COPING IN CHANGING TIMES!

Just wanted to post a quick update on what things are like in these changing times and how I am coping with social isolation.

First let me say that I do take the current situation serious and I AM PRACTICING social isolation. My car hasn't been out of my garage since March 27, when I ventured out to the Glen Alton Day Use Area in the Jefferson National Forest. It is a remote and beautiful place and is perfect for hiking and walking. But I understand that it has since closed.

Prior to that the last time I was out in public was on March 19, when I made a grocery run to Kroger's. That will probably be my last run to Kroger's as I plan on shopping on line and scheduling either a pickup or delivery. It is really a new way of doing things.

NEIGHBORHOOD WALK

While I am practicing Social Isolation it doesn't mean that I am staying inside all the time.  I have found that my daily walks have taken on a new meaning. I really look forward to them and have expanded from a little over 3 miles a day to a little over 5-miles a day.  Walking around the neighborhood is usually a good option for me as I very rarely see other people except for a few that are walking their pet and they usually stay in or close to their yard.

NEIGHBORHOOD WALK

Some times when I walk during the early afternoon, I hit the Huckleberry. That a paved walking trail that runs very close to my home. In the early to mid afternoon I have the trail to myself. It is a little more crowded in the mornings, late afternoon and early evenings. So I am staying active.

What's it like here in the New River Valley of Virginia.  It very little different than anywhere else in Southwest Virginia. People are still hording and large areas of the grocery store shelves are bare. I have talked with a couple of grocery store managers and they have all advised me that the supply line is up and operating normally. If people would just take a step back and take a deep breath the stores could catch up and supplies would quickly return to normal. But people are still in a tizzy.

GLEN ALTON

I am online ordering from Kroger's and it will be interesting to see just how much of my order that they are able to fill. I am ordering only what I usually get when I go to the store in person. I am not ordering large amounts of anything. We will see what happens.

One thing that I am not doing is watching the News. I look at the Virginia Department of Health Website every day of two, but I do NOT watch the main stream media. The media in this day and time is not a reliable source of information. They are more interested in advancing a political agenda and sensationalizing events than reporting the News.

GLEN ALTON

I came to the conclusion long before this age of social isolation that the days of simple reporting the news like Walter Cronkite and Huntley-Brinkley did are long gone.  I do watch some of the so called experts and listen to what they say because they do provide some good information. But when they open the conference for questions from the Media I turn it off because once again the media is only interested in advancing their political agenda. So TURN OFF THE NEWS and go about your life the best you can.

One thing that I do encourage you to do is take advantage of online ordering from your local restaurants. They are depending on online and takeout order to survive. So support them and PLEASE TIP a little extra.

NEIGHBORHOOD WALK

Some one sent me an e-mail a couple of weeks ago asking me about my plans for the rest of the year. Quiet frankly I have none.  Everything that I had planned for 2020 has been cancelled. If things clear up in the weeks ahead then I will take some day trips but over night are not on the agenda for the rest of the year. I really don't look for the much of the travel industry to be back up an running until sometime in 2021.  But again we will see.

Finally, and this is just my opinion, I think the government is going to have to figure out a way to gradually open up the economy and start getting people back to work.  I am not smart enough to know how but I am smart enough to know that the economy can NOT survive months upon months of idle lock down. I am not say we are going to wake up one day an poof everybody is back to work. But the economy is going to have to start functioning slowly at first especially manufacturing. Maybe gradually getting back to work in shifts and gradually expanding the hours as the difficult times subsides. But we will see.

That's it for this entry, until next time please stay home and stay healthy.

THE LEGEND OF CHARLEY PARKHURST

When I travel I keep a Trip Journal. It's nothing fancy just a few notes to myself about the days adventure and some interesting notes about thing that I saw or learned during the day. Some entries are just a few lines while other are a page or two. Since most of us are social isolating and can't really travel I have been looking back on some of these trip journals.  As a result I have been posting on another site little tid-bits of information that I found interesting. And from time to time I am going to Post them here just to keep this blog somewhat active. So here is the first little entry.

WHO WAS CHARLEY PARKHURST?
Last year when I visited the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City there was a temporary exhibit on old west transportation. One part of the exhibit was dedicated to the stagecoach. One of the people they mentioned was a stagecoach driver named Charley Parkhurst. Seems ole Charley was quite the character, hard drinking and driving his coach for days at a time while battling bandits in all types of weather. Charley once safely crossed a raging river during a storm that had washed out the bridge. Charley was a true shot with a rifle and pistol and shot at least two outlaws who attempted to rob the Stage. In Charley’s later years the time was spent mostly alone in a cabin on a small ranch near Watsonville, California. Noted stage Driver Charley Parkhurst died of Cancer in 1879 but when Charley’s friends and the undertaker came to prepare for the funeral, they discovered that Ole Charley was actually a woman whose real name was Charlotte Darkey Parkhurst