I see on Facebook all kinds of things that people are doing to pass the days during this self-confinement time. So, what is happening around here. Well, some of the things are first, even for non-pandemic times.
First. For those of us who have pushed on through 65 and have been classified as "your high-risk types" (I have generally been considered a high risk type for a long while, dating back through the Army to my mother-in-law, to several of my high school teachers, etc.) there are designated shopping times at the local grocery stores. The only trouble is these hours are really early -- especially for card-carrying retirees who have sworn, as my friend Dave often says, not to stir before the crack of 9:00. So, OK, this sounds like a good safety measure, but that assumes that the shelves have been restocked the night before. It certainly doesn't do any good to go into a store with empty shelves, but that is what we did this week. Up at 5:00 and getting ready to move out. Just on a whim, I looked out back at the chickens to see if they were up, and they weren't. At least the sun is fixin' to come up at that time this far east. We looked at it as a challenge and thought this would probably be one of the many firsts we would encounter in our new adopted state of North Carolina.
Second. You can tell who the guys (and gals for that matter) are who have pretty much stayed at home during the pandemic and have not seen their barber for a while. So that is what I saw in the mirror the other morning. My head had the 30 days overdue funk going on. So I asked my wife if she would give a go at trimming me around the ears and in the back neckline. Armed with a pair of scissors and a trimmer, she gave it a really good go. This is the first time my wife has ever trimmed my hair -- Samson, eat your heart out. I think this will get me through the stay at home time. Certainly wouldn't pass inspection though.
Third. One of the first things that came about with the shut-downs was the closing of schools. The timing is tough for all concerned, but some pretty interesting things came out of it. One involved my grand daughter and the pre-school class she is part of. As much as some of the kids would say the closing of schools is the greatest thing that ever happened, there are a lot more who now say they miss their friends and the school. So the pre-school put together a conference call (maybe a Zoom thing) with the teacher and some of the students. What a neat thing to do ... especially when my grand daughter is only 5. Technology has certainly had an impact on young people. My youngest grandson Facetimed us the other day. He had an assignment to call his grand parents and ask them what it was like when they were young and what we did back then.
I told my wife that these kids don't have anything on us with this computerized conference stuff. Back in our day, conference calls were called "party line."
Hooah
