Pindependents! First off, congrats to Waxbeans and Jive Turkey, who will be facing off in our championship game this weekend! Team 4 will take on 6-9 Split for 3rd and 4th place. The rest of us? We'll also bowl and eat pizza. Speaking of which, end of the season means pizza party. We'll have several pizzas (I usually get plain cheese, pepperoni and veggie), and some pitchers of soft drinks. If you would like to bring some sort of dessert or side (or other foods), please feel free, it's always more fun. Now on to what I know you're all really wondering: What about bowling and the coronavirus (COVID-19)? Well, that's a great question. Things are rapidly changing and information is being updated constantly. It seems like by the time you get an update, it's already old. Having said that, my plan is to follow the lead of the CDC and some various other organizations, like the NC Department of Health and the public school systems. Following the pattern set out by Orange County Schools, we WILL bowl on Sunday. I understand if people do not want to bowl, I do not fault anyone for not showing up this week. (OCS will be closing next Monday for 2 weeks.) However (or in the immortal words of Larry Kudlow, "But, but, but, but, but..."), I have NOT opened up registration for Spring 2020 season just yet. I suspect that we are going to need to delay the start of our spring season until much later in April, if we have the season at all. That means that we likely won't start until at least the 12th or the 19th of April. If that is the case, then we'll likely run a short season (9 weeks most likely) and then take our break for the summer. Because I don't want to have to deal with refunds if we do wind up cancelling the spring season, I am going to wait until pretty close to the last minute before opening up registration. This means that you'll probably need to register within a week or less of our starting week. I'm sorry about that, there's not much else that I can do. Of course, this is all assuming that things start to quiet down and the transmission curve flattens out by mid April. It also assumes that society hasn't collapsed and we're not all hoarders and cannibals, locked up in our houses, shooting anyone who approaches. You know, like in The Road. I will be sending out an email to our general subscription list (folks who've ever bowled with us) with the above information and then another email when registration is open or if we decide to cancel the Spring season all together. I will also post to the Book of Faces and the Tweeterverse when registration is open. So keep your eyes open for that announcement. Again, I do not expect it to be before April 12 (which is Easter Sunday, by the way). In the meantime, instead of the usual etiquette reminders, I thought I'd just give you some COVID-19 reminders:
Wash your hands. No, seriously, wash your hands again. Do that 20 second thing where you sing a song. Use soap. It's ok if the water isn't scalding hot, it's the soap and scrubbing that does the trick.
If you don't have soap, hand sanitizer is ok, if it is at least 60% alcohol based.
If you are not sick, you do NOT need to wear a mask. This is a big deal, for reals, folks. You are more likely to touch your face if you're wearing a mask. Medical masks are generally designed to keep illness IN, not out, for the most part. And healthy people wearing/discarding masks who don't need them put a strain on the supply, which is sorely needed for healthcare workers and sick patients.
Avoid contact with sick individuals if you can. No, seriously, if you know someone is sick and you want to take them some chicken soup, just leave it on the porch and run. Do not visit hospitals if you don't absolutely need to.
Avoid travel to areas that are designated high risk by the CDC. This includes Italy, Iran, and China, obviously, but you might also want to cancel that trip to New Rochelle, NY, or King County, Washington. For now, anyway.
Avoid gatherings of over 200 people (like conventions, academic meetings, Disneyworld, etc). One might argue that the bowling alley is one such place, so again I don't blame you if you don't come on Sunday.
If you do develop symptoms, CALL your doctor's office or local ER/hospital before going in. They can screen you for your risk with some simple questions and guide you on your best approach.
Consider cancelling/rescheduling elective or non-essential medical visits. The healthcare system has the potential to be overwhelmed if this virus takes off, and given that we're still short on testing supplies, there's no need to clog it up more if we don't need to.
That vitamin C you're stocking up on? Probably just going to give you diarrhea if you take too much of it. Studies show that vitamin C doesn't really boost or improve your immune system. Just eat healthy foods, get plenty of rest, and drink plenty of fluids. Stay active, practice good infection control (wash hands, wipe down frequently touched surfaces, don't lick subway poles, etc).
Get your flu shot. Don't give me that bullshit about how it causes the flu (it doesn't) or you don't like it (I don't like broccoli, but I eat it) or how you never get the flu (I haven't died in a car accident, I still wear my seatbelt). Flu season is NOT over, and the last thing we need is a big old end of the season flu outbreak, putting more strain on our healthcare system and making you more suseptible to complications. No, it's not too late. Just get your damn shot, if not for you, then for the other people who are at risk around you.
Stay healthy, wash those hands, and I'll see you on the lanes
For more information from the CDC, check out this website: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
-k-