The signs are everywhere.

A man walks into a Subway in North Carolina carrying an AT-4 anti-tank rocket launcher and two sidearms. No tanks are in the vicinity. He is there to get a sandwich. And maybe a bag of chips.

Another man shops at a Vons grocery store in Santee, California, wearing a KKK-style hood. He was not charged with any crime. Detectives for the Sand Diego Sheriff’s Office quoted the hooded man as saying that “the [white, pointy-topped] hood was not intended to be a racial statement. In summary, he said, ‘It was a mask, and it was stupid.’”

In Nashville a woman advocates for reopening the economy with a sign that suggests, “Sacrifice the weak, reopen TN.” She did not specify who among her fellow weaker Tennesseans should be sacrificed or who would be the decider.

In Minnesota, someone holds a poster that read “Be Like Sweden.” I actually liked this sign because two of my best friends live there and I envy all the social welfare benefits that Sweden gifts its citizens.

In March, citizens buy more guns in the United States than ever before: around two million, roughly, the same amount as were purchased in the wake of the Sandy Hook murders and President Obama’s election in 2008. The new gun owners feel safer, but it is still a mystery to me as to what is the immediate threat. Toilet paper shortages?

In Leander, Texas, on Mother’s Day, a man throws a package of meat and a bag of lettuce at a cashier at a HEB grocery store because he was told there was a limit on how many packages of meat he could purchase. One assumes he could have simply gone to another grocery store and bought more meat. Or waited until the next day. I mean how much meat do you need?

Outside Florida’s Pinellas County courthouse, a crowd demands that gyms across the state reopen. As part of their protest they perform spirited squats and pushups. Some critics say that the fact that one could do pushups and squats pretty much anywhere in Florida weakens the protestors’ argument.

Speaking of outside activities, animals are boldly moving back into cities that are in lock down mode. In Lopburi, Thailand, more than 1,000 monkeys have taken to the streets hunting for scraps and getting into huge food fights. The videos are quite entertaining. Previously, before the pandemic devastated the tourist industry, visitors would feed those monkeys. Monkeys are often said to be close to humans in intelligence, but the average primate has an IQ between 30 and 50 points.

(Somewhat related, there seem to be a lot of misspelled words in the signs among the anti-quarantine protestors. “Get A Brian! Moran” and “Obama Lier in Chief.”)

Cows are reported to be lounging right in the middle of the streets of Delhi, but I could find no evidence that this was an unusual occurrence. During my trip to India in 2016 I saw cows wandering around in every city I visited. Sometimes I would go around a corner and see elaborately decorated elephants or people carrying dead bodies to a funeral pyre.

Reportedly, a red fox is running around our neighborhood terrorizing the rabbit (over)population. I have not seen the critter yet, but I’m glad we keep our cats indoors because we have overfed them and they have lost both the desire and the ability to run. Also, worth noting, I have not come across a single toad in my backyard for two years, but suddenly there appears to be more crows than ever. They are really loud and splash all the water out of the bird bath.

Murder hornets are a thing right now. Only two have ever been spotted in the United States and both in Washington state, where my daughter and my four grandkids live. Luckily, they are inside a lot because of COVID-19. Allegedly, without adequate warning, the hornets invade beehives and decapitate the innocent bees. My father is a beekeeper in upstate New York and I worry for his safety. Supposedly, the hornets’ stingers can penetrate the typical beekeeper’s protective suit, which one could call his PPE.

“The Tiger King” continues to be a big hit for Netflix, but I have only made it through three episodes before I began to pity the people more than the caged cats. However, I did watch a twenty-minute YouTube video of a flight attendant putting on her makeup. It was fascinating (all that work and product!) but I felt sad afterwards and I still don’t know why. Maybe it has something to do with this pandemic, or maybe I just need to go outside take a long walk.

Writer Stephen J. Lyons is sheltering in place somewhere in central Illinois.