Dave and I planned to go to Butte for a week that would include St. Patrick's Day (actually I was the one who really wanted to do this.) Last year when we went, it was one of the very best St. Patrick's Days ever for me. Dave has many friends there and over the two summers we have spent there, I have made friends. I love it in Butte and love the friendliness of the people and his family.
Butte has the highest per capita Irish population in the US. I believe this is because of the copper mining and the fact that most of the Irish are Catholic. So many of the families had six plus children. A lot of them have stayed in Butte or returned like Dave did.
When we got there on the 10th, it was cold. We had a couple of days of snow, but it was not at all like last year when there was so much snow on the ground. Of course, we went out to eat at some of our favorite restaurants and spent some time in the casinos. Going to a casino in Butte is a different experience. They are small and don't have a lot of machines. You can earn points and get actual money. For $5 or $10 I can play one of my favorite video poker games and get free drinks. It is great!
With all of the Covid19 scare, all of the St. Patrick's Day festivities were cancelled over the weekend. We went to the Irish store that I love as I always want to pick up a few "things." Marlene, the owner, was telling us how devastating this is for the many small businesses, especially the bars. She said many of them are able to stay open all year because of the festivities and a few others during the year. I had not thought about that.
We changed our plans and I was able to get a flight back to Arizona on Tuesday so that I could attend the Board meeting in person.
Monday, we joined our friends for lunch. Everything was fine and no thought of any closures according to the waitress. By the time we were finished with lunch, she came over and told us they would be closing at five per Governor's instructions and would remain closed unless they wanted to do take out.
We stopped at our favorite casino. Originally, their hours were being cut, but during the time we got there, we were told that they would be closing at 8 that evening indefinitely.
We had an early flight back to Phoenix Tuesday morning. It was a good thing we came back as the next day when we were scheduled, there was a very serious earthquake right about the time we would have landed and they had to close the airport.
I was able to get to the meeting that night and that was the beginning of all of the protocols and closures.
That was March 17 and today is April 24. What a month it has been which I am going to write more about!
The one thing I have figured out during this time, is that I HAVE to get a hobby. I don't know why I have not been writing as that is an outlet for me in many ways and I enjoy it!
0 remarks:
Post a Comment