Coronavirus Chronicles: Drive, nap, walk, write

After getting Michael out of the neighborhood Friday, Ben and I went on our own little adventure today. We drove down to Lehi, through Eagle Mountain, up to Tooele, and then to ... West Valley City. I was thinking maybe we could hike a little today, but the skies were alternately ominous and sunny, and Great Salt Lake Park looked a little crowded. So instead, we went to In 'n' Out near Valley Fair, via the efficient and socially distant drive-thru, and ate our lunch in the mall's parking lot as a seagull eyed the RAV4 longingly.

The sky was angry at the Pony Express Trail parking lot.
I swore I wasn't going to nap after we got home, but the Sunday need to doze overtook me, and I fell asleep a little longer than anticipated (hopefully, it doesn't ruin my sleep routine tonight ...). After a little yardwork, a little writing on the porch, and dinner, Ben and I went for a long walk with the dog. He said he had a good day -- he needed to get away as much as I did, if not more.

The rest of the evening has been mellow, writing and watching "Life in Pieces" reruns on Hulu. The workweek looks manageable -- a little busy, but nothing crazy, and well, the weeks have returned to normal speed and next weekend will be here before I know it. This four-day break wasn't quite super rejuvenating, but it has helped. Plus, I was able to spend time with the boys away from the house. No pandemic can diminish that. 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Seems like yesterday, but it was long ago

One of my favorite songs is Bob Seger's "Against the Wind." Being somewhat overly nostalgic, it's always resonated with me, even when I was a teenager. In 1984, we were on a weekend trip at a resort in Wisconsin (a longer story for another post), and I was incredibly bored and listened to the only tape I brought for my Walkman over and over, just songs taped off the radio. One of the songs was "Against the Wind" and somehow, only at 13, I recognized the reflection the lyrics invoke, of being young and taking life head on, growing up in a blink of an eye and being wiser yet a little sad. Of course, just about every Bog Seger song is about that same theme ("Beautiful Loser," "Like a Rock", "Night Moves", "Roll Me Away," you can even make a case for "Old Time Rock 'n' Roll"), but this one always stuck with me. Another reason I like "Against the Wind" so much — the line: "Those drifter days...
Read more

Nobody did it better

After Lori recorded it on our DVR, I finally got around to watching A Football Life: Walter Payton (link shows a clip from the show) that aired on NFL Network. It brought back some good memories. In 1977, as a second-grader, I started watching football for the first time. I collected football cards. I remember not only watching the Bears in the early game, but watching late games, usually on NBC, after the sun had gone down that dark November and December. My first lesson in my NFL education was an amazing one: Witnessing Walter Payton's incredible 1977 season in which he rushed for 1,852 yards (in 14 games) and helped the Bears to the playoffs. CBS gushed over Payton all season, setting his runs captured by NFL Films to song: Carly Simon's "Nobody Does It Better." I hear that and still think back to that late fall and winter. I don't know how much local radio played the song (and this was a memorable winter for music), but CBS was all over it. I remembered many ...
Read more

50 for 50: 1985

Image
YEAR: 1985 (and one month of 1986) AGE: Turned 15 on Nov. 6 LOCATION: Chicago, Rascher Avenue BULLS' RECORD: 38-44 SONGS I LIKED: "Shout" by Tears for Fears; "Bobby Jean" by Bruce Springsteen MOVIES I SAW: "The Breakfast Club," "Back to the Future" TV SHOWS I WATCHED: "Miami Vice," "Growing Pains" MUSIC VIDEOS I ENJOYED: "Raspberry Beret" by Prince; "Just a Gigolo" by David Lee Roth VIDEO GAMES I PLAYED: Super Basketball, River Raid For the first 15 years of my life, my hometown teams had never secured a championship. The Sting, who won the NASL in 1981, don't count (even though they got a parade that drew 100,00 fans). The closest any other team had gotten was DePaul making the Final Four in 1979, but in true Chicago fashion, the Blue Demons were incredible the next three years only to be ousted in their first NCAA Tournament games. In 1985, we finally got a winner. The Bears capped an ...
Read more