A Dispatch from the Left Coast

To say these are some strange days would be the understatement of the century. We are all challenged by this new normal of “shelter in place,” a term which I seriously dislike and is virtually meaningless. How about “self-isolation?” That seems a bit more literal to me. In any case, I have been self-isolating since Friday, March 13^th. 22 days as of today, April 2^nd. I am not quarantined; I have been to the supermarket twice, ditto the liquor store, and go for a walk around our local park once a day, rain or shine. We have also picked up to-go food once a week or so, mainly to support our neighborhood restaurants. It’s been quite the adjustment for a guy who follows the euro model of shopping for groceries every single day, composing the evening meal as I wander the aisles.

As someone who enjoys socializing, I miss our near-daily happy hour glass of wine at The Fields Bar and Grill, a small, upscale sports bar just a block and a half from our Pearl District condo here in Portland, OR. Communication by text, Facebook, and FaceTime has been a decent substitute, and I can’t imagine what it would be like without any electronic communication capabilities. Our daughter has set up a weekly family get-together via Zoom, where we play games, have trivia contests, or share a family dinner, all in the virtual world. Like anyone who has been paying attention, I wish I would have bought some Zoom shares about a month ago!

When the schools first closed and the stay-at-home order for Oregon was issued, I was appalled when, on my daily walkabout, I saw 20 or 25 children all playing in close proximity on the playground, with a dozen or so parents congregating with no regard for social distancing. Then Oregonians started to die, which put an instant end to the cavalier attitudes of some folks. I am extremely proud of my Pearl District neighbors, 100% of whom are taking self-isolation and social distancing very seriously. 

If you feel frustrated by your states’ “doubling rate,” where state-wide cases double every 2-5 days, take a look at the west coast states as illustrated in the graph above. Washington, the first and one of the hardest hit states, has dramatically slowed the growth of the virus, and California is in the process of “flattening the curve” as well. But look at Oregon. As of yesterday, we had over 600 cases of Corvid 19, compared to over 6,000 in Washington state and over 10,000 in California. We have seen 19 deaths in Oregon so far, with none of the deceased under 65 years old (more than 2/3 over 80) and all 19 (100%) had underlying medical conditions. As testing in Oregon has dramatically increased over the last two weeks, the new cases and deaths per day have not doubled, much less skyrocket as i states like Louisiana and Florida. We have yet to have a single day with over 100 new cases, and the cases per day have been fluctuating between 40 and 80 per day, but most significantly have not been going up every single day, and there is, so far, no doubling rate here. At least for now, our curve has been flattened.

Obviously, all that could change very quickly, but there is reason for optimism. I point these numbers out not to gloat over my state’s performance, but rather in the hope of driving home the point that if we all rigorously adhere to the stay-at-home directives and maintain social distancing, there is indeed a light at end of this very dark tunnel.

Stay safe and healthy, all of you.


Portland, OR
April 2, 2020