Coins Are NOT the Most Pressing Concern

        Each month this year has brought up a new set of challenges – most which still exist.

        January – Australia caught on fire

        February – Chinese citizens post videos of the effects of COVID19 – I never imagined it would become a world wide thing

        March – Several states go into a lockdown.  For Jenna the pendemic started Friday the 13^th.  The 18^th shakes Utah (where we came from and family members live) starts a chain of earthquakes and aftershocks

        April – nation is short on supplies – items such as face masks, hand sanifizer, ventilators and toilet paper.  Only those working front line have jobs.  People feel more exposed to risk while working front line.  People without jobs are financially worn out.

May – Rumor of Murder Hornets.  Not important enough to last more than a few weeks. George Floyd is killed, black lives matter protests and looters. Still going. 

June – phases and political mask wearing or not wearing. Freedom vs. safety – or is it stupidity vs. safe to be free? Spend more money on struggling businesses in order to keep safe

July – return to school protesting, coin shortage.  Oh, no.  Not coins.  The toilet paper and mask shortage I could live with, but coins . . . . 

So here are the theories.  No one is going to the bank with rolled coins anymore so coins are piling up in people’s homes;  rumor that some businesses are enticing patrons to bring in rolled coins to receive a free drink, slice of pizza or what have you . . . seriously?  Seems the masks and toilet paper have reappeared – especially masks.  There is such a variety of masks on the market now.   

Before 1999 became 2000 there was concern over the Y2K (see here) and we were advised to hang onto small bills of cash in the case we needed to barter or shop without the benefit of change.  They had always talked about bills.  Never coins.

We keep bills in the emergency bags we have on hand in the event we need to evacuate (due to fires or earthquakes; we had never prepared to stay in and NOT leave the house) we don’t have coins.  Coins add weight and our bags are heavy enough just with food.  No one ever told us to keep our charge cards on hand in the event that no one would want to touch the money and there would be places that wouldn’t accept cash.  We saw much of this during our trip to NY.

 We probably shouldn’t have gone.  We probably should have stayed home as we should continue to do unless it’s absolutely necessary to leave the house.  I’m not afraid of COVID.  I am not thrilled with so much of the nation seemingly experiencing the affect of hormones that come with pms or pregnancy though.  Enough already!

I wish the coin shortage was the biggest issue our nation had to face.  

Fire on the Freeway

The Relief Society Pres has felt impressed to make little banana breads and plates of cookies to be delivered to some of the sisters in the ward.  I volunteered to help with deliveries and had Jenna with me as we drove around to deliver cookies.

 Two of the sisters we had delivered to live off the same exit as our friend Caroline.  So after we had finished delivering the cookies, we stopped by Caroline’s house to visit.  I think we were a bit closer than six feet apart but did keep our distance.

 We could hear the sirens and then followed by a noise between a “pop” and a “boom” – it didn’t sound like gunfire exactly, certainly not an explosion.  I still don’t know if it was related to the sirens or not, nor do I know what happened.  Caroline  said she could smell something resembling like burnt plastic. If I had gotten back on the freeway and headed south, driven through Canyonville and back through Riddle I would have missed the “stand still” traffic – but I didn’t know I5 had been turned into a parking lot until I was part of the non-moving traffic.

I had even pulled over to allow a firetruck to pass.  We didn’t know that we would see at least eight more emergency vehicles use the shoulder to pass the long line of trucks and cars.   We could see the smoke.  Black smoke to the west and white smoke to the east – or so it appeared.  Some drivers exited their vehicles and walked around in search of answers.  I don’t know if they ever came.  I watched three different news shows and there was no report.

 I don’t know how long those toward the front of the line had been waiting.  Jenna and I had only been a part of the line only twenty to thirty  minutes though it seemed longer as it was over 80 degrees outside.  I think the smelly smoke just added to the heat that was felt.  I don’t know if plastic was involved.  By the time we got pass the “source” it wasn’t identifiable.  According to this report which I found this morning, the remains had once been part of a motor home.  

rough example of where I think fire was.  Red line indicates
the area we were delivering cookies.  Purple path is alternative
of not using freeway.  Orange path shows path firetrucks had
to take in order to get to the fire.

This view was taken from above - I have no idea where the
photographer was standing.  I didn't know there were roads there

This is how the smoke appeared on the west side;  photo cropped from this link
 https://kobi5.com/news/i-5-temporarily-closed-north-of-canyonville-due-to-fire-128192/

Jenna took most of these.  I think I may have taken this first one

There were several cars between us and the ones in photograph

Taken from our car

I took this one of Jenna handing out paper
cranes she had made during our wait

after about 20 minutes or so

all of these vehicles had passed us on the shoulder

hard to believe it had been a motor home as this was all that remained