Where does the road lead from here?

My wife shared this from her Facebook feed.
What are you trying to tell me honey?

I’m sure you and your family are starting the “what if” thought process. With Mr. Trump (to his credit) extending the social distancing guidelines though April at the recommendation of his pandemic task force Americans are looking at working from home, teaching their kids at home, worshiping from home, exercising from home, doing almost everything from home for at least the next four weeks. In my household it’s just myself and my wife and this morning over breakfast (I made her a very nice omelette and toast, thank you very much) had a frank conversation about how to plan our days over the next several weeks so that we don’t drive each other crazy. I can only imagine what it’s like in families of two parents and one or more kids what the stress levels must already be, let alone what they’ll be like in a month of being together 24-7. My wife and I are still in love with each other (I know, TMI) after 30 years and we don’t want that to change because of an increasingly pesky virus. Private time is going to become very important is our household and we’ve both agreed that when we inevitably start snipping at each other we’ll head each to our separate corners for some alone time. Fortunately we have both shared interests as well as our own personal hobbies and I can buy my wife earplugs for when I drag out the guitar.

Exercise for us is our biggest stress reliever and our primary outdoor exercise comes in the form of cycling and walking the dogs. We’re clearly not unique in those activities as indicated by the number of folks out pedaling on the local bike paths and walking their canine companions. We had planned to ride toward downtown Denver yesterday along the South Platte River Trail but ultimately decided it was crazy to be riding TOWARDS a city center that is a hotbed of viral activity. Instead, we headed south into Chatfield State Park which thankfully is still open. Candidly though, riding the bike paths is becoming problematic. Though it is easy to maintain six feet of distance from those ahead and behind us that doesn’t solve the issue of when you pass, or are passed by, someone else. The paths don’t really allow people to pass with 6 feet of clearance and the thought occurred to me that in the short stint from Mineral and Santa Fe to the roads within Chatfield we came within too close proximity to more than a hundred people along the path. We had taken a tongue-in-cheek instagram picture of us decked out in our cycling attire and wearing face masks before the ride; next time I ride the paths I’ll keep the mask on instead of taking it off. We only saw two cyclists actually riding with face masks but that number will increase by at least two the next time we ride.

As an aside, they are building a huge housing development just outside the south entrance to Chatfield. We noticed that the six model homes are now nearly complete. Interestingly they are so closely built to each other that there barely seems to be six feet between them. What will Corona mean for urban planners of the future who up to now seemed intent on forcing us to live in increasingly densely populated areas? How can there not be ‘community spread’ when you can shake your neighbors hand from your bathroom window?

Though this is new to all of us, America has experienced a major pandemic in the past. If you didn’t see it in yesterday’s paper, the Denver Post had an excellent article about how Colorado handled the flu pandemic in 1918-1919. I didn’t realize that what was called the ‘Spanish’ flu actually originated in western Kansas. Who knew?

So we have reached a point where COVID-19 is more than an annoyance for most Americans. The number of infected is in the hundreds of thousands and those dying from the virus is in the thousands and growing. And from all accounts it sounds like it’s an equal opportunity virus hitting all segments of the population from infants to the elderly though those with underlying health issues remain most at risk. I for one have concluded that I don’t want to catch it. A month ago while working Spring Training Baseball in Arizona (talk about lots and lots of people contact) when Corona was just starting to make headlines I clearly remember thinking that we’d all probably catch it at some point so why not catch it and get it over with. Not now. We’ve reached a point where even healthcare workers, those charged with protecting us, are starting to succumb and if that doesn’t make me take this seriously then I really am as stupid as I sometimes suspect.

Stay safe, stay sane, and forgive me if I don’t recognize you on the bike path behind your mask.