Hunkered down, somewhere in Wyoming, part 2

A week later and so much has changed.

Chris was laid off from her job at the YMCA. The place is closed except for childcare for essential personnel such as doctors, nurses, and military members who can't be spared. She applied for unemployment on the same day, On Tuesday, she received notice that her claim had been approved and she will receive about 58 percent of her weekly salary. With my pension and Social Security, we should be able to make it. We're fortunate that we live in a sparsely-populated state. Also fortunate to have a responsive state government. Am proud to say I worked for that government for 25 years. Some unemployment web sites in big cities have crashed due to the rush of applications. So many businesses are shuttered and many suddenly out of work.

When I started this blog Tuesday morning, the U.S. Senate is working on a bill that would pump a couple of trillion bucks into the economy. Here's what I had to say at the time:

Unfortunately, Republicans have loaded up the bill with giveaways to corporate America. Democrats have stymied its passage because there is a provision that the names of recipient corporations will be kept secret for six months which, coincidentally, is after the 2020 election. The Senate bill still does not have enough remedies for working people such as my wife. It does call for checks of up to $1,200 be sent to individuals. Even in Wyoming that won't get you very far. Other provisions call for a 60-day grace period for student loans, increases in unemployment benefits, etc. All good. But they pale in comparison with a $500 billion secret slush fund for Trump's corporate pals ( and possibly even Trump himself). The Dems are fighting the GOP on this and I hope they carry the day. Bernie Sanders proposed monthly checks of $2,000 to Americans until the crisis is over. I saw a proposal yesterday to add $200 a month to SSI, SSDI and veterans' benefits for the rest of the year. That would benefit me and my family. I'm for it. I also want businesses to get help as long as some of our largesse goes to employees. Remember -- rich business owners (Trump included) already got a generous tax cut from McConnell's Senate.

See how quickly things change, even on Capitol Hill? The Republicans and Democrats have agreed on a $2 trillion relief bill. Don't know all the details yet but anxiously await them.

Trump said at his daily spiel yesterday that he wants America to get back to work sooner rather than later -- by Easter on April 12. He said that "we don't want the cure to be worse than the problem itself." Indeed. Sending people back to work before the coronavirus has run its course will be a cure worse than the problem itself. We already have a president making the problem worse than it should be itself. Still wondering why we have a shortage of necessary medical supplies. Our doctors and nurses are going above and beyond the call treating coronavirus patients without the necessary protections.

We still are sheltering at home. Latest cases of COVID-19 in WYO is 37 with more than 700 tested and no fatalities according to the according to the Wyoming PBS Facebook post today. Gov. Mark Gordon's press conference is available at 1 p.m. today on WY PBS. My county has eight known cases awhile Fremont County as the most with 12. We are pretty lucky. As one wag pointed put, Wyoming has been practicing social distancing since statehood in 1890. We've been doing it a lot longer than that, as the wide-open-spaces have been here for millennia. Sure, at some points in our long history the place was mostly underwater. An occasional pleisiosaurus would swim by, looking for a snack, and a pterodactyl might fly by. Humans weren't around but you can assume that viruses were. Life was brutal and short. We now live long and mostly happy lives. One day you wake up and realize that a critter you can't even see has stolen into your body and is hijacking it. If you are over 65 as I am, your prognosis will not be good. What we want we cannot have, which is more life. But as my father used to say, "who says that life is fair?"

Chris and I drove to the post office late yesterday afternoon. The car is a place where you can practice social distancing from others. You can drive up right next to a car filled with active coronavirus cases and, even if they sneeze at you out of open windows (it's nice enough for open windows) and your windows are up, you should be OK. Not advisable to go around coughing on Wyomingites, some of the most well-armed people on the planet.

The arts world is under a lot of stress. Many art forms are enjoyed in groups. Music especially has been hit hard. Most venues have already lined up their 2020 artists. The local music scene been lively lately and it would be a shame to see that stop. The Lincoln Music Hall is getting ready to open and everyone I know can't wait to see their favorite groups on stage at the historic performing arts space and movie theater. There are ways to support the state's artists and arts venues. Some were outlined on Wyoming Public Radio. The Wyoming Arts Council has some helpful links on its web site. Some musicians are staging online performances. And, in the non-participatory arts category, there are books. Revisit your favorite or take a chance on a new title.