Lifetime

Today as part of my daily drive I went by Lifetime Fitness, which had been my daily haunt till Covid-19 closed it in mid-March.

I took a photo.

Lifetime Fitness Woodbury MN Nov. 20, 2020

The parking lot was active this day, though Lifetime will again close as of midnight.  Like other businesses it was closed a few months and then reopened for a few, and now it’s closed again.

Personally, I’ve taken a vacation from Lifetime these last few months, preferring my long-time outdoor route.  We’re getting into snow-time and daily cold weather, so it won’t be as comfortable as the tread mill with neat videos of walking in scenic areas around the world in perpetual sunlight and perfect summer weather.  So be it.

*

The first day I walked in the park last March, I came across some prairie architecture off the walking path.  It utilized assorted deadfalls in the woods – things like tree branches and the like.  Every now and then, there were changes: additional ‘structures’, modified designs….

Recently I actually saw some people around the project – some kids and their Dad from one of the houses a short distance away.  It was some nice useful activity.  Here’s the latest rendition of their “house”: a nice constructive use of time during a terrible health crisis in our world.

In the Carver Park woods, November, 2020

Back in March, 2020, in the same park down the same path I saw a note somebody left which whose sentiments I hope we can subscribe to for as long as it takes.

At entrance to Carver Park walking trail, Woodbury MN April 8, 2020.

*

There’s nothing funny about Covid-19, but this cartoon from the 2021 calendar (January) from the Union of Concerned Scientists seems appropriate for the occasion.

2021 Center for Science and Democracy Calendar, Union of Concerned Scientists.  Artist (c) April Kim Tonin

POSTNOTE: Saturday’s Minneapolis Star Tribune had a front page graphic of Covid-19 in Minnesota.  Note especially the November timeline on the right side of the page: Covid-19 and MN 2020 (click to enlarge).

Saturday afternoon I went by the empty parking lot of the local movie theater, which was a popular destination in per-Covid-19 times.  It, along with other gathering places in Minnesota, is again shut down for several weeks.  As marquee announces: “See you after the shutdown:.

Woodbury theater, Saturday afternoon Nov. 21, 2020. Note the message on the left side of the marquee.