Beginning Fast

I am an experienced faster.  I have fasted since my youth on the first Sunday of each month except at General Conference time in which case I fast on the Sunday designated.  Tomorrow is the last Sunday of the month of March, 2020.  We have been asked to fast for those affected by Covid-19 and for the various countries caught the the plague.  At 10:30 AM we have been asked to pray as a focus of the fast.  I began the fast at about 12 noon but didn't finish eating and drinking until after 1 PM.  I ate leftovers from yesterday, some chunks of steak and some cheesecake with pineapple, strawberry dices and extra whipping cream.  It did not settle well and has made me feel out of sorts for most of the day.  I am anything but hungry.  I watched President Trump attend the embarkation of the hospital ship Comfort from the dock at Norfolk Naval base.  It was a very touching scene.  He was criticized by the press for flying a few hundred miles to speak.  Yet it brought attention to the effort made to make the ship ready for action in four hours instead of the month that had originally been scheduled.  We are a wicked nation.  Abortion is the chief sin of which we have borne the stain, but there are other clear abominations that have festered and grown.  I frankly think the burden of abortion and these other sins are worse than the virus.  This may well be a turning point for our country.  Our economy has been based on a flimsy structure with entertainment and diversion as its chief aim and product.  Only 'essential' industries are allowed in most area and cities and that means that only medicine and primary food sources remain open, along with the transport of food and medical supplies by truck, train and plane.  Those few people who did not shop for goods 'online' are being brought to do so by the closing of the many stores that carry non-essentials.  Today I took some masks and tissues to my granddaughter, Annie, who is heading back to Virginia by air with her fiance.  I hope that their decision doesn't put them in danger of infection.  I don't know if they will take advantage of the items I gave her, but I can only provide and advise, I cannot insist.  It has been  about 17 days since I began quarantine.  My granddaughters, Jacqueline, Diana and Leila decided to avoid my house for my sake.