Schools are closed. The CDC has called off mass gatherings. Businesses are shuttering.

It can feel like we don't have a lot of control in the midst of this outbreak. The move to flatten the curve and save lives means letting go and going with the flow.

But there are choices to be made.

You could be the guy who runs to the grocery store when you hear there is a shipment of toilet paper and buy out the entire stock. Sure, the average roll of toilet paper lasts as long as five days in most households, and 30 packages will take you a year to finish, but you could be that guy.

You could be that woman who drives from dollar store to dollar store, sweeping all the hand sanitizer off the shelves, then listing it all online for $80 or more. The economists call that price gouging, and it's illegal in many states, but you could be that woman.

You could be the guy who spends the day sharing misinformation about the virus, blaming it on immigrants and pretending it's all a hoax. You'd be wrong and potentially hurting friends and family who take you at your word, but you could be that guy.

Or you could be someone else entirely.

You could be like the guys at Lorenzo's Bistro in Jeffersonville or CJ's Deli in Youngsville, the guys who have put out word to the community that they will be feeding kids breakfast because the shuttered schools means families who depend on the school's breakfast and lunch programs are struggling.

You could be like the dozens upon dozens of parents offering to pitch in and babysit the kids of workers who cannot work from home, the kids of the nurses and the garbage collectors, the cashiers and the home health aides.

You could be like the people popping up on Facebook with offers to make pharmacy runs or hit the grocery stores for people who are older or immuno-compromised and are at the highest risk of a serious bout of the virus.

You have plenty of choices.

Which will it be?