Okay, we made it through the first fifteen-day shutdown, social distancing, and economy-killing guidelines. Now those guidelines are in place until April 30. Hopefully April 30, 2020, not 2021.
I do not know if the guidelines are helping us, but I am mostly sure they are not helping the virus. The world outside is a surreal place. Traffic is almost non-existent, and there are no open restaurants, bars, beauty parlors, etc., at least not if you want to sit down for a meal, a drink, or a haircut.
I am seeing more people out and about in my neighborhood, all keeping a safe distance from the people they do not live with. Nice weather on Saturday led to full parks. Of course it takes fewer people to fill a park when you must stay six feet away from each other.
Bike paths are filled with runners, walkers, baby strollers, and bikes. All—carefully—spaced. Everyone has time to work out or go for a stroll. Why didn’t we think of this earlier? People are spending more time with their families, and not just because they are in political trouble.
I have heard concerns over a loss of education hours in our schools. I have always felt we spend too much time rushing children to a diploma, as opposed to a useful education. Now is the time for parents to find out what the kids are learning in school. What else do you have to do?
How cool that we have all of the electronic fol-de-rol to connect with friends and relatives. Las Vegas casinos are letting people bet online on the weather, e.g., high temperatures in various cities. Not exactly the NFL but any port, etc.
My wife Becky and I have found a new pastime. We gather up a bottle of wine, some cheese and crackers, and go to our balcony for a picnic. Very relaxing, looking at the river and all of the local town folk, appropriately spaced of course, who are moving about.
Saint Corona is finding a new, albeit misinformed following. She is not, as some think, the patron saint of pandemics. Hers is a gruesome story, but I digress.
We do not know the end game of this particular episode in human history, but if the past is any guide we will emerge stronger and wiser. I hope we learn a valuable lesson about what is important in life, and that to address these important things requires cooperation. It trumps (pardon the pun) political, ethnic, and nationalistic affiliations. This level of cooperation may be unfamiliar to most of us, but to progress with any type of success, we must settle into it.
Allow me to return to my lane. I am hopeful the stock market will begin to recover before the end of this year. That does not mean the DOW will be at 30,000, but hopefully it will be a more stable and sustainable stock market. There will be winners and losers in the coming months, which is why we focus on broad market ETF’s that offer greater diversity over individual stocks.
As always, a little humor is a good thing.
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