I belong to a group that meets regularly to talk about various things. Not politics. We try to start insightful conversations to raise the level of thinking.

I gain insights and perspective with every discussion.

This beautiful little community of Saranac Lake is exhibiting the same confusion that we see on the news and throughout the country … and maybe the world. There is no consistency in how our community is preparing and fighting this oncoming virus.

In most settings, we prepare for the worst, and when it turns out not to be as bad, we lessen restrictions. No so with the coronavirus. We dove into the unknown with minimal restrictions from the start. The preparation stage has been backward. We started with less restrictions even though there were many unknowns. Now in hindsight, as we see increasing exposure and deaths, the restrictions are tightening. This is like closing the barn door after the horse has left.

Social distancing can be viewed with many interpretations, even in our little community. We were told to stay 6 feet apart, but there was little discussion about spreading the virus from contact until recently. Each business authorized to continue operating has a different slant on what to do to lessen the spread. Of course, the hospital is the most stringent. You are met at the door by people in masks. They ask specific questions and take your temperature. Walmart in Clifton Park just implemented a program that only allows 6 people in the store per 1,000 square feet. People are kept 6 feet apart while waiting to enter. Aisles are one-way traffic only. In contrast, Stewart’s in Saranac Lake has initiated a regular cleaning of surfaces by its employees. That strategy allows you to touch the keypad at the pump, pump your gas, open the door, pour your coffee, add cream and use the bathroom, never washing your hands in between. If the person before you does the same thing, you might as well shake hands with everyone that enters. There is also no tape on the floor to indicate 6-foot spacing between patrons. One simple solution might be to have a box of tissues at the pump and front door so patrons would touch everything with a tissue and then throw it away immediately.

The post office, on the other hand, has eliminated the keypad and has tape marks for you to stay 6 feet apart in line. Kinney Drugs has a similar situation but still has the keypad and pen for purchasing your items. The bank is drive-through only, and they continually wash the “tube” that carries your business papers. The problem is that whatever we touch ends up on our face when we touch our faces and average of 20 times per hour. Your skin is great protection from the virus. When you touch your nose, rub your eyes, etc., then you move the virus from your skin to your body.

In a small town like Saranac Lake, if there is no consistency in behaviors to stop the spread of the virus, it is no wonder we are still waiting to flatten the curve. The best behavior is to consider yourself infected and then be careful not to touch anything or do anything that will infect someone else. That way, when you are infected, you have already adapted the necessary behavior to save your friends and family.

In a small town like Saranac Lake, which has stringent development code enforcement, it is interesting that there is no leadership to provide consistent behaviors among businesses to protect us from the oncoming storm. The businesses could get together and enable a consistent behavior among patrons. The fact that they are not doing that indicates a lack of leadership.

Who will lead us to do the right things to prevent the spread of the coronavirus? Is anybody out there, or will Saranac Lake just be every man and woman for themselves?

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Bill Martin lives in Saranac Lake.