The new normal

I went for a two mile walk today, the only excursion I undertook out of my yard in two days, along a route predicated to avoid contact with others as much as possible.  It's the new normal, certainly for the rest of the year at least.

The 40-mile long W&OD Trail is nearby but I kept off it as much as possible as it had too many knots of people on it and I didn't like plodding runners overtaking me and lumbering by on the confined pathway, some breathing heavily and sweating.  But the path intersects with many neighborhood streets which aren't too busy and those are more conducive to keeping isolated on a perambulation, including crossing the street to the other side upon the approach of others.  The only real annoyance was a man with a leaf blower busy blowing leaves off his driveway into the street, stirring up the dust all around with who knows what he was blowing into the air for passerbys to breath in.

My neighbors have a cherry tree in their yard so I started the walk with a viewing of its blooming beauty.  Along the way there were other beautiful spring flowers to view as well.

I ended the walk by cutting across the parking lot across the street where I saw a portentous harbinger of the near-term tragic consequences of the international pandemic which is out of control in our nation thanks to the reckless neglect of our "leader."  Five franchises in a row were tucked into block of the storefronts, four fast food shops and a vape outlet, with the four food concerns sporting new, identical "Grab and Go" signs signifying their recent closures except for takeout orders.  I have no doubt that four of the five shops, the sole exception being the Dominos pizzeria with its established delivery exercise, will be out of business permanently long before this national crisis has ameliorated, mirroring the short-term (12 months or more) devastating ruination of our hitherto robust economy inherited from the previous administration.