dual personalities

As you know, we traveled to West Virginia last weekend despite the growing threat of Covid-19. It was kind of a weird trip, though we managed to have fun. We stayed at a cozy little airbnb in Buckhannon, a small college town in the central part of the state, where the virus has not yet appeared.

photo taken from the airbnb site

The weather was cold and rainy but we made the best of it. We visited a couple of antique stores, one of which doubled as a beer and wine store — a clever combination no doubt intended to placate tag-along husbands (is that a sexist remark?). We enjoyed poking around, though we didn’t buy anything.

We ate repeatedly (3 times!!) at a nice little cafe called Fish Hawk Acres that features local produce and mighty good coffee. And, yes, we did hear John Denver’s “Take me Home Country Roads”  (I’ll spare you the Youtube embed but the link will take you to the lyrics). Do you think the West Virginia radio stations have to play it a certain number of times a day?

Fish Hawk Acres, the most happening place in Buckhannon

When we weren’t eating, we explored the town and discovered this fanciful edifice, complete with crenelated tower!

The original structure, built in the 1860s, was brick, but when banker and entrepreneur William Post purchased the property in the 1890s, he added the tower and the stone facing, among other “improvements”.  I’d love to tour the interior, wouldn’t you?

Buckhannon is home to West Virginia Wesleyan University, a pretty collection of brick buildings. This is the chapel.

We did not tour campus because it was full of students packing up to go home and we didn’t want to get in the way. Like most (all?) other colleges, WVW has closed due to the virus and will offer courses online for the remainder of the semester.

Venturing out of town, we visited a wildlife park, where we got to stretch our legs and view a small assortment of  animals, including this black bear (the lump in the background near the outcrop) busy digging a deep hole.

Originally, we had intended to take our time coming home and to explore rural West Virginia and Pennsylvania. But you know how it is, the best laid plans, etc… We drove home in one day, starting in rain and a pea soup fog/clouds through the Allegheny Mountains. The driving was not fun and this photo does not capture the worst of it.

10 AM on a sodden Tuesday

Still, we made it home — and so far, so good. We have not exhibited any symptoms (keep your fingers crossed) and there are still no cases of the virus in our county. We are self-isolating as best we can for fourteen days, but everything is in lock-down in any case. I’m busy moving my classes online and I’m trying to keep things as simple as possible. Somehow I doubt that students will be super motivated to do their work.

Meanwhile, in other parts of the country, all three of our sons are working from home now, although son #2 is under shelter in place orders in Idaho.  Evidently, the virus arrived at his remote location via attendees at an international ski convention, and it is spreading fast. The area arts scene, which my son covers for the Idaho Mountain Express, has entirely shut down, so he has started doing a lot of the paper’s copy-editing and is also writing a column suggesting what to read, watch and listen to during quarantine.

You can read the article more easily here. A Gentleman in Moscow was a truly inspired book choice and I can’t wait to see what he’ll come up with next. Do you have any suggestions?

No church tomorrow as it is closed for the foreseeable future, but that’s no reason to avoid worship. Time spent in prayer is never wasted. Prayer calms the nerves and helps us focus on what’s important. Remember, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31).

*John Denver “Take me home, country roads”