May 17, 2020

Well, now I am a statistic.  In order to complete my pre-admission forms I had to have a Covid -19 swab.  Not comfortable but lasted only 5 seconds in each nostril and it was done.  One more Texan tested.  Once that was complete we headed to get some take out breakfast.  It was 11 AM and Panera Bread was open for drive thru.  Mmmm, cinnamon crunch bagels, a breakfast sandwich and yummy hazelnut coffee filled Icie (our car) with the best smells.  Next stop, San Gabriel River park.

We sat in Icie with the windows down and watched the people enjoying the park.  Seemed most were practicing social distancing outside their own group.  Of about 100 folks we observed while enjoying the view about 2 were wearing masks.  We had our masks with us as required for the Covid drive thru testing.  But eating and masks, well, that does not work.

We wound our way through come country roads on the way home.  There were wheat and corn fields.  The wheat is ripe and ready for harvest.  The corn stalks have set ears that are silking.  In a few places the rich, black sandy loam was visible.  Unfortunately it appeared a housing developement was being laid out in the fertile soil.  As a former farm girl it tears me up to see good farm land paved over with cement and houses.

Once home we settled into our lounge chairs.  I read a few articles and caught up on missed blog posts.  Clicking over to facebook brought a pleasant surprise.  A friend up in Hubby's home town in Missouri was going through his mother's possessions.  He took a photo of something he thought important/interesting for my Hubby.

 Yes, of great interest.  That was Hubby's dad's ad in the local newspaper.  Dad A. had been doing his radio repairs for the community from their home.  Now the repair shop would be located in the Aurora downtown area.  Hubby had just turned 9 years old that same month.  Hubby will be 80 that month this year.  A 79 year old newspaper reminder of Hubby's roots.  Gotta love that 3 digit phone number.  And no address needed for Wiley Tire & Home Supply.  Cause in a small town everyone knows where Wiley's is located.

I have been wondering if the people of The Greatest Generation complied with the wartime laws like blackout times.  Wikipedia says initially, no.  The cities along the seaboards said it would be detrimental to the tourism industry.  As a result, submarines used the city lights to locate the silhouettes of ships. 

"The result was a disastrous loss of shipping, dubbed by German submariners as the "Second Happy Time".^[   

Putting $$ first ended up costing even more in the loss of merchant ships.  Guess each generation has to learn its own lessons. 

Ya'll all stay healthy, peaceful and know this person loves you.

Janice