First thing Sunday morning, my phone newsfeed
said that there were 30+strains of the coronavirus -(https://futurism.com/neoscope/coronavirus-already-mutated-30-strains) ... and followed that bit of scientific
information saying that young and infected people getting coronavirus are
having major strokes – not mild – m.a.j.o.r. These are people in
their 50’s-40’s-30’s … normally too young to be having major strokes -(https://www.inquirer.com/health/coronavirus/coronavirus-stroke-young-people-20200424.html). Add to these 2 new “information’s”
to the suspicion that this virus originated in a petri dish in a chinese lab
and was knowingly released into the world to cause mayhem and catastrophic death
tolls … and the WHO is NOT investigating china???
I decided then and there to turn a deaf ear
to “scientists” and “doctors” and go my own way in life to live MY life the way
((((I)))) see fit to live my life.
As I said before: this virus is not
behaving how scientists and doctors think it should. Scientists and
doctors do not know what they are dealing with; and I am NOT going to give them
room to dictate to me.
I am going to enjoy this – MY LIFE – before
it’s gone.
Science is NOT {fact}. Science, is, at best guesswork. And at worse … just plain
wrong. So far, concerning coronavirus, science has been CONSISTENTLY WRONG.
And inslee has said he will ignore The People and only give ear to – and
carry out – what science says.
I won’t.
I don’t scamper after misinformation … and I,
for sure … do NOT blindly base my decisions on wrong information just because
everyone else does! I gather information from all sides – then make a decision
based on ALL the assessments. So far, what I KNOW is that science has made
clueless guinea pigs out of gullible people who have stopped thinking for
themselves and are incapable of making decisions for themselves. These weak-minded
people have become willing political pawns.
I am fed up with the egomaniac games being
played on all fronts with this unstoppable virus.
I got dressed, washed my hair: went for a
ride. I’m sure there were people angry with me – they’d be angry with me
anyway, no matter what I do.
Yesterday I made a 7-1/2 hour-loop-drive Remembrance
Daytrip. I only got out of my car twice; both times brief and necessary.
Getting out of Dodge … leaving the chaotic 4 lanes to find the 1 lane that will ease my mind and soothe my soul.
A swooping buzzard tried to punch my Heavenly Ticket early!
This is the 1st time I've stopped here since this store was closed/bought/remodeled/opened back up. There isn't much inside; but the environment is friendly. This was an annual pit-stop when Bob and I traveled this way.
Restroom door of the remodeled interior has an elk-horn handle: cute ;-)
I bought a Vanilla Coke here and stayed the
required distance from the cashier. I liked seeing her wipe the counter and
card scanner down: I was in a safe environment. I felt good supporting that
small business in my small way.
About a stone's throw from the store, was where Bob's parent's and grandparent's lived in Rosburg when we married in 1974. I love visiting his grandparent's cabin.
Bob’s parents sold and moved to Longview
shortly after we married. His grandparent’s lived in their cabin until the late
1980’s – then that was sold too. I really loved that cabin and wanted to buy
it, but Bob said “No.” He did not want to live in that area again (it is isolated, and the area does flood: Bob had valid objections). Bob liked
city life. I didn’t. We loved each other, so we compromised on living
environments all our married life: half of our 44 years were spent living in
the country … the last half was spent living in Longview. I’m still living in
Longview (can you hear the sarcastic joy in my tone, Babe?)
Naselle. Always a pit-stop when we came this way. I bought a corn dog and a coke here – as usual throughout the years; the required distancing guideline was employed.
The driftwood flanking the road edges is evidence of the treacherous high waters. I had a dyslexia moment when I said 'turn left'. RIGHT is the right way to go ;-)
The day was perfect for a drive: I had the moon roof wide open ... and the music wide open too :-D
That drive was what I was needing; the last
time I’d traveled this loop drive was about 2-1/2 years ago. With Bob. I had a
hankering then to revisit Nemah & Bay Center; and Bob was agreeable. There isn’t
much to see/do there, but I enjoyed the time spent there when my mother and
John were married. Nemah was where John grew up, and we spent afternoons there
just about every other week, visiting his mother and brothers. I liked Ed …
didn’t much care for his uppity racist wife, Ellie. John’s grandmother (his mother’s
mom) lived in Bay Center; I liked visiting that place too. Bay Center is a
small fishing community on the Bay.
Just a hop-skip-& a jump up the road from
Bay Center turn-off, I came upon a bend in the road and saw a stretch of road that
I had actually seen in a dream a couple nights ago! My memories were
telling my mind I needed to make this drive – I’m glad I was doing it today :-D
And, I was glad there were no high
winds blowing: it can get very dangerous here, very quickly. I remember clearly the afternoon I was driving our Caravan Van
along this stretch of highway, and the high winds literally lifted the van and
physically moved it across the lane: thankfully there were no other vehicles on
the road, but it did freak me out. Bob talked me through the experience … but I
never want to go through that kind of thing again.
I always liked going through South Bend … and
walking through it when we lived in Raymond and did our laundry at the
laundromat in South Bend. Today I didn’t see a single sea gull. Darn it.
Seeing the veterinary clinic about a mile up the road, made me burst
out laughing, so I pulled over:
I was laughing so hard with that memory, I had to stop and pullover. LOL
Tyson & Alyna. They loved each other - you could always find them together.
We had a little Pomeranian that we had bought
for Stacey on her 18th birthday … and she promptly gave him back to
us: she wanted a Great Dane. So, she didn’t get a dog; we did.
But, he was such a character that he stole our hearts and was a wonderful
companion. Until we ended up with Tyson, dogs terrified me. But Tyson was so
darned cute, and he was very instrumental in Bob’s recovery process. And he
really didn’t have a dog odor, so I didn’t have any asthmatic issues at all
with him.
When I started working and being gone from
home most of the day, Tyson and Bob became very close; and Tyson started
getting territorial – one night I came home from work and he wouldn’t let me
into bed: he actually tried to bite me every time I made a move towards the bed
… so, I became Alpha Female, and he got neutered.
He didn’t like being left overnight at the
veterinary clinic. He barked nonstop, growled, bit the doctor, and terrorized
the staff. When we went to collect him, they called him ‘the dog from hell: and
said, “You may want to take a chair in there with you to stand behind – he
bites.” Bob and I burst out laughing, and said, “Are you sure you’re talking
about Tyson Hargand?” They said, yes – same dog. Bob couldn’t stop laughing,
and said, “He’ll be okay with me.” The doctor and staff were very surprised
when Bob walked into the holding room and Tyson started whining for Bob to pick
him up; and started licking his hand and became very docile, looking up at
Bob’s face with his adorable brown adoring eyes and licking his chin. The
doctor said, “Well, I’ll be damned.” We paid the surgical bill and took him
home. And the little furry punk pulled every single stitch out with his
teeth! So, back to the clinic we had to take him. This time, Bob went
into the operating room with Tyson and there was no incident.
But Bob said the doctor’s hand did shake
while he re-stitched the incision. To this day, I still laugh when I think
about that time in our lives … including Tyson’s life, and that staff here at
this clinic ;-)
A little bit down the road, I saw the restaurant
Bob & I used to eat at:
I remember when that restaurant was built and opened - Bob and I were among the first customers.
When I got past the veterinary clinic and the
‘Barge’ Restaurant, I didn’t see the familiar landmark that normally indicated
the road I needed to turn onto: instead there was a stupid round-about in the
middle of the road, with cars going every direction. I was momentarily confused
for a few seconds, but blindly turned right and stayed right: praying there
wouldn’t be any more startling surprises awaiting me further on.
It had been 2-1/2 years since I’d been
in that region – and a lot can happen in 2-1/2 years: and had with that stupid concrete circle in the center of the road.
At the top of the hill, I thought maybe I’d
nip onto Romany road that would take me to Willipa Harbor Christian Fellowship,
where we’d been hosted for about 12 months,1993 thru 1994; and where Bob helped
teach the kids in the school there. EVERYTHING HAD CHANGED. Houses had been
torn down/new houses had been rebuilt. Houses had been remodeled/exteriors
drastically altered. I knew I had turned left onto the right road … but nothing
was familiar. So, because I am not shy, I saw this man and his adult son remodeling
a house and cutting boards outside the garage – so I pulled into the driveway
and told them what I was looking for; and they pointed me the way: we were
careful to stay the required distance apart.
When I found the building, it appeared abandoned.
The paint is peeling. The sign has been removed. It was, when we were there,
just a small 1-room building: now it is quite a bit larger (it had been
added onto over the years) – and sad looking.
So I left; and won’t be revisiting that place
anymore.
As soon as Bob got word in October of 1995,
that there was work for him back in Longview … he went back there and hunkered
down with some friends we had then, on Eufaula Heights; and as soon as Alyna
was born, we all moved back to Longview with him. I quit my job in Raymond, and
the kids with the baby left Aberdeen to find work in Longview so I could
babysit our granddaughter. Alyna was born November 4th … and we were
all back in Longview, living with Bob on Eufaula Heights: with me cooking
Thanksgiving Supper, November 24th. The kids didn’t stay in Longview
long – they moved back to Portland, OR when Alyna was a few months old: Greg was
from Portland, OR; and Stacey was never happy living anywhere but Portland.
But Longview was always where Bob wanted to
be. He was a happy camper when we ended up in Longview for good: I was just
happy Bob was happy. Now he resides in Heaven – and I am trying to be happy in
Longview. Friends make it tolerable; Elohim makes it possible.
I remember the first time I did solo driving
from Raymond to Longview over the backroads (Menlo-Pe
Ell-Boisfort-Wildwood-Vader-West Side Highway). We had moved from Cathlamet
in the Fall of 1993; put our home there up for sale, and was starting a new
chapter in of our life in Raymond, after the kids graduated and left home. Some
Longview friends of ours back then wanted me to come visit on my day off work
while Bob was helping with the Willipa Harbor Christian Fellowship school – but
I didn’t want to drive the freeway, I wanted to drive the backroads: I knew it
was possible because Bob did it all the time. So, Bob told me how to do that,
and I wrote the directions down. Bob said a prayer-cut me loose-and let me
fledge: I was excited, and scared at the same time. This was a HUGE
moment for the both of us. Bob always laughed when he told people I could
get lost crossing Longview … but there was a lot of truth in that statement!
I kissed Bob, hopped into my truck, and hit the road. I don’t think Bob
breathed an easy breath for hours until I reached my destination and called him
to let him know I had arrived safely ;-)
We left the Willipa Hills region 24 years
ago, and revisited it off and on over the years. But, I am a person who has to
do a thing consistently, or it is easily forgotten: out of sight/out of mind. I haven’t made this drive in quite a while. Things have changed; landmarks have
changed - or been forgotten with the passing of time. The drive is different without Bob – I miss Bob's comforting presence along for the ride, and that changes how
the drive progresses. It was an enjoyable drive, but things have changed.
I had the moon roof open until I reached Pe
Ell; Pe Ell is a rural farming community, and the reason I closed the moon roof
there was because one day while Bob and I were driving around country
backroads, I spotted an eagle flying in the sky with a snake dangling from it’s
talons. That concerned me … I mean, the way the snake was thrashing around, it
could have wriggled out of the eagle’s claws and possibly fallen through the
open moon roof. I closed the moon roof quick! And I keep the moon roof
closed when in rural farm country. Why risk it? I’d rather have the moon
roof open – but snakes raining from the sky and falling into the car would not
be something I’d want to experience!
Turning towards Wildwood & Vader, I
caught sight of 4 horses running along the barbed wire fence on the passenger
side of the car, and thought they were a beautiful sight. I love horses, and I
miss riding horses. When I was 13 living in Skamokawa, I rode Henry (the
neighbor’s horse) just about every day after school. I walked him, fed him,
curried his beautiful chestnut coat and pitch-black mane and tail: I rode him
like I owned him. I always wanted a horse of my own. But Bob always said, “No”.
He didn’t want a horse. He’d grown up with horses and he’d ridden horses – he
sat a horse real fine … but he refused to own a horse and wouldn’t consider
buying one for me. I understood his reasoning; but I missed riding a horse. I
missed having a horse of my own.
Watching those 4 horses race along the
fenceline this afternoon, with their manes and tails flying straight out behind
their muscular forms … I couldn’t help thinking they were beautiful creatures.
It made my heart happy to watch them running so carefree and having fun
together; looking wonderful in the field, enjoying the good weather. They were
pretty young and feeling their oats. None of them could have been more than a
yearling.
Driving through the farm country, it was sad
seeing the fields going to grass. One farmer did till his fields; but the rest
of the fields don’t look like they’ll be turned over at all. It’s like the
farmers have decided to cut their losses during this coronavirus uncertainty,
and just call it a year. That’s sad.
I only burned a quarter tank of gas for my
roadtrip Sunday afternoon. And I was surprised to see that when the hours on the road were
tallied, I’d driven for 7-1/2 hours straight!
I also had an eye-opening and heartfelt appreciation
for my husband’s unconditional love for me. I had no idea
the drive was that long. I almost cried thinking of the loving sacrifice Bob
gave me when he willingly gave up this significant wedge of time to satisfy my
gypsy bone and see me smile.
When I reached Longview, I topped the tank
off (Bob always parked our vehicles with a full tank of gas. Always), washed
the bugs off the windows, and … received a phone call inviting me to Supper:
I went/enjoyed good company/talked about the 'good old days'/and ate a good meal :-D
When I actually made home (2 hours after
reaching Longview), my SIL Bonnie texted me some photos – some I had requested,
and 1 I had never seen before. That 1 was taken on our Wedding Night. I was SO
THANKFUL to get that one!
We were so happy … and the happiness never disappeared
– it may have wavered now and then, as in most marriages when disagreements arose;
but the happiness we gave each other never disappeared.
I love you, Babe.
Always ~ OX
SUNDAY~FUNDAY POSTS (2020): #8
- https://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2020/03/sundayfunday-8-willow-grove-trail-walk.html
#5 (1st of the New Year w-links to the previous 4 from
2019) - https://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2020/01/sundayfunday-5.html
