A solo adventure on a Sunday evening...
Just about the time it seemed like we might...just might...be getting ready to move on to the next, more upbeat chapter in the pandemic story...well...you know...
Guess that means The Other Half and yours truly will get to go on some more pandemic dates. Before we ponder such things, I wanted to to spend a little time reflecting on social media...
One day last week, while paying a routine visit to a place I routinely visit, a fellow traveler on The Journey Through Life said something about how the local newspaper was behind on something or another...which had made an appearance on Facebook.
For those of you who are Luddites, like me, Facebook is a reality which really does not have much of a personal impact. That is not to say that I do not pay attention to Facebook. I do. Quite honestly, I have no choice but to do so.
Same goes for Twitter...and Instagram...and TikTok...and whatever else might be out there by the time you finish reading this. They all matter. And the messages which are shared on those various methods of 21st century communication matter, too. That really hit home at a local governmental meeting which I attended last Friday morning.
I say this as a matter of introduction. The local newspaper, by its very nature, cannot keep up with the in-the-moment kinds of communication which is shared on Facebook. If you don’t believe that, just tap here and see what happens...
While you are waiting, I’ve decided to introduce a new feature to this weekly journalist gem. Don’t know what we’ll call it. May not call it anything.
The idea: we’ll feature something on this page that will not be seen anywhere else...that’s ANYWHERE ELSE...
Keep on reading, or head straight to the end of the column. See the image of the dragonfly, and some other bug that wanted to be in the paper? That particular moment in time was captured nowhere else. Ever. Never. Nobody else was around when the photo was taken. That’s all...
...now, back to pandemic dates...
...over the last 15 or 16 months or so, I’ve shared some highlights from the pandemic date adventures The Other Half and I have been enjoying since the start of the you know what.
For the most part, our dates have pretty much involved a Sunday afternoon or evening drive out in the country. Since we live in the country, so to speak, we usually don’t have far to go. Last Sunday evening, I asked if she was interested in such an adventure. Given that it was rather warm and rather humid, she wisely decided to stay home in the air-conditioning.
So, I went on a solo adventure...kind of like Charles Lindbergh flying across the Atlantic Ocean, except my journey involved a drive along Mountain Glen, Brown Section and Kaolin roads in Union County.
I’m not sure if Mr. Lindbergh saw any white-tailed deer, herons or vultures on his journey. I saw one heron. About a half dozen white-tailed deer. In the present tense. Most of the deer seemed to be really enjoying soybeans which were growing in fields along the roads I was traveling.
The vultures looked to be enjoying Sunday evening dinner, which involved a white-tailed deer in the past tense. Based on the pleasant aroma which I encountered, the deer had been stewing for a while in Mother Nature’s great summer crockpot.
As I headed back home at the end of my Sunday evening solo adventure, I encountered one more white-tailed deer. The deer was kind enough to engage in a brief stare down with the photographer, before turning tail, literally, and heading up and over a nearby ridge line. Bet Charles Lindbergh never saw that in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, either.
Stay safe, folks...