

As people of faith, no matter of what religion, it is important for us all to find a way to use and share that faith to get through situations like our current one. As hard as it may be to initially accept; that includes finding ways to include those who were mentioned above – the ignorant and obstinate, the malevolent fraudsters and the religious cultists. We cannot turn our backs on them, even if they have turned their backs on us. We cannot leave them behind. If in no other way, we can at least include them in our prayers, asking God to be with them and accept them into His kingdom along with us. Only then, will we truly all be in this together.

Stay safe. Keep the faith. Share the faith.

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Posted by Norm Werner

What soothes you during this crisis?

April 5, 2020

In his column today, Mitch Albom wrote under the headline “In a crisis, find the one thing that soothes you”. For Albom and his wife, that one thing is having a young man named Knox in their home during this crisis. Knox is from the orphanage in Hatti that Albom and his wife run. Knox was in America, staying at the Albom house, for a regularly scheduled therapy trip when the Covid-19 virus caused the shutdown of travel  back to Hatti.

For Mitch and his wife, being able to watch Knox explore and enjoy the things that they take for granted has provide them with a soothing distraction during the stay at home period. Perhaps the word “distracts” could be substituted for the word “soothes” in Albom’s headline; for it is something that takes you mind off the current crisis that his is describing.

There are many words that come to mind to describe the feelings, emotions or reactions that people are experiencing during this crisis. The words fear, frustration, anger, boredom and confusion all leap into the mind. But what is the one thing that is there not to distract us; but, to sooth us during this difficult period? I would argue that one thing is faith.

At the end of the day, every day, we all must put aside our feelings of fear or anger or frustration or whatever and seek comfort in the core beliefs that we hold. For Christians, those core beliefs always points to the same thing – that Jesus came to die for us, so that we might have eternal life. Nothing calms all of the concerns that our current situation has put us in more than a strong faith.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  (Philippians 4:6-7)

This is not to say that we should do foolhardy things to expose ourselves to more risk. Practicing the recommended social distancing and staying at home to slow the spread of the virus arte both prudent and necessary. They are also not selfish acts; but rather acts of concern and kindness to others. One could and should view them as acts of faith. Viewing them that way allows us to see them as proactive acts, rather than reactive acts and we can feel good about doing our part, instead of feeling like a helpless victim of our circumstances.  

Bringing your faith to the surface during this crisis not only comforts you, but it empowers you to comfort others. We see and hear all of the messages that say, “we’re all in this together” (albeit standing 6 feet apart from one another) and “we’ll get through this together”. When you see or hear those messages, don’t you have a reflex reaction to look around at others to see if those around you are as afraid or concerned as you? What most are really looking for is are those people whose faith has made them strong enough to be offering aid and comfort to others.

YOU can be that person, once you have empowered yourself through your faith. Empowerment through faith always starts with the same thing – prayer to God. It is certainly OK to ask God for protection for yourself, but it is much more empowering if you ask for His protection so that you can do his work to protect and comfort others.

Another story in the paper this morning was about the role that many healthcare workers find themselves in as they provide the last bit of earthly touch and comfort to the dying in hospitals or nursing care homes who would otherwise be alone, due to visitation restrictions. Whether they acknowledge it or not, they are sharing their faith with those patients. Playing that role takes a huge emotional toll on those healthcare workers; but one cannot but see the hand of God in their efforts to provide comfort in those final moments. As you pray, pray for God to continue to give our healthcare workers the strength to play that role.

We cannot all be on the front lines of this crisis with the first responders and the healthcare workers; but we can all join in the effort through prayer and faith and by doing what we can. Perhaps that means making masks, collecting or distributing food, calling neighbors, friends and family to make sure everyone is safe or to see what they might need. Whatever you can do to put your faith in action will bring you comfort. At days end, when you have done all that you can do, pause and consider this…

“Perhaps this is the moment for which you have been created.”  (Esther 4:14) 

Keep the faith. Share the faith.

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Posted by Norm Werner

Don’t mess with your selfie…

April 3, 2020

In a recent post to his blog, Jack’s Winning Words,  pastor Jack freed used this quote – “The easiest thing in the world to be is you.  The most difficult thing to be is what other people want you to be.  Don’t let them put you into that position.”  (Leo Buscaglia)

So, why is so hard for some  to just be yourself? I suspect that it is because we don’t necessarily like what we see when we look at ourselves. We take a mental “selfie” and immediately break out our copy of a virtual Photoshop to try to alter the picture.

For some it is their physical appearance with which they are uncomfortable. That may lead to all sorts of different and sometimes unusual steps to change that appearance. It may involve dying one’s hair bright orange or perhaps just wearing unusual clothes. Maybe it means getting a noose ring or a tattoo. It may even lead to plastic surgery to correct a perceived imperfection.

For others the desire to “fit in” may force dramatic changes in their behavior or lifestyle. If putting on the “uniform” of the group to which one wishes to belong isn’t enough, they change things like their vocabulary and speech patterns or maybe adopt a different lifestyle.

The rationale for making any of these changes is based upon trying to make yourself into something that you are not, to be something that you think other people want you to be. That rationale starts with your own dissatisfaction with what you see when you take that mental selfie. If you cannot love yourself and what you see in that selfie, it is natural to try to find others to emulate, in the mistaken belief that you will be happier being them than you are being you.

Life seldom works out that way. It is not until much later in life that most discover and appreciate the words of Meryl Streep – “What makes you different or weird, that’s your strength.” 

Maybe what you see in your mental selfie looks weird to you, or at least different. Start by embracing that and saying it is OK – it is your strength. In fact, maybe you should find ways to enhance and bring out those differences that make you unique. After all, they are your strength. Instead of being just another clone dressed in the cookie-cutter “uniform” of the crowd, you will stand out as someone with the confidence and strength of character to go their own way in fashion as in life. You might be surprised how attractive that can be.

How do you start to go your own way? Well, it starts with loving yourself and who you are. I’ve posted here about accepting and loving yourself first several times. Rather than spending your time seeking the approval of others, seek first approval of yourself. You must come to the conclusion that I am who I am, I like who I am and I’m not going to change who I am to suit others. The more comfortable you are with yourself, the more comfortable you will be around others. In that comfort within your own skin you will find courage and confidence that will radiate from you and make you the type of person that others enjoy being around.

For some, loving yourself may start with accepting the fact that God loves you just the way yo are. God does not ask or expect you to change. He just loves you and accepts for who you are. After all, He made you what you are and how can you not love that. So, if you can accept the love of God, you should be able to love yourself and then you can go on to love others and be loved by others.

So, it is alright to look in the mirror in the morning and take that mental selfie. The goal should not be to makes changes to be like someone else; but, rather, to be the best you that you can be that day. Embrace the things that make you different. They are your strength. They empower you. Loving yourself will allow others to love you, too.

Today, start by taking that mental selfie and saying – “Hello world. Get a load of this. It’s me. Don’t you just love it? I do.”  The world will be a happier place because you let the real you shine through.

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Posted by Norm Werner

Life goes on in self-isolation

March 26, 2020

I remember a common phrase from my childhood that one could be “all dressed up with nowhere to go”. That phrase certainly is apropos for today’s mandated “stay home” environment. Unlike some that I see posting on Facebook, I just can’t sit around in my pajamas all day. To be fair some posted that they had “day pajamas” and “night pajamas”; so, I guess they did change for the day.

Personally, I just can’t seem to sit around in my PJ’s past noon. I have to have a shower and get dressed. Lately, I have admitted to myself that I’ve been putting on a normal business casual outfit each morning, but that I have no appointment or calls to make. I’m all dressed up with nowhere to go. Both of the jobs that I work at have been designated under the Executive Order as non-essential, so I am directed to stay home.

Zoom meetings on line have taken the place of real meetings. I had two yesterday and one scheduled for today. Meeting on-line like that take more discipline that most have, so these meetings can devolve into a calliope of people vying to be the one speaking at any time. The Zoom app allows for about 40 minutes of meeting time free; however, it can take almost that long to get everybody signed into the meeting and quieted down when it is first used.

My wife and I have ventured out to get gas and a few groceries that we needed – she stays in the car and I run in and get what we need. Then, there is always the search for toilet paper or other items that have struck the fantasy of hoarders, such as eggs. I wonder if the hoarders wrapping their eggs in toilet paper to keep them safer.  We also take rides through the local Metropark almost daily, just to get out of the house and to see if there are any deer out. I walk my dogs 4-5 times a day, which provide great opportunities for fresh air and a little exercise. It is amazing how many birds one can hear when there is so little road traffic to mask their songs.

We are in the mid to late fear and anxiety phase that I wrote about a few days ago (see March 20 post) . You may recall that I postulated that  there are four phases that we all will go through in this crisis – Phase 1 was shock and awe; Phase 2 is fear and anxiety, which most are in right now; Phase 3 is frustration and anger, which coming rapidly for many that have been forced to stay home (especially those with children).  The cute aspect in this situation probably wore off by day 2 of the stay at home experience. Next, we will all enter phase 4 and figure out how to live in this new reality. That will include businesses figuring out how to continue doing at least some business during this shutdown.

I can do some parts of both of my jobs from home, but both ultimately involve personal contact with clients – listing houses and showing houses or selling advertising for the paper.

The housing market has been impacted by the fears of sellers and buyers about visiting homes that are for sale. Would-be sellers are holding off because they fear showing visitors bringing the virus into their homes. Buyers are staying away because they are justifiably concerned about the sanitary conditions in homes that they might visit. The real estate industry is responding with virtual showing visit apps and other technology-based solutions.

There is no app-based solution for advertisers whose businesses have been shut down pulling their ads. They, too, will figure out how to do business during this time. Most have some Internet presence, which they ae beefing up or they are adding E-commerce apps and capabilities.

The promised government intervention in the form of checks to everyone will help some and give the economy a little boost and the other programs of loans or loan payment hiatuses and other measures will help some. Just as the health system is prepared to enter triage mode, if the wave of Covid-19 cases overwhelms its capacity; the financial world and government emergency aid programs will have to triage the applications by small businesses for help. Some just will not make it.

This crisis is really an unprecedented test of the will of the people and the nation. We are used to weathering other types of crisis – hurricanes, tornadoes, other natural disasters and even wars. This is vastly different. We usually crank up the American business machine in response to those things, but this crisis threatens to shut that machine down completely. If, or when, that happens, it will be just the people vs. the disease. I have faith that the American people will prevail and then they will go restart and rebuild the American business machine. We are not hunkering down in fear; we are hunkering down in resolve to defeat this enemy.

God bless America and keep us all safe.

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Posted by Norm Werner

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