Sunday 10 May 2020

Just drive

Current events are making me a little crazy.

I had plans for the upcoming Victoria Day Weekend which is a long weekend in May in Canada. I had to scratch those plans for a road trip since I am not sure if there is going to be enough open to enjoy a trip.

These are odd times. I see people driving vehicles with masks on when they are driving. I stopped for groceries and when I was parking I observed a man getting to his car wearing a mask and gloves, wiping down his passenger door with a disinfectant wipe, putting his stuff in the back, wiping down his driver's door, then opening it, wiping down his dash and steering wheel, then getting in. In Alberta it is the law that you have to pay for gas before you pump it. When I go in to pay I have to speak loudly to the attendant to overcome the recently installed plexi-glass shield separating  us. If I absentmindedly step on an elevator with other people already on it people immediately step out. A joke making the rounds everywhere is that in nine months there will be a baby boom due to people isolating. I am  not sure about that, everyone seems to be too scared to touch anyone.

Your views may vary however I am not one to subscribe to the current hysteria. I do find all of it weighing on me lately. I will admit to being impatient about life not returning to normal fast enough and it is all becoming a bit much. I am tired of all of this. I need a break and I have no means of taking one. There is still nowhere to go because they have still blocked the majority of your options.

I miss regular things. I do not go out often but I miss going out for breakfast. I want to go out for a steak. I want to go to a steakhouse for a medium rare rib-eye and chase it with a large glass of red. There are a host of other things I miss.

So I did what I still can. I took a drive. Yesterday on the road before eight in the morning and back before nine in the evening. From where I live a little south of Edmonton to Empress, Alberta and back. Driving mindlessly for miles and letting the mental clutter dissipate with the distance traveled. It took hours to reach that state where you can think of nothing and just enjoy the drive. There has been too much going on.

At one point I stopped on a gravel highway in the middle of nowhere taking photos of an old school with nothing but prairie and big sky and no activity for miles around. It felt good not thinking of anything and experiencing quiet. The physical world is still the same. Our societal world is off kilter. I am looking forward to things getting better.

15 comments:

  1. Keep the faith. It will get better.

    We're all in the same boat.

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  2. I was with you so I took action this past week and drove 3 hrs. south to the capitol of Texas..Austin! A friend went along with me and we stayed 2 nights just getting out and seeing some sights. We ate lunch outside both days with beautiful views. It was a good thing and we totally enjoyed ourselves! The weather was fabulous. Hope you get out soon!!

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  3. Discipline and a stiff upper lip, my boy. It's what got our forebears through much worse than this. They left us a good example, not just old houses, barns and elevators.

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    1. This is not normal and should not be embraced.

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    2. I couldn't agree with you more BW... I do not want this to become a new normal!!

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  4. Many scientists and doctors say that we're doing the very opposite of what we SHOULD be doing in most cases, but the elites have money to make and a world government to usher in. Their lapdogs, the media, won't report the true studies, but only the lies put out by the elites.

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  5. I thought about going out for breakfast this morning..

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  6. It takes a little more organization for an overnight road trip these days. Phone ahead to make sure you can get the essentials. Places are happy to get any business they can these days.

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    1. When we went to Neepawa a few weeks ago (mostly for a drive), I called ahead to a gas station in Portage la Prairie to confirm that I could actually use the bathroom there. You just never know!

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  7. A day of driving sounds like it was good medicine for the soul. I too want this to get over NOW... I just realized it has been 9 weeks since things shut down here... some retail and restuarants are suppose to come back later this week and next week... I can't wait to go out to breakfast and a nice dinner... I don't agree with the strategy taken and will never be convinced that it was correct. Here's hoping we all see some old "normal" life very soon. Take care!

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  8. I can put up with a lot of inconvenience if it will keep my senior citizen in-laws from catching Covid and dying. I agree the current situation is not normal, but our grandparents put up with far worse during WW2; surely we can do without haircuts and eat-in restaurants for a few more weeks or months. Stiff upper lip.

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  9. I suspect that what we thought of as being normal will never quite be the same and who knows just how long it will take. We need to keep up with the social distancing and other measures lest we set ourselves back and have to start all over again at the beginning. Now THAT would be tragic!

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  10. I don't know why I didn't think of it before but I think you need a puppy!

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