by J P Whitney
Chapter 7
Isolation
[Tommy Olsen’s Blog Entry]
Wed, 7/14/2021
Day 11 of mandatory house arrest as ordered by State and Federal government officials. OK fine, home quarantine. I’m already beginning to go stir-crazy, who knew work had become such an ingrained social activity, and since I’ll be homebound for an indefinite period of time, I’ve decided to journal the activities. This is new to me. I’m more of a tech geek than a writer but maybe the act of chronicling the events, and how our family reacts, will provide a structured outlet for staying sane since we can’t leave the property. Plus, this is history in the making … the first time a nationwide quarantine has been ordered in the United States of America. Maybe I’m overreacting but this feels like a significant period of time for the human race. Like we entered a stage in our timeline akin to finding fire or nature forcing humans to migrate south due to the Ice Age. I remember watching live footage of the 9/11 attacks and being filled with a frightening mixture of utter sadness and rage as the towers collapsed into piles of twisted rubble. That event was extremely emotional for most Americans and powerful as it was, it didn’t have the same direct impact on most of our daily lives as what we’re living through now. We all know people that have died from contracting the Blue flu. Children, for God’s sake.
Bryce, our youngest son, held his best friend in his lap while he bled to death during a final exam because of Blue. The entire class was held in isolation for two weeks at a regional hospital for observation. Jonathan was a close family friend, the boys grew up together, which made the reality of the situation hit home even more. Of course, we prayed for Bryce to remain healthy, for his entire class to remain healthy, but his exposure risk was so high … I feared the worst. He was soaked in Jonathan’s blood. I won't speak for the rest of my family, let alone the families of the other twenty-seven students in that isolation ward, because some things are better left unsaid, but logic told me Bryce had to be inflected.
Outwardly, I kept my shit together and stayed optimistic for the family. But at my core, I was already devastated by the loss I knew was coming. I was emotionally drained as we grieved for Jonathan and fought down the pending panic attack as we waited to learn who was next. The news further fueled my inner fears as more and more cases were reported and not a single victim survived.
And then, one day, the doctors came into the waiting room and said Bryce and the others were free to go. After two weeks of constant testing and observation, all of them remained symptom-free. Not a single child had become sick. How had we all dodged this bullet while so many around the country were dying due to this erratic and unforgiving strain of the flu? I can’t help but feel we cheated death.
That was over a month ago and Bryce still wakes up screaming about all the blood. And now I live each day in fear. Wondering if the virus is playing some kind of evil prank. Just waiting for us to exhale in relief that our son hasn’t contracted the illness before it decides to release the symptoms that will quickly take him away from us.
So, instead of exhaling, we continue to hold our breath.
We’re going to be here a while and this will likely be the largest calamity all of mankind ever faces so I might as well write it down. And if the previous words are any indication this is going to be more of a self-help therapy session than an unbiased chronicling of history-in-the-making. I apologize upfront.
Eventually, if the interweb stays online, I’m hoping family members and other people around the world will contribute so we get an accurate picture of what’s really happening out there. If we lose power, I’ll go old school with pen and paper. So enough with the stalling and apologies. I'm stuck at home for at least two months. Here goes nothing.
Tabor Mountain Isolation – A Blue Flu Survival Blog
7/14/2021 - Olsen property, Tabor Mountain, Oregon.
Family Member
Age
Status
Tommy Olsen
45
Healthy
Sara Olsen
40
Healthy
Tucker Olsen
18
Healthy
Bryce Olsen
15
Healthy, despite serious exposure
Medical Status: healthy. Not so much as a sniffle and we plan to keep it that way.
The only medical situation to report is a mental health issue. Bryce is eating normally, though slowly as on autopilot, and is physically healthy but hasn’t spoken a single word in over two weeks. Unless you call screaming oneself awake from nightmares on a daily basis speaking. Even then the only word you can make out is ‘Jonathan’. Witnessing the gruesome death of his best friend has left him despondent. At least he seems to find some comfort from our dogs Mitzy and Baron. They seem to sense his fragile state and won’t leave him alone. The doctors say Bryce is suffering from Acute Distress Disorder, and all we can really do is be here for him. He’ll decide when he’s ready to begin talking again. Then the healing can begin. Well, thank god for the pups. Who would have thought that an act as simple as the gentle nuzzle of a dog’s nose, to a boy’s hand, would have the power to calm a soul tortured by horrific night terrors? It seems like Bryce is in a state of hibernation. An emotional one to go with the very real one our society is currently experiencing. Hopefully, they both end quickly.
Timeline:
Date
Event
Notes
5/28/21
Jonathan dies in Bryce’s class
6/30/21
State of Emergency Declared
Death toll = 100,000
7/3/21
Mandatory Home Quarantines
Death toll = 197,000
7/14/21
Tabor Mountain Isolation
Death toll = 218,400
Rations:
Fully stocked: Enough food for at least six months. Hesitant to share too much information for fear of making ourselves a target of opportunistic apocalypse bandits.
Comments and observations:
Initially, I was shocked, and even angry, that the federal government’s best call to action was asking people to stay home. Obviously, the President didn’t want to instill panic within the general population so why did I expect to get the whole picture? Stay calm, stay home, and everything will turn out fine. This is my cynical side speaking but when they said we needed to give the scientists time to come up with a cure I figured they were lying. Or only telling us half the truth. It was a smokescreen. I think health officials realized they weren’t going to find a cure in a reasonable period of time so they were left with only one option. Forced isolation to let the virus burn itself out. Whether motivated by self-preservation or intuition or some combination, it certainly got my attention and set me in motion.
We spent the last few days preparing for the quarantine as the President ordered. Thinking back I guess you could call me paranoid, my wife certainly did, but I prefer the term prepared. I did not pass go and definitely did not collect $200. Quite the opposite. The first thing I did was rush, in a safe and orderly fashion, to our local hardware store and purchased a generator. Not the 6500 and 8750 Peak Watt monsters most people were struggling to get onto their shopping carts. Instead, I grabbed two 2500 Watt portable inverter generators. Why two of them you ask? One as a backup and I could always run them in parallel if I had really high demands. But why the smaller 2500 Watt jenny you ask? Logistically, I wouldn’t need a gorilla to help me load it into, and out of, my car. From a technical perspective, they are quieter and offer a cleaner power delivery for electronics. But most important, they are also more efficient offering twice the running time for the same amount of fuel. And if the power goes out for an extended period of time how much electricity do you really need? If you tried to use a generator to power everything in your house you’d likely run out of fuel, even if you have extra, in just a few days.
Which brings me to the next point. Fuel. The second thing I did, wh
ile still in the hardware store parking lot, was place an order for a 275-gallon above ground fuel storage tank to be filled. Why do we have a large gas tank in our back yard? Though we live in the Portland suburbs, we have more than an acre of property and need a riding mower to keep up with it. Nothing like running out of fuel in the middle of mowing 200 yard long sections of grass. After running the mower dry a few times we found it much more convenient to fill up both the mower and our vehicles outside of our 2500 square foot shop. As an added bonus, bulk fuel is cheaper too! With normal commuting it generally lasts us about four months with two cars and the mower. It took eight days for the refueling truck to arrive, and I was starting to stress about the quarantine with only half a tank to last us the duration. The delivery driver seemed quite proud of his vaccination bracelet which he conspicuously flashed at every opportunity. From behind the comical gas mask he wore, the delivery dude also went on and on like some kind of fat Darth Vader, about how blessed he and his wife were for winning the shot lottery. I have to admit, I was a bit jealous of this man’s ability to go about his business in almost heroic difference to the very real fears that kept the rest of us hiding in our homes. Regardless, with both cars topped off and a full storage tank, we should have enough fuel to run the generators for a maximum of 150 days straight if running 24 hours per day. But if the need for generators arises we’ll be well into conservation mode and will stretch the fuel much longer. Stocked up on STA-BIL fuel stabilizer as well to increase the shelf life of the gas.
Jesus, I’m rambling. But ‘better out, then in’ as they say.
The next thing we did was jump online and fill up the virtual shopping basket. I know, the President ordered us to register the family for the shots but there was going to be a mad dash on goods so I prioritized supplies over the vaccination. We ordered a variety of gluten-free emergency food buckets to augment the cache of survival food already stored in our shop. Sara comes from a conservative religious upbringing and I’ve watched a lot of zombie apocalypse movies so we already suffer from a bit of survival planning. Also on our list was a 260-gallon freshwater tank. Yes, I know, food is supposed to be delivered to our houses and the water to remain on but one can never be too careful when being thrust into the middle of an apocalypse now can one? OK, apocalypse is probably too strong of a word but who knows? Anyway, Amazon is nothing short of amazing. Even during the state of emergency the food buckets and water tank were delivered within the 7 to 10 day window and included free drone shipping! They must have enlisted the help of some of the military’s drones to be able to handle that tank. We also went to one of the warehouse retailers for bags of rice, batteries, and toilet paper … but we remained calm and did not stockpile nor horde goods. I was actually paying attention during the President’s speech and followed his orders. Almost as if I had taken notes. OK, I cheated. I re-read the transcript that was posted on stopblue.gov. But still, I get credit for following the rules of conduct as a good and prepared citizen right?
But what about weapons you ask? Surely every self-respecting, zombie-apocalypse-survivalist and raised-in-religion couple is loaded for bear and packing serious heat! Yes, we have at least one weapon for each person in our family and have several thousand rounds of ammunition. And while I was taking a mental inventory in the store parking lot, I decided to hightail it for the nearest sporting goods store for a few more boxes of shotgun shells and .22 and .40 caliber ammunition. OK, you caught me. I’m hoarding, a little, but remaining calm while doing so. Good thing we went when we did. The ammo shelves were nearly empty. And guess again if you wanted to purchase a weapon. We tried. Apparently, state and federal government officials determined some people may panic while preparing for, or during, the quarantine and didn’t want a bunch of lunatics running around with newly purchased shotguns demanding all twelve cases of toilet paper that remained on the shelf of the local quickie mart. Probably a reasonable decision under the circumstances actually.
Within the allotted 48 hours of the President’s State of Emergency address, we were pretty much ready. The wife and I never returned to work nor the kids to school. We weren’t going to risk further exposure.
Fast forward to today, day 11 of quarantine. If reports are correct, the number of Blue flu victims has doubled to 200,000 in the US of A. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see this trend is heading in the wrong direction. Even if you take into account the potential exposure caused by all the activity as people prepared for the quarantine we’re talking about twice the amount reported before the quarantine. I’m sure these figures were hospital reports. How many more have died at home?
Oh, I almost forgot to mention I eventually went to www.stopblue.gov for more details and found pretty much what I was expecting. All contact, marital status and dependency information from my tax forms were pre-populated. Sara, Tucker, Bryce, and I were all listed along with social security numbers and ages. Our address was correct.
A questionnaire asked if we had any food allergies or pre-existing medical conditions or other situations that warranted additional assistance. I may have exaggerated a few things in hopes of getting additional supplies. Allegedly.
Clicking the submit button created a profile for our family and took us to a new page.
The Quarantine Dashboard:
Supply Drop Date: Anticipated delivery date window - 4 to 6 weeks. (You’ve got to be kidding? We don’t need anything at this point, especially if the electricity and water stay on but I can’t imagine many families can make it an entire month or longer on their own. Not everyone is prepared for the zombie hoards!)
Anticipated Vaccination Date: Please check back later. (That’s encouraging. What was it even based on? Reported occupation? Random social security number lotto?)
Preparedness Checklist: I won’t bore you with all the details here but guess what? Food stores for 4-6 weeks are highly recommended! Well, at least that matches the delivery date for the supply drop.
That’s all for today. It is now dusk and the light is failing. Though we still have power, we’re trying to get in the habit of not using it all the time.
∆∆∆
Eli’s Journal - 7/14/21
Haven't journaled for a while and thankfully haven’t needed to download. But I’m getting bored in the shelter and thought it would be good to put pencil to paper once again.
For the homeless, preparing for the quarantine lockdown didn't really amount to much. The biggest impact for most was people being less generous with their donations. Most of us on the street didn’t have family members that would take us in during this crisis and without recent tax forms couldn't even go the government website and register ourselves. Which meant we couldn't get in line for the vaccinations either.
So when the day of quarantine arrived, we shuffled, dragged, and carted our meager, shabby belongings down to the local shelter. By ‘we’ I don’t mean I went with a girl or a group of friends. I don’t have any. Of either. But there was a migration of the homeless herd of which I was a part of. On a typical day the collective we might drop by the shelter for coffee and donuts during breakfast or a heartier supper in the evening, but we almost never brought our belongings inside with us. Only on cold nights … then we would bring in our most prized possessions. Today this place looked like a very used flea market. It most closely resembled a junkyard and, I bet as far as the staff was concerned, complete with the smells of a landfill. Being ordered to remain indoors for an indefinite period of time, the homeless figured we’d eventually need everything in our possession. So, of course, we attempted to bring overloaded shopping carts and a multitude of trash bags filled with our prized possessions into the shelter. The only thing left behind was temporary shelters made of old tents, cardboard boxes, the odd piece of wood, and tarps. If they could have been easily relocated we would have brought them as well just to make sure no one would steal them. Which made little sense because anyone that would even consider trying to spend a night in one of those grimy, leaking h
ovels was probably also in a homeless shelter right now.
The poor staff was mainly comprised of volunteers, none of which showed up, so I guess they had better things to do like protect their own lives. That left the two full-time directors of the Portland Mission shelter to fend for themselves. They were completely overwhelmed. The Department of Social Services was flying blind and had their hands full trying to place orphans into foster homes. Was the shelter really expected to take in all of the homeless during the quarantine? They couldn’t exactly register everyone in the shelter as one big happy family since the government was being pretty strict about requiring tax forms and social security numbers. So that meant no food drops or getting on the waiting list for the flu shot. The only ones in here getting the vaccine were the directors themselves. In fact, they must have been listed as a high priority because they were already sporting the bracelets. Good news for them I guess. If people starting coming down with the Blue the directors could always abandon ship and run to their homes. They fell into the fortunate minority still able to freely walk the streets. Pretty ironic when you think about it. The homeless were best suited for the streets yet we were forbidden from setting foot on them.
I tried my best to not be a burden and only brought the bare essentials into the shelter. For me, this boiled down to a knapsack with my journal, a spare journal, the Bible, a pocket knife, some money, bottle of water, a handful of beef jerky sticks, bag of potato chips, and a small bag of dark chocolate chips to round out my attempt at a balanced diet. My whiteboard was strapped to the outside of the pack but I’d only brought it to donate to the shelter. Probably not much use for it now. The only other items I have are a wool blanket, the rags on my back, and a wool beanie.
