Cancelled!

Bird watching - not cancelled

  Cancelled pretty much describes the past two weeks. Like much of the country Arizona has come to a standstill. The last time I wrote everything was in full swing here at the resort and then suddenly the brakes were applied. First it was a slow braking, but it soon accelerated to a panic stop.

   At first all indoor events were cancelled in the park, but eventually they shut down all outside activities as well. No more pickleball, shuffleboard, tennis or bocce ball. Full stop on everything. The store and grill were open for a few days, but even that was shut down and only take out meals are now offered.

Sunsets - not cancelled

   Also like the insanity everywhere else, toilet paper was in short supply and I had to get up at 5:45 a.m. so I could go to Fry’s during “senior shopping time” to score one 8-pack of toilet paper. We, and Joan’s sister and brother-in-law now have enough toilet paper to get through our time here.

    As I mentioned in the last post Diane and Denny are here for the month of March and while everything was normal for the first two weeks, the last two weeks have been anything but. All of us are “social distancing” but we have been with Diane and Denny since the beginning of their arrival here so we are still taking walks, short hikes and scenic drives together. Anything we have, they have and vice versa so we are not endangering anyone needlessly.

Mountain scenic drives - not cancelled

    We took a drive to the top of Mt. Lemmon, a drive to Madera Canyon, a drive through East Saguaro National Park and we have walked the inside of the resort many, many times. To say we might be a little bored is an understatement, but we are still making the best of it.

    In fact, everyone in the resort is avoiding people like the plague, which obviously is where that expression originated. Friends cross the street so they won’t get within 6-feet of each other and mostly we just sit outside the RV and read.

Mountain top experiences - not cancelled

   The last three concerts of the season were abruptly cancelled so we missed the highly anticipated “Eagles” tribute concert, the less anticipated (for me) Barry Manilow concert and the steel drum group “Jovert” which we really like. It’s a small price to pay for staying safe.

   All business with the resort is done by phone. They still want to get paid.

    Church and Bible studies were also stopped. We have been listening to our home church services which are now being done online. 

Shows - cancelled

   Our plans to go to California have been aborted and we are heading home to Michigan on Thursday. Gas stations and hotels are open (so far) and many of our snowbird friends reported clear sailing on their trips home. We will miss seeing our family and friends there.

   I get the hype. I was a reporter for 30 years and I know how the media loves a panic. As a Christian I believe it when Jesus and God tells us “to be not afraid” and to “fear not.” So I probably approach all this a little differently than many folks. While I understand that this is serious and obviously deadly, the more deadly and serious aspect is the panic and fear that drives people to do silly things. Social media, for all the good it does in a crisis, does more to spread panic and disinformation than any other source.

    My son the nurse has made it clear (and he is pretty much an expert on viruses) that eventually we are all going to be exposed to this virus, unless we isolate for a couple years so while we can slow the spread we are not going to stop it. The slowing the spread is important for the health system, but eventually we will have to face the virus.

    I lived through SARS (that was going to kill hundreds of thousands of us)

Rattlesnake bridge - not cancelled

    I lived through H1N1 (another supposed pandemic that was going to kill us all)

    I somehow survived Y2K (that was supposed to shut down the world). While some hid in the dark on New Year’s Eve, Joan and I celebrated in a hot tub watching TV. Another worldwide panic that was pointless.

   When you live as long as I do, you learn that you take these one at a time. This one is going to be bad, but I’m not fearing it. One of two things will happen. At some point, now or later (and I’m doing everything we can to make sure it is later) I am going to come in contact with this virus. Hopefully they will have a vaccine, which I will get just like I get an annual flu shot and it will all be good. In the event thatI get the virus before the protection, I’ll deal with it.

Pima Air Museum - before it closed

    We are good, we are being careful, we are not being frightened into anxiety. We have enjoyed our take out fish fries from Culver’s and we have enjoyed our time with our family. We are sorry they didn’t get to experience the park as it usually is, but even in its reduced state it’s still a lot of fun.

   Here are the things that didn’t get cancelled:

   Beautiful sunsets

   Reading books

   Visiting with family via Facetime

    Wonderful dinners

   Great weather

   Walks in the park

   Bird watching

   Rides in the mountains

   Scenic hikes

   Phone calls with friends and family.

   We pray for those who are working on the front lines of this disease and look forward to when we can shake hands, visit face to face with friends and family and return to some normalcy.

One more sunset - not cancelled

   This will likely be my last post until we get home. We covet your prayers as we make this very unusual trek home. Be safe, don’t worry.