Case in Point

Thanksgiving with sacrifices: Do it for those you love most

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This message reaches our readers on or around Thanksgiving. On a typical week, several of our most local readers receive their Advocate News in the Stockton, Durant and Wilton post offices Wednesday afternoons. The rest begin receiving them Thursday and beyond.

Thanksgiving week is a bit different, due to the post office being closed on the holiday. There may be a chance of some getting their paper Wednesday afternoon, but it will be Friday at the earliest after that. It doesn’t stop calls to our office from folks saying they didn’t get their paper (even though it’s very likely still in the mail stream).

The papers are still available on the newsstand starting Wednesday, so many of you did get it that way this holiday week. While I understand this message isn’t getting to as many as I’d like in time, I just want to urge all of you to be careful and forward thinking when it comes to Thanksgiving.

This is a very selfish time to be alive in America, but please don’t think of yourselves. Think about those you love most — perhaps within your extended family and beyond. COVID-19 is very much on the move in our communities. Do your best this holiday season to not spread it — or get it.

Use your phones, computers, tablets, etc. to communicate with others rather than having them all gather in one communal setting.

The state of Iowa has new rules. No more than 15 people at an indoor gathering. Don’t stop there. Take it further. Please do not hold gatherings with extended family you don’t normally spend time around.

Is it frustrating? Yes. Does it feel like it’s infringing on our rights, and/or the ability for us to “Live our lives?” Yes.

But might it save the life of a loved one? YES — a resounding Y-E-S.

I’ve had COVID-19. It’s not fun. I handled it well, thankfully. I stayed away from those I love most, and the outside world, for two weeks. And while I’d love to gather with my extended family this holiday season, I won’t.

One of the biggest unknowns with this virus is how contagious you are once you have had it and have gone through quarantine. I did a good job on the front end of not giving it to loved ones during my two weeks cut off from the world. I’m scared that I could spread it as a “carrier” now that I’m re-entering society.

Now when I visit loved ones, I not only keep my distance (six feet), I also wear a mask. Yes I feel foolish, but I also feel I’m doing my part to keep others safe. It’s not fun. It’s not right. But I don’t know any other way.

I’ve been reading what the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says with regard to meeting for the holidays. You remember the CDC, the entity that we — heck the world — once counted on for medical advice. On Nov. 19, the CDC reported that there had been more than 1 million reported COVID-19 cases in the last seven days. It says to only celebrate Thanksgiving at home with those you live with.

That means if I spend time with my parents, I’m already breaking the rules. I’ll justify it with the fact that I’m already around them with some level of frequency. But I’ll also follow the other CDC guidelines:

Remain six feet apart; avoid direct contact (no hugs); wear a mask when not eating or drinking; continue to wash hands often, etc.

And what about food and drink at gatherings? Here’s what the CDC says:

* Encourage guests to bring food and drinks for themselves and for members of their own household only; avoid potluck-style gatherings.

* Wear a mask while preparing food for or serving food to others who don’t live in your household.

* All attendees should have a plan for where to store their mask while eating and drinking. Keep it in a dry, breathable bag (like a paper or mesh fabric bag) to keep it clean between uses.

* Limit people going in and out of the areas where food is being prepared or handled, such as in the kitchen or around the grill, if possible.

* Have one person who is wearing a mask serve all the food so that multiple people are not handling the serving utensils.

* Use single-use options or identify one person to serve sharable items, like salad dressings, food containers, plates and utensils, and condiments.

* Make sure everyone washes their hands with soap and water for 20 seconds before and after preparing, serving, and eating food and after taking trash out. Use hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent alcohol if soap and water are not available.

* Designate a space for guests to wash hands after handling or eating food.

* Limit crowding in areas where food is served by having one person dispense food individually to plates, always keeping a minimum of a 6-foot distance from the person whom they are serving. Avoid crowded buffet and drink stations.

* Change and launder linen items (e.g., seating covers, tablecloths, linen napkins) immediately following the event.

* Offer no-touch trash cans for guests to easily throw away food items.

* Wash dishes in the dishwasher or with hot soapy water immediately following the gathering.

Do I expect us to do ALL of those things? No. However, I’m not naive enough to think gatherings won’t be held. My prediction all along is that the governor gave us until Dec. 10 in order to get two weeks from Thanksgiving to see what the COVID-19 numbers look like then.

Spoiler alert — I think they’re going to be just as bad, likely worse. Please, do your part with me. And if, as I said in the beginning, I reached a lot of our readers a day or so after Thanksgiving, then just remember this for Christmas as well. Let’s continue to do our best to stop the spread.

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Black Friday—For the first time in recent memory, I have no idea what Black Friday is going to look like from a shopping perspective. Also, I have no desire to in-person shop on Black Friday. Remember, I say that being someone who has now had COVID-19, with the only silver lining being that I’ve recovered and they say I can’t get it for at least 3-6 months.

I have to believe that stores will have a larger online presence this holiday season. Hopefully there will be a large online availability to the Black Friday deals we usually stand in line for.

Our office is currently closed to the public due to our battle with COVID-19. Therefore, we took our Black Friday deal idea and extended it to the end of the month. See our ad on page 16 and take advantage of the best subscription deal of the year — two years (locally) for the heavily discounted price of $55. Sign up and lock in today! Clip the coupon from the paper and drop it off in our mail slot on the front of our building, or give us a call (563-732-2029) and we can take care of it over the phone.

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