I took a walk in the park today with my husband. Ordinary, right?
This is what I should have seen. Crowds.
Hot air balloons.
Food trucks.
Celebrations of spiedies, the food of our area of upstate New York.
This is what I saw instead.
This is on a path that would have been blocked off this weekend, normally.
Walkers, joggers, bicyclists were enjoying the park. People sat at picnic tables (our state allows gatherings of up to 50 people with proper precautions.)
How many of us miss the annual Spiedie Fest and Balloon Rally? Many of us, perhaps. But people all over the world have already lost and missed so much, it's a small thing.
It was a sunny, warm day. It would have been so nice.
The organizers still hope to hold the festival in October. Normally, attendance for the three days would be around 60,000 to 100,000. This year, they will need to hold it to 5,000.(I'm not sure if that's a day or for the total). It definitely won't be the same.
It's strange, perhaps, but I don't care.
I'm content just to be here.
Sigh ...
ReplyDeleteWe'd be having an Olympics right about now too... Sad that these things are cancelled or postponed, but I'm glad the organizers did the right thing. I'm glad the states are doing the right thing. We're all in this together.
ReplyDelete...lots of things are missing these days, but you still can find spiedie sauce!
ReplyDeleteSuch is the time of our lives.
ReplyDeleteCancelling is the safest thing to do. It's heartbreaking to read about so many sick after attending events in states that allow it. Or states that don't, but the people do it anyway. One of the big draws in my area is a big August music festival, and that of course isn't happening. Tourism for wineries and the Shakespeare Festival in Ashland too.
ReplyDeleteAs you say, it good to be here!
Going up hot air balloon is one my dreams.
ReplyDelete