Shower Thoughts: The Swiss must have been pretty confident in their victory if they included a corkscrew in their army knives.

Week Seven. 
Let’s check-in.  Do you know anyone who has been directly affected by the virus? I personally know three people.  Two friends of mine lost family members; one a mother the other a grandmother. This week I learned that an acquaintance had a meth relapse.  One step farther outside my social circle, I’ve heard many more struggles, especially in relation to small businesses. It is a stressful time. Very sad.

Washington State is a small business hive. In Oct 2019, six months before the lockdown, Business News Daily reported:

Washington state hosts 608,956 small businesses that employ 1.4 million workers, which is more than half of the state’s private-sector workforce. These small businesses represent 99.5% of all Washington-based businesses, more than half of which maintain less than 100 employees. Washington’s economy is worth $563.2 billion, making it the 12th largest economy in the U.S. In 2018, real GDP grew by 5.7%, far outpacing the national average of 2.9%.

This week, talking with folks throughout my town, I believe the general consensus is that Washington State, much less Whatcom County, will continue to be conservative in its public gatherings well into next Spring.  How can we restore the entrepreneurial character of our state?  Also, I am beginning to hear plans for preparation for the second wave during the cold and flu seasons.  In WA that is roughly four months November – February.  I can see it now- folks not sure if they have a regular cold or COVID-19.  Hopefully, there will be MORE tests available so doctors will know what to do.

I saw a “Beautiful British Columbia” license plate yesterday for the first time in almost two months.  I was shocked!  Around the mall and Costco areas, it’s normally a 40/60 mix of US/Canadian plates.  Bellingham is about a 20-30 minute drive to the Canadian border and the exchange rate is favorable for the US.  The border is closed to non-essential travel right now.  TIL that there is a slight difference between the west coast and the east coast COVID-19 strain.  I am wondering if the virus has mutated due to isolation between Vancouver, BC, and Seattle.  What can citizens expect when the border re-opens?

What will the post-pandemic world look like? Well, for me, I never brought my laptop home.  I shared an office with three co-workers.  POST-Covid my guess is work-life will be a hybrid of days in office & home. Many questions this morning.  The answers wait for us in the future.

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Here is a poem I’m working on.  I wrote it last year on a day off.  I took myself out for breakfast and was sat next to a coffee klatsch of ladies.

TWO TABLES OVER
by Shannon Laws

Four ladies at the diner
I can hear the flowered hat
and lace blouse in their voice
A mental corset shape their words
Manners learned from a hard
covered book control the conversation

It is a lovely visit
A fine afternoon
Let us meet again next Friday

They are a dying breed, I think
Second hand on a hanger
Classic female behavior
Early 20th-century thinking

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My mood expressed in a meme.  Stay safe, stay healthy.  Love each other.
-Shannon