And then, the changes
We had a sad moment this weekend. The First Reader decided that since restaurants in our state are beginning to open back up, we should go out. He also decided that he had better call ahead, just to be sure. He pulled up one of our favorite restaurants on the internet, and turned around.
"Look at this."
'This' was a red banner on the search result, saying 'permanently closed.' We stared at it in silence for a minute. Then I asked him to look up the other place we love and visit. It is open, still. For now. We haven't tried to do the whole 'takeout for support' from these places as they are too far away - the food would be cold by the time we got it home. But this morning, thinking about it, it's a precursor of what's to come. I saw somewhere that fully 25% of American restaurants will close. And most of those will be like the one that is gone now. Mom-and-Pop places that were just making it. The closed restaurant was literally a family affair. Mom and Dad (both from Lebanon originally) ran the kitchen. Daughter, or one of the sons, waited on the diners. Granddaughter was usually perched in an empty booth coloring or watching a video. This place had no ambiance. The charm was wholly in the good people who we became friendly with in time - the daughter would tease us, and mock-scold if we had not been in for a while - and the really good food. We took friends and family there as a first choice for quiet place to eat with great food, cheap.
And it is gone, now.
We prefer the mom-and-pops. We spent a couple of years when my job had us traveling all over this area scouting out interesting little places and trying them. We will not eat in a chain restaurant if we can help it... but those are the ones who will likely survive this thing. They are big enough to soak up the body blows and remain standing. They have financing options a simple family business will not.
We were cleaning out the garage this weekend, and among the other clutter, there were the last remnants of my balloon twisting kit. "I should have sold this." I told the First Reader. "But now?" Twisters and painters are largely not working. Some of them are finding new avenues for their creative outlets and supplies. Others? One of my acquaintances went out, got her CDL, and is driving trucks. That was a great thing for her to do, but heartbreaking to completely leave behind a career I know she loved. She is not alone.
I wrote a while back that as this was just beginning to happen, I could see history's timeline pivoting. I'm fairly certain that pivot is only just gaining momentum. Leaving aside the validity of what was done, and the motivations, here we are. The changes are just beginning. For better, and worse, this is the world we live in. Because it's not all bad. My little family is doing just fine. We have a roof over our head, food in the cupboards, and there is an income stable enough to rely on. So many people are going to find this changes them in a good way. Far more are going to struggle, and some will fall down, unable to keep up with the movement of their goals and losses of their structure. It's hard to make plans for the future, and when the media is braying disaster and fear, well, is it any wonder there are those who get lost in the fog of despair and cannot find their way out again?
Fogs burn off in the sunlight. This one will, too. It won't be dark forever. Don't panic. Thrashing around aimlessly and burning up all your energy could be fatal right now. There is hope. This too shall pass away from us, and the summer will bring an end to the cold grip of fear. Change is not always good. Nor is it a bad thing. It simply is, and we live in a changing world. Be ready to adapt, calm and collected.
(Header image: Feast for Two at Chateaux Beirut, late of West Chester, OH. We will miss you.)