This ain't no party, this ain't no disco, (this ain't no foolin' around)

The words of "Talking Heads" ring true as we are now if week 6?  7?  of extended lock-down in Ohio.  I was thinking of them because, as everyone likely has, I've been chewing through all of the reasonable video content on my Netflix, Hulu, and Prime Video accounts. Last Saturday I happened to come upon "Stop Making Sense," Talking Heads' 1984 concert video by Jonathan Demme.  I watched it and was transformed back into the '80's.  I had no big suit like David Byrne, but I was definitely a fan.  It was great watching and listening to music that I really haven't heard in a while.

With this music stuck in my head all week, I can't help applying their lyrics for "Life During Wartime" to today's circumstances.  "Heard about Houston, heard about Detroit, heard about Pittsburgh, PA."  We're all watching the news and hearing about these and other cities and how they're being hit by the virus.  Detroit especially has suffered in a terrible way.  We're approaching two milestones for my daughters this week: my youngest girl Caty's 21st birthday, and my middle girl Tessie's graduation from  U Cincinnati's DAAP graduate school in Architecture, both on May 1st.  Both milestones will likely be celebrated here at home, just like every day we've had since about March 16th when they both came home.  We're hoping that with the gradual lifting of restrictions, commencing on the 1st, that maybe we'll be able to have a few friends over, perhaps on the front porch or other outdoor venue, with plenty of space between, to help us celebrate our girls' accomplishments. "Life During Quarantine."

Preparations continue for the upcoming Dinosaurs on Wheels tour of America, but what will this be like?  Will anything be open?  Will we be able to find places to stay?  Or eat?  We were planning to credit-card camp, meaning pack light, buy what you need along the way.  We'd still like to do this, but we're going to have to plan for the worst and pack for more camping and cooking out.  "I got some groceries, some peanut butter, to last a couple of days." sang David Byrne, so long ago.  Could this be our fate?  We won't know until we get there, will we?  In the meantime, our packing lists are adding stuff for self-reliance.  We're hopeful, for the sake of so many who have suffered, that May will see a peak and a gradual decline of this scourge.  A bike ride is a silly thing, and I feel selfish for worrying about how this will affect us, since it's not really a necessity.  But like everyone, including my girls, and all the kids who had planned Proms, or graduations, or weddings, or new careers, that we can start to see an end to this isolation, and return to our regularly scheduled lives.  I think we'll appreciate a lot more of the little things we miss.  Aren't we all ready to try a little "social non-distancing" again soon? 

And as the lyrics of yet another 1980's singer-songwriter, Tom Petty, said, "The waiting is the hardest part."



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Because I used to love her, but it's all over now

Image
Well, it's hard to believe that it's over.  For the past two months I've been getting up every day 5:30 to 6AM, just to put on damp cycling shorts and jersey, put everything I have into two (originally 4) bags, loading up and heading out, only to have to find a new place for the night, eat, go to sleep, and do the same thing over again.  It's a strange kind of routine, but over the past two months that's been the routine.  Now it's over, and I'm free to go back home and sleep in the same bed more than one night in a row.  The other side of this routine we've been in for so long is that we were able to make good and steady progress on the ultimate goal.  To get to the other side of the country.  And now we've done it. And now we're done.  Two weeks earlier than we expected, but we're done. I think it's pointless at this point to talk about the overall meaning of the trip, what I've learned, what I liked, disliked, will and won't mi
Read more

Mr. Breeze

Image
Yesterday I did not post, because we did not ride.  We took the day off the bike, both to recover physically and a bit mentally.  Once in a while we need a break from the routine - get up early, get dressed, pack the bags, attach to the bike, check the tires and gears, and go.  So we took the day in Breckenridge, a very nice touristy place with lots of shops, restaurants, and a grocery store to stock up on a few things.  Hey, I even nabbed a haircut - really the first one I've had professionally done since February.  My home-made self-done haircuts did the trick, but certainly weren't pretty.  It was nice to find a place open on Sunday and they were very nice about getting me in.  We also found a nice French style bakery for some pastries and a Subway for Monday's lunch provisions.   Since we stayed at the Fireside Inn, we spent part of the day hanging out there, which was really nice.  They have a really nice common room, coffee on tap, and even their dog Chewbacca to ente
Read more
Image
This is the first post to my new blog.  Called Dinosaurs on Wheels, it will cover our upcoming bicycle trip across the country. The Dinosaurs are two sixty-something brothers, finally getting around to a bucket list adventure.  This trip is something usually undertaken by younger folks, with few obligations and youth on their side.  In this case we have neither.  Well, one of us doesn't have so many obligations.  My brother Jerry is a retired medical doctor, formerly of the University of Wisconsin medical system.  I'm the owner of a small company in Ohio.  Still working, kind of.  My plan is to connect from the road.  Thank goodness everyone at my company is very understanding and very competent.  It's likely, with me gone, we may thrive.  That usually happens whenever I go away.  Right before a devastating computer catastrophe... In any case, we will be riding across the country by bicycle. Hence the title, Dinosaurs on Wheels.  Actually my wife picked up a birthday ca
Read more