When I moved to Tampa nearly 20 years ago, it was not long before I found the "best dive bar" in the city. About 1,000 yards from my house. It really is a great place, from the pan-handlers to the professional sports coaches are in that place. Rich, poor, it doesn't matter as long as you are a good person.

I went there nearly every day on the way home from work for a drink or two plus some other activities that involved six sided things or 52 pieces of card stock and some friendly wagering.

As that ended on St. Patrick's Day, a friend from the dive bar (79 yrs old) said four of us should meet, another 100 yards down the road at the VFW. I am not a member, but two of the four are. It was closed as well, but they have an outside patio. It was BYOB and mother nature was kind to us for the first couple of months and the temps were comfortable.

We kept it low key, cleaned up after ourselves, watered the plants, brought a blower to clean the patio and had an hour or two to just chat.

The core group expanded to six, but the concept remained the same. It was a place to be with your friends, talk about the absolute nothing that happened over the past 24 hours and laugh at whatever was laughable. It kept me and my friends somewhat sane. We had shirts embroidered with the post number and CDC (covid drinking club) made with a hard lined corner representing the corner where we sat. Only six exist, I will wear sparingly but proudly.

This facility could have complained and told us to leave, but we earned our keep and never drew attention to ourselves. There are cameras everywhere, remotely accessed by the officers of the VFW, who eventually showed up and made us all welcome. There are fans on the eaves of the building that they were kind enough to leave on. We turned them off when we left, and leaned the chairs up against the tables. Left the area as we found it from day one.

They made me so welcome, in fact, that I have tracked down my father's Army info (of which there is little due to a fire in St. Louis) that the least I could do was support this oasis. I have joined as a lifetime member of the Auxiliary.

I don't really have a lot in common with the folks who visit now that things have reopened, but I consider them new friends. Sometimes it feels like a bunch of reruns, but I listen to their stories like they are new.

That is my story of staying sane.

I haven’t just been bottling it up. Just got approved for 20 days of leave in a few weeks so that will help.

I have not listened to talk radio in about a month and very little social media mostly just a couple of Tundra pages researching my purchase.

Dropping talk radio has me noticeably feeling better. Kind of weird, then again maybe not.

Didn’t have it to begin with...

Airguns. Always a passion of mine, like firearms. Pretty much anything with a trigger but I digress.

I have a sweet indoor range setup at home that gives me a solid 60 feet and I have been enjoying the hell out of it. Honestly even during the best of times my airguns have basically replaced my .22lr shooting.

That and playing through my large video game backlog.

Ohhhh and bourbon. Did I mention the bourbon.

By fishing and more fishing and doing a little yard work in between.

Also a thank you to Para for providing a sanctuary for me to turn too for news, info and most of all the comradery.

Stopped watching,reading on the internet and listening the news from day one. And pretty much still don't at this point.
My wife was able to work from home so we set up a computer work station in one of our spare bedrooms.
Other than my wife working from home I maintained the same routine. I am sort of semi retired for the most part. The places I normally visit during the week were not shutdown.
My wife did not leave the house during the week so we would go for car rides on Saturdays and Sundays just so she could get out of the house.
We would drive across Disney property and Interstate 4, it was weird seeing hardly any cars on the roads.

quote:

Originally posted by tanksoldier:
Didn’t have it to begin with...

May i add myself to this list?


Been holding on for my wife.

Today is our anniversary. Grilled some Costco ribeyes and some enormous portabellas. Usually do strip steaks, but these came out a perfect medium rare and very tender. First time in thirteen years we've not gone out for dinner.

Been working day and night from home since March and lucky to remain employed and have good management, but 50% of the folks in my office have been laid off. Meetings start at 7:30 in the morning and may run until after 10:30 at night. Weekends are not without exception. My local boss works even longer hours. My direct boss in Germany works similarly.

Have perfected my BLT sammich, so there's that

Miss going to the office and seeing folks. Miss my English fine china coffee mug with the Yorkie puppy in a necktie.

Want this fucking shit to be over with. Tired of this charade.

I owe a buncha folks handshakes and hugs.

Hoping to hold on for that.

quote:

Today is our anniversary

Congratulations.

About a week ago I just said no to sheltering, hiding and staying home. I go out and about pretty much every day now. Today I went over to visit my 82 year old BIL who just found out he has prostate cancer. It was a good visit. Tomorrow I need to run down to Tractor Supply with a buddy to price out a top link for the tractor. We will have breakfast somewhere on the way home. I have a doctor's appointment on Thursday.

I keep my sanity by living a normal life again.

quote:

Originally posted by dlc444:

quote:

Today is our anniversary

Congratulations.

Thanks and pardon the rant.

quote:

Originally posted by dlc444:

quote:

Today is our anniversary

Congratulations.

I, too, offer congratulations. (Which one?)

As to the OP, I've been doing genealogy, posting photos on a web site, forum browsing, and lots of TV. (Really not much different from before the COVID nonsense.) I do miss the personal meetings: church choir, handbell groups, former coworker lunches, weekly medical treatments, etc. but I'm in touch with all those and look forward to resuming those contacts.

flashguy

I get up and go to work. I thought I'd just retire when this crap started (for the 3rd and final time) but since more things shut down than stayed open I figured I'd just keep working. Some things were different but the range is still open, liquor stores are open and I'm by my nature a "social" distancer so no big deal.

We're retired & with the exception of not being able to eat out once a week due to restaurants being closed, our life hasn't changed during this whole thing.

My wife limits me to 1/2 hr local news every evening, so that's a tremendous help in maintaining what little sanity I have. I still have the internet though, & she's threatened to put parental controls on the computer.

Everything horrible happening outside the window is bad enough, throw in an ugly death of a beloved pet a couple weeks back, I'm struggling tbh.

Drives in the country helped keep me sane. And no that the weather has finally warmed up, I have been doing 100 mile loops on my BMW.

That’s a great story all around in the OP.

But to answer the question, this doesn’t compare to being on a WestPac circling in the middle of the Indian Ocean just a couple of days short of 60 days which would have qualified us for beer rations. No cold soda to be had in the whole aircraft. Powdered milk. Scrambled egg mix from packages. No internet. Recycled movies with the one being Corvette Summer.

I got tv, Internet, youtube, Netflix, etc. I can get McDonalds or In and Out.

Air conditioning.


I got it made in the shade.

Built a gaming PC over Christmas - Call of Duty Warzone with friends has definitely kept things on the level.

I'm not use to all of the free time. I'm use to 50 to 75 hours weeks, working 5 to 6 days a week until summer rolls around, inwhich I usually only work 25 to 35 hours a week, 3 or 4 days a week.

There is none of that. I have money coming in, but it is a 1/4 to a third less than normal, so that limits activities.

But, I have done some shooting, not nearly as much as I would like, because of money, and replacing ammo.

I have done some much needed yard work. It keeps me occupied. I have detailed a few of my friends cars for what I jokely call "donations". In reality, when I wash my car, I usually call a friend and tell them, if they want their car done, come over. While you are at it bring so beer....you know "donations".

As for fun, besides the limited shooting. It's been roadtrip, and some sightseeing, with my co-pilot/navigator my pup.

The last and longest was to the Tail of the Dragon in Tennessee and North Carolina. I'm hoping to be able to able to do more of that! I have plans to do the Cherohala Skyway, Moonshiners 28, and a couple of other roads like that.

ARman

The single most effective Sanity Maintenance Tool (to the extent that I was ever "sane"...) is my unwavering refusal to pay any attention whatsoever to any form of media news.

If I really need to know about it, it's here at Sig Forum. Everything else is propaganda or out-and-out lies.

I go where I want to go, when I want to go there. The only change to my life is waiting in line to get into the goddamn stores and I'm REALLY ready for that bullshit to be over.

I didn't try.

But I already work from home, so little changed in my life.