Read chapter 67 here
Sunday, August 16, 2020
JoAnna spent the weekend in Manitowoc, her first opportunity to spend time with Cindy since January, when the two of us went there for a weekend visit. Due to our Christmas trip to Germany, which now seems like so-o-o-o long ago, we didn’t get a chance to see her during the holidays. This time I decided to stay in Middleton and allow JoAnna to enjoy some sister time. (JoAnna posted the photo on Facebook Friday afternoon, with the message: Social distancing but finally seeing my best friend
and sister Cindy Richard. Of course, our beers are in Star Wars glasses. Cindy is a huge fan of the franchise.)
Andy went disc golfing on Friday afternoon but stopped to buy two walleye dinners from the Laurel Tavern on the way home. He reported that most of their business was takeout orders although a few small groups chose to eat in the dining area. Pre-Covid, the bar
area was shoulder-to-shoulder with people waiting for a table, drink in hand, unless they managed to snag a chair at the bar. The booths and tables In the dining area left little room for waitstaff to maneuver. That certainly isn’t the case anymore.
As good and still warm as the food was, I would have preferred to be ‘in person’ for this meal. Maybe JoAnna will agree to go there some Friday night. The Laurel has no outside seating, but then JoAnna had no qualms about dining at Vin Santo to celebrate our anniversary.
(The above photo is not mine; I found it on Pinterest. The building in which the Laurel operates exudes a small-town vibe. In fact, it’s very similar to the long-demolished building on Pennsylvania Avenue East in Warren where Morell’s used to be.)
On Saturday evening, JoAnna assumed that a gathering at the home of a
friend of Cindy’s would be limited to 6 or so. As it turned out, more than a dozen people showed up, most of whom she didn’t know.
“I felt a bit uneasy,” she confessed, “but tried to keep my distance.”
“Did you wear a mask?” I asked.
“No, I didn’t have one with me because I knew we’d be eating and drinking.”
I suspect that most of those in attendance regularly socialize with each another. Moreover, Cindy and Jen are very cautious, having avoided their usual hangouts since the start of the pandemic.
Speaking of groups of a dozen or so.
On Thursday evening, the Middleton Kiwanis held its biweekly meeting in the back yard of one of our members. We’ve been meeting via Zoom since the spring, and it seemed as though people were losing interest in participating. We were lucky to get 6 of us together. Meeting in person boosted our attendance to 12. (We have only 20 or so members in our group.)
Following social distancing protocol, we made our circle quite large, which sometimes made it difficult to hear one another. The house where we met is under the flight path of Morey Field, Middleton’s small airport that specializes in business travel,
charter service, and flight instruction . It’s been in operation since 1932. (You can see the hangars and other airport buildings in the left and middle far distance of the photo.) Only the smallest planes fly in and out is this location. Nonetheless, during an hour-long meeting, at least 8 planes took
off. The noise level was similar to listening to a neighbor’s power lawnmower. Very intrusive. In our neighborhood, the sound is reduced to a muffled buzz, noticeable but not an annoyance when a plane flies over. I now have a better understanding of why people living in close proximity to the airport are unhappy about any plans to expand its operations. (Even with Covid, there remains a demand for more hangar space.) It’s been a contentious issue, with many concerned residents feeling left out of the planning process due to Airport Commission meetings being held virtually due to Covid concerns.
As for Saturday, Andy and I spent the day together as he had no disc golf plans. (Unlike today, when he left the house at 7:30 a.m. and isn’t expected to return from a Watertown until 6:30 p.m.) We walked the ponds in the afternoon and cooked steaks
on the grill for supper. If nothing else, we are eating very well during the pandemic!
Read chapter 69 here
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