Going outside despite the virus.
It appears that my state's stay at home policy is not meant to forbid going outside for some exercise, provided that it's possible to keep one's distance from others. That's lucky, since a 24/7 confinement to home, work, and my car, with a weekly trip to the grocery and/or drugstore, would be really hard to take.
So I've been going for walks every day. The work schedule at our facility is, let's say creative, to deal with the fact that we need round the clock coverage with a staff of limited size. I generally walk either in the morning or afternoon, depending on which shift I'm covering that day, with today and tomorrow off this week.
Because many small Connecticut towns have never been fully comfortable with the concept of sidewalks, I walk more in the adjacent town where I work than in the one where I live. Even on gloomy days of the "maybe I'll rain, maybe I won't" variety that we had earlier in the week, there are always a few other people out there, sometimes only a couple, but never none at all. Today, with the sun out, it was almost busy, although there were still stretches where I saw nobody, and where there were others, it was never crowded enough to prevent "distancing".
"Sharing the sidewalk", even in normal times, can lead to some friction with others. I've noticed that people walking in groups side by side seem to think that lone walkers coming the other way ought to hop out of their way, rather than putting them to the inconvenience of going single file. I insist on keeping a little bit of the sidewalk to myself, although I will step off onto the grass for mothers herding their small children or pushing strollers, and for people who are visibly frail, regardless of age. But these are not normal times, and people are conscious that our sidewalks are only perhaps a yard wide. I'd be happy to step off on the grass now myself, but often don't have to, as the person coming the other way will make a wide detour starting some twenty yards away.
There are few facemasks or gloves in evidence, although there are some. Most people will acknowledge a greeting, some give the impression of not noticing it. Some probably do not notice it, as walking, or even running, does not keep them from talking on or consulting their phones.
Having walked for an hour to maybe an hour and a half at most, I'm better able to cope with indoor pursuits for the rest of the day. That's true at any time, but usually there's no reason not to go out again later, and look for other amusements. Now there is.
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Originally Posted by Kaputnik
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