On the Road Again: Texas to Tennessee (Great visit, Great eats and Great restrooms)

     I have absolutely no reason to start this blog with this picture except that I'm hungry and it's the first picture I took on our recent trip to Tennessee to see sons, Jack and Joe, daughter-in-law Allison and Joe's fiance, Sharon. 

Sunny Side Dinner/Weatherford, TX

     Covid-19 be damned! Teresa and I recently mustarded the gumption to get WAY out of our comfort zone and head east to Nashville. I think we're probably the minority, but we take C-19 very seriously. We take it so seriously that we drove 30-hours round trip vs flying. It's very safe to say that we do not believe that Covid will end on November 3rd. 

Sharon, Joe, Jack & Allison/Nashville,TN

     Covid's interrupted more of our family gatherings than we can count. Joe and Sharon had to postpone their April wedding until November, we had to delay a scheduled trip to Tennessee not once, but twice, we missed our granddaughter's third birthday, we didn't go to Teresa's son Cody's 34th birthda party, Easter didn't happen with family like it's supposed to, Joe and Sharon's west Texas visit disappeared and my niece's college admission and all that excitement came and went. 

     We take Covid seriously, but we finally came to a potentially deadly decision and we don't take it lightly. 

Missed Opportunities

     Our conversation to risk exposing ourselves to Covid went something like this:

    Teresa: "This is terrible. We're missing life with our kids."

    Me: "I know. What should we do?"

    Teresa: "What do you think we should do? We're gonna die somehow-some way. I offer dying by covid is worth it IF it means seeing our kids."

    Bill: "I'm good with that."

     So, Covid be damned we're seeing our kids.

     With that said, we drove 30-hours round trip to see Jack, Joe, Allison and Sharon in Nashville and it was worth every tick on the thermometer even if we came across some very sad, but true circumstances.

Sad Stories/Nashville, TN

     See the lady driving in this picture? That's our Lyft driver. She's normally a full time employee at the Gaylord Nashville. It's a huge place with hundreds of rooms, dozens of conference quarters and at least a dozen restaurants too. But there's a reason she's driving a Lyft.

     Teresa: "So you work at the Gaylord? What's that like right know?"

     Driver: "Slow."

    Teresa: "How slow?"

    Driver: "We're at two percent."

    If you don't think Covid-19 is real, you really gotta get out town. Whole conference centers are still mostly closed. There's not a McDonalds between Snyder, Texas and Nashville open for a clean bathroom stop. A popular tourist area in downtown Little Rock called the RiverMarket is like a ghost town. It's very real and you're fooling yourself if you think November 3rd is the answer.

Puckett's Market & Restaurant/Franklin, TN

     Here's another good example of the terrible effect Covid's having. The above photo is from Puckett's Market & Restaurant in Franklin, Tennessee, arguably the quaintest city in the south. Normally, Puckett's would be wall to wall people with a line outside. Not this visit. We had our table. There was another behind us and only a few more. That's all. It was very sad.

Royse City, Texas

     But what's a trip without some crazy stuff too and by that I mean Buc-ee's. Oh my. What a place. We stopped at the new one in Royse City, east of Dallas. 

Buc-ee's/Royse City, Texas

     We got some treasures, drooled over the donuts and kalaches, picked over the sweet smelling pecans and cashews and we used their amazing restrooms. Have you ever seen so many urinals. If you're ever on the road and need a potty.... Don't pass up a Buc-ee's.

    Random Thought of the Day: It really hurts my heart the division that exists in country these days. November 3rd will not be a Silver Bullet because Covid is real. 

    Gracie update: She stayed with her friends at Klip n' K-9s in Snyder and we're told she loved every minute of it.

Bill Robertson (9/28/20,) Jack, Joe, Allison and Sharon all looked GREAT! 

     Here's a not so chronological list of our fun. 

     

My Favorite Nurse and Crazy Hospital Band-Aids

      My favorite nurse had a birthday today. She's my favorite nurse because I've seen her for about two times a week in the last month or so, since I gashed my right shin falling down stairs.

Whitney & Me

     She's Whitney Brown and she's pretty much held our hand every time we've been told to return to Dr. Burleson for leg inspection.

     Today, we learned it was Whitney's birthday which was the icing on the cake for our relationship with Dr. B's chief nurse. 

Happy Birthday Whitney/Cogdell Memorial Hospital

     I won't tell you how old she is. I didn't ask, but I read it on her Facebook page. She's been through a lot this year. Of course, who hasn't. But to be on the front lines every single day and tell us, "I love my work," that's dedication and caring. So to you Whitney... Thank you for all you do and thank you for the care you've given to me and the peace of mind you've given to Teresa and myself. 

The Lil' Band-Aid That Could

        Sidebar: I still have the band-aid that I got for my Tetanus shot after my fall almost six weeks ago. I don't know what kind of band-aids they use at Cogdell Memorial Hospital, but if you ever fall down stairs, get a Tetanus shot and need a good band-aid... Go to CMH. Great care and weird, sticky band-aids. 

     Random Thought of the Day: My broccoli is smelling up the house. I need to check it.

Bill Robertson (9/9/20,) Did I tell you that Whitney's son is 6'6". Can you imagine the grocery bill. :)

Gracie and Me: Covid-19 #80 (The Last C-19 Blog)

      The best customer service in the WORLD comes from a tiny, donut shop in Snyder, I hugged  a woman this week who I'm pretty sure thought that I was crazy, hospitals have the best band-aids and I'm tired of Covid. I'm tired of writing about Covid. And, I've very tired of people making fun of Covid. This is my last Covid blog.

Tiger Donuts/Snyder America

     Lil' sister Julia and nephew were coming through town today. Luke, the nephew, is a teenager. We figured that he'd eat and eat a lot. So, I went to TIGER DONUTS this morning. I ordered 1/2 dozen glazed, a 1/2 dozen chocolate glazed, a 1/2 dozen Old Fashioned and a 1/2 dozen Caleches. I know that sounds like a crazy amount, but a teenage boy is a grazer and 18-donuts and six-caleches are like a side salad to us older folks.

    Whatever you do, STOP and go through the drive-through at Snyder Donuts. I don't know the woman's name. I don't know if she's the owner. All I know is that when I drove off with my 18-donuts and six caleches that I was happy and joyful.. In fact at one point, she offered me some of her multi colored peppers that another customer brought to her. Don't miss Tiger Donuts. The donuts are great. The attitude is off the charts......

She's Zelma, Not Gail/Snyder, TX

     Masks can hide a person's true identity. I hugged a woman at the grocery store yesterday who looked at me like I was a nut... and she had good reason.

    I thought she was my friend Gail Snyder. And apparently, it wasn't the first time that I thought she was my friend Gail. Here's what happened yesterday.

     Me: (with my arm around her shoulders,) Hi! How are you?

     Woman: I'm good. How are you?

    Me: Great. Good to see you. How's Max?

     And this is where the conversation went south. All of a sudden, the woman had this look on her face that scared me. I thought, "Oh my, Gail's husband Max has died." Although I haven't kept up with Max and Gail in recent years, they were both a crucial part of my WTX acclimation.

     That's when the woman, who I'm hugging like we're the best of friends, let me off the hook.

     Woman: "I don't think I am who you think who I am."

     Me: "Oh. You're not Gail?"

     Woman: "No and I wasn't the last time we talked either."

     Me: "Y'all were going camping! That wasn't Gail and Max?"

     Woman: "No."

     Me: "Then, who are you?"

     It turns out the woman is/was Zelma Irons. She worked at the WTC library and it was Teresa's stepmother who hired her for the job. So in the end, we laughed about my mask-mistake, but appreciated the weird connection we made at Check-out #4.

Bandaid Perfection/My Right Arm

     I've written in a previous blog about my leg. I fell down stairs and hurt my right leg pretty bad. I've been for a "nurse's visit" at least 12-times in the last six weeks. But, it's the very first visit that got me thinking.

     During that first visit, the nurses asked "When was your last Tetnus shot?" I said, "Last century." They said, "Well, you're getting another one now.:"

     They gave me the shot and put a band-aid on my arm. Crazy thing is that after six weeks, THE BAND-AID IS STILL THERE! What's the adhesive? Cement. Bottom line is, if you want band-aids forget aisle 12 at the grocery store. Go for a "Nurses Visit" at Cogdell Memorial Hospital.

     So that's it. I'm tired of Covid. I'm tired of writing about Covid. I'm tired of some making fun of Covid. And, we as a family are very tired of Covid interrupting our plans with those we love.

     Diet, dog and the random thought of the day forthcoming. For now, COVID-out!

Bill Robertson (9.7.20,) I had donuts today for the first time in about a year. They didn't suck.