At 50 years old, I’ve lived through some shit — the peak of the AIDS epidemic, hurricanes (many), the fall the of the Berlin Wall and then the USSR, 9/11, two separate and catastrophic GOP coups of our government (ongoing), and innumerable international disasters that at this point I can’t even remember.
This pandemic is something else altogether. While the overall death numbers are, statistically speaking, low at this point, covid19 is very dangerous and has shut much of the world down to different degrees for not a day nor a week but months with no definite end in sight. Even if we contain the disease, the economic fallout is tremendous.
None of which matters on these early morning walks, which is something I cling to right now. I don’t listen to the news and I don’t allow myself to think about what is going on. I have the rest of the day for that.
This walk, this morning, was for me and Keely. She was a bit reserved herself, not leading me by the nose so much as we walked around Lake Ella. Have a Good Day! guy was there, but even the usual quota of homeless people listing around the picnic tables and random benches were in absentia. It’s a quiet world, subdued by fear.
Yesterday, Keely was nearly frantic, going from bush to bush to sniff them thoroughly and comprehensively. Today, not so much. It occurred to me that some dogs smell more interesting than others, for reasons I could not begin to understand. What would interest my aging old girl enough to send her on a side quest to follow a specific pee scent? I don’t even go out of my way for chocolate or beautiful people anymore! 😀