Surreal is a word people have been using a lot in the last month or so, under the new coronavirus reality. The word can be used to touch upon the terrifying and the life-endangering, as well as the merely inconvenient.
The most pressing problem facing Americans today is how and when states and local areas reopen after the coronavirus lockdowns. President Trump, stressing the terrible economic damage the lockdowns have done, has (mostly) pressed for reopening sooner rather than later. He has released detailed guidelines for officials in the states to consult when deciding when to reopen.
DEAR HARRIETTE: I am at home with my kids, like everybody is supposed to be. One of the challenges we are having is with the computer. My kids have been doing distance learning, which means that they have to go online to join Zoom classes or other “face-to-face” classes with their teachers, but we have only one computer. That means that sometimes one kid can go to class while the other can’t. Plus, I have to do my work from home. I am missing some deadlines because I’m competing with my kids for use of the computer. This is an impossible situation. I need my kids to learn, and I need to work to be able to keep a roof over our heads. What do you recommend? — One Computer
DEAR ABBY: I cannot believe it! My parents tricked me into comforting a child molester. When I was young, my uncle “Dave” went to prison. My family told it like this: “Dave had an affair with a 17-year-old girl who was pretending to be 18. They made a sex tape, her parents found it and accused him of rape. He went to prison for life.”
DEAR ABBY: I have a problem I can’t fix. I have been married for 54 years. For the last 20 we have slept in different bedrooms. I get no affection from my wife, and everything has to be her way. We no longer have anything in common except our children and grandchildren who, for the most part, come to me only when they need something.
We are glad Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt has come up with a plan to start reopening businesses that have been closed during the coronavirus crisis.