Venturing Out in the Time of Corona

  I had a check to deposit so I dared to go out in the world. I am now a shareholder of Prudential, a result of my parents' purchasing life insurance policies for their kids at birth or shortly thereafter. I think the premium they paid was a monthly fee of 15 to 25 cents. I know my sister cashed hers out long ago, just to be done with it. I kept mine. Several years ago, the insurance aspect was nullified and all such policies were translated into shares of stock. Prudential encourages such pennyante owners  to surrender their holdings for a cash payment. There is no reward for them in having to correspond and maintain bookwork for measly amounts. But I remained in the stock market, so my few dollars is now somewhat less. I don't care, not enough to be concerned about.
  The trip to M&T went smoothly. I always use the window anyway.
My next stop was the cemetery. I wanted to tell my parents and  sister that this might be my last visit at the "ground level."  I try to think what their reactions might be to the present state of affairs, but I have no similar occurrence to compare it to. But maybe there is. My mother's older sister died in the  the Influenza Epidemic of 1918, the deadliest influenza pandemic in history (to date.)  Marguerite was 18 or so. The only media accounts then were  the newspapers, so daily living must have been a daunting and terrifying wait for what they could read about next. I know my mother, the epitome of courage and strength, was terribly frightened whenever any of us kids ran a fever. She would have been a young girl when her sister died, so that may have affected her for life. The cemetery today, the burial plots of my mother and sister, are still disfigured by a neighboring burial site which actually encroaches on my mother's grave. Despite numerous appeals to what is meant to be the cemetery rules facility, the situation remains uncorrected, amidst further deterioration.
     I drove to the bottle return to redeem the cans and bottles I accumulate in the trunk of my car. I have them ready when the weather permits and there is not a truck or two with about a thousand returns. As I stand before the machine, I'm always slightly bemused by the instructions to place the plastic bottles in GENTLY, such a polite and formal request for such a mundane event. I gladly oblige, though occasionally receive reminders about which end to insert first or to go more slowly.  I used to put the empties in  re-used plastic grocery bags, and when the opportunity presented, redeem the contents of several such bags. Now I keep an empty cardboard soda carton in the kitchen, and then dump its contents into a large plastic bag which I keep in the car trunk. And I re-use both. You're welcome, dolphins and sea turtles.
  *Continued in following post.