I spent this weekend working as a corner marshal. That meant I wore a long sleeve white shirt, tan pants (I need to get some white ones), and stood all day in 99° heat in La Junta waving flags at cars. In exchange for my service, I get to camp in a parking lot. We were awoken at 6 a.m. on Thursday by the sound of bulldozing concrete. At one point a car’s engine blew up on the track, leaving a giant track of oil. We had to go out and pour floor-dry on the oil and sweep it off…
We stop shaking hands. (This was always a huge disease spreader for things like the common cold.) We work from home more. We go on fewer business trips. We treat medical professionals, grocery store workers, delivery drivers, and truckers like heroes. We make more home cooked meals. We garden more. We do things that are inconvenient for ourselves to try to protect the most vulnerable among us. We reach out to our friends and loved ones more, even if we can’t do it in person. There are more science stories on social media. Dogs get to go on more walks. Parents…
Dear Ian, Happy 16th birthday! I bought you a present, but I got an e-mail today from Amazon saying that they had tried to deliver your package to your PO box but that they couldn’t because there was no one there to sign for it. I kind of think they’re not being quite truthful with me, but who knows these days. At least I tried. I should be able to get it to you eventually. Uncle Berck and I are both working from home, which we can both do as long as we have our computers and the Internet. There…
Today is the start of work week three of our self-isolation. Sometimes I feel sorry for people who live alone. And then there are days where I feel like living alone might be nice. We might live in the best place in the world for self-isolation. We have a beautiful view. We have more books than we will probably ever read. We have a barrel with 55 gallons of beer (well, the beer evaporates, so it’s less than that). I’m used to being home and not going anywhere. I homeschooled. So sitting at my desk doing work while another person…
Tomorrow is my birthday; I turn 46. I was looking forward to going to Carlos’ Bistro. Usually, he’s closed for the month of March, but he announced a couple weeks ago that he’d be open starting March 18. Now he’s closed. Every restaurant in Colorado is closed. But even if the restaurant were open, we wouldn’t go now. Fortunately, we have enough cake flour from last year for Berck to bake me a cake. It’s only been expired for like a month, which counts as fresh in my house. Berck cooks me whatever I want for my birthday, and this…