Arlo and Janis by Jimmy Johnson for September 28, 2020

For her are you if you mean her you better run

Make use of socially distanced out door seating while you still can. Winter is coming, but the pandemic isn’t going anywhere any time soon.

When restaurants started to open up my wife suggested we go to a restaurant we’ve been meaning to try that has outdoor dining. I was not comfortable with that idea. Basically at my age and health issues I was too chicken-s*&t to do that. Since then I’ve seen several reports that there is growing evidence that the spread of COVID-19 involves aerosol transmission. Unlike droplet transmission which stays in the air for a short time and settles out within 3 to 6 feet aerosol transmission particles can remain suspended for hours and travel much longer distances than 6 feet. There is still a debate as to whether transmission is droplet or aerosol but like I said I’m just too chicken-s*&t. I want to be around when my kids graduate in a few years so I’m fine with takeout for the time being.

Man, that’s for sure!!!!

I’m not ready for dine in eating yet. The restaurants are kind of depressing. Half the chairs are piled up in a corner. I have gotten takeout and see what the situation is like in the restaurant. I like the part of leaving a good looking corpse. Wish I knew that 10 years ago.

I so relate to the punch line!

Remember, when you say that you’re not just talking about yourself.

I’m on Arlo’s side, especially since a recent study found an unexpectedly strong correlation between coming down with the virus and having eaten in a restaurant. (https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/09/11/912076989/adults-with-covid-19-twice-as-likely-to-have-eaten-at-restaurants-cdc-study)

Janis is ahead of the curve in this, compared to Arlo.

We’ve dined out twice in the last six months, both times at a brewpub with outside seating. Might be the last time until Spring, though.

Wasn’t there a song that said…“I’m too old to die young”?

Because my Janis and I do not like to cook, we dine out every evening and did so during the lockdown, too.

However, even though we are both 67, we are in excellent health. My own physician told me that I have the health of a man in his thirties and who is in great shape.

In our cases, we have not had to give even a passing thought to the virus.

We are well aware, though, that we are incredibly fortunate, and we understand why so many people our age are concerned about going out in public.

Once you get to my age, there is no way you can die a good looking corpse.

I’ll have to agree with Arlo, my corpse would not look pretty at all.

i tell people all the time, ‘one thing is for sure: i won’t die young’

you could do worse, arlo! count your blessings!

Staying home for 6 months is not so bad in one’s life. Check the risk reward factor.

It was the novel “Knock On Any Door” that made the sentence by Nick Romano famous about 63 years ago “Live Fast, Die Young,and have a Good Looking Corpse”. In the book he dies by electrocution in Chicago for killing a rouge Cop named O’Reilley.

I used that line on a girl once. She reminded me when we hooked up again years later and I don’t think she meant it as a compliment. Now, I’m not allowed to see her anymore.

What happened to the Arlo I have come to know? This guy is a wuss

We’ve eaten out a few times, at Crackar Barrel.

We’ve eaten out since the deadly ‘rona quite a few times. Restaurants are really needing customers. The staff all wear masks, but the customers don’t have to, of course. No salad bars, reduced menus, but they’re open.

You are not going to die from the Corona Virus going to a restaurant.You WILL go crazy though by this self lockdown…..

@JimmyJ Art imitates life (or vice versa)! Yesterday the wife and I made our first foray to a restaurant that was not drive thru. While there was plenty of room inside we opted for the outdoor tables.

In the words of Jeff MacNelly’s SHOE: “When I was a kid I was so reckless… I wanted to live fast and die young. Now I want to live young and die fast.” (1/21/99)

Make some great sandwiches. Grab the wine. Drive to favorite stop. Eat. Drink. Enjoy. Repeat as needed alternating menus and designated drivers.

That last line—do NOT deliver that while looking at your wife’s face dude!

It dawned on us about three months into this “play it down” situation that we were going to live with it for at Least two more years with no guarantee there will not be a new one close behind. So, since we do not intend to sit in enclosed spaces with an HVAC, we thought why are we still tightly budgeting for grocery shopping.

We allocated dining out $$ in the past from the monthly income. Move that amount to column A in the ledger and go for the healthy quality grocery items. Organic fruits actually taste like the fruit I knew as a kid.

Turns out we spend less, eat better, and have the final product the way we want it. Also, we know that it was never on the floor or put together by someone who did not wash when leaving the restroom.

True story from my teen years as a restaurant dishwasher. The waitress brought back a burger entree and said that the customer refused it because the bun was burnt. Four people watched as the grill guy took the top and bottom of the bun off, flung it against the wall and then picked it up off the floor. He blew on it to get the loose stuff off, took a knife out of a holder that had greasy water and finished scraping it. Put it back together and yelled “#5 burger up” so customers could hear. Out the door it went to never return.

Many reading this today might be thinking that “will you still love me when I’m 64” has to be updated…literally.

In the astronomy community we use that phrase to describe massive stars. They burn through their hydrogen fuel at a fast rate, making them extremely bright; they only last a few million years (rather than 10+ billion, like our less-massive Sun); and when they die, they go supernova and leave behind a colorful, beautiful, and energetic expanding cloud of gaseous debris.Whoever said astronomy wasn’t fun?!BTW, such stars are quite rare… but they’re much more noticeable than more average stars!

yeah… I really didn’t think I’d live past 30. (that was SO long ago)“If I knew I was going to live this long, I’d have taken better care of myself.” — Mickey Mantle

It’s funny – I remember my own transition through that philosophical change – I was more of a comic book fan so it transitioned from “Live fast, love hard, die with your mask on”, to “live long enough to appreciate the sunset of your days”.

My one and only indoor restaurant eating experience since all this started was on a recent trip to the Oregon coast to visit my son and his family while they were on vacation. It was a strange feeling for sure, as others had mentioned, tables wide apart, etc. but I hardly noticed as I was with my beloved family which is rare. As it was late summer it was open air with windows propped open as well. A wonderful treat for me for sure :-)

Dead rarely looks good.

The US population is 4.25% of the world’s population, and we have 25% of the Coronavirus cases and 20% of the Coronavirus deaths. Wear your mask. Avoid groups. Stay away from the restaurants NOW so that you’ll live to enjoy them in the future. It’s nothing but common sense.

Life’s journey is not to arrive safely at the grave in a well preserved body but, to skid in sideways totally worn out shouting “holly sh**, what a ride”.

We are in NO hurry to dine indoors. Been talking about how we need to get used to dining outside in cooler weather. Many places have those patio heaters, that will help. And we just ordered some fingerless gloves. Expect to be good down to at least 48 degrees now. Check back with me in December…. might be pushing 32 degrees by then.

In my case, it was never even an option.

Here in Michigan the restaurants have handled precautions very effectively. We’ve dined out four or five times, and so far all is well.