Strange Days

May 26, 2020











Strange Days

I started writing this blog 14 years ago this week as Kathy and I began our cross country drive for that summer that was the impetus to start blogging in the first place, There have been thousands of strange and bizarre events and activities that I have covered over the years, but I must admit that the past 8 weeks or so have to be the strangest time of that period, probably of our lives in total. It is so hard to accurately detail just how different and weird these times are since the Covid-19 Pandemic started impacting all of our lives directly.











Though the pandemic seems to me at least to be continuing unabated, as the numbers continue to grow in alarming frequency. That doesn’t seem to matter to a great many people across the country as images from any number of crowded public places filled the airwaves this past Memorial Day weekend showing crowds pretty much ignoring the CDC guidelines and practicing far from safe practices as they partied, prayed and generally gathered as if nothing was wrong.









I fear that we will be seeing another spike in the number of cases which today total 1,655,091 in the United States with 97,812 deaths. Here locally after a decent run with no new cases as the restrictions have relaxed so has the uptick in cases as there have now been 108 cases in Monroe County, 41 of those being in Key West itself and holding thankfully at 3 deaths here. But if being out and seeing what has been happening as restaurants, stores, beaches, churches and the like start to reopen those numbers are going to be rising soon, especially on June 1^st and after when the border opens and we welcome back tourists.











Kathy and I have continued our policy of socially isolating for the most part. We have not been hermits, but merely cautious in what we do, how much and how close we interact with people and following the guidelines to protect ourselves and others. Even when we do venture out, for example when we returned this week to Ft. Zachary Taylor State Park to enjoy the beach and snorkeling there, we maintained more than the suggested 6 foot barrier between ourselves and others.













It was nice to get back to the beach and honestly, the vast majority of people there did a good job of self-isolating, though there were a number of large groups, especially around the grills and picnic tables who seem to behave as if nothing was happening, no masks, no social distancing, sharing food and utensils and basically exhibiting the sort of high risk behavior that will sadly come back to bite some of them.









It is not just that they seem to be flaunting the rules, it is their attitude that somehow the whole thing is some sort of overblown hoax that is the most frightening and the shocking level of selfish, amoral behavior by many seemingly smart people, only adds to our frustration. It certainly makes us want to be ever more vigilant about keeping ourselves as safe as possible and avoiding any sort of idiotic behavior.









It was nice to be at the beach and I am happy that we and others are able to enjoy it responsibly. We have been doing a few other things that are new, for example I took Jack down to the Truman Waterfront for his daily walk on the day that the weekly Truman Key West Farmer’s Market returned for the first time in two months. The vendors practiced really good safety protocol and demonstrated what will be the new normal moving forward by selling their products without allowing any touching, keeping the requisite distance and donning protective masks and gloves.











We also took Jack for his annual vet visit, you are not allowed inside the building at All Animal Clinic, so the staff comes out and retrieves your pet from the parking lot and you wait in the car while the examination takes place. Our friends Reverend Peyton and his Big Damn Band did a second live concert broadcast this week, not being able to tour has made life tough on my musician friends and the venues they would be performing in as well.














We did a few video conferencing meetings and even had a visit this week by our friends Meredith and Trevor who stopped by and presented me with a truly wonderful and meaningful gift, an Indy 500 shirt proclaiming, “Is It August Yet?” since the race has been postponed from its traditional Memorial Day weekend until hopefully August 23. This year marks the first time in 50 years that I have not spent Memorial Day weekend in Indianapolis attending Indy 500 festivities, it is an odd feeling but I plan to be there whenever the race is run.