After spending two months in self-isolation amidst the flies, heat, and humidity of Phar, TX, I pulled up stakes and headed for Idaho on May 19. I arrived at Sun Meadow near Worley, ID at 2:00 Thursday afternoon May 28-ten days and 2900 miles. I am so glad to be home for the next four or five months.
I am maintaining self-isolation and social distancing. It's funny to look at a bunch of naked people wearing masks. Most of the time they aren't, of course. Technically, Idaho will stop quarantining as of today and will allow groups of up to 50 but with 6 feet social distancing. That means our gatherings will be out-of-doors, which is great for the weather this weekend but might be chilly for the coming week with temps in the 60s. That's a whole lot better than the 106 it was in Del Rio, TX when I camped on my first night out!
But I'm wearing the mask when I'm away from my immediate site. Why? Well, having nearly died of heart failure just before my 70th birthday last fall, my doctor considers me 'at risk.' I do what little I can by limiting social contact, washing frequently, and wearing a mask. I understand that I cannot depend on other people-even my closest friends-to protect me. Each of them I saw on Friday walked right up to me to shake my hand and welcome me back to camp. I understand the mask doesn't do a lot to protect me, but I've been in six states in ten days, stopping at rest areas, stopping at truck stops, stopping at RV parks. I wear the mask to protect them.
It gives me a real feeling of empowerment that I can choose a simple act to protect other people.
I also have friends on the front lines battling the virus. Nurses, doctors, and even reactivated retired military, functioning as Battle Captain for Emergency Response in the Army and working with the DoD on CoVid-19 modeling. I will not, by God, do anything to make their jobs more difficult.
I'm not going to point out any of the other crap in the world. Even as isolated as I maintain myself, I get enough news pushed in front of me to understand America and the World are really fucked up. You don't need me elaborating on it.
I've been getting some writing done while I was on the road and continue apace. I have two aroslav stories that I'm working on. Adams' Apple is a farce and lampoon revolving around a virus that renders all men in the world impotent. Except one. Fun and games ensue as I manage to lampoon the media, scientists, medicine, politics, the President, bureaucracy, religion, the military, the Secret Service, the leaders of several countries, and the chef in the kitchen. I think I'm just three or four chapters from the end of the story and have been getting edits back steadily from my editors with a few comments from my Sausage Grinder patrons who pay $10 a month to see whatever I'm writing in its raw, unedited state.
The second story is hopefully within ten chapters of being complete. Pussy Pirates is a story set in the Swarm Universe of Thinking Horndog. Of course, when I finish writing in about a month or so, it will go to the Swarm authors' group for judgment on its canon worthiness, so I could still end up with an odd story that is only available on my own website instead of as part of the proper universe. Regardless, I'm sure to be at least three months out on that one.
A couple of days ago, I finished posting Wayzgoose's Steven George & The Dragon. Reading young adult fairytales is not everyone's cup of tea, but those who enjoyed the story were vocal enough that I will probably resurrect an old draft called Steven George & The Terror, a sequel. It needs some work, but it's cute. My immediate attention, however, is on the rewrite of American Royalty 1: Coming of Age. This rewrite is so complete that I will probably repost it as a new story titled Rise and Awaken, a Destiny's Call novel. The general story concept remains the same. An American society that has carefully defined classes, a young man emerging as a leader, and a tension-filled love story between him and his former schoolmate turned advisor and assistant. The way the story is told, the names of the classes, and the kind of relationship the two have are all brand new. And it is significantly shorter than the 112,000-word original.
So, I'm hanging in there, staying healthy, and writing a lot with ideas for more banging around in my head. I hope this finds you well and safe.