Life has certainly been challenging over the past month or so, especially for those of us living FT in our motorhomes. If you were traveling during the Pandemic, being on the road became very difficult, and if you were stationary, isolation brought on a whole new meaning, even if you have enjoyed it in the past. I believe that everyone EVERYWHERE has stories they can share, but I honestly believe we are living in BIZARRO WORLD!

For my FT RV readers, you will easily relate to what I write, and I hope you have found a place to live comfortably as state-wide shutdowns continue. For those of you wishing to become FT, or who live in sticks & bricks, I believe you may feel a bit better about where you sit during this pandemic once you read on.

We are stationary during this stay-at-home period, but many of our friends are not. I don’t think anyone realizes how bizarre this has been for those that travel the country, and suddenly travel is forbidden! Think about that if you are not currently an RVer. Every reason you have ever had for wanting an RV has to do with travel. Now we are told NOT TO TRAVEL. It is your home, but you can’t easily find a place to park it! So here is where it gets tricky…

We know people who winter in Florida from Canada, Nova Scotia, New Finland and Labrador, etc. They pay rent for the season to park their RV’s in Florida. When the Government announced closing the border, many were still here in Florida. They must be back in their country before their time-limit of being out of their country expires or they lose their insurance benefits. For obvious reasons, they had to figure out how to get back home. So Canada and surrounding areas had an influx of people traveling back home from the US. This is complicated by having extremely limited over-night parking available, as State Parks and Rest Stop facilities closed in large numbers. Financially, this caused a strain for many, as CG’s are cancelling reservations, but not all are giving out refunds. Some are issuing credit for future dates, but sometimes, you don’t have an option to return, as things change. This can be hundreds of dollars for some, and thousands for others, but not a good scenario.

People that own winter lots or homes in the south want to isolate here in the south, where the weather is warm and sunny. But suddenly, their state says it is forbidden to leave, or the state where they’re traveling to says we don’t want you! You must isolate or else! And forget about coming to the beaches. They are closed even to Florida residents!

People in military family CG’s all across the US were given just days to vacate due to non-essential personnel being laid off during the Rona virus. They try to find other CG’s to accommodate a lengthy stay, but private CG’s began closing their doors to new reservations, including ours. They also found themselves having to wait in long lines for check points along the highways to enter certain states, and then told they must quarantine for 14 days if they enter. Only, they haven’t found a place to park the RV yet for 14 days, or simply can’t stay long enough in the state requiring it. Some places that used to let RV’s park overnight are no longer permitting them to do so (Walmart, Cracker Barrel, etc.), which forces them to find a CG. It is simply a mess and quite frustrating for those trying to drive their RV’s to any place to hunker down.

For those of us that are stationary, we are sick of being isolated! It is a much smaller space than a house and most of us are very social and outdoor people. Suddenly, they say not to gather in groups. You can go outside, but if it’s raining, you can’t. So we sit in a one-room house and wait for the rain to stop. When I cook or bake, our refrigerator is positioned past the TV, and I cross in front of it to get into the Frig. (need I say more). Normally, we go shopping, dining at the beach, drinking with friends or whatever social activity you can think of. But now we can’t. We have to socialize at one’s RV with fewer people, 6 feet apart. I have my own lung issues even when the rest of the world is great, so I am very cautious.

I’m so tired of isolation, sick of the news, and sicker of the word Covid-19! It is Bizarre to think that all of this is going to go away after the curve starts to flatten. We talk about the “New Normal” like it’s going to be a good thing, yet, I walk around everywhere with people in masks and gloves (when it almost 90 degrees) and feel like I’m in a movie just to run into the Dollar Store! I highly doubt that anyone is going to be excited about travel, going to the movies, going to a casino, getting on a plane, working again in close proximity to anyone, or dining out ANYTIME SOON! Bars may be closed indefinitely!

THINK ABOUT THIS: Remember all the impatient A- holes you lived with before Covid-19? THEY ARE STILL ALL OUT THERE! So imagine this; you are waiting in a TSA line to get on a flight. Remember those long lines? They are GOING TO BE LONGER once they spread us all out 6 feet apart! Remember getting on a wait list to get into your favorite restaurant? You are going to be waiting LONGER! They will have to do extra wipe-downs disinfecting everything everyone before you has touched! Remember going to your favorite amusement parks? Would you want to stand in line all day waiting for the next 50 people to be able to enter? “I’m sorry, we can only let 50-100 people in at a time.” Yeah, the impatient dude behind you is going to burst wide open at the seams, and 6 feet is NOT far enough away for me to be around him when he does!

Lines will be longer, disinfecting will drive you crazy between customers, you may or may not have a job to return to, because they might just realize that NON essential personnel are never going to be as essential as they once were thought to be. Whatever you thought was normal before, will likely never be normal again (that is what they are calling the “New Normal”) and the impatience will make it very ugly out there, so we might as well get used to a new normal of highly agitated and ignorant people, only they must stay 6 feet away from you! That is the only consolation. The thought of all of that just might make you crazy enough to drink your Lysol or Bleach! Did I just say that out loud? Sorry, I was just being sarcastic. Haha! Don’t try it because you can’t sue them now that they put it on their labels not to ingest or inject it.

So, isolation, social distancing or a vaccine. That is what we’ve got for now and what we hope for tomorrow. That’s it folks. The Rona is not going to just disappear. It is hard for me to make fun of anything right now because I haven’t been laughing much during a period of 30 days of isolation. Some people probably believe that to be too harsh. But I call it saving lives. The people you have in your RV community going to grocery stores, Drug stores, Doctors, Hospitals and where ever else you gotta go, that have no symptoms and congregating together, all feel safe. But the more you run around, you increase the odds that someone may come in contact with the Rona and pass it on. I am missing a lot of people, but wasn’t willing to risk it. An Em-path will understand. The more you care about people, the more you do to protect them.

I always leave politics and religion out of my Blog, and I usually try to infuse my writing with humor and a scent of sarcasm. I’m just going to say it folks. There IS NO REALITY anymore. You can’t believe anything you hear because “they say” everything is “Fake News.” If you can only believe certain news channels, which ones do you believe? Do you have a crystal ball that says the one you’re watching is the real news, and mine is not? Is this when you phone a friend and advise them that what they just watched was the fake stuff, or you’ve just been punk’d? We are living in a Twilight Zone of events where the entire world is making fun of our Leaders. People believe this is Okay. It’s not. It started long ago when social media thought it was cool for our President to be tweeting and on Facebook. It is NOT! It allows adult bullying and disrespect like we have never seen or tolerated before in our lifetimes. It exposes our weaknesses to the entire world. This is NOT a good thing and you are not going to pray it all away. So I can say with all honesty that the new normal is not a good place. It is very hard to be an Em-path in a world full of Narcissism and bullies. I want to go into hiding for whatever the election brings because I cannot bare witness to it. This is that one time in your life when “the good ole days” really were much better, and I wanna go back. Please come back!

There is going to be no better time to buy an RV than once the travel bans are lifted! Hit the road and don’t look back Jack! Get in your toad with the windows down and let your hair blow in the wind! Enjoy hiking, biking, kayaking and LIFE! It’s too precious to waste, but isolation is going to be a good thing for many people that cannot tolerate the stupidity that is coming like a plague. It could be worse than the pandemic itself inflicting hatred and fear. You can pray about that all you want, but even God hasn’t stopped the Stupid, (free will clause) and we will be surrounded by it!

AS for hair appointments, manis and pedis, eating out, and all the things Non-RVers usually worry about? FT RVers don’t give a hoot about those things! Let your hair grow, get some sunshine highlights, trim your nails and go El naturel! I don’t miss any of those things as much as I miss family and friends and the way life used to be! I miss the world as it once was, full of kindness and respect. If you think it’s back? Just you wait and see when this is all a memory. WE will all have to work really hard with absolutely no pay to get any of that back, but that would be a reward worth working for. Don’t ya think? Maybe they will come up with a vaccine one day to fix Stupid. One can hope, but that day is likely never to come. So go get yourself an RV and be free….