There are more Corvids than...

People now in Downtown Durango.

For the non-birders among you crows, ravens, jays and magpies are in the Corvid family. They are the  flying sanitation workers who glean what we leave behind. In these virulent times of social distancing, there’s less human detritus for them to feed upon. Covid-19 is even affecting the Corvids. 

Prior to the pandemic, Downtown Durango was a lively place. On a typical sunny Sunday morning, there’s couples strolling  the sidewalks while shlepping steaming cups of Java. There’s families  congregating outside of busy breakfast cafes before going to church. Cyclists baring “game faces” can be seen heading out of town to tackle the nearby hills.

Now even the panhandlers are gone. It’s a sad scene. Like everyone else, I hate this current situation. 

I’ve always had a lot of time to think and wonder. Now with a worldwide lack of distractions. (No Happy Hour, shopping, movies, March Madness, baseball ETC) I have even more time to ponder. I’m thinking I made a few very wise personal decisions and choices. 

Well? What are they, Jeffy?

A) I chose to give up the Homeless by Choice lifestyle right in the last sip of time. Being a single guy living in a white Van down by the river now? No thank you!

B) I chose going small instead of BIGLY by settling in Durango, CO (population 19,000) instead of returning  to Fort Collins, CO (population 168,000). I’m a mere five minutes from a brewpub and a mere three blocks from a trailhead. The best  of both worlds. 

C) I chose the right neighborhood. I moved into Parkside Terrace, a 74 unit townhouse subdivision squeezed into a few acres. My neighbors are at least two decades younger than I am. They are all in relationships with significant others. Their attitude toward me went from, “who is this guy?” to acceptance and eventually inclusion. Now they are kind enough to do welfare checks on me to see if I’m OK. One neighbor promised to take me fishing when this calamity passes. I think they might like me! 

D) I chose to join organizations who share my passions. I’m a dues paying member of the Friends of the Library, the San Juan Mountain Association, the Mountain Studies Institute and the Great Old Broads of the Wilderness. I’m a willing volunteer for all. 

So...back to Covid-19. Today I received this email from the Great Old Broads of the Wilderness. 

I’m known more as a whiner instead of a howler. But under these extenuating circumstances I’ll make exceptions. It can’t hurt. Right?

Hope to hear you howl! Who knows? Maybe the Corvids will be howling too.

Jeff

“Lions and Tigers and Rhinoceroses...

Oh My!”

On November 9th, 1874, The New York Herald’s front page headlines blared out, “Awful Calamity,” “The Wild Animals Broken Loose from Central Park,” “Terrible Scenes of Mutilations.” 

The eye catching and gut clenching article went on to describe in Pulp Fiction detail the mayhem wrought upon Gotham’s men, women and children when feral animals pull off a Great Escape. 

According to the news source 49 people had been killed and 200 more injured. Most readers dropped their newspapers and sought a safe refuse. Others grabbed their guns to try their aim at big game hunting. For the few who possessed a longer attention span, here’s what they read.

“Of course the entire story given above is a pure fabrication. Not one word of it is true. Not a single act or incident described has taken place. It is a huge hoax,”

We live in times of Fake News. Misinformation can now circle the globe faster than a speeding virus. There’s heaps of BS now being generated from the giants of social media.  Followers of these falsehoods can get sick or worse die. This is a good time to become a “Doubting Jeffy.”

I’ll use the social networking gargantuan Facebook as an example of how things can go awry. 

Remember it’s called Facebook, not Factbook.

You can be anything you want to be on Facebook. That being said, there’s folks who aren’t Doctors but play the role on Facebook. I’ll use the following FB post as an example.

Me being me, fact checked this report. (Remember the source is a Fox Fear Network station). I found this on the MedRxiv site. (A non profit preprint server for Health Sciences, which is supported by Yale University.) 

Basically, the above medical report has yet to be reviewed for accuracy and validity by fellow researchers. For now, don’t get worked up about the correlation of blood types and Covid-19.

Use common sense. Wash your hands, maintain social distancing and be civil and polite to your fellow humans from six feet away.

What we don’t need is someone in power referring to this malady as the “Chinese Virus. There is never an appropriate time for needless finger pointing. After all the 1918-1919 Spanish flu didn’t originate in the Land of Paella. 

https://www.livescience.com/spanish-flu.html

BTW. There’s been a surge of hate crimes directed towards Asian Americans.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/fbi-warns-potential-surge-hate-crimes-asian-americans/story?id=69831920

My dear readers, words and posts matter. Be truthful, be curious, be a seeker of fact and information. Worse comes to worse, you will bore people in conservations like I do! 

Check out this quote from James Gordon Bennett Jr. (Publisher of the New York Herald).

Lastly, folks we are going to be dealing with this for a long time. It won’t be over until Big Deborah sings.

Hang in there!

Jeff

We are in a History Making Moment in which...

none of us want to be in. (Except the Toilet Paper Black Marketeers). 

I had a premonition the end was near. 

When I noticed the rapidly expanding list of States shutting down, I knew Colorado wasn’t far behind. On a warm gauzy sunny day, I headed to my favorite Happy Hour venue. Inside Carver’s Brewpub, less than a handful of customers relaxed at the bar. Normally, it’s close to a SRO crowd. I ordered an IPA and sat alone on the curbside patio. In the span of an hour and a half, the “Daily Specials” were erased from their outside blackboard. The words “Take Out Only!” replaced them. Fifteen minutes later, the blackboard was brought inside and the front door was locked. It was 6 pm. 

I entered the now closed pub in an open gap in the patio door. Inside the waitstaff were wiping down tables, vacuuming and putting things away. I noticed a few were crying. I paid for my beers with an above average tip. I said “I’m sorry!” to the always friendly bartender. I was Carver’s last paying customer when Colorado shut down.

I wasn’t happy about this.

Now we all feel like prisoners for a crime we didn’t commit. We’re allowed outside for good behavior activities such as buying groceries, medicines and other essential items like weed and alcohol. In Durango, a 29 mile trail system which begins three blocks from my home remains open. It’s a sanity salvation for me and others. 

On my way to Horse Gulch this morning, I saw two young BIGLY men advancing towards me on a narrow sidewalk. Upon noticing me they turned hard right into the street. They passed me in a social distancing acceptable way. I looked over and said, “it’s not everyday a guy my size can intimidate two guys your size!” 

Of course, they laughed. 

So here’s my point.  Being civil, polite and even making lame jokes is always in vogue. At times like these, it’s become more so. No one is happy about what’s going on. We are all on edge. Try to go the extra distance to be kind, generous (from six feet away), and show appreciation to all. The sooner we all get through this the better.

OK. I’ll get off my soapbox now. A sincere thank you for reading my blog. (Especially when I know how BUSY you all are!).

Hang in there!

Jeff