The Pleasures of Circulating

"I especially like," I said in my last post, "the 'See Rock City' [birdhouse] in the middle - that was Martha's idea - with its pop of bright red and its memory of a wonderful day four years ago at that iconic place on Lookout Mountain!"  That prompted me to look back at the photos we took on that day.  We were on the last leg of a month-long voyage across the United States, from Atlanta to California with a sizeable group of Mini Coopers ("Mini Takes the States"), and then back home again on our own.  I sent Martha photos of that warm, lazy Sunday afternoon at Rock City where we ate lunch.

She replied, "It was a wonderful day!  We have some great memories!!"

We have been thinking about the things we miss in the new Post-Coronavirus era we find ourselves in, especially as businesses are beginning to open again in Georgia, Tennessee, and South Carolina, with North Carolina (and Highlands) probably not far behind.  Governor Kemp has been the subject of criticism since he decided to open "tattoo parlors, beauty salons, and bowling alleys" last week.  "The three high-tech industries in Georgia," joked comedian Bill Maher.

I have had no overwhelming desire to get a tattoo - though I am guessing a popular image to have on one's arm might be that spiky little, greatly-magnified coronavirus sphere we have seen pictured everywhere - and I am maintaining my own hair, thank you, although thousands of women with grey roots showing are growing more impatient by the week.  And as for bowling alleys, I can do without that dubious activity; what could go wrong with sticking three fingers into the unsanitized holes of a bowling ball and donning a pair of shoes worn by hundreds of other bowlers?

We have been enjoying eating lunch and dinner at home these days and are likewise not at all eager to go back to restaurants unless we can be sure that all of the employees working there, and diners seated nearby, test negative for the coronavirus.  Many of us miss church, movie theaters, plays, concerts - all of those things we took for granted when we were able to gather safely together.  Sporting events are high on the list for many, and from our perspective as runners we wonder if we will ever feel safe running in a race again.  For the desperate runners among us, I am receiving nearly daily e-mails announcing "virtual races," where competitors run a measured route all by themselves and, on the honor system, find out if they have placed in their age group.

High on the list of things that we miss is the freedom to travel, which we are reminded of when we look at that photo at the beginning of this post, that wonderful day on top of Lookout Mountain, and on the same trip the Mackinac Bridge, Mount  Rushmore, the Golden Gate Bridge, Napa Valley, the view of the Pacific Ocean from Big Sur, the Hearst Mansion, Grand Canyon - the list goes on and on.  And our 40th Anniversary "Trip of a Lifetime" to Britain and Ireland last summer would be unthinkable these days!  Imagine crowding into a coach with 50 strangers from around the world and then disembarking to wander through crowded streets in some of the most beautiful cities in the world.

We have had many wonderful days, and many great memories!  Are these all things of the past?  I hope not, but time will tell.  Perhaps when a reliable vaccine is developed, like the influenza vaccine we take like clockwork every fall, we will again feel comfortable traveling.