These days our lives are dominated by the Corona Virus (COVID-19). The news, social media, and personal communications are Corona Virus everywhere and all the time. I might as well join the fray. I haven't blogged in a while since both my bankroll and poker playing have taken a dip but I wanted to make an observation or two about the omnipresent virus.
Arsenio Hall had a segment on his variety show a few years ago entitled "Things that make you go Hmmmmmm." I have something that is making me go Hmmmmm....
Just to be clear I am no medical expert and, in fact, have no medical training whatsoever. The following is only my layman's opinion based on personal observation:
I'll get right to the point. I am thinking that a lot of us have already had the Coronavirus. I'll explain.
The Coronavirus started in China late last year. The exact genesis is not clear but most experts put it in Wuhan, China probably in November of last year. The first cases were identified in the US early this year on the West Coast. There were no reported cases in Mississippi until much later. Read that again: There were no "reported" cases in Mississippi until much later. In early January of this year we weren't testing for the virus and flu season was in full swing.
Many of us were playing in the Million Dollar Heater in early January. If you'll remember there was a virus going around at the 'Heater. It ran rampant through the participants. I contracted it myself as well as several of my friends and acquaintances. It was rough. It was apparently highly contagious and the symptoms were eerily similar to what we have learned about the Coronavirus symptoms.
Some of the published differences between the Coronavirus and the flu, common cold, or allergies:
1. The Coronavirus is highly contagious: As mentioned above the virus that was occurring at the Million Dollar Heater ran rampant through the crowd. I don't know if I brought it to the 'Heater or caught it there but everyone in my family and most everyone I know contracted it. CHECK
2. One of the main symptoms of the Coronavirus is a persistent dry cough: I am a deer hunter and I find that January is traditionally my most successful month. I remember not being able to hunt deer for a couple of weeks during January due to the persistent cough. It's kinda hard to ambush a deer when you're coughing on a regular basis. CHECK
3. Another of the main symptoms of the Coronavirus is fever. My family and I as well as all my acquaintances ran high fever for a couple of days. CHECK
4. The last main symptom of the Coronavirus is chest congestion and shortness of breath in severe cases. Everyone I know suffered from chest congestion. It took me several weeks to expunge all the congestion from my chest. I don't remember any shortness of breath but that only occurs in severe cases. CHECK
5. According to the "experts" one of the best ways to differentiate between the Coronavirus and the other maladies (flu, common cold, allergies) that are common during the Winter is to look for some common symptoms NOT associated with the Coronavirus. These include headaches, runny nose, nasal congestion, sinus infections and sore throat. I am pretty sure I didn't have any of these symptoms back in January and I have surveyed my family and friends and found that to be the general consensus. CHECK
6. Lastly, as far as I know nobody that contracted the virus running rampant at the 'Heater has contracted the Coronavirus. If we all had it back in January then none of us would be coming down with it at this time. CHECK
Again, I'm not saying with any certainty that any of us had the Coronavirus back in January at the time of the Million Dollar Heater. I'm just wondering out loud if we did. I'm still being careful and suggest that we all practice social distancing and good hygiene just in case.
I would really love to hear from any of you that have any confirming or contradictory comments based on your recollection of our shared experience during the Million Dollar Heater.
See you at the tables when they reopen.
