A coronavirus bet with myself!

Forsyth MO. - After looking at some numbers generated by the John Hopkins hospital, I did not bother focusing on the numbers of cases or the recovered,. but rather the number of deaths this disease has caused. Why? Well, the battle fog surrounding those infected is complex and even foggy. One of the biggest effects that's adding new cases have been vastly increased testing. The more people tested the higher the number become. Another factor was linked to the discovery of infectious people who were carriers. People walking around spreading the virus with out showing much in the way of symptoms. Those were the only two we could talk about since about the mid part of March as the following efforts were implemented across much of the US:

1) Closed border policy. No one in or out.
2) Social distancing. People asked to stay 6 feet apart
3) Elimination of large sporting events.
4) Closing of venues where groups like to gather such as bars and restaurants!
5) An intense program of awareness to get people the wash their hands frequently.

These draconian acts should have a very dramatic effect on the rates of newly acquired infections. The result will be a rapid downhill graphic in the long term coupled with the fact that warmer weather (the bane of all viruses) is on our event horizon!

A number I do like to consider, when thinking about the direction of this pandemic, is the total number of people who succumb to the virus or to some secondary complication like pneumonia. That is what is known as a hard number statistically. As such, it should provide us with something to watch as it should begin to flatten out and then begin dropping as the wave passes on by.

I'm betting that on or before the 28th of March, those figure will begin to  take a rather dramatic drop and that by mid April, this whole mess will be behind us, not including the two to three trillion price tag that will have been added to the National Debt.

Saturday, March 21st drive in Forsyth Mo!

Fat Daddy's

Forsyth MO. - After hearing the news about the partial or complete shutdowns of businesses, I elected to do a drive-about and see what was up in the City of Forsyth.

My first general impression was how quiet the roads were for the noontime hour. It was a Saturday, and normally the traffic would be robust. That was not the case for the start of an otherwise nice and sunny day! So, here is a breakdown of what I've seen or heard;

Banks - Closed. I wasn't sure if it was because it was the weekend or not. ATM's were up and running, however.

Churches - All closed was my understanding.

Gas island/convenience stores - As they are considered essential services, they were all open. On a positive note, gas prices were at very low levels.

Eateries - Most eateries like Fat Daddy's were closed. I was able to talk with an owner and he informed me that he was investigating ways to maintain some cash flow. I got the impression that some options, including carryout and home deliver were a go. He also indicated he might have food service in an outdoor setting by utilizing the open air eating area and by possibly supplementing those with some tables in the parking lot when the weather was warm.

Mountain Williams Pizza

Other locations that had drive thru's like McD's, Sonics and the Hong Kong Express were open for that sort of traffic even as the lobby areas were closed to the public. The Thrive Bistro was also open possibly due to it limited capacity. Other food related businesses such as Williams Mountain Pizza were offering curb and home delivery services. (When you arrive a sign instructs you to call 546-2012 for curbside delivery).

City Hall - Only the drive thru was open.

Save A

Grocery stores - Both the Country Mart and the Save Alot were open and were getting normal traffic. These both were considered 'essential' services and are able to have unrestricted numbers of shoppers. Once again, customers are urged to shop as you normally would. Supply channels are ramped up with tighter delivery schedules to assure the customers will be able to purchase needed items. Sadly, some items, most notably TP is still in short supply due to greed as some have cleaned out area stores in order to resale them at double the price at such outlets as Amazon. Please let these individuals keep their inventory while we wait for local supplies to be replenished.

Hair saloons -  At least one hair care facility was open and doing a normal amount of business and that was the Town and Country location across from the court house.

Five measures to stay safe!

No virus will keep me away from my Sonic All American hot dogs!

Sonics 15700 Us Hwy 160, Forsyth, MO 65653

Forsyth MO. – It was Thursday, March the nineteenth, and I had my lunch money squeezed tightly in one hand as I steered my way into a local Sonic venue next to the Country Mart on Highway 160. The day was on the rainy side with lots of clouds. On a good note, the temps were rather moderate, somewhere in the mid sixties. I'll tell you, that wasn't too shabby weather for this part of March! And, anyway, I was pretty darn hungry! I'd likely go there even in a snowstorm!

For under $5, I was going to purchase myself an All American dog with a medium order of fries. (Just what a boy needed to remain fat and sassy)! I had found myself eating out more due to the virus that was going around. You see, I wanted to stretch my food at home so as to not have to visit the local grocery store very often. This was also a great excuse to eat a lot of junk food!

I'd written a number of posts about Sonics, over time, and I still have nothing but good things to say about; their brand, the great tasting foods and their low prices!As a bonus and a convenience, Sonic offers drive thru service that's most always fast and efficient.

The food  was awesome, as was generally the rule. I did take note of the Country Mart that adjoins this venue and it was busy as it had been for over a week. Me? I just cruised on by!

This post published at: Taneyservices.com, Forsythbiz, Twitter and Face Book

A trip to the local grocery store!

Forsyth MO. - It was mid-March, 2020 and at about 10AM on a Wednesday, I made the decision to go to a local Country Mart Grocery store for some supplies...

The coronavirus was still raging all across the continental landscape. While, here in Missouri, there were only 16 cases out of a population of 6 million with no one yet dying! Although to hear the folks at CNN talk, this virus was going to be the end of the world as we know it. OK, then... I guess that's that. It must be true. Because, how often are those folks ever caught lying? Just saying.

I arrived at the store at about 9:20 AM and my first impression was that, while the store looked busy, it didn't look like there was much in the way of panic buying going on. If nothing else, it felt more like a typical weekend morning... Busy, but really not impressively so.

As I meandered my way through the isles, my first stop took me to the pharmaceutical section for a bottle of mouthwash and a few bars of soap. (Yes, just plain old soap). I noticed that where there was a generic selection available, that was what customers were buying. The Brand names were pretty much left sitting on the shelf. (That was something that showed up again and again as I shopped).

Next, it was onto the Produce Department where I grabbed some apples and an onion. I also noted that the large ten pound bags of potatoes was almost gone even as the smaller five pound bags were in ample supply. Everything else about that department seemed pretty normal.  I did overhear one of the store personnel remark that TP was hard to come by, and I wondered in passing, what the connection was between the virus and TP?  (Hint: There is none).

As I passed the canned goods isle, I glanced down the isles and noted that a lot of customers seemed to gravitate towards the purchase of corn! Why was that true, for God's sake? Perhaps, it was on sale. From a strictly nutritional standpoint, corn is not all that energy dense. (Nowhere like potatoes are). [As an aside; I would think that a collage post-grad might want to do some research on what people buy in stores like this during a time of a 'pseudo' crisis.] I call this crisis 'pseudo' based on the incidence of infection by the coronavirus being at about .00026% of the Missouri population. (If people wanted to be afraid of something, let them worry more about the regular flu which has hit the country pretty hard this season)!

When I finally made my way to the checkout area, I witnessed a group of ladies who looked pretty tired even at such an early hour, Hey! If you're planning on shopping at a grocery store, over the next couple of weeks, please consider slipping your checkout person a few bucks to help brighten their day....

As I stepped out of the store and headed for my car, the sun was breaking through the clouds and you could feel spring just about to burst out all over the place. I realized that things were going to be just fine and that all I really needed to do (besides washing my hands) was to keep the TV tuned to some old movie while bypassing the media talking heads and the politicians who were desperately trying to; score points, enhance the sense of panic and to throw taxpayer money at a problem that was going to very likely clear up like the early morning mist on a summer day.



I 

Doc Holidays Pawn!

Forsyth MO. - I stopped over at Doc Holiday's - a local pawn shop located at 15261 US-160 when coming into town from the north, as I wanted to purchase some ammo and also to look to see if they had a small Glock semi-auto in the 9mm caliber. I was getting tired of carrying a 40 caliber Model 19 Glock and desired something a little lighter. Cody the manager had a slightly used model in the back which I wanted to think about.

The store, which has all sorts of sport related and other forms of equipment, including guitars, has been around for a number of years and was actually fun to browse on an otherwise cool Tuesday in March. I'd just gotten done voting at the Baptist church on Hwy 76 and felt the mood to explore a bit before heading home to watch more stuff about the growing threat of the pandemic caused by a coronavirus.

Finally, a good tasting coleslaw!

Forsyth MO. - After searching for years to find a commercially prepared coleslaw that I could actually tolerate, I cam across a 15 ounce container made by Reser's. It was located in a cold case next to Deli counter at the Country Mart store in Forsyth. It sold for three dollars and change and was pretty darn tasty!