Month: September 2020

#Covidiots

I’m currently sitting in our Condo in Destin, Florida surrounded by Covidiots from many of the surrounding states including Alabama, Mississsippi, Georgia and others I’m sure.

The residents of Florida and the surrounding states have railed against the requirements regarding the Corona Virus 19. Most of these states have very few restrictions regarding physical distancing and the wearing of masks. Sadly, their infection rates reflect that reflect their lax attitude.

We arrived on Thursday having travelled through Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and finally across the panhandle of Florida. While both Texas and Louisiana seemed to be adhering to some protocols, the minute we arrived in Mississippi, we were surrounded by Covidiots.

No masks or, masks on chins, groups of people hanging out together often arriving in trucks with either a Trump or NRA bumper sticker, sometimes both.

We’ve tried to be very careful while here, masks on all the time, no dining out, takeout only, no shopping except for essentials for the condo. We wanted to see our son in law before he left.

I went to pick up breakfast from a place called the Donut Hole Bakery & Restaurant yesterday morning. When we got there, Susan stayed in the car, there was a line of unmasked people waiting to get in. Fortunately, the line was for indoor dining (no masks required and few seen except on the staff) and there was a separate line for takeout.

I placed my order and sat, arms crossed, touching nothing, with my mask on. As I sat there, I realize how uncomfortable I was around these people who clearly care nothing for their health or that of others. For the first time since the pandemic started, I felt uncomfortable even unsafe.

We came here for one reason and one reason only and I cannot envision any reason that I would want to come back. People who show so much disregard and even ignorance are not the people I want to be around and if this is what the State of Florida stands for, I see no reason to spend any money here.

They call this area of Florida the Redneck Riviera for good reason, in my estimation, it’s overachieving in that regard. Sadly, many of these backwards morons probably have no insurance and when they become sick, they will be the first at the hospital crying for help paid for by others because they were too damn dumb to take simple precautions. Don’t get me wrong, I believe in universal healthcare but, that requires all participating in the expense that comes with that coverage. I may be wrong but most people here probably refer to universal healthcare as a socialist take over. If they ever need it though, they’ll be begging for a little “socialism”. That’s and editorial but it is my blog.

I’m sorry for this dark post but, it is sad and scary to see such low regard for the realities of COVID. These people are making choices and they are bad choices.

Back home to Dallas on Monday, not much better but…

Normalcy?

Yesterday, I finally felt a sense of normalcy, outside with friends, experienced Pilgrims and soon-to-be Pilgrims.  For a brief while, on the trail, no masks but a respectable distance it seemed like BC (Before COVID).

The Professors were taking a group of students back to Huntsville State Park, the last place we went BC.  This group of students with the exception or Roy from our February trip was a new group.

Three of them are going to go with Chris to Spain and the Camino next year, maybe?  All depends on the state of the world and vaccines as well as humans behaving themselves for the next 9-10 months.  I was encouraged that some just wanted to hike and had heard about Chris on campus so, they joined in too.

It’s encouraging that even with the state of the world currently, these young people are still optimistic about getting to go to Spain next May.  They were excited and curious and maybe a bit concerned about being in shape.

We didn’t walk 10 miles/16k this time and it’s a good thing, unused legs, knees and feet reminded most of us that we’ve not been as active as we needed to be.  I may not still deserve my Ziegenbruder nickname but, I’m going to hold on to it anyway.  Even with this, when we finished, Ann produced the best beer I’ve ever had in the world…today.  It was a good day, I’m glad I could go down, if only for the day.

For those 6 hours, I could remember what it had been like before this plague and looked forward to the day that we can once again go out, hike, go to dinner or the theatre or just speak with a neighbor, without a mask.

I will not and have not resisted the reality, I know that resistance is futile and, it only hurts me.  So, I look towards the future and our trip to Lost Maples State Natural Area in the Hill Country and to the future free of CV-19.

Like a rock

September 1st was my father’s birthday and it was a somber day for me, I wrote about it and I now have to keep looking forward.

Luckily, September 2nd is my friend Bill’s birthday.  He and I were both born in 1956, two weeks and a thousand miles apart.  So, he’s my brother from another mother.  Bill and I have been friends since the day after my birthday in 1972. If you asked him today what we were talking about that day, he could tell you. 

Because our birthdays are exactly 2 weeks apart, we used to have a party on September 9th, a co-birthday party. We used to make some rocking brownies.

While we don’t get to see each other as much as I’d like, we can still pick up conversations from months ago as if they had just occurred.  We try to go to a Minnesota Gopher’s football (American football) game each year, that won’t be happening this year sadly.

Bill’s father died 20 plus years ago, I was glad I could be there for him.  I know that were things different, he would have been here when my father died earlier this year.  He could not be here, but he made a point of calling regularly during his illness and in the weeks after his death.  It meant a lot to me.

For me, friendships like mine with Bill and a few other people in my life are deep and binding.  There’s very little I would not do for these friends.  Friendship at this level can be deeply rooted in time but, for some reason, for me, they can just happen.  That doesn’t happen often but sometimes you just know.  At least I do anyway.

For my friend Bill, Happy Birthday.  Maybe, if the Big 10 plays football this winter, I’ll put on my long-johns and we can freeze our butts off at TCF Stadium watching Minnesota beat Ohio State.

I love you Buddy, thank you for your friendship.

Out of sorts

Today would have been my father’s 85th birthday. I don’t know from first hand experience but I suspect that these milestones, birthdays, holidays, etc. will be difficult at first. He died a couple days before father’s day, that was a tough day for me.

So, I take a deep breath and think about all of the birthday’s that we were able to share. And, like any journey, you put one foot in front of the last and keep on walking.