You begin at the airport, under a dark, early-morning sky.

Normally, the main terminal is teeming with businesspeople flying off for work, families headed south for spring break.

But on Wednesday, amid the coronavirus pandemic, Mitchell International Airport was something of a ghost town.

No line at the Starbucks. No need to rush through security. A trickle of travelers in a twilight zone.

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"It's pretty crazy," said Sterling Doward, a truck driver headed home to Utah to take a new job.

Another passenger, Lionel Jean Baptiste, was headed home to Florida.

He was carrying on a 20-roll package of Scott toilet paper.

This is what it's like now in a city and country where the rhythm of everyday life has suddenly, shockingly and almost impossibly been altered.

There are fewer cars on the highways. The city streets are eerily quiet.

Bars, restaurants, movie theaters, entertainment venues and schools are all closed, with a lot of people hunkered down at home.

You could see work vans clustered at some small construction sites. The Hop was running, with only a couple of passengers. Buses, too.

At a time like this, you hold on to what you can, desperate for a sense of normalcy.

At National Bakery & Deli on Milwaukee's south side, where some of the counter staff wear "You had me at Paczki" T-shirts, the regulars come in for their morning run of doughnuts, cakes and bread.

It's the ultimate comfort food in an uncomfortable time.

Carla Martinez wears plastic gloves as she carefully packs the baked goods for customers, who keep several feet apart as they stand in line. She is remaining calm amid the present crisis. And yet, the rush of news brings startling and scary information almost every hour.

"It's something out of a movie that has come true," she said.

Bryant Krauss, a co-owner of the bakery, said: "Everyone is anxious — from the customers to our employees in the back. Everything is happening so fast."

Sheet cake sales have fallen because a lot of corporations have sent their workers home. Easter is just around the corner and with it, normal orders of large cakes for large family gatherings. But how large will those gatherings be this year?

They're offering carryout and curbside service.

"People say they want to save the small businesses," he said. "Times like this — it's a gut check."

Ricky Villegas and his father, Jose, run Gayo's Muffler & Auto Service, a small garage at 2704 S. 16th St.

On a normal morning, six cars are lined up for service. But business is off 50%.

"I bring the cash-flow to the house," Villegas said. "I'm more worried about closing the shop."

He's trying to keep his thoughts on the work, not the worry.

At the Zablocki branch of the Milwaukee Public Library, people cast early in-person absentee ballots. The library itself was closed to the public, but eight staff members were working, shelving books, getting the facility ready for a time when it might reopen.

Voters patiently adjusted to the new normal of tapping touch screens with pencil erasers.

Jackie Pollman, a retired school teacher, said the only places she has been to are "Walgreens, the grocery store and voting."

Otherwise, she's reading books, cleaning drawers and closets, and caring for her adult son, who is autistic.

"I can't afford to bring the virus home to my son," she said.

'We have to keep a positive outlook'

Out by the entrance of the Milwaukee Harbor, near the south end of the Summerfest grounds, Jim Dembiec and a friend were fishing.

Sleet was coming down and the fish weren't biting. Dembiec didn't care.

"I'm not going to sit on the couch and waste my retirement," he said.

There were few people on the sidewalks by the downtown office towers. It looked like a dreary Sunday instead of a workday.

By afternoon, a steady rain had most seeking shelter indoors.

Judy and Mark Timber parked their Double B's BBQ food truck in front of the U.S. Bank Building and waited for customers. They're doing carryout and corporate catering from their main restaurant in West Allis. But with downtown restaurants shut and corporate cafeterias closed, they figured they might pick up some extra business.

"We've got to take care of our employees, keep the business alive," Mark Timber said.

Sharon Eberhardt, a legal secretary, came down from her office and excitedly walked up to the truck.

“I saw this and said, ‘Yes!’ ” Eberhardt said as she ordered a sandwich.

Eberhardt said: "It's very quiet. A lot of people are working remotely. A lot of things are shut down. People are trying to be safe."

With so much uncertainty, Eberhardt concentrates on what she can control.

"We just keep working, keep doing what we do," she said. "We have to keep a positive outlook."

Up on Milwaukee's north side at Scott's Christian Youth and Family Center, they were doing what they always do, providing food, clothes and spiritual comfort to those in need.

"I trust in God. We're doing everything clean and straight," said Annie Wilson, whose late mother founded the center.

At a time like this, Wilson worries about the children.

"We have too many poor children and too many children who are out of school," she said.

Wilson watched over 6-year-old Shaonda Wright, whose father is a cook at the center. Sharonda played with a doll and also helped with giving out food to the needy.

On a rainy day like this, the nearby Coffee Makes You Black would normally be filled with customers. Instead, they were doing take-out only. The only two people in the cafe were staff members London Love and Lavalle Rimmer.

"It's kind of slow," Love said.

Rimmer, the manager, nervously fiddled with a small stack of receipts.

"We still have bills to pay," she said. "At least, we're trying. It's hard. We don't know when it's going to end."

Rimmer said the mood in the neighborhood is somber. There is nervousness. A cough is a cause for concern.

"We are all worried about the virus," she said. "They don't know the cure. Everyone is scared of it."