The Peeing Section and “We Are Out of Coffee!!!!”

 

        During the pandemic it has been up to each state government to lay down the law of mandating mask, social distancing, reopening, etc.  It wasn’t long before facebook became flooded with this message: “Having some states lock down and others not lock down is like having a peeing section in the swimming pool”.  Yet there are some companies that seem to be encourage traveling?  “Hey, come and pee in my state!  We don’t have enough of it?”  I am a guilty party as I traveled with my family to New York last June.  Did we bring some pee with us?  Not intentionally. Did we bring it back to Oregon? Possibly. But not from New York. It had been our flight from Detroit and our stop at Salt Lake airport that felt the most concerning. 

        Roland had asked for some time off the end of this month as we have arranged to have our floors done (inviting pee?  Perhaps.  Our floors are in very sad shape) but the flooring we wanted is currently on back order and the company has run behind.  They may not make it until May.  Roland is fed up – thinks we should use someone else.  We are in a rural area.  We are going to run into the same problem no matter where we go. We have a guarantee that this guy will do sub flooring.  That is our problem.  

        Our subfloors are in terrible shape (or at least I am assuming)  We are not going to have that same guarantee through Lowe’s.  They can’t even guarantee that we will have the same contractor throughout the entire project.  I am willing to wait.  I don’t want to change lanes only to fall further behind (here) 

Roland now wants to leave the state – take Jenna to Universal and return.  Two days in the car for one day at the park and a return home again?  I think not.  Besides Universal is open only to California residents. That is the way it should be.  Each state should have restrictions about letting in tourists – it isn’t an option for those traveling outside the country or to Hawaii (from what I understand) the traveler MUST quarantine for 14 days – and on the traveler’s dime at that.  So why would a desired traveler even bother?

Roland has good intentions.  Always has good intentions but is not always wise when it comes to making decisions.  Why not take the boys and other family members to Lagoon (an amusement park in Farmington, Utah) on the 24^th of this month.  We can invite family members of Roland’s late wife.  We already have 15 – 20 people to begin with (half under the age of 11) and now he wants more?  How are we supposed to social distance?  Not that my boys believe in that.  So far it doesn’t sound like a fun day to have to wear a mask the entire time we are in the park. 

It doesn’t have to be the park.  Roland has an entire list of suggestions. It’s like he’s oblivious of the year decade 2020 – like the pandemic has vanished and everything has returned to normal.  I recently reminded him of a skit I had seen on Electric Company back in the early 1970’s. A man goes into a shop and orders a doughnut and some coffee.  Rita Moreno's character says, "We're all out of coffee" so then he changes his order to a sweetroll and a coffee and is once again told "We're all out of coffee".  He proceeds to go through a list of baked goods with coffee and Rita Moreno's character appears to become more upset until finally the guy says, "Maybe I will have just coffee"  

I feel like I am screaming the same thing over and over.  Jenna thinks I’m a killjoy – sucking the fun out of the possibilities of what could be.  I don’t mean to sound pessimistic – but realistically “We Are Out of Coffee”.  I’m not the one who initialized the pandemic!  I’m not the one who voted to have a peeing section in the pool!  I’m sorry that they think I am a fun-sucker because I know that the pee can spread to others – even if that wasn’t my intent.  There are other people on this planet.  The pandemic will not last forever – though it has already lingered around longer than necessary because of those who believe in the peeing section.  It’s frustrating.

https://exit78.com/peeing-section/

Roland was watching the news last night.  He learned that new cases have been spiking all over the country.  Well, duh.  I hope that it sinks in.  He knows it’s not just me.  It’s not even paranoia.  It’s being cautious.  It’s trying to stay safe.  The pandemic is not over folks.  Vaccinations aren’t going to change the attitude of those that believe that the peeing section will work and that we still have plenty of coffee to go around – metaphorically speaking.