Inching Our Way Back To Normal

If there’s such a thing as normal life anymore, we seem to be inching our way toward what most would consider normal. Last weekend my wife and I had a garage sale. People actually showed up. Some of the garage-salers wore facemasks, others did not. No big deal.

After wrapping up the sale, I was able to watch bits and pieces of the Minnesota Twins against the Chicago White Sox. I say bits and pieces because I was flipping back and forth with the 3M Open in Blaine.

Most of us are just waiting for the area schools to open. Many are aware of the COVID-19 outbreak in southern states and we’re holding our collective breath in hopes that it does not move into the Gopher state.

I’ve decided that if we’re going to return to normal, each of us as individuals will have to determine what’s normal for us and walk it out.

Our neighbors just moved in a month or so ago. (They’re both doctors at Mayo in Rochester.) They announced to us over the back fence that they have contracted COVID19, which meant they had to shelter in place for 14 days.

I can’t imagine staying in our home for more than a weekend. Fourteen days would be unbearable.

If we ever see the end of this viral attack, I will feel like a bird out of a cage.

Now, we have to wear facemasks when we’re out in public. Most who had chosen to wear one before the governor’s mandate were accustomed to the protective gear.

As one who has severe allergies during the summer, I resisted as long as I could. Only after the gubernatorial edict did I wear a mask donated by the Kasson Chamber of Commerce.

If wearing a mask in public gets us out of this black pandemic hole, then, I will not resist the wearing of a face covering. It does go against every bone in my body to knuckle under to the edict of a governor who has displayed weak leadership. But, as our editor, Karen Jorgensen, reminded me, “it’s Sunday school 101 to be kind to others.”

It’s time for this Chinese virus to take a hike back to its origin. Many of us a looking ahead to hunting this fall and wearing a facemask while hunting is not something I would support.

 “With courage you will dare to take risks, have the strength to be compassionate, and the wisdom to be humble. Courage is the foundation of integrity.”

Mark Twain