The weather turned out to be very seasonal today: sunny, blue skies, a bit chilly and somewhat breezy. This morning, I did my weekly grocery shopping. Almost everyone is wearing a mask 😷 to protect against the corona virus. The frozen food freezers were nearly empty by noon-rather disconcerting. Bottled water seems to be back to normal but paper products are almost non-existent.
However, as I was checking out, an announcement was made that a shipment of paper towel and TOILET PAPER had just arrived. After I paid for my groceries and put them in the car, I went back into the store and scored a bulk size package of Angel Soft Toilet Paper. Kind of appropriate for the day-the angle part, I mean; a blessing from heaven.
After lunch, I went for a walk to enjoy the beautiful sunshine and fresh air. As usual, I took the path along the Fastrak bus way, heading north. I took a brief diversion to see what the traffic situation was at Starbucks Coffee. Due to the corona virus, they have limited to drive-thru pickup and takeout only (I have heard. I don't usually get coffee there). Earlier, on the way home from the grocery store, I noticed a huge line of cars waiting to buy coffee. Ironic, the churches have been forced to close but the Starbucks is open -how essential is that?
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| This picture does not even begin to capture the scale of the line of traffic that was waiting to purchase coffee at Starbucks. |
During my walk, I had a nice chat with my son, Richard, and later my Aunt Denise. What a blessing to be able to be outside and converse with loved ones even when we are apart.
Richard is spending the weekend in Virginia Beach, VA because that is where his driving mentor (Andrew) lives. Richard is stuck at a Red Roof Inn and was ordering Dominos Pizza when I called. It was interesting hearing about the ordering experience and how the phone app(lication) could track the status and route of his order. Kind of scary when you think about it. Who needs privacy, right?
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| The sky at the start of my walk. |
The sky was phenomenally gorgeous today. I realize the temptation is to scroll quickly past the picture above but I highly suggest pausing a moment to ponder the beauty that the image only hints at. For me, the sky (night or day) with its immensity and dynamics is a sign of God at work and creation. Its majesty and strength and beauty are much more awesome to me than a book of words written by human beings with an agenda. The sky demonstrates clearly to me that God is in charge.
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| Can you see the Creator in this picture? |
After talking with my son, I had a very pleasant time chatting with my Aunt Denise. She updated me on the news of her family. Among other things, my Uncle Jim, who lives in a nursing home, had to be relocated to a new room due to someone in his building catching the c-virus. She told me how my mom was influenced by the movie, Little Women (1949) to change her nickname. That was news to me. She also told me about how she and Uncle Jim met and got together.
Altogether my walk was about 5 miles and took a couple hours. I was not in a hurry. Other people were out but not as many as one might think because it was a bit chilly. Still, nice to be out and about.
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Links:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregorian_calendar
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Saturday
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Women_(1949_film)
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Written Sunday 19 April 2020.
