# To Travel, Or Not To Travel



## oldman (Mar 10, 2020)

Today, United Airlines gave a press release stating that their future domestic bookings are down 70%. They have also stated that there will be additional cutbacks on flights, including some cancellations. This news did not come unexpected. American and Delta will most likely repeat the same message in the coming days.

I would imagine that the cruise lines and Amtrak are in the same predicament. The travel industry may come to a standstill. This is sure to affect those employed in the travel industry through layoffs and possibly send some people into forced retirement like it did in 2009-2010.

I have no idea how much of travel is figured into our GDP, but it would not surprise me if the government came up with some type of stimulus package. This being an election year, I am sure that those running for office may try and use this terrible event to their advantage somehow. (I know that I am walking a fine line, so I’ll stop here.)

Happy Tuesday, everyone.


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## Gardenlover (Mar 10, 2020)

Happy Tuesday - most certainly, bargains are to be had for those who are not faint of heart.


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## peppermint (Mar 10, 2020)

We booked a flight a while ago in the near future....Only because it was a cheap flight at the time....Now we might go home 
by car....What ever will be will be...We have some time....


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## Gardenlover (Mar 10, 2020)

Travel if you're able or do not, but enjoy where you are.


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## peppermint (Mar 10, 2020)

Gardenlover said:


> Travel if you're able or do not, but enjoy where you are.


We do like where we are, but we must get home for many things going on in the future....
How nice you are...♥


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## oldman (Mar 11, 2020)

I think that United is allowing free changes through 3/31 for now.

I intend to fly down to Florida next month, unless the airlines discontinue altogether, which is unlikely to happen, but one never knows what lies past the horizon.

If I was still able to be in the cockpit, I would have no reservations about flying.

We were supposed to fly to Italy/Greece this summer, but have cancelled. Luckily, we took out trip insurance that pays back for any reason, so we have applied for a refund and received a letter letting us know that our request was approved and that we should be receiving our refund in 2-3 weeks.

We cancelled this trip last summer because my sister came down with Sepsis and got a refund then, as well.


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## Packerjohn (Mar 11, 2020)

I'm staying home to support the local economy.


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## Don M. (Mar 11, 2020)

The longer this virus issue lingers, without resolution, the more the travel, tourist, hotel and live entertainment industries are going to suffer.  Cruise ships will remain tied up at the docks for weeks, or more, and airlines will be looking for space to park their planes.  Hotels will be half full, at best, and things like movie theaters may start closing down.  I doubt that sports stadiums will reach anywhere near capacity crowds during this crisis.


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## Catlady (Mar 11, 2020)

Don M. said:


> The longer this virus issue lingers, without resolution, the more the travel, tourist, hotel and live entertainment industries are going to suffer.  Cruise ships will remain tied up at the docks for weeks, or more, and airlines will be looking for space to park their planes.  Hotels will be half full, at best, and things like movie theaters may start closing down.  I doubt that sports stadiums will reach anywhere near capacity crowds during this crisis.


It's already affecting sports in the US

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/coro...teams-playing-in-closed-arenas-194531173.html


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## Gardenlover (Mar 11, 2020)

Don M. said:


> The longer this virus issue lingers, without resolution, the more the travel, tourist, hotel and live entertainment industries are going to suffer.  Cruise ships will remain tied up at the docks for weeks, or more, and airlines will be looking for space to park their planes.  Hotels will be half full, at best, and things like movie theaters may start closing down.  I doubt that sports stadiums will reach anywhere near capacity crowds during this crisis.


The reach is yet unknown, your words are both true and wise.

We need @Gary O' s wit and humor all the more, as the days appear to darken, for they carry us to a happier place for at least a time.


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## peppermint (Mar 11, 2020)

I hope it's all gone on April 30.....Or earlier....

My husband answered his cell phone....He doesn't really answer a number he doesn't know...So he picked up the phone
and a person told him he won a trip on a Ship....He was laughing....It seems we put our name in for a prize....This was the prize...
Hubby said No Thank You....He hung up!!!


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## Gardenlover (Mar 11, 2020)

peppermint said:


> I hope it's all gone on April 30.....Or earlier....
> 
> My husband answered his cell phone....He doesn't really answer a number he doesn't know...So he picked up the phone
> and a person told him he won a trip on a Ship....He was laughing....It seems we put our name in for a prize....This was the prize...
> Hubby said No Thank You....He hung up!!!


It was a one way ticket - no doubt.


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## Victor (Mar 12, 2020)

oldman said:


> Today, United Airlines gave a press release stating that their future domestic bookings are down 70%. They have also stated that there will be additional cutbacks on flights, including some cancellations. This news did not come unexpected. American and Delta will most likely repeat the same message in the coming days.
> tt
> I would imagine that the cruise lines and Amtrak are in the same predicament. The travel industry may come to a standstill. This is sure to affect those employed in the travel industry through layoffs and possibly send some people into forced retirement like it did in 2009-2010.
> 
> ...


                                    Stop the panic. This is not the Black Plague. Figure the odds of you getting the virus.


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## hollydolly (Mar 12, 2020)

My daughter is already down £££££'s in bookings for her business for this time of year...


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## Meanderer (Mar 12, 2020)

I read that 85% of the World's population have never flown in an airplane.  I also read that only 5% have flown.  Are these numbers close to the truth?


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## RadishRose (Mar 12, 2020)

The US imposed a travel ban I think starting today, for all countries except the UK.


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## hollydolly (Mar 12, 2020)

RadishRose said:


> The US imposed a travel ban I think starting today, for all countries except the UK.


 yes very odd that.. the only country which is not going to be closing anythng , or preventing large gatherings over 1000 people like football matches, or festivals , or closing schools,  is the only country your president will allow the people to enter the USA..... 

I was just wondering how that will work.. I would be thinking that many people will travel from Europe to the UK and then fly to the USA...


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## hollydolly (Mar 12, 2020)

Meanderer said:


> I read that 85% of the World's population have never flown in an airplane.  I also read that only 5% have flown.  Are these numbers close to the truth?


 I can't imagine they are... I think it might be the other way around... I think 85% of the population is in all airports at any one time.... have you been in any airports lately.? (not currently during the virus scare) ... my goodness it's like the whole world is in them regardless of which country you're in...


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## hollydolly (Mar 12, 2020)

Shocking charts show how the UK Government could prevent hundreds or even thousands of deaths by taking dramatic action now to fight the killer coronavirus and 'flatten the curve' of its spiralling epidemic.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson today decided not to move forward in Britain's fight against COVID-19, declining to close schools, send people home from work or ban large gatherings.

But he is coming under intense scrutiny for refusing to budge – one frustrated scientist warned: 'Now is the time for the UK government to ban large gatherings, ask people to stop non-essential travel, recommend employers shift to home working and ramp up the response.'

Official advice currently doesn't go much further than telling citizens to wash their hands even though the UK now has more cases than China did when Wuhan's 11million people were forced into lockdown.

Scientists and critics are urging the Government to do more to prolong an inevitable surge in cases, saying that a spike of infections could cripple the NHS but spreading the cases over a longer period of time would 'flatten the curve' and make it easier for the nation to cope. 

An analysis of statistics has shown that areas that acted fast have slashed their death rates by up to eight times compared to those who react after the virus has taken hold.

In South Korea, for example, an area home to 2.5million people was put into lockdown when just 204 people had been diagnosed and one had died. The country now has a death rate of just 0.8 per cent despite more than 7,800 cases.

But in Italy, large-scale lockdowns were not brought in until Sunday, March 8, by which time it had more than 5,800 patients. There are now almost 12,500 and 827 deaths – a death rate of 6.6 per cent.


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## fmdog44 (Mar 12, 2020)

Baseball season is only a couple weeks away. What will they do?


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## Capt Lightning (Mar 12, 2020)

Hollydolly, this was part of the response by a BBC correspondent..

Other countries are closing schools, restricting movement and cancelling mass gatherings, such as football matches.

But health officials in the UK are taking a much more gradual, step-by-step approach. Why?

The obvious answer is that we have a relatively low number of cases so there is no need to take steps that will have profound social and economic consequences.

But we are also in this for the long haul. Countries taking drastic steps may well slow transmission. But how long can those steps be sustained?

At some point they have to be lifted and then the number of cases will rise.

If you can have some kind of controlled transmission, where the number of cases are kept low enough to allow the NHS to cope, is that a better way of managing it?

That's certainly what the experts and ministers in the UK have decided. They believe it gives them the best chance of saving lives in the inevitable spread of the virus across the country.

I think that this must be handled carefully to avoid not only a bigger economic disaster, but also badly damaging the morale of the people. 

I've regrettably decided to cancel our planned trip to Vienna and Bratislava next week.  We weren't too concerned about the virus, but the Austrian and Slovak governments decided to shut virtually all tourist attractions even when they had very low case numbers.

Anyway, we did not suffer financially - only a few Euro in cancellation fees.  We'll go for our anniversary in September, all being well. 

Stay well and wash your hands while singing "Always look on the bright side of life"


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## oldman (Mar 12, 2020)

Meanderer said:


> I read that 85% of the World's population have never flown in an airplane.  I also read that only 5% have flown.  Are these numbers close to the truth?


I wouldn’t be surprised if they are at least close to being correct. But, these are very interesting statistics.


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## Meanderer (Mar 12, 2020)

oldman said:


> I wouldn’t be surprised if they are at least close to being correct. But, these are very interesting statistics.


I agree!  If true, they would provide a surprising perspective.


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## Meanderer (Mar 12, 2020)

hollydolly said:


> I can't imagine they are... I think it might be the other way around... I think 85% of the population is in all airports at any one time.... have you been in any airports lately.? (not currently during the virus scare) ... my goodness it's like the whole world is in them regardless of which country you're in...


I am talking about 85% of the WORLD population.


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## Meanderer (Mar 12, 2020)

RadishRose said:


> The US imposed a travel ban I think starting today, for all countries except the UK.


I think it begins at midnight, tomorrow (Friday).  All flights from Europe to US, except UK.


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## Meanderer (Mar 12, 2020)

hollydolly said:


> yes very odd that.. the only country which is not going to be closing anythng , or preventing large gatherings over 1000 people like football matches, or festivals , or closing schools,  is the only country your president will allow the people to enter the USA.....
> 
> I was just wondering how that will work.. I would be thinking that many people will travel from Europe to the UK and then fly to the USA...


Then the UK would be added to the list.


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## hollydolly (Mar 12, 2020)

Meanderer said:


> Then the UK would be added to the list.


 yes but it's not at the moment ...all of Europe has been banned by your president from entering the USA except the UK... and there's nothing stopping thousands of people travelling as we speak, from Europe especially italy, Spain and Germany into the UK and then onto the USA...


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## treeguy64 (Mar 12, 2020)

fmdog44 said:


> Baseball season is only a couple weeks away. What will they do?


Uh, I doubt very few will be singing, "Take me out to the ballgame!"


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## oldman (Mar 12, 2020)

Meanderer said:


> I read that 85% of the World's population have never flown in an airplane.  I also read that only 5% have flown.  Are these numbers close to the truth?


I had to do some reading on the Internet about this subject. Supposedly, a former CEO of Boeing made the statement that over 80% of the “world’s” population has never flown. If I was a gambler, I would wager that here in the U.S. that number would not apply. However, if we would look at Asia, then I would think yes, that number is probably pretty close.


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## Meanderer (Mar 12, 2020)

I read where 13% of Americans have never flown.  This was for 2018.


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## oldman (Mar 12, 2020)

Meanderer said:


> I read where 13% of Americans have never flown.  This was for 2018.


I would agree that 13% is probably pretty close. Like someone else already wrote, have you been to an airport lately?

I used to fly from Chicago to Hawaii. I flew this route for two years in a Boeing 747-400. This plane held about 400 passengers. On one of our flights, we boarded only 46 passengers in this enormous aircraft. We had ten members of the flight crew also onboard. Captain, First Officer, Flight Engineer and seven Flight Attendants.

Just to make certain, I called the Dispatcher and told him the situation. I just wanted to make sure that they were aware of the situation. They were and the Dispatcher told me that the plane was scheduled to fly onto Tokyo. So, we flew to Honolulu and when I got inside the Dispatcher’s office, I checked to see how many passengers were flying to Tokyo. To my surprise, there were 388 passengers checked-in for the flight.


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## oldman (Mar 14, 2020)

I keep in touch with a few of the men still working for United at my home airport in Washington, D.C. and the one fellow asked me if I would like to come back to United and work part time. I asked him, "Doing what?" He said, "Spraying sanitizer throughout the planes that sit at the gates overnight. You get to use a respirator" I told him, "No, but thanks." He said, "Well, hang on a minute. It pays $37.00 an hour." That's about $1500.00 a week. I really had to think about that, but I still said no.

He told me that they need nine workers to be able to get all of the planes done before the first flight in the morning. They have already gone through over twenty workers. Too many young people showing up that don't want to work is their opinion. He said one fellow, 20 years old, was showed how to do the job and refused. He told the supervisor that he quit and is going back on unemployment. I didn't know anyone could do that. I always thought that if you were offered a job that you could do and it paid reasonable wages, you had to take it, if you were fit and able to do it and if you didn't, you weren't able to collect benefits. I guess that I was wrong.


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## OneEyedDiva (Mar 15, 2020)

Well now I must say Happy Sunday. The travel industry certainly has taken a huge hit. All I have to do is walk two blocks to catch the Atlantic City casino bus when I want to go to my timeshare. I'm waiting for warmer weather though. I hope by then, the bus will still go there. Have to take NJ Transit back home and it takes me to Port Authority in New York, which has the most cases in the country so far. So I don't know how that would affect my travel home. I guess the closer I get to the weeks I want to go, the better that question could be answered, but then things change from day to day.
I feel for those who are in all the government agencies, businesses and industries that are being affected by this. There will be far reaching effects which may not be obvious yet.


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## Buckeye (Mar 15, 2020)

I would not get on a plane or a cruise ship at this point, but my lovely SO and I left Monday morning and travelled by car until Friday afternoon.  Didn't make any reservations, but had no problems finding nice, pet friendly, handicapped accessible rooms.  Went to a couple of "touristy" areas in Virginia that would typically be busy even in the off season.  There were other folks their, but no lines at all.  It even seemed like fewer cars on the roads.

Because we were traveling with our fur baby, we didn't go into any sit down restaurants, so not sure how busy they might have been.  All in all, a nice relaxing mini-vaca.


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## Packerjohn (Mar 15, 2020)

Me thinks that too many people are traveling the world.  Here is a fact:  In 1960 80,000 people visited Thailand.  In 2019 39 million visited Thailand.  Isn't that a bit too much?  Less travel, less pollution & better for the Green House but maybe not that good for the economy.  Perhaps the Cornavirus scare has some benefits for the environment.  A mate of mine, over coffee yesterday, told me that all this Cornavirus things will eventually blow over & it will have some effects but the world will go on.  It always has.  Just stop buying all that toilet paper.  It will not stop you getting Cornavirus.  Washing your dirty hands will though!


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## OneEyedDiva (Mar 15, 2020)

Packerjohn said:


> Me thinks that too many people are traveling the world.  Here is a fact:  In 1960 80,000 people visited Thailand.  In 2019 39 million visited Thailand.  Isn't that a bit too much?  Less travel, less pollution & better for the Green House but maybe not that good for the economy.  Perhaps the Cornavirus scare has some benefits for the environment.  A mate of mine, over coffee yesterday, told me that all this Cornavirus things will eventually blow over & it will have some effects but the world will go on.  It always has.  Just stop buying all that toilet paper.  It will not stop you getting Cornavirus.  Washing your dirty hands will though!


John, I sure hope your friend is right. And he probably is...we just can't say yet how long it will take. After you eat all that food, you are going to need toilet paper.  When you run out and go to buy more, I hope you don't find empty shelves because everybody else *got* theirs.


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## treeguy64 (Mar 15, 2020)

Stopped using toilet paper about twenty-five years ago. 

Get yourself a portable sitz bath, and use it with very cold water, filled just up to the little bump that is meant to hold the included water supply tube, which I've never used. Wash your hands, use your fingers to clean everything down there, blot dry with a dedicated towel, wash your hands, done. 

You will stay cleaner than you've ever been, unless you've been a bidet user. You will come to view toilet paper for what it is: A gross way to push things around, down there, never quite getting as clean as those disgusting, animated, red, TV bears would have you believe!


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## oldman (Mar 15, 2020)

Like the one doctor said on TV, “Next year, we’ll be talking about something else.”


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## StarSong (Mar 15, 2020)

oldman said:


> Like the one doctor said on TV, “Next year, we’ll be talking about something else.”


I certainly hope so.


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## Packerjohn (Mar 15, 2020)

oldman said:


> Like the one doctor said on TV, “Next year, we’ll be talking about something else.”


That's right, Oldman.  People seem to love a crisis since most people lead such boring lives.  They loved following Princess Diana when she was married.  Then they were all excited about that Y2K, spent millions fixing computers but nothing happened.  Then there was 9/11.  Let's not forget Swine Flu, Chicken Flu, Sars.  Buying toilet paper gives these poor boring people something to think about.  How sad!  What what the next crisis will be & I guarantee you there will be more crisis.  More people = more crisis.


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## oldman (Mar 15, 2020)

Packerjohn said:


> That's right, Oldman.  People seem to love a crisis since most people lead such boring lives.  They loved following Princess Diana when she was married.  Then they were all excited about that Y2K, spent millions fixing computers but nothing happened.  Then there was 9/11.  Let's not forget Swine Flu, Chicken Flu, Sars.  Buying toilet paper gives these poor boring people something to think about.  How sad!  What what the next crisis will be & I guarantee you there will be more crisis.  More people = more crisis.


I have been wondering what the newscasters would be talking about if the Coronavirus hadn’t come along.


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## Packerjohn (Mar 16, 2020)

oldman said:


> I have been wondering what the newscasters would be talking about if the Coronavirus hadn’t come along.


For a long time it was all about Harvey Weinstein.  Sometimes, it gets to the point that I don't feel like looking at the news.  As least with the computer, I read just the titles & keep going.  They have certainly "beat this Cornavirus issue" to death.  You would think that the world is coming to an end.


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## Ken N Tx (Mar 16, 2020)

Packerjohn said:


> Sometimes, it gets to the point that I don't feel like looking at the news.


I watch weather, then switch over to my Streaming Devise....


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## oldman (Mar 16, 2020)

Packerjohn said:


> For a long time it was all about Harvey Weinstein.  Sometimes, it gets to the point that I don't feel like looking at the news.  As least with the computer, I read just the titles & keep going.  They have certainly "beat this Cornavirus issue" to death.  You would think that the world is coming to an end.


That's the best part of reading the news on the Internet. You can pick and choose what you want to read.


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## oldman (Mar 20, 2020)

oldman said:


> I keep in touch with a few of the men still working for United at my home airport in Washington, D.C. and the one fellow asked me if I would like to come back to United and work part time. I asked him, "Doing what?" He said, "Spraying sanitizer throughout the planes that sit at the gates overnight. You get to use a respirator" I told him, "No, but thanks." He said, "Well, hang on a minute. It pays $37.00 an hour." That's about $1500.00 a week. I really had to think about that, but I still said no.
> 
> He told me that they need nine workers to be able to get all of the planes done before the first flight in the morning. They have already gone through over twenty workers. Too many young people showing up that don't want to work is their opinion. He said one fellow, 20 years old, was showed how to do the job and refused. He told the supervisor that he quit and is going back on unemployment. I didn't know anyone could do that. I always thought that if you were offered a job that you could do and it paid reasonable wages, you had to take it, if you were fit and able to do it and if you didn't, you weren't able to collect benefits. I guess that I was wrong.


I actually received a call *today* from the chief of maintenance in D.C. asking me if I would be interested in coming down and helping with sanitizing the planes that sit at the gates overnight. I did not return the call.


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## Gaer (Mar 20, 2020)

How DARE they ask Superman to lower himself to do something like that!  I'm not being facetious, I think you're incredibly intelligent.   In fact, I'm in awe of you! But, when you take your shirt off, do you have a big giant "S" on your tee-shirt?  TeeHee!


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## jujube (Mar 20, 2020)

oldman said:


> Like the one doctor said on TV, “Next year, we’ll be talking about something else.”



I'm sure by then we'll even welcome news about the Kartrashians………………….


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## bingo (Mar 20, 2020)

we traveled down to nc....from illinois  first of Feb...for work ..in the  motor home...with our three  little  dogs....in an isolated  campground......
waiting to hear if my husband's  job will stay going...if building inspectors shut down...a problem


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## oldman (Mar 21, 2020)

Gaer said:


> How DARE they ask Superman to lower himself to do something like that!  I'm not being facetious, I think you're incredibly intelligent.   In fact, I'm in awe of you! But, when you take your shirt off, do you have a big giant "S" on your tee-shirt?  TeeHee!


I may have considered doing it, except I work PT for a large grocery chain store on Mon-Fri and I need to get the food on the shelves. I really wonder what people are doing with all the food they are buying. Where are they storing it? We have a rather large pantry, but it is not even half full. Two people don’t need hoards of food, pandemic or not. If need be, I’ll go out and shoot a deer and a turkey.

BTW, I really appreciate your ability to sculpt. It’s an art that not everyone can do. I learned to draw early in my life while in Engineering school, but I used special instruments to make my drawings. That, was a boring job and is why I went to flight school.

I have flown into Sunport numerous times. I enjoyed flying in over the mountains. I think it was 2000, I had a two-day layover in Albuquerque and decided to make it a mini vacation. I knew that I was going to be there for the two-days prior to my departure, so my wife decided to tag along. It was in early October and the Balloon Festival was on. We attended the morning grand ascension when all the balloons go up. We also drove up to the top of the Sandia Mountains. It was about 80 degrees at the bottom and a very windy 50 up top. We also went to the Sandia Casino. We ate at an Italian restaurant before going to the casino. It was the very best Italian food that I ever ate. The owners were from Italy, of course. Funny thing that happened was we had stopped at a McDonalds to get an ice cream. As I sat down to eat my ice cream, I looked out the window and saw a whole mess of prairie dogs. I guess I became a little excited and was kind of loud when I blurted out, “Holy Cow! Look at all the prairie dogs!” A man sitting with his wife in the booth across from us started to laugh. He said to me, “You’re from back East, right?”


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