Jason's Skagit Version Of The Corona Virus

Yesterday I text messaged Spencer Jack's dad, Jason, who is also my eldest nephew. I was curious how Jason and Spencer were weathering the Coronavirus storm.

By late afternoon I was in Walmart with the hordes of masked zombies, when my phone rattled my pant pocket, which had me answering a call from Mount Vernon's Linda Lou.

After several minutes of talking to Linda Lou my phone made a new noise, indicating another call. I somehow accidentally connected the two calls together, and so I then found myself talking to both Linda Lou and Jason.

Linda Lou's Mount Vernon home is about two blocks from Jason's.

Wonders of our modern pandemic infested world. Me, isolated in Wichita Falls, Texas, basically in the middle of nowhere, talking, long distance, to two different locations in Mount Vernon, Washington, with the long distance call not costing any long distance toll charge, no matter how long we talked. And with Linda Lou asking me to text her a photo documenting a condition I had used words to describe to her.

Twenty years ago being asked to send a photo over the phone would not have made any sense. And now, doing such, is totally ordinary.

So, by early Friday evening I was back in home social isolation mode, and checked email to find incoming, from Jason. When Jason called me and Linda Lou in Walmart he told me he had emailed me, and then decided later to call. And then even later Friday evening another incoming email from Washington,  Harstine Island to be specific, brought a plethora of photos, which I will blog in a blogging following this one.

And below is the text of the email from Jason, telling me about the current pandemic state of my old home state, along with a couple photos, including the one above documenting that Jason's Fidalgo Drive-In is open and feeding the locals.

And now Jason's email...

I'm going to reply to your text, via e-mail, as it is much easier to do such.

Spencer was dad schooled all week. He is very diligent about starting his homework immediately after breakfast. The teachers at his school have provided him with a lot work that needs to be done on a daily basis. He uses the computer to complete at least half of the assignments. Both yesterday and today he used Zoom to have a virtual meeting with his teacher and classmates.  She has also called to check in with us. So with all of that I am very impressed.

With regard to the restaurant, business has been really steady. I just got lucky, that my drive-in is easily set up to send orders out the door in paper bags.   And that's what we have been doing. 

Driving around the PNW has been quite eerie. Downtown Mount Vernon is a ghost town. And so was Lynden.

After homework was completed the other day, Spencer and I went up to Birch Bay to get some much needed UV rays.

It was a cool crisp sunny day, but the beach was full of young moms and dads and their children who have been kicked out of school.

We then headed east to Lynden for lunch. We took our lunch to the Lynden City Park, which was again filled to the brim with school children.

After lunch we did some house shopping in Lynden, before visiting your father and making our way back home.

Driving home the past couple days around dinner time, I cannot express how busy the parks are. With most everything boarded up, must be the only escape for Skagitonians. People are taking their meals to the parks.

Spencer would really like to go back to school and 'just wants this all to end.'

Jason.