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Disagreement is the stock and trade of forums-or at minimum, a by-product. And whether or not "The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street" (the actual title) is or isn't a ripoff of anything (and I don't believe it is) this was not the question posted in this forum. The original statement was to the effect of why didn't "Rod Sirling" (the man's name was Serling... as in S-e-r-l-i-n-g, not "Sirling") write about it. And... we could go further by invoking the names of both Philip K. Dick and Richard Matheson... but I won't.

As to whether "Monsters" was a reference to McCarthyism or not... this can be debated forever. Some people said it was aimed at communism and other political movements. Some said it was about race. Others said it was about foreigners in the USA. Everybody has an analysis and an angle. BUT... the most obvious point the story made was how stupidity, panic, suspicions, hysteria, fear of anyone different, fear of the unknown and mob mentality can snowball very quickly into a nightmare that may not be stopped. If you saw the episode, perhaps you will recall the space aliens on the hilltop above the town at the end, watching the people on Maple Street riot and kill one another. The one alien turns to the other and says something to the effect of "You see how the process works? We'll just go from one planet to the other and let them destroy themselves..."

We could also go through a litany of related Twilight Zone titles, but this would likely just present more opportunity for dispute... which I personally detest. So that's all I have to say.

As for what the present virus spread is or isn't, having once been married to both an MD and an RN, I'll take what they say as a guide, if I need one. But yes, ignoring precautions with this or any virus is done at one's own peril.

For a little 'light' reading I recommend "Doomsday" by Connie Willis. Time travelers going back to England during the Black Plague.

In the meantime, I am doing my taxes, catching up on reading, building a wooden punch out model of a vintage grand prix racer, and catching up with jobs around the house.

I feel especially fortunate, given the situation, in that I am not out of a job and in good health. Many, many others are not as fortunate (including members of my family). I wonder how we/they will survive all of this. This could go on for a long time. April should be especially trying on all of us as the reality of the situation sets in. Missing a few car shows is nothing compared to what is in front of us.

Take care and stay well.

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Both of us being retired, we still get the same income as before even if we are confined to home. My partner has a part time job mainly just as something to do but they are closed now although the employees on this month's schedule are getting paid as though they were there.

As for keeping busy, so much I have that I can do but the main thing is exercise so we've been taking evening walks of at least a mile. Of course, the very few people we pass give us a wide berth as we also do to them but more often than not there is a friendly "hello" which is nice.

John, glad you're well and hope your family members get through this okay. Things in Canada are similar, although not as enforced or dire, as the population is 10X's less dense and there just isn't the same level of interpersonal contact. Even so, we are in BC, one of the hardest hit provinces in the country because of the large Chinese population here and the subsequent travel to and from China. We're lucky on this site that we can have unlimited contact with zero risk, although the cancellation of Packard events is too bad. I had hotel reservations for the 2020 National Meet in Rohnert Park CA, but have cancelled them as our international border has been closed to all but essential traffic and it does not seem like a very good time to travel anyway. Hope everyone stays safe; not sure where this all goes from here, but it sure could get a heck of a lot worse if the world continues to be 'on hold' for too much longer. Once the health risk subsides, we'll then have to deal with the financial fallout! Chris.

Corona virus is nothing new, it has been around forever. This particular mutation however is new. Between 30,000 and 50,000 people die every year from the flu. About 35,000 to 40,000 die in car crashes, but are we banning cars? Or mandate flu shots? Is this Wuhan/Chinese virus (let's call it where it originated like all the other diseases: MERS: middle eastern respiratory syndrome, SARS: south Asian respiratory syndrome, German pox, Ebola, a river in Africa where the disease was first diagnosed, Lyme disease first diagnosed in Lyme, Connection) a nasty type of corona? Absolutely but not as bad as the media is hypen this up to be. If you have underlying medical conditions you're in danger, but if you're healthy you're just fine.

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BDC you're absolutely right - the issue here is simply a numbers game. If the virus is allowed to spread unchecked, it will propagate like wildfire. There are a known number of those classified as 'at risk' (elderly, infirm, compromised immune systems, etc.) per 100,000 population, and the count of those folks would simply overwhelm the medical system causing untold deaths. Slowing the spread keeps the 'at risk' numbers down and basically, they don't run out of ventilators. MOST healthy people who contract it will recover from it.

I agree. Arguing about the meaning of Twilight Zones is like arguing about the meaning of cartoons.

And now effective 12 am, we have been issued stay home orders for the next three weeks. Saturday I made my annual 4 mile walk to put my tax return into the post office mailbox. The weather was brutal, but now I'm glad I did. And I don't care one twit that I have only one roll of toilet paper on the closet shelf.

John (JW), I enjoyed reading your post including photo.

In the last 24 hours Italy has recorded 969 new coronavirus deaths acc. to -> BBC.

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This is what I am doing. Let me know if you want to make your '56 reliable.

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I'm not trying to bring your business down, but mail service is becoming sporadic. Thus, part of the reason for the IRS extensions. I have bill invoices that are overdue and I haven't seen a mail carrier.

I am not going buy anything from junkbay. I don't use junkazon for ethics reasons. Thus, shipping Packard parts by mail might be risky. I don't know what is going on with UPS and FEDEX except that FEDEX has thrown past shipments of mine in the trash and recorded them as delivered. And no they didn't leave them on my door step. They threw them in their dumpster.