Slight Detour: Saturday Slight

As the Irish would say, "Brilliant, just brilliant."

That's how February, 2021, is saying "good bye" to us weather-wise.

And, life in general is reverting back to some brilliance of its own.

Thank God for the scientists and for all who have worked tirelessly to bring us to this time where a welcome sense of hope is becoming as bright as yesterday's sunshine.

There are no adequat words to express the appreciation felt to the infinite amount of effort, care, smarts, leadership, organization and dedication that has brought us back to looking at what was once a mundane aspect of any ol' day and rejoicing because we actually GOT to do it.

Such an event happened for me yesterday when I stepped INSIDE of Yoke's Grocery store with a shopping cart for the first time since last March.

I walked out of the store with some good memories of visits with friends and a cart-load of items, totalling the highest price I've ever spent for groceries.

No, the store isn't charging that much more; I just felt plain giddy walking around, picking out extra items which normally did not appear on my weekly curbside shopping list BECAUSE I COULD.

These items may not get eaten this week, especially the colorful tulips, but better times ahead suggest that they'll disappear a little faster than my food supplies have over the past several months.

After all, certain people in the family who have been vaccinated and who have waited the suggested amount of time for the vaccine to take full effect will be joining us for meals occasionally.

The days of just Bill and me in this house are drawing to a close, and there will be times ahead for family to gather and share good eats and much-needed visiting.

I have enjoyed the stories from friends who are experiencing the same glee.

In one case, a friend living in another area noted to me yesterday that her friend and she would be riding in the same car together on Monday AND will be stopping for a refreshment and visiting along the way.

"It's the little things," they often say.

We have all learned to appreciate these normally routine happenings more than ever, thanks to the Pandemic.

I've also read that, thanks to the Pandemic, flu has been basically nonexistent this season.

Seems like a good lesson that mask wearing is effective and that it might be a great idea during upcoming flu seasons.

And, I read this morning, from naysaying, self-appointed experts, that half of the people vaccinated will be dead in five years because of the vaccine.

Now, it seems to me a pretty safe time to make such assertions, seeings most of the people who have been vaccinated are OLD.

They may die in the next few years from a variety of other causes, but taking a page from the hoaxers' book, it will be easy to claim that "it was the vaccine," just as they liked to claim that most those 500,000-plus Covid deaths were probably caused from other factors.

When I mentioned that vaccine revelation to Bill, he suggested that maybe the paper, when it prints obituaries which often include flags for veterans, should start putting pictures of syringes next to the names of people who have supposedly died from being vaccinated.

In the meantime, I'm two-plus weeks out from Vaccination No. 2, feeling pretty healthy but damn mad that the my Moderna vaccination did not remove my facial wrinkles while it was injecting a survelliance chip inside my body.

All the more reason to wear a mask year around!

A busy day ahead today. I'm going to the airport this morning to watch the Sandpoint High ACES (aviation class) in action as they work on constructing an airplane.

It's for fun and for a story, and I'm looking forward to this very real change in my Saturday morning routine.

Then, I'm looking forward to time spent outside to soak up some more of this "brilliant just brilliant" Feburary sunshine.

This beautiful last day of February will be topped off by the final season game for the ZAGS.

At senior night, the Bulldogs will host Loyola Marymount at 7 p.m. PST, on ESPN right after the Kansas-Baylor matchup.

So, in the interest of all ZAGS fans and my dear friend Mow, I'm gonna say, GO, Jay Hawks and then GO, ZAGS!