Dan Antion

Where’s That Elbow Been? – #1LinerWeds

Maddie’s eye view of the fallen leaves.

It’s not like things are back to normal here, but I was fortunate to get together with friends on two occasions last week. That seems positively social, even as I look back on what I just wrote. The first get together was with friends from Portland, Oregon. They are visiting family in Cambridge, MA. When we got together, they had been here for over a week. They had been tested for the virus (negative) and we had selected a restaurant where we could eat outside. We arrived, wearing masks and we generally maintained a healthy distance from each other.

Yes, this is what we do in these Corona times.

This was the first time I had seen these friends since 2006. I wasn’t going to let the opportunity pass.

The second encounter was at my regular bar, with one of my regular bar-buddies (one of the components in the composite personality some of you know as David). This was the second time we’ve met since the bar opened in July. We sat on adjacent stools, without masks. We drank and we talked. I think the relatively close proximity was OK. Had we been farther apart, we would have had to talk louder, perhaps yell.

When I got up to leave, my friend was still waiting on his takeout order. He stood and offered me an elbow-bump. I don’t know why, but I blurted out the first thought that came to mind:

“Is that the elbow you sneeze into?”

It was fun to laugh.

This post is part of Linda G. Hill’s fun weekly series One-Liner Wednesday. If you have a one-liner, If you would like to join in on the fun, you can follow this link to participate and to see the one-liners from the other participants.

I think MiMi wants me to scratch her cute little head. I’m almost sure of it.
That’s Maddie…really.
For a small town, we use a lot of school buses. This is an elementary school with grades 3-5.
The Connecticut River is almost low enough to walk across. Farther south, birds are standing in the water.
The trees along the river bank are starting to turn.
Windy day + sprinkler + obstacle.
Jinx is summoning the other crows.
Caw!
Fallen leaves are beginning to blanket the park in this area.
There you go, Smokey.
Maddie’s eye view of the fallen leaves.
Isolated trees are starting to change color.
Some trees have decided to call it quits and hope for 2021.
We’re expecting rain tomorrow. Maddie is enjoying the wind.
Maddie is sniffing all the sniffs.

71 comments

    • I do think we will bounce back, Pam. I have no idea how long it will take, or what the cost will be. Some businesses will never make it, and sadly, neither will some people. I’m surprised they haven’t taken that bare tree down, but the crows seem to like it.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  3. Wow! You hit the jackpot Dan……two get togethers with friends! Love the one liner! Priceless.

    Ummmm Dan, MiMi did not want you to scratch her cute head. Do you see her eyes? You’re lucky she didn’t scratch your head! Lol.

    I love the photo of the last tree. Maddie sure has no problem relaxing on the couch or any of her decks. Soon she’ll be looking for Mt. Maddie. Oh! Perish the thought!
    Ginger

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Seeing two friends in one week is as much socializing as I ever do, Ginger. I even traveled out of state!

      Apparently, I don’t read MiMi’s messages all that well. I always figure she wants a scritch or a belly rub.

      Maddie has been tired lately. She’s been sleeping in, and lounging around. She does seem to be able to get comfy almost anywhere.

      I’m not worried about building Mt. Maddie, at least not anytime soon. But its good to know she’s got so many places to relax.

      Like

      Reply

  4. Wow – you must be walking on air after two social events in one week. I had a couple myself, and it is a tremendous mental boost although you do have to maintain protocol to stay safe. Protocol meant wearing a mask while doing a lot of physical labor – ugh, I sure wish someone would invent a mask that was comfortable when doing physical labor. It certainly makes you appreciate the efforts all the retail folks are exerting by wearing a mask for an entire work shift.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • The masks do get old quickly. I’m pretty sure I couldn’t wear one all day. I’m so happy to peel mine off when I get back into my car. Two events in one week is as many as I’ve ever had, except for conferences and business meetings. Still, even spending a few minutes with one friend at the bar was a welcome change.

      Like

      Reply

  5. This feels like such a warm, delightful visit, Dan. Thanks for binging us into it. You made me laugh out loud with the elbow remark. I guess elbow bumps will replace hugs in our new world. People already even make some silly reply about my “hug” closings, coming back with something like “noncontagious” or virus free hugs back to you.” Seriously? If people can’t even give a pretend hug… well, they can kiss my grits. LOL.
    It was good to see Jinx. Kudos on catching him mid-caw. Elbow bumps on the wing.
    (That just doesn’t feel the same…)

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  8. Laughter is very necessary these days, Dan. I used to do a lot of ‘air’ fist bumps at work. I’m glad you got to visit with old friends. It is stressful to remember the protocols, even when you work using them daily. Wearing a mask all day is very tiring, especially when you work with so many older people, many of whom have hearing problems. They get frustrated with hearing me, with thinking I can’t hear them, want to pull it down. My dear Daddy taught me as a young-un to do what I have to do and be happy about it whether it was go to school, sit still in church, get a shot at the doctor…so many things. This has served me well in life. Sometimes I have to remind myself it’s ok to fight back. I really miss hugs. Being from the South, hugging is included in every greeting or emotion-hello, goodbye, laughter, sorrow, camaraderie, apology, comfort, celebration, admiration…..
    Humans need touch more than anything and I really feel that is what tires us most during these times. I could care less about a bit fat social gathering. I have never liked large group events, perhaps seen too many disaster movies where large crowds go wild. It is the idea that once we leave our home, we have to be mindful of so many things. We are germ conscious anyway so most things are already practices of ours. It really is the interaction with one another that hurts my soul.
    I’ll be sure to have both elbows clean just in case we meet up again sometime. Just don’t touch my upper arm. (That’s where I sneeze.) 🤗🤣🤣🤣

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  9. I’m glad you were able to connect with your friends from Oregon. Fourteen years is a long time in between visits with friends. It’s good to see a friend or two, here and there, as long as we play it safe. I had a wonderful visit with friends earlier this month and then on Saturday, a few of my neighbors and I sat outside, with masks, to catch up and have a few laughs. We need that in these times, although it’s going to be far more difficult in the winter months. I hope we can all stay safe and sane.

    Give MiMi another skritch on her pretty little head and have a wonderful Wednesday, Dan.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  10. Glad you were able to get together with your friends. We have been able to do a little of that. Except we have been doing that outside of the bar and restaurant scene. We have close family members in the high risk group and it does not feel at all like paranoia. It is reasonable precaution. Stay safe and healthy.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  12. Ha! I did not see that one-liner coming!! Excellent, Dan. I do love Maddie’s eye-view of the world. You ventured out of state….One of the ways we go into AL is blocked, due to Hurricane Sally. We have to go through AL to go most anywhere, but their Governor is doing a good job with both Covid and Sally, so we’ll wait….

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • It’s funny, Lois. I’ve been to Springfield and Agawam, MA many times throughout the pandemic, but since they’re only 10 miles away, I don’t think of it as going out of state. Even my trips to Holyoke didn’t seem like that. Going to Boston seemed like travel to me. It felt good. Most of New England allows free travel to and from the other New England states. Vermont might be different, but that’s nothing new ;-)

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  17. Compliments to Maddie on the first shot. She does a great job with the camera! So you’re telling me these people at the bar aren’t real people?? If I didn’t have so much to do today, I’d swoon, but alas, it cannot be as I’m off shortly to Costco. My disappointment will have to simmer all day, although as it will only be about 100 today, it’s below real simmering temperatures. Love that one liner, Dan. Does that make that side of your body armed and dangerous?

    janet

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • I hope you were successful at Costco. Even before the pandemic it was one of my least favorite places to go. We have a list of items we always get there, and a few impulse buys land in the cart when I’m shopping.

      The people at the bar are a mix. I explained it on my About page. Sometimes the events are inspired by an actual event or conversation. Sometimes, it’s just fiction. In any case, I’m always happy when you visit.

      https://nofacilities.com/about/

      Like

      Reply

  18. You had me chuckling, Dan, with the elbow question. I was trying in my mind to envision how you could sneeze onto the portion of the elbow used for elbow bumps–it would require some extreme contortions for either the sneezing or the bumping.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  19. ROFL!! and EWWW! That would be a definite yes from me though. 😀 I think it’s wonderful that you’ve been able to go out to eat and meet up with friends again! Anything close to being back to normal feels so good.

    I love the orange tree leaves, and Maddie’s view of the leaves too.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • It was good to be able to get together with them, especially the couple I hadn’t seen in so long. I mostly only got to Oregon on business trips, so I wasn’t sure when I’d see them again – certainly not this year.

      I’ve been intrigued by the Maddie’s eye view of the world. I know she’s probably smelling things, but she gets down low and appears to be sturdying the lower landscape.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  20. I opened back up(to a degree) finally after deciding on only keeping children from high risk families. Not really advertising yet. But anyhoo, I just want to say how affected these children have been. Hugs are so needed. Glad to hear your a recipient of one.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  21. Social distancing, although still necessary, is becoming a strain for all of us. Despite being clinically immunosuppressed, I recently could not give up the opportunity to have lunch with one of my daughters whom I hadn’t seen in person since the pandemic started. However, since I’m still concerned about everything, we did order in instead of going to a restaurant, and we did avoid hugging (believe me, that was the most difficult part). I think we all want this pandemic to end.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  22. Good to hear you are getting with friends, Dan. I went out today and got a haircut. I was surprised at how well everything was organized. The stylist did remark at my hair length. I told her it would have been worse if my wife hadn’t taken the horse clippers to me a couple of months ago. She was not impressed. Great photos and nice seeing Maddie today

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • A haircut? Wow, big step, John. My barber was not at all impressed with my own efforts to keep my hair at a decent length, I think he was laughing for quite a bit. I’m trying to stay on the safe side. Right now, only two people (or two small groups) are allowed at the bar. I go during an off-peak time and I rarely see anyone other than the bartender. My friend visits on occasion, but this is only the second time we’ve met since they reopened. I miss his stories.

      Like

      Reply

  25. Great title for a post! Drew me in big time
    And laughing extra because I just elbow bumped someone last week and we then wondered if we were too close (even tho we had on masks)
    And so to hear you wonder about the sneeze just shows so much about the “now”

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Add your thoughts or join the discussion. One relevant link is OK, more require moderation. Markdown is supported.

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.