A Birthday Party, Costco and A Dental Hygienist On The First Day of Reopening

May 4, 2020
   "Open wider, please."
   That was the request from this protected person, hovering over me in a welding-like helmet.

   Tracy The Welding Helmet Wearing

 Dental Hygienist

   Opening "wider" was also the sincerest desire of almost everyone in the Valley of the Sun today as Arizona tried to cautiously reopen some businesses.

   This was the first day my dentist, Dr. Alysa Daniels, reopened her business after being closed for five-plus-weeks and I was there for a cleaning appointment. The drill now is, instead of going directly into the waiting room, you wait in your car, outside, and they call you when it's time to come in. And when you enter the front room, you see a scene that would make the toughest magazine publisher weep.

All The Magazines, including True West

 Have Been Removed from the rack

   And, of course, there is a big plastic screen across the front desk and the receptionist, Cyndi, is wearing a face mask. And so was I, until I got in the chair and saw that big welding mask looming over me.

   Earlier in the day, Kathy and I motored out to Glendale for my favorite mother-in-law's birthday party. We couldn't go inside, and had to wait outside the gate. From that position of about fifteen feet away, I yelled at the birthday girl, "How old are you?"

Betty Radina, The Birthday Girl

   She yelled back, "I'm twenty!"

   We all laughed, but as Wonderful Russ put it so succinctly, "I adore Betty, but she's lying." The birthday girl is actually 96 today. We, her family, stood out on the lawn of the assisted living home and tried to keep our distance from each other.

Social Distancing today at the

Betty Radina Birthday Party

  I tried to have a conversation with Kathy's brother Brad, who was hogging some shade about fifteen feet from me. "Are you enjoying the down time!" I screamed, cupping my hands around my mouth hoping to catch some air current. I didn't hear what he said back, but I smiled and waved to him.

  From there we drove to Costco where masks are now mandatory and I bought a case of 97 rated Raymond Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, 2017 and a case of Pellegrino and a case of Kirkland Premium Golden Margarita Ready to Drink. My goal is stay hydrated.

   When I was a kid, "The Little Rascals" was a big TV hit show (and a later rock group "The Young Rascals" poached the basic idea). It was basically an early film serial about a gaggle of kids who pulled shenanigans all the time, 24/7. Then, in the 1950s when there wasn't enough content to fill all the spare time on television they started rerunning these old flicks (I seem to remember some of them were pre-sound!).

   With that idea in mind, check out this great photo from El Paso, Texas, along the Rio Grande, about 1909. You know these little tikes could get in some serious trouble.

Los Ninos Rascals

   This was posted by Samuel K. Dolan who always finds the coolest photos from this era.

 

Daily Whip Outs:

"Pendejo Drops Out of A Dust Devil"

Series

   I am intrigued by our memories of past events and it's one of the themes of a story I am writing with my son Thomas Charles. When it comes to memories, I tend to agree with Mr. Roth.

"Memories of the past are not memories of facts but memories of your imaginings of the facts."

—Philip Roth