Though this is not a normal blog type topic for me, I feel it needs to be shared. I will preface this by saying I do believe Covid-19 is real. I do not believe the way our government, particularly Nashville Mayor John Cooper, has handled it has been correct. I also do not believe all the news about it being reported is factual.
That said, let me tell you about my recent trip to Jackson, WY; and how much better it made me feel.
Flying out of BNA Nashville on an early morning flight I saw a pretty good crowd at the airport, but definitely smaller than normal. Almost everyone, except for a few holier-than-thou people, was wearing some type of protective face gear. Some were wearing a mask and a face shield, which seems like overkill but if it makes you feel safer go ahead. People were not walking around with fear in their eyes though.
I also saw families with small children at the airport and on my flights who did not seem concerned at all.
Boarding the flights is a little different as they call you in smaller groups. Stepping on to the plane you are handed a packaged sanitary wipe which you can use to clean your seat area. However, the airlines, United in this case, provide good information on how they clean the cabins between flights. It seems very thorough. The flights were fairly full also. When we arrived at our destination passengers again got off the plane in smaller groups. No big hassle.
Everywhere we (my son and I) went there was sanitizer available.
During my time in Jackson Hole I saw lots of tourists, all wearing masks but otherwise everything seemed fairly normal. We went on a fly fishing float on the Snake River. There were many rafts and boats floating at the same time. At the ramps they had on masks, in their boats they did not. That’s cool. The restaurants were a little more restricted also, but nothing too painful.
We visited Grand Tetons National Park. There were big overflowing crowds everywhere you could stop and hike. Some wore masks outside and some did not.
So, we had a wonderful time getting out in nature, fishing, hiking and eating. It was a great getaway.
My point is we should not let Covid-19 rule our lives. Live your life as normal as possible! Take precautions but get out and do things that make you happy, fulfilled and bring you joy. And you also have the opportunity to help small businesses that are struggling to stay open. The sooner everyone starts doing normal activities with precautions then the sooner the small business economy can get back on track.
Covid-19 is a serious pandemic but it is not the end of the world. Here’s wishing everyone as normal as possible days ahead.