Mary Blake put it well during last night’s Facebook Live performance of the New Age Adenas.
“It’s all just a big question mark, right now.”
There’s no truer statement as of this morning. Drugs are being tested and new vaccines developed, but the miracle hasn’t happened yet. Our only defense is to not be with each other, and this past week has been quite the lesson on how much we depend on that interaction. Many of us have made fun of our young folks for living on their phones, and now look at us.
W.Va. Gov. Jim Justice called out nearly half of the state last night during a 7 p.m. press conference, and if he doesn’t see the 40 percent of the state to which he referred take heed, the big shut down is coming tomorrow. It’s a popular thought that Gov. Justice gave us one more day to make the appropriate arrangements.
And then, it’ll finally be true for the first time in years.
“There’s nothing to do in Wheeling.”
That had changed, though, as most know thanks to effort by the private sector reacting to initiatives introduced by the city of Wheeling and the Wheeling Convention and Visitors Bureau. These days, however, folks find themselves so stir crazy that the boredom results in positioning bobbleheads and action figurines to appear as if they’re fighting.
And yes, that is Honus Wagner who’s about to take a right hook from Neo.
That’s because, right now, there really is nothing to do in Wheeling. The accusation was unfounded up until now, and now kinda sucks, doesn’t it? No live and local musicians (except for RJ Gaudio and the New Age Adenas on Facebook Live!), no Towngate plays or movies, and no wing feasts with friends inside Quaker Steak & Lube, either.
It’s different, though, because right now our health depends on your health, and Mayor Glenn Elliott informed city citizens during an insightful Facebook Live broadcast Saturday that two non-county residents have tested positive here. He’s wisely closed city offices, too, and said we could be in this predicament for a couple of months.
Of course, we still have to go to the grocery store, and that means the gas station, too, and that means contact. I know it sounds corny to hear everyone say, “We’re in this together,” but with an incurable virus floating in the air for anyone to breathe or touch, how about we say there IS something to do in Wheeling and throughout the entire Upper Ohio Valley.
Have fun. Meet the family. Chill with the children. Discover today’s video games. Read (The Constitution is awesome). Order out. Watch a movie. Take a cruise with the spouse. Make a meal. Listen – and sing – to music. Take a walk or sit outside. Have a backyard fire.
Last night? What the hell … we played Yahtzee, and yeah, I guess that’s an upgrade from playing with bobbleheads and figurines … and imaging the end of this, too.
